Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm paid $2.4 million for Grade 2 winner Roses for Debra, a 5-year-old daughter of Liam’s Map, to top a strong day of trade during the Book 1 opener of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Roses for Debra was one of nine seven-figure horses sold on Tuesday, contributing to a nearly 15% increase in gross sales over last year.
Weanling colts by Into Mischief and Curlin sold for $900,000 and $725,000, respectively, to be the highest-priced weanlings sold at public auction in North America this year.
“It was a great day. It was a very solid, vibrant marketplace,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “The clearance rate was very strong. There was a diverse buying bench; great participation from Japan and really strong activity certainly from domestic buyers. All around it just felt like a good, healthy marketplace.”
On Tuesday, Keeneland sold 143 horses through the ring for $62,370,000, for an average of $436,154 and a median of $350,000. Compared to figures from the first session in 2023, the gross increased 14.78% from $54,340,000, while the average dipped 3.68% from $452,833 to $436,154. The median of $350,000 was 6.67% lower than last year’s $375,000.
“Today felt like a continuation of the September Yearling Sale,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “The gross is up about $12 million over last year. The clearance rate is almost 80%, which is really positive in a select portion of the sale. Quality, as always, comes to the fore, and young mares – whether they’re off the track or with a good early cover – have a lot of appeal from all over the world. We saw a strong domestic market, but we had great participation from Australia, Japan and Europe. Everybody was here, and everybody was very, very active. I think they felt like there was something for everybody, and that’s what we try to create here.”
The session-topping Roses for Debra, who was consigned by Candy Meadows Sales, agent, and cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect, is out of Essential Rose, by Bernardini. A half-sister to stakes winners Rose’s Vision and Rosie’s Alibi, she is from the family of Grade 2 winner Essential Edge.
“She was very elegant, very well put together,” Pope said. “She was very fast. I needed some mares of speed to add to the stallions that I like to breed to. We’re mainly taking the opportunities as they come up, and then later on we’ll be looking for mares to breed to (Whisper Hill runners) Charge It and Tapit Trice (who both enter stud in 2025 at Gainesway). Thinking Curlin, Justify (to breed to Roses for Debra). We have a couple of good options there that both work on the grass and the dirt, and it’s a good cross.”
“I bought into her last summer after she won the Caress (G3) at Saratoga with the idea of running her through this sale, but I never dreamed of an outcome like this,” said Roses for Debra’s co-owner, Everett Dobson, who owns Candy Meadows. “I am really happy for my partner, John O’Meara, and for her namesake (O’Meara’s life partner, Debra Rose Fritz).
“She is going to a great home. I couldn’t be happier that she was bought by Mandy. I love it when a plan comes together.”
Whisper Hill paid a total of $4,875,000 for five horses to lead buyers during the session.
Two horses each sold for $1.8 million.
Whisper Hill and Gainesway paid the amount for Lady Tapit, dam of Grade 1 winner Kingsbarns who is in foal to Good Magic. Paramount Sales, agent, consigned the 12-year-old daughter of Tapit, who is from the family of Grade 1 winner Gozzip Girl.
Anisette (GB), who three days ago competed in the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) at Del Mar, sold for $1.8 million to Willingham Stud. Consigned by Bluewater Sales, agent, the 5-year-old mare is by Awtaad out of Tutti Frutti, by Teofilo.
Four horses sold for $1.5 million apiece.
Narvick Int’l/Grand Stud spent the amount for multiple Grade 3 winner Walkathon, a 5-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy consigned by Denali Stud, agent, as a racing or broodmare prospect. Out of Grade 3 winner Walkabout, by Stroll, she is from the family of Racing Hall of Famer Bayakoa (ARG) and Grade 1 winners Fort Larned and Affluent.
“You can see what I saw: beautiful filly, full of quality,” buyer Emmanuel de Seroux said. “Very good race mare, very good addition for our farm. We have to discuss (her immediate future). She’ll end up in Japan, but she might be bred in Kentucky before, then go to Japan. We are not the only one (who wanted her); there were at least five or six other people that wanted her. Very competitive.”
