Uncle Mo leading September Sale by gross, War Front has best average

Ten stallions were represented by gross sales of more than $10 million each when selling concluded for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale on Friday.

Ashford Stud's Uncle Mo, whose fourth crop is on the racetrack this year, held on to the lead with total sales of $22,392,000 for 65 sold of 87 offered.

The ten-year-old son of Indian Charlie was represented by three seven-figure yearlings, topped by a $1.4m colt out of the Street Cry mare Secret who was bred and sold by Peter Blum Thoroughbreds through Bridie Harrison's consignment.

Uncle Mo's September offerings included 31 colts that averaged $402,613 and 34 fillies that averaged $291,500. As further indication of the demand for his yearlings, Uncle Mo was among 20 stallions - among those represented by three or more sold - that ended the sale with a six-figure average among his buybacks. The 22 yearlings by the Ashford stallion that failed to meet their reserve prices had final bids averaging $140,636.

Darley's Medaglia D'Oro was the second-leading sire by gross sales with 34 sold of 41 offered generating $20,075,000 in total sales. The 19-year-old son of El Prado was represented by five yearlings that sold for a million dollars or more, topped by a $2.1m colt out of the Montbrook mare Exotic Bloom. Phoenix Thoroughbreds bought the colt that was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency on behalf of Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings.

Claiborne Farm's War Front was the sire of the sale's top seller, a colt out of the Smart Strike mare Streaming that Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency sold for $2.4 million to MV Magnier. Hill 'n' Dale and Stretch Run Ventures bred the colt.

War Front was the sale's leading sire by both average and median. His 18 yearlings sold out of 26 offered averaged $782,500 and generated a median of $625,000. War Front was the only sire with a median above $600,000. The stallion also had five seven-figure yearlings.

Bernie Sams, with Claiborne, said there is no predicting how a sale will unfold year-to-year, even among the premium sires like War Front.

View sale results and stats

"You keep trying to pick the right mares and do the best you can for the book each year," he said. "The syndicate supports the horse well, so all you can do after that is hope he continues to sire Graded and Group 1 winners. It helps that his progeny work on any surface in both America and overseas."

By gross sales, War Front was the seventh-leading September sire at $14,085,000.

Gainesway's Tapit was the second-leading sire by average and median. The son of Pulpit was represented by 25 sold of 33 offered that averaged $611,200 and had a $535,000 median. Tapit was the only other sire with a median above $500,000.

Besides Uncle Mo, Medaglia D'Oro, and War Front, eight stallions were represented by seven-figure yearlings. They are: American Pharoah and Curlin, who each had three; Pioneerof the Nile and Tapit with two each; and one each for Empire Maker, Ghostzapper, Into Mischief, and Quality Road.

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