House Rules leads strong second session

They saved the best for last on Tuesday at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, as the eight-year-old mare was purchased by WinStar Farm for $750,000 during the waning stages of the six-and-a-half hour second session.

The sale of House Rules and buyer appetite for quality mares, broodmare prospects, and short yearlings fueled another robust session of the four-day auction.

While there were no breakout seven-figure transactions like the $5 million record-tying sale of Abel Tasman that occurred during Monday's opener, unseasonably warm weather helped buoy spirits in the pavilion and on the sale grounds.

View sales results and buyers

Keeneland reported that 242 horses sold on Tuesday for $17,805,100, an average price of $73,575 and a median of $35,000. The 67 head that went unsold represented an RNA rate of 22 per cent. During the comparable session a year ago, 229 horses were sold for $15,036,900, an average of $65,663 and a $25,000 median.

Cumulatively, Keeneland has sold 465 horses for total receipts of $38,857,300, well above the $28,302,000 figure at the same juncture in 2018. The average is also trending well ahead of last year at $83,564 ($68,198 in 2018) and the median remains unchanged at $37,000. The cumulative RNA rate is 26 per cent, compared with 32 per cent after the first two days last year.

"I thought it was quite strong all the way through," said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland's director of sales operations, of the day's trade.

"It was a continuation of yesterday with short yearlings selling exceptionally well, and the mares sold very, very well. On the (yearlings), it was kind of crazy in some regards, but on those mares that was a very strong part of the market, and there were a lot of them too."

Consigned by Blackwood Stables, agent for the Dispersal of JV Shields, House Rules, a daughter of Distorted Humor, is a multiple Grade 3 winner who earned $682,302. She was offered as hip 779 in foal to Quality Road.

House Rules is out of Teamgeist, a multiple Group 2 winner in her native Argentina who placed third in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes in the US.

"She has a load of quality," said WinStar's David Hanley. "She's a really beautiful mare and was obviously a really top runner, and we loved the cover so we've been waiting for her all day. For the mares you want, the market is tough."

Katey Caddel, director of client relations and bloodstock for Blackwood Stables, said the mare's price was a tribute to the equine portfolio put together by Jerry Shields, House Rules' owner who died in October.

"It is a very bittersweet moment, but we are glad the market appreciated all of Jerry Shields' horses," Caddel said. "He was an avid supporter of the sport and truly loved this game, and that is reflected in his horses. We are proud to sell them here, but obviously a bittersweet moment."

For the most part, trade during the session mirrored that of any domestic sale within the last several years: buyers were willing to pay a premium for quality, with lesser-quality lots difficult to move.

$750,000

The top price paid during Tuesday's second session

Accomplished fillies and mares off the track or young mares in foal to fashionable sires proved in hot demand, with stiff competition for the short yearlings.

"You have the young and sexy (mare) in foal to the right sire and people buy it," said Sergio de Sousa, a partner in consignor Hidden Brook.

"Or if you have a foal that vets and is good looking that's fine. With the rest, you're just kind of trading horses. If you're making the stud fee or getting $5,000 to $10,000 over the stud fee, nobody is making money.

"The top is still obviously very good but the middle and bottom of the market is very shaky. It's how the market is. so we have to adjust to it."

"I think it's dodgy for mares in the middle and lower end; the weanling market is very strong and the upper-end mare market is solid," said Eaton Sales' Reiley McDonald, who was selling and buying on Tuesday.

The second-highest price for the session of $560,000 was paid by Three Chimneys Farm for , a four-year-old chestnut daughter of Broken Vow consigned by Lane's End. Best Performance was previously campaigned by owners West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert Masiello and Tango Uniform Racing, and was trained by Christophe Clement. She placed second in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar.

The top price for a yearling on the day was the $390,000 winning bid from Albert Racing for hip 621, a Union Rags colt consigned by Indian Creek.

Bred in Kentucky by Kinnickinnic Stables, the bay colt is the first foal out of the Bernardini mare Zondaq, a half-sister to Grade 2 winner and Grade 1-placed Discreet Dancer, Grade 2 winner Travelin Man, and stakes winner Sweet N Discreet.

"That sale price was very good," said consignor Shack Parrish. "He was a very nice colt and he was really well-received. It was a little bit of what we expected, but we loved it. About 95 per cent of what we sell comes from the farm, so we know them front start to finish. That was exciting."

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