Mandy Pope prevails at Keeneland to land Roses For Debra at $2.4 million

Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm landed the day's top-selling mare during Tuesday's opening session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale when she bought multiple Graded stakes winner Roses For Debra for $2.4 million. 

The strapping grey or roan mare is a daughter of Liam's Map who won Graded stakes on all-weather and turf.

Roses For Debra, consigned by Candy Meadows Sales, is out of the Bernardini mare Essential Rose, making her a half sister to stakes winners Rose's Vision (Artie Schiller) and Rosie's Alibi (Justify).

"She was very elegant, very well put together," said Pope. "She was very fast. It was on the grass, which is not necessarily ideal for American breeding programmes, but she was so fast. 

"I needed some mares with speed to add to the stallions that I'd like to breed to."

John O'Meara, who raced Roses For Debra alone at first and later in partnership with Cheyenne Stable, said the sale was "unbelievable," considering he bought her for $25,000 from Dromoland Farm that dispersed stock following the death of farm owner Gerry Dilger, a friend of O'Meara's.

"It's very exciting," he said. "I can't believe I was lucky enough to purchase such a nice mare for a small amount of money. It's all thanks to Gerry Dilger. 

"It was unbelievable to go to the races with a horse like this. It was a wonderful ride, it's going to be awful hard to find another one like her."

While Pope said she is always looking for opportunities at breeding stock sales, she is keen this year to find mares to support homebred stallion and Grade 1-placed, Grade 2 winner Charge It, who is entering stud next year at Gainesway at $12,500, and 2023 Blue Grass Stakes winner Tapit Trice, whom she raced with Gainesway and also enters stud next year with a $20,000 fee. Both are by Gainesway's multiple leading sire Tapit.

Todd Quast, Antony Beck, Mandy Pope and Brian Graves at the 2024 Keeneland November SaleCredit: Keeneland photo

"Probably similar kind of mares [for both sires]," she said. "Neither one of them could really get out of the gate. They always needed a chance to get going. We'll probably be looking for some mares to put some speed with them."

As for mating plans for Roses For Debra, Pope said she is looking for a stallion capable of the same versatility as her newest broodmare purchase. Roses For Debra won her first Graded stakes in the 2023 Caress Stakes at Saratoga. At five this year, she added to her Graded stakes credentials by capturing the Giant's Causeway Stakes and then proved her versatility in winning the Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes on the Tapeta main track at Presque Isle Downs.

"We're thinking Curlin, Justify, we have a couple good options there," she said. "Both work on the grass and the dirt, it's a good cross."

Roses For Debra compiled a 9-2-2 record from 16 starts and earned $821,618.

Whisper Hill paid a total of $4,875,000 for five horses to lead buyers during the session, while Roses For Debra was one of nine seven-figure horses sold, contributing to a nearly 15 per cent increase in gross sales over last year.

Weanling colts by Into Mischief and Curlin sold for $900,000 and $725,000, respectively, to be the highest-priced weanlings sold at public auction in North America this year.

Glen Hill Farm acquired Tuesday’s top-priced weanling, consigned by Taylor Made, agent for the complete dispersal of Ed Seltzer's Solera Farm. Out of Grade 3 winner Eres Tu, by Malibu Moon, the Into Mischief colt is from the family of Preakness winner Tank’s Prospect; Grade 3 winner Kays and Jays; and stakes winners It’s True Love, Pangburn, Caddo River and Ain’t Got Time.

The Into Mischief weanling who went for $900,000 at Keeneland on TuesdayCredit: Anne M Eberhardt

“We were trying to buy some colts in September, and we couldn’t get near anything,” said Glen Hill’s Craig Bernick. “We thought we’d try to buy some foals. He was the best one here. It was a lot of money, but I figured that he would be. 

"When we came here, he was a very obvious horse – a really classy mover, pretty head. I really like him, of course. He’ll go back to the farm in Ocala. We’ll raise him, and we’ll put him in training.”

Amo Racing USA paid $725,000 for the weanling colt by Curlin from the family of Grade 1 winners Cavorting and Clairiere. Consigned by Denali Stud, he is out of the Liam’s Map mare Liam’s Promenade.

On Tuesday, Keeneland sold 143 horses through the ring for $62,370,000, for an average of $436,154 and a median of $350,000. Compared to figures from the first session in 2023, the gross increased 14.78 per cent from $54,340,000, while the average dipped 3.68 per cent from $452,833 to $436,154. The median of $350,000 was 6.67 per cent lower than last year’s $375,000.

The November Sale continues on Wednesday at 10 am local time (3pm GMT) with the first session of the two-day Book 2.

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