$925,000 Twirling Candy relative to Cityscape and Bated Breath tops closing Book 4 session at Keeneland

The closing session of Book 4 finished with solid results at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, seeing a $925,000 Twirling Candy colt catch the eye of Pin Oak Stud midway through the day. Paramount Sales consigned the session-topping colt as hip 2555.

Jim and Dana Bernhard have been hard at work over the past eight days securing future runners to don their blue and white silks. Book 4 was no exception; to date, the couple has made 19 purchases for a gross of $8,835,000.

Tuesday's purchases included an Oscar Performance colt, hip 2481 from Mill Ridge Sales for $105,000, and the session-topping colt out of Hiking. The First Defence mare Hiking was placed in the Possibly Perfect Stakes; her three foals of racing age have all been runners, and she has a Caravaggio filly this year.

"We knew we were going to dig around in Book 4 because of the other good horses who have come out of this book, like Forte and those types," said Matt Weinmann of Equine Analysis, who assists Pin Oak Stud in purchasing. "It was very encouraging to continue shopping back here. To find this colt at the end of Book 4, with that price, I wasn't expecting that. We're a data company, and he fits the data, and we want ten more Geaux Rocket Rides this year."

The session-topping Twirling Candy colt at KeenelandCredit: Keeneland photo

Geaux Rocket Ride became the Bernhards' first Grade 1 winner by taking the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in July.

Weinmann added: "We are still going to be looking around. I think prospects have gotten fewer and farther between the further back you go, but I will keep looking."

The Twirling Candy colt is out of Possibly Perfect Stakes-placed mare Hiking and was sold Tuesday by his Kentucky breeders Alice Bamford and Highfield Investment Group. The First Defence mare out of Santa Barbara Handicap-placed Trekking is from the family of stakes winner Tantina, dam of Grade 1-winning sires Cityscape and Bated Breath.

"We are delighted with the price; it's a horse sale, and anything can happen," said Gabriel "Spider" Duignan with Paramount Sales, which consigned hip 2555. "He was a lovely horse, a Twirling Candy out of a nice mare, but higher [price] than I thought. Obviously, two people liked him a lot."

Duignan added: "It was a home run for his breeders, and I couldn't be happier for them; they are two lovely people. He was a popular horse, and Twirling Candy gets a lot of respect. He had a lot of vet work as well."

A yearling is led up at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Credit: Keeneland photo

Pin Oak Stud was the leading buyer on day eight by gross, spending $1,030,000 on its two purchases. Paramount Sales sold 27 yearlings from its draft for a gross of $2,545,000 at an average of $94,254 per head to be the session's leading seller.

At the close of business Tuesday, 307 yearlings had been sold of the 356 to go through the ring for gross receipts of $21,696,500, posting a 0.9 per cent decrease over 2022. The average price rose 0.3 per cent to $70,673 and the median was $50,000, a 9 per cent decline. The 49 yearlings who failed to sell represent an RNA rate of 13.8 per cent.

During last year's eighth session, 311 of the 358 yearlings through the ring had sold for a gross of $21,903,000, for an average price of $70,428 and a median of $55,000. The RNA rate was 13.1 per cent.

Day eight saw five yearlings sell for $250,000 or more. The top ten purchases were by Twirling Candy (hip 2555 - $925,000 and hip 2519 - $240,000); Ghostzapper (hip 2698 - $330,000), Liam's Map (hip 2500 - $280,000); Not This Time (hip 2631 - $275,000 and hip 2690 - $210,000); Munnings (hip 2729 - $250,000); Nyquist (hip 2727 - $235,000); Bolt d'Oro (hip 2541 - $230,000), and McKinzie (hip 2435 - $205,000).

Over the past eight sessions of selling, 1,905 yearlings to have gone under the hammer have sold for gross receipts of $378,870,000, setting an average price of $198,882 and a median of $125,000. An 18.8 per cent RNA rate represents the 441 yearlings who remained unsold.

To this point in the sale last year, 1,959 yearlings had traded of the 2,366 on offer for gross receipts of $389,274,000. An average price of $198,710 and a median of $130,000 were recorded. The 407 yearlings who failed to attain their reserve represented an RNA rate of 17.2 per cent.

Agent Donato Lanni has made 20 purchases for the partnership of SF/Starlight/Madaket at an average price of $629,500 and a gross of $12,590,000 to be the sale's leading buyer. Gainesway has made 116 sales at an average of $364,457 per head for a gross of $42,277,000 to be the leading consignor.

The sale continues today with the Book 5 opening session. Hips 2792-3202 will head through the ring beginning at 10am ET. 

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