Daughter of Medaglia D'Oro in foal to Speightstown leads trade at $500,000

Momentum continued into Wednesday’s third session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, with the top price being the $500,000 paid by Coteau Grove Farms/Cary Bloodstock for the broodmare Contributing, in foal to Speightstown.

Second-top lot was the $435,000 given from Baccari Bloodstock for a weanling colt from the first crop of undefeated 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.

During a day of brisk trade, Keeneland sold 196 horses for $25,063,000, for an average of $127,872 and a median of $107,500.

Cumulative results for the November Sale’s first three sessions reached $102,528,000 for 521 horses, for an average of $196,791 and a median of $125,000.

“Overall, the energy today was really good,” said Keeneland president-elect and interim head of sales Shannon Arvin. “We saw a lot of competition for foals. Some new buyers and many of the same buyers from the first two days continue to participate.

"We would love to see stability of the market throughout the sale, similar to what we experienced during the September Yearling Sale.”

Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency consigned Contributing, a six-year-old stakes-winning daughter of Medaglia D’Oro from the family of Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can.

“I bought one Medaglia D’Oro mare in foal to Speightstown earlier, so I figured why not hit a double?" said buyer Andrew Cary.

“It’s an awesome pedigree and Speightstown is showing again how awesome he is, with a horse like [undefeated track record-setting stakes winner] Nashville. Contributing’s sister produced an Oaks winner. She’s gorgeous and she could run. To me she’s the whole package.”

Weanlings commanded six of the day’s seven highest prices.

The $435,000 weanling, consigned by Elm Tree Farm is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2 winner Pretty N Cool and is from the family of Grade 1 winner Sean Avery. His dam is Stayclassysandiego, a stakes-placed daughter of Rockport Harbor.

“I’ve been looking for a really good Justify, and he has a lot of female pedigree, plenty of size and plenty of strength,” said buyer Chris Baccari.

“Anybody that looks at him when he goes to be resold will see he looks like he has plenty of bone and looks like he can take a lot of training.

The top-priced weanling at Keeneland on Wednesday is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2 winner Pretty N CoolCredit: Keeneland Photos

“The weanlings by Justify are very good. The public is going to support him now and his yearlings. He was a very good racehorse and I’m a big fan. This colt reminds me of his sire. He has a lot of raw strength like he did.

"The mare is a good producer, and that is what I’m looking for. That is what determines the value to me. He had a good physical, but he has the pedigree to go with it.”

Jody Huckabay, who owns Elm Tree with his wife Michelle, was pleased, saying: “This is [breeder] Nancy Shuford’s horse, and I think we are pushing 25 years doing business together.

“He was a nice colt and we had the right people on him, but we certainly did not expect that. In this market with everything going on, we are blessed to have the opportunity to sell a horse like that.”

Colts by Justify have been the most expensive weanlings of each of the first three sessions of the November Sale, starting Monday with a $600,000 purchase (a price equalled by a colt by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah) and a $475,000 buy on Tuesday.

Larry Best’s OXO Equine was the day’s leading buyer, spending $1.63 million for six broodmares and weanlings. He paid $400,000 for a weanling colt by Into Mischief, whose son Authentic won Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland, and $360,000 for a weanling colt from the first crop of champion Good Magic, winner of Keeneland’s Toyota Blue Grass.

“I tend to go earlier now for weanlings as opposed to waiting for them to be yearlings,” he said after buying the Good Magic colt. “You take more risk, but you are not spending the same amount of money. You might get two or three shots on goal for what you’d be paying at the yearling sales.”

Paramount Sales, agent, consigned the son of Into Mischief, who is a half-brother to multiple Grade 3 winner Awesome Slew and stakes winner He’s Bankable. The colt is out of the stakes-winning Seeking The Gold mare Slewfoundmoney.

“That was a gorgeous Into Mischief,” said Best, who has been successful racing offspring of the stallion. “Beautiful horse – beautiful walk. You could have told me he was by any other sire and I would have bought him. He just looked so, so good.”

The $360,000 colt by Good Magic sold to Best is a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Lovely Bernadette and from the family of Breeders’ Cup winners and millionaires Shared Account and Sharing. Consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock, he is out of the winning Bernstein mare Inlovewithlove.

“I am trying to diversify with different sires,” Best said. “I bought a Mastery, an American Pharoah filly, etc. This one is by Good Magic and was good looking. Physically, this was about as good as you are going to get for a weanling.

"I expected to get him for $250,000 or $300,000. I had to go a little higher, but the right people were on it.”

Paramount Sales led all consignors during the session, selling 24 horses for $3,285,000.

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