“She is a homebred for the Whithams, a multiple graded stakes performer, earned ($1.6 million) and look at the pedigree,” Denali Vice President Conrad Bandoroff said. “The whole family is cultivated by the Whitham family. They have been wonderful stewards of this family tracing back to third dam Bayakoa.
“We knew she was popular and was going to sell well,” Bandoroff added. “(The price) was well beyond our expectations, but when they have her performance and her quality, results like this can happen.”
Ian Wilkes, who trained Walkabout, watched her sell.
“I wish them the best of luck,” Wilkes said. “She is such a classy filly, and I am very proud of her. She’s very sound and could run next year. It’s up to them.”
Selling to Spendthrift Farm for $1.5 million was Grade 3 winner Hidden Connection, a 5-year-old mare by Connect. Consigned by Hidden Brook, agent, and cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect, she is out of C J’s Gal, by Awesome Again, and from the family of Grade 1 winner Capo Bastone.
Case Clay Thoroughbred Management paid $1.5 million for Grade 3 winner and millionaire Shotgun Hottie. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, the 5-year-old daughter of Gun Runner is out of Re Entry, by Malibu Moon, and from the family of Grade 1 winners Pure Clan and Sky Diva as well as Grade 2 winner Greater Good.
“She’s a beautiful Gun Runner – a lot of quality,” Clay said. “I was a big fan of hers (at the track) and a fan of all things Gun Runner.”
Taylor Made Sales Agency was the session’s leading consignor with sales of $11,840,000 for 37 horses.
Also bringing $1.5 million from Summer Wind Equine was Krissy’s Candy, dam of Grade 1 winner Nutella Fella and in foal to Not This Time. Consigned by Ashview Farm, agent, she is out of the Grade 2 placed winner Unbridled Beauty, by Unbridled’s Song, and is a half-sister to stakes winner Meal Penalty and from the family of Racing Hall of Famer Housebuster and Grade 1 winner Bright Future.
Katsumi Yoshida paid $1.45 million for Grade 2 winner Midnight Memories, a 5-year-old daughter of Mastery in foal to Curlin. Consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa, she is out of Grade 2 winner Tiz Midnight, by Midnight Lute, and from the family of Grade 1 winner Tough Tiz’s Sis.
“She has a strong pedigree,” Shingo Hashimoto, agent for Yoshida, said. “She looks very nice and strong. We like her very much. She’s pretty much qualified for what we wanted. She ticked the boxes. We’re excited.”
Stonestreet went to $1.1 million to obtain Grade 3 winner Pretty Birdie, who is in foal to Candy Ride (ARG) from the consignment of Gainesway, agent for the Estate of John Hendrickson. She is out of Bird Sense, a winning daughter of Street Sense and from the family of champion Bird Town and Belmont (G1) winner Birdstone.
Glen Hill Farm acquired Tuesday’s top-priced weanling by paying $900,000 for a colt by Into Mischief consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for the Complete Dispersal of Solera Farm (Ed Seltzer). Out of Grade 3 winner Eres Tu, by Malibu Moon, he is from the family of Preakness (G1) winner Tank’s Prospect; Grade 3 winner Kays and Jays; and stakes winners It’s True Love, Pangburn, Caddo River and Ain’t Got Time.
“We were trying to buy some colts in September, and we couldn’t get near anything,” Glen Hill’s Craig Bernick said. “We thought we’d try to buy some foals. He was the best one here. It was a lot of money, but I figured that he would be. When we came here, he was a very obvious horse – a really classy mover, pretty head. I really like him, of course. He’ll go back to the farm in Ocala. We’ll raise him, and we’ll put him in training.”
AMO Racing USA paid $725,000 for a weanling colt by Curlin from the family of Grade 1 winners Cavorting and Clairiere. Consigned by Denali Stud, agent, he is out of the Liam’s Map mare Liam’s Promenade.
