Gains at Keeneland January

The uptick in the North American mixed auction market in late 2017 has carried into 2018, especially in the upper markets, with two sevenfigure horses helping to drive returns for the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale.

The four-day auction concluded Thursday with 909 horses sold for $34,996,000. That’s a gain of 22 percent compared with last year’s fiveday sale, when 961 horses were moved for $28,785,500. The gross surpassed last year’s final total early in the third session.

This year’s average sale price was $38,499, up 29 percent from $29,954. The median finished at $12,000, marking a 14 percent improvement from $10,500.

Bob Elliston, Keeneland’s vice president of racing and sales, said one of the January auction goals was to bring down the buyback rate, and those returns proved successful, especially in the later sessions. The final figure was 26 percent, down from 31 percent in 2017.

The sellers are “smart people,” Elliston said. “They’re tailoring their offerings to the marketplace. They’re bringing product they think will sell in this marketplace, and they’re getting it right. They’re getting offerings and reserves at the right price, where they believe the January sale is.”

Two horses hit the sevenfigure mark during the 2018 sale, marking the first time the January auction featured multiple transactions at that level since 2013, when three horses hammered for $1 million or more.

The auction’s biggest price came from the last offering of Book 1. Bloodstock agent Steven Young bought Grade 2 winner Mrs McDougal for $1.6 million on behalf of an undisclosed client.

The 6-year-old broodmare prospect by Medaglia d’Oro won 5 of 15 starts during her ontrack career, highlighted by wins in the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes at Saratoga in 2015 and the Grade 3 Noble Damsel Stakes at Belmont and the listed Plenty of Grace Stakes at Aqueduct in 2016. Her three other stakes placings were highlighted by a third-place effort in the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes at Belmont in 2016.

Mrs McDougal, who was originally trained by Chad Brown for Mr. and Mrs. William Warren, was privately sold following her stakes successes and raced last year for 2 TY LLC and trainer Richard Mandella. Returning from a 10-month layoff, she placed once in four stakes starts.

Bred in Kentucky by Aaron and Marie Jones, Mrs McDougal is the lone winner from four starters out of the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Passion, a Grade 2-placed multiple stakes winner. Distorted Passion, out of stakes winner Arianna’s Passion, is a full sister to Grade 2 winner Warbling.

Eaton Sales consigned Mrs McDougal, as agent.

Young also purchased the auction’s second-highest-priced mare, going to $485,000 for multiple stakes winner Bellavais on behalf of an undisclosed client. His two purchases made him the sale’s leading overall buyer by gross.

Young said Bellavais, by Tapit, will remain in training and move from the barn of Jimmy Toner to Todd Pletcher. The chestnut filly previously raced as a homebred for Phillips Racing Partnership, helmed by Darby Dan Farm owner John Phillips. Darby Dan consigned the filly, who is from the cornerstone family of multiple Grade 1 winner and multiple graded stakes producer Memories of Silver.

The sale’s top newly turned yearling went to M.V. Magnier of the Coolmore partnership, who bid by proxy on an American Pharoah colt and landed him at $1 million.

He was the third-most-expensive yearling colt, and the sixthhighest-priced yearling overall, in Keeneland January history. He became the second sevenfigure foal from American Pharoah’s first crop, joining a weanling filly sold to Narvick International for a record-tying $1 million at last year’s FasigTipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale.

The colt is out of the stakeswinning Holy Bull mare Mekko Hokte, dam of Group 1 winner Caravaggio and Grade 2 winner My Jen.

The seven-figure colt was bred in Kentucky by the Windmill Manor Farm of Richard Imbert and the Petaluma Bloodstock of Charlie O’Connor, Coolmore America’s director of sales and Imbert’s son-in-law. Coolmore also raced and stands Caravaggio, and stands American Pharoah. Paramount Sales consigned the colt, as agent for the breeders.

American Pharoah also was responsible for the sale’s second-highest-priced yearling, a colt that sold for $400,000 to Alex and JoAnn Lieblong. He is a half-brother to graded stakes winners Smooth Air and Overdriven.

Overall, the Triple Crown winner was responsible for three offspring sold for an average of $540,000, making him Keeneland January’s leading sire by average among those with three or more sold.

Medaglia d’Oro led all sires by gross, with six progeny sold for a combined $2,001,000. Union Rags finished as the leading covering sire by both gross and average, with three pregnant mares sold for $730,000, an average of $243,333.

Taylor Made Sales Agency was the auction’s leading consignor by gross for the 16th time since 2001, with 77 horses sold for a combined $3,455,700. Eaton Sales finished as the leader by average, with eight offerings sold for $311,750.

Shaman Ghost to Tommy Town

Grade 1 winner and Canadian champion Shaman Ghost will begin his stallion career at Tommy Town Thoroughbreds in Santa Ynez, Calif., during the 2018 breeding season for an advertised fee of $10,000.

Special considerations will be made for young stakes-winning mares at a reduced fee of $7,500.

The 6-year-old Ghostzapper horse was retired in early December. Owner/breeder Frank Stronach announced at the time that he would stand in California, but the decision on which farm was still pending. At the same time, the operation announced the relocation of Kentucky-based Adena Springs stallions North Light and City Wolf to EF1 Farm in Hemet, Calif., all with the goal of boosting the state’s foal crop, and in turn, boost field sizes at the state’s tracks. The Stronach Group owns Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields.

Racing for trainer Jimmy Jerkins, Shaman Ghost won 8 of 17 starts for earnings of $3,859,311, making him the second-highest-earning Canadian-bred of all time behind his paternal grandsire, Awesome Again, also a Stronach homebred.

His victories of note include the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and Woodward Stakes, the Grade 2 Brooklyn Invitational Stakes, and Grade 3 Pimlico Special Handicap. He ran second to Arrogate in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes last year and also finished in the money in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap and Grade 2 Suburban Handicap.

He was named Canada’s champion 3-year-old male in 2015 on the strength of a campaign that included wins in the Queen’s Plate and the Grade 3 Marine Stakes and a runnerup effort in the Prince of Wales Stakes.