A half brother to Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage topped the third session of the September Yearling Sale at Keeneland Sept. 13 selling for $1.2 million to agent Dottie Ingordo, signing as Mayberry Farm. She said the bay colt, a son of McKinzie consigned as Hip 669, was acquired for Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stable.
“He’s a very athletic colt, and we would like to have a nice colt,” Ingordo said. “And obviously, there’s a fabulous pedigree and a young mare, so it has a lot of positives. And you always want one with a lot of presence, and he has that.”
Ingordo’s other purchases Wednesday for Mayberry Farm were four fillies: Hip 451, a $875,000 Into Mischief ; Hip 478, a $485,000 daughter of Violence ; and Hip 607 and 693, both daughters of Twirling Candy for $575,000 and $600,000, respectively.
Mayberry Farm led Day 3 after spending gross receipts of $4,210,000 on five yearlings at an average price of $701,667.
CRK Stable runs primarily on the West Coast, with the Searings’ campaigning past grade 1 winners Express Train , Switch , Beyond Brilliant , Exaulted , and Honor A. P.
Robert Clay’s Grandview Equine bred Hip 669, mating Puca with McKinzie, a grade 1 winner during his initial season at stud in 2021.
McKinzie’s first foals are yearlings of 2023.
“Breeder Robert Clay and Grandview liked McKinzie a lot,” Romain Malhouitre of Runnymede Farm said. “People were asking about him, and I said he was the best mix between the sire and mare; both are up there on quality.
“We cannot thank Robert Clay and Grandview enough. He has everything to do it right.”
Team Runnymede (L-R): Romain Malhouitre, Brutus Clay, and Hannah Davies
Hip 669 was the second seven-figure yearling for Runnymede Wednesday and its third of the sale’s initial three days. The Runnymede-consigned Hip 614 was the second-leading yearling of the Wednesday session, with the Gun Runner colt selling for $1.15 million to Repole Stable and Spendthrift Partners.
The Gun Runner colt consigned as Hip 614 in the ring at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale
Keeneland reports 223 horses of the 292 to go under the hammer during the third session sold for gross receipts of $66,414,000. The average price rose 2.1% to $297,821 and a median of $250,000, posting an increase of 6.4% over 2022. An RNA rate of 23.6% represents the 69 horses who failed to attain their reserve.
“I think we have to be very pleased with the way the day turned out,” Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said. “Being on par with last year’s figures—averages, median, gross—we’ve got to be very pleased. Early in the day it was a little slower, but it picked up and charged on very strongly right to the end.
“It was great to see the active trade, especially anything buyers engaged on. Buyers are finding it very competitive on the buying side, but they’re finding a lot of quality horses out there. It bodes well for tomorrow. Buyers are demanding in what they’re looking for. When they are spending large amounts of money, they know exactly what they want, and they are fairly particular on that. For the most part, people are happy with the quality of horses here.”
During last year’s third session, 240 horses of the 296 through the ring were traded for a gross of $70,010,000. An average price of $291,708 and a median of $235,000 was recorded. There were 56 yearlings who failed to meet their reserve to represent an RNA rate of 18.9%.
Session 3 saw five horses bring seven figures or more by sires Gun Runner (Hip 614—$1.15 million); Into Mischief (Hip 521—$1.1 million); McKinzie (Hip 669—$1.2 million); Tapit (Hip 589—$1.1 million); and Uncle Mo (Hip 528—$1 million).
Wednesday’s top 10 horses sold to seven distinct buyers for $700,000 or more.
Cumulatively, over the past three days of selling, 459 horses have sold of the 590 through the ring for a gross of $187,919,000, recording a .3% increase over the previous year. Suitable for an average price of $409,410, up 3.8% and a median increase of 8.3% at $325,000. There have been 131 yearlings who failed to sell, representing an RNA rate of 22.2%.
“I think the strength at the top is very obvious,” Cormac Breathanch, Keeneland’s director of sales operations, commented. “There were 39 horses that brought $500,000 or more today; 29 horses did the same last year, so that’s a significant increase. And you can see, we’re half a million ahead of our gross after three days this year compared to our record sale last year. RNAs are just a touch higher than what we would want and we’re cognizant of that, but the activity is all there. Median and average are just a couple of percent higher than they were last year, so it’s an extremely good sale.”
At this point in the sale last year, 475 yearlings had been traded of the 578 to go under the hammer for gross receipts of $187,305,000. An average price of $394,326 and a median of $300,000 was made. An RNA rate of 17.8% is representative of the 103 yearlings who remained unsold.
Ring handler Cordell Anderson with Hip 568 in the ring
Gainesway continued their reign supreme as leading consignor by gross with 23 yearlings sold for gross receipts of $10,400,000, at an average of $452,174 per head.
“We want to make sure it’s the best for the selling clients—obviously, it’s a little frustrating for buyers sometimes when they aren’t getting everything they want, but that’s good as well,” commented Lacy. “It’s challenging on both sides of the coin in a good way. It was a very dominant domestic market today, but the international buyers were active at a lower price and I think they will be very active for a while. The strength of the domestic buying bench was very evident.”
The second day of selling from Book 2 concludes tomorrow with Hips 762-1128 slotted to head through the ring beginning at 11 a.m. ET. As of Wednesday evening, 37 horses were withdrawn from the fourth session.
