Wrapping up a strong fourth session at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale's Book 2 finale Sept. 17, three colts by leading sires Not This Time and Nyquist each commanded $2 million.
Chad Summers, trainer of Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Napoleon Solo, was the first to go to $2 million, securing Hip 803, a son of leading general sire Not This Time for Al Gold's Gold Square.
The strapping chestnut colt is the first foal out of the Curlin mare Spell On You, a half sister to 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify and stakes winners Stage Raider and The Lieutenant.
John Gunther bred the yearling in Kentucky, and he was consigned by Gunther's Glennwood Farm.
"I don't know what to say. He was a lovely colt. He's got that hip like Not This Time," Gunther said of Hip 803. "I didn't expect (this), the reserve was much, much lower. But I know a lot of people really liked this colt. It's hard to believe $2 million, but it's wonderful.
"For a big colt, he's really light on his feet. We'd turn him out at night, and he'd just float across the field. And he was very smart."
Summers was ecstatic with the purchase saying, "We felt like we got a good value from Glennwood (with Napoleon Solo), so we tried to buy from them this year. He's a really special horse; they know how to raise a really nice family.
"John and Tanya (Gunther) do a great job; we had Napoleon Solo from them last time, we felt like obviously, they know what they're doing. They've had Justify, they've had Vino Rosso, the list goes on and on of horses that they've raised, and we might buy one or two more from them today, too."
Two years ago, Summers bought Preakness winner Napoleon Solo for $40,000 from Glennwood Farm. Gunther and his Eurowest Bloodstock bred Napoleon Solo, a Liam's Map colt out of the stakes-winning Scat Daddy mare Atomic Blonde.
The Gunthers have had an incredible sale so far, selling three horses for seven figures, including Hip 47 from the same family as Hip 803. The Gun Runner colt consigned as Hip 47 is out of the mare Stage Magic—the second dam of Hip 803—making him a half brother to Justify. Winchell Thoroughbreds purchased him for $1.9 million during the first session.
Hip 242, a colt by Into Mischief and the current sale topper, commanded $3.7 million from the power duo of Coolmore's M.V. Magnier and Peter Brant's White Birch Farm.
Gunther was quick to thank the whole team at Glennwood Farm and the dedication of his daughter Tanya Gunther.
"This is unbelievable. I'm short of breath thinking about it. I might have to sit down. ... It's so wonderful for my daughter. Tanya works so hard. It's unbelievable how hard she works," Gunther added.
"And the staff is just fantastic. Every part of the Glennwood team is unbelievable. Conrado, the guy that does the foaling and looks after him, he's been with us like 30 years, and his sons are working for us. He raises them like they're his own children. We're so lucky."
It has not been determined if Summers will train the colt or if he will be sent to another trainer. Gold spreads out his purchases each year among a series of trainers.
Less than 100 hips later, Speedway Stable struck for another son of Not This Time—when agent Marette Farrell signed for Hip 899, a colt out of 2012 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Believe You Can.
The bay colt is a half sibling to two other stakes winners: 2023 Del Mar Derby (G2T) and 2024 Del Mar Mile Stakes (G2T) winner Conclude, and 2018 Ellis Park Derby winner Believe in Royalty.
Farrell, who was bidding on behalf of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stable, was determined to walk away with the colt, even though the $2 million was more than she thought the horse would bring.
"I thought the fact that he was immature would help us a little bit but, honestly, he was so athletic and so light on his feet, especially in the back walking ring," Farrell said.
"I said to Peter Fluor and K.C., he had a stallion's pedigree. He's by the right sire that is on a trajectory to the stars right now, and we know Conclude because he's by Collected, and I said to Peter, 'In my humble opinion, I think he's a much better horse than Conclude.' I hope I'm right. It's a beautiful pedigree. It's one of Airdrie's key families and, as we all know, they're one of the top breeders in America."
Speedway purchased grade 1 winner and earner of more than $2 million Collected for $170,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in 2015. The highlight of his career came in 2017 when he won the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1), before running a game second to subsequent 2017 Horse of the Year and top sire Gun Runner in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
WATCH: Book 2 Ends at Keeneland September Yearling Sale
Farrell said she had been trying to find a filly, but could not take her focus off Hip 899.
"When this colt came up, I said, 'He's the one. Sorry he's not a girl,'" Farrell explained. "He's in the same mold as his sire, a ton of quality, and a lot of the progeny of Not This Time have similarities, but I thought he was the most beautiful of them all."
Farrell said the colt would most likely head to WinStar Farm for a month to let down. After that, he will head to Niall Brennan's stable near Ocala, Fla., to begin the breaking process.
The yearling was bred by the Estate of Brereton C. Jones and consigned as Hip 899 from the Airdrie Stud Raised and Offered consignment. Believe You Can raced for Jones, who headed Airdrie and served as governor of Kentucky from 1991-95. He died in 2023.
