2012 KEENELAND NOVEMBER : STRONG TRADE, STABLE MARKET

Keeneland November Top Lot $4.5 million - Hip 279 Pure Clan
(Image and Footage : Keeneland)

KEENELAND NOVEMBER BREEDING STOCK SALE
6 - 16 November 2012

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which concluded an 11-day run Friday in Lexington, was always going to have a hard time matching up with a 2011 predecessor bolstered by two major dispersals. So when the last horse went through the ring and final numbers were calculated, sale officials declared themselves satisfied with the overall performance of the world’s biggest bloodstock auction. In all, 2,414 horses sold for $143,025,600. The resulting average of $59,248 was down 27.4%, while the median of $22,000 was down a modest 8.3%. The RNA rate was 23.3%.

“It was a very good sale from start to finish,” said Keeneland’s Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell. “I’d say it’s been a very true market. The top end was stronger than anticipated, and there were a lot more players at the top end than people anticipated. International participation was strong, and all the usual players and all the usual countries were here. I think the foundations we’ve laid down, both here and at Keeneland September, bodes very well for horse racing.”

Topping the sale at $4.5million was Pure Clan (Pure Prize), who sold in foal to Bernardini to Borges Torrealba Holdings’ Goncalo Torrealba. Pure Clan was consigned by John Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales, which enjoyed a very successful November run. Hill ‘n’ Dale also sold the auction’s co-second-highest-priced horse, the $4.2-million Changing Skies (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), a brilliantly bred graded winner who was offered in foal to Street Cry (Ire). Matching that price was the Taylor Made-consigned Plum Pretty (Medaglia d’Oro). Whisper Hill Farm’s Mandy Pope signed for last year’s GI Kentucky Oaks heroine a day after securing Havre de Grace (Saint Liam) at Fasig-Tipton for $10million, a record for a broodmare prospect at public auction. It was the first time since 2007 that Keeneland November saw three horses bring in excess of $4million.

“We knew those mares would bring a premium, but they brought even a bigger premium than we thought they would,” admitted Russell.

Prices at the very top of the market indeed exceeded almost every prediction, and the strength at that level helped offset, at least partly, those audacious 2011 figures. Last year, the late Ned Evans’ Spring Hill Farm dispersal, ultimately the highest-grossing dispersal in North American history, saw 170 head bring over $55.8 million, while Saud bin Khaled’s Palides Investments dispersal grossed over $17.9 million and accounted for the sale-topping, $8.5 million Royal Delta (Empire Maker). In total, there were 23 horses who made $1million or more in 2011, 16 of which were from the dispersals.

When the dispersal figures are removed, the totals, year-over-year figures, predictably match up much more favorably. In 2012, 2,414 horses grossed $143,025,600, up 5.4% percent from last year when 2,354 horses brought $135,752,200. The average price of $59,248 rose 2.7% percent from 2011’s $57,669, while the median increased 10% from $20,000 to $22,000.

Top Broodmares / Broodmare Prospects

Hip	Name	Sire	Dam	Status	Price ($)
279	PURE CLAN	Pure Prize	Gather The Clan (General Assembly)	i/f Bernardini	4,500,000
96	PLUM PRETTY	Medaglia d’Oro	Liszy (A.P. Indy)	r/b’ mare prospect	4,200,000
374	CHANGING SKIES	Sadler’s Wells	Magnificent Style (Silver Hawk)	r/b’ mare prospect	4,200,000
24	HARMONIUS	Dynaformer	Jade Tree (Storm Cat)	b’ mare prospect	2,800,000
149	ZAZU	Tapit	Rhumb Line (Mr Greeley)	b’ mare prospect	2,100,000
112	SHOTGUN GULCH	Thunder Gulch	Rosieville (Boston Harbor)	i/f Bernardini	1,600,000
76	NEGLIGEE	Northern Afleet	Naughty Notions (Relaunch)	i/f Distorted Humor	1,250,000

Top Weanlings

Hip	Sex	Sire	Dam	Price ($)
280	Colt	War Front	Questress	800,000
95	Filly	Galileo	Piste Noire	625,000
346	Colt	Looking At Lucky	Yesterday	500,000
379	Filly	Giant’s Causeway	Crystal Shard	450,000
176	Colt	Quality Road	Charming Tale	410,000
364	Colt	Harlan’s Holiday	Breathtaking	400,000
253	Colt	More Than Ready	Miss Lavina	400,000
274	Filly	Bernardini	Promenade Girl	360,000
343	Filly	Tapit	Winning Call	350,000
200	Filly	Street Cry	Gabriellina Giof	350,000

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Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News