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| Staff Writer |
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The Keeneland September Yearling Sale roared to life on Monday, with the opening session seeing a flurry of high-priced purchases and fierce competition for top-quality bloodstock. The star of the show was a striking grey or roan colt by Gun Runner, which fetched a whopping US$2.2 million, topping the day's sales.
Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm signed the ticket for Hip 169, bred at Three Chimneys Farm near Versailles, Kentucky. The colt is out of Princesa Carolina, a multiple graded stakes-placed mare from the family of Pure Clan.
Todd Quast, speaking on behalf of Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, was effusive in his praise: "He's an amazing horse, he's got everything, the looks, the shoulder, the hip, everything. We bought the Pure Clan filly at Saratoga, loved her. We know where she was raised. We do a lot of stuff with Three Chimneys. We're just super happy to have him. Hopefully, he can run, but he sure looks the part, he really does."
Gun Runner, currently third on the Leading Sires list for 2024, dominated the sale with 15 yearlings sold for a gross of US$12,525,000, averaging US$835,000. He was the only sire in session 1 to have multiple horses sell for over US$1 million, of which he had five.
The top-priced filly of the session was also by Gun Runner. Hip 24, a chestnut filly out of 2017 Del Mar Oaks (Gr.1) winner Dream Dancing, was purchased by Douglas Scharbauer for US$1.5 million.
The sale attracted a diverse group of buyers from both domestic and international markets. Two horses are heading to Japan, with North Hills securing Hip 175, a filly by Quality Road out of Rachel's Valentina, and Mitsu Nakauchida, acting as agent, purchasing Hip 167, a colt by Into Mischief out of Point of Honor.
Clearsky Farms, the breeder of the late champion Arrogate, had an exceptional day, selling all three of its offerings for a total of US$2.6 million. The highlight was a Tapit filly out of a half-sister to Arrogate, which sold to Shadwell Farm for US$1.2 million.
Bernard Cleary of Clearsky Farms reflected on Arrogate's impact: "Arrogate was very important to us because he came along when the farm was still young and relatively unknown. Him being such a good horse helped establish a reputation for the farm and now we have him coming along as being an important stallion, despite his untimely death."
Speedway Stables went to US$850,000 for Hip 98, a Quality Road filly out of multiple Group Two winner Justwhistledixie. Earlier in the session, trainer Cherie DeVaux, acting as agent for Belladonna Racing, secured Hip 2, an Into Mischief colt, for US$560,000.
In another notable transaction, Garrett O'Rourke of Juddmonte Farms paid US$1 million for Airdrie Stud's homebred colt by Constitution. Hip 85 is out of Airdrie's graded stakes-placed mare Indian Pride.
Bret Jones of Airdrie Stud expressed his delight: "What a home to land at Juddmonte. There's no greater compliment than Juddmonte buying your horse. Garrett knew how special his dam was. He was one of the first people who called me when she broke her maiden at Saratoga. She was a very special filly, and I think she's going to be a very special broodmare."
The opening session saw 98 horses sold for a gross of US$54,795,000, with an average of US$560,000 and a median of US$450,000. These figures represent increases of approximately 11% and 12% respectively compared to last year's opening session.
Tony Lacy, vice president of sales at Keeneland, commented on the strong start: "We're very pleased the way it came out of the gate, the first hips sold well. The first three hips sold really well, well above the reserve."
As the sale continues, all eyes will be on the remaining sessions to see if this momentum can be maintained. With such a strong start, the Keeneland September Yearling Sale is once again proving its status as a premier marketplace for top-quality bloodstock.