"He (Hip 899) was just a masculine version, really, of the mare," said Airdrie's president, Bret Jones, son of the late Brereton Jones. "All of us watched her grow up, and she's been with us now for a long time, and he really was just the spitting image, but a bigger, stronger version. And classy, just everything you'd ever want in a sales yearling or a racehorse."
Partnership Secures $2M Nyquist Colt
The partnership of St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, Lane's End Racing, and Belladonna Racing secured their most expensive purchase of the ongoing Keeneland September Yearling Sale by purchasing a Nyquist colt for $2 million.
The colt, consigned as Hip 973 by Betz Thoroughbreds, was one of 16 purchases at the sale for the ownership group. They bought four other horses throughout the day to become the leading buyers of the fourth session with five purchases totaling $5.35 million. They also led buyers through Book 2 of the sale, with gross receipts of $13,925,000 for 16 head.
"We're really excited to acquire the colt," said Monique Delk, executive director of racing operations for St. Elias. "He was a standout for us—by the right sire, amazing physical, beautiful walk. He's the whole package. We're really excited to be able to acquire him."
Delk said they do not have an exact number of horses they are trying to buy.
"We just approach each book with a lot of discipline and a real strict criteria," she said. "We don't necessarily have a number, but we're pretty disciplined in our buying."
Vincent Viola's St. Elias Stable is co-owner and -breeder of this year's Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Golden Tempo, who is trained by Belladonna's Cherie DeVaux.
Betz Thoroughbreds, J.Betz, DJ Stables, Epona, and Lamantia bred the colt in Kentucky out of the stakes-winning The Factor mare Factorofwon. Factorofwon is the dam of current listed stakes winner Light Won Up, who also placed in the Senorita Stakes (G3T) earlier this year.
Hip 973 became the seventh Nyquist yearling to sell for $1 million or more since the September sale began Sept. 14. The stallion stood the 2026 season for an advertised fee of $175,000 at Darley near Lexington.
Sixty-Five Seven-Figure Yearlings
Through the end of Book 2, 65 horses had sold for $1 million or more, smashing last year's record of 56.
"We've sold 230 yearlings this week for $500,000 or more and that's from 60 different consignors and 109 different buyers," said Cormac Breathnach, Keeneland's senior director of sales operations. "There's great depth in the market and a lot of money is changing hands."
A total of 686 horses had changed hands through the end of Book 2, grossing $330,092,500, including private sales, up slightly from last year's $320,521,500 for 730 horses sold. The average is up to $481,184 from $439,071 last year, and the median stayed the same at $350,000. The RNA rate of 24.2% represents the 219 horses who failed to meet their reserve.
"The sale has been remarkable. It's hard to surpass last year's sale, and somehow it's happening right before our eyes," Breathnach said. "There has been a little selectivity in the market, and our RNA rate blended over Week 1 is up from last year, and that's something we want to see improve.
"We're trying to see it from all angles and make sure that the people who aren't having a great sale are going to have a good (upcoming) week too."
Breathnach noted that the median is slightly behind the other increasing metrics.
"It is not as strong as we would want," he said. "As good as the sale is overall, it's a little top-heavy in the sense that we're blowing out that seven-figure market, which is great, but only for some people.
"The median is only a few percent down on last year, and last year was an insane sale. It's hard to be too critical of it, but couple that with the increase in the RNA rate, it does reflect that some people might not be getting exactly what they want out of the market. I hope that's not too many people, and hopefully Week 2 will reverse that trend."
At the end of the day Thursday, 230 horses had sold for $79,950,000, including private sales. Although this year's total dipped slightly below last year's $80,399,500, it was achieved with 22 fewer horses. The average price was up 9% to $347,609 and the median was up 10% to $275,000. Seventy-five horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 24.6%.
Taylor Made Sales Agency led the fourth session among consignors and sits atop the list overall going into Book 3, with 101 horses bringing $48.31 million.
"Buyers are finding it really difficult to get what they want, but they're starting to get horses now," said Keeneland's vice president of sales Tony Lacy. "You see that they're actually starting to engage and starting to get what they want. The barns were extremely active all day. The demand is there. The appetite for quality horses is extremely high."
Buyers and sellers alike echoed those thoughts on the market.
"Every year, it seems to get stronger and stronger," said bloodstock agent Donato Lanni. "It's great to see the horse economy being so strong. But it's been tough. It's been tough all week to buy horses."
Lanni advised the purchase of Hip 1018, a daughter of Gun Runner who became the highest-priced filly of the day, when John Wade's Dream Big Racing signed the ticket for $1.5 million.
READ: Dream Big Racing Goes to $1.5M for Gun Runner Filly
Both Breathnach and Lacy are optimistic leading into Book 3, noting a different range of clientele, including more trainers, will be on the grounds.
"We're very optimistic about a strong finish and, like I said, we just want to see this momentum continue and get as many smiles on faces as we can before the next weekend," Breathnach said.
The sale will resume at 10 a.m. ET Sept. 19 for the first day of Book 3. Hips 1137-1552 are slated to go through the ring. As of Thursday evening, Keeneland had reported 35 outs.
