Liam's Map Colt Leads the Way in Book 6 at Keeneland

When David McKathan and Jody Mihalic shop the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, they look at nearly every horse that goes through the ring, seeking young horses that can be purchased at a price point likely to yield a profit when resold as 2-year-olds.

Buying under the name of their Grassroots Training and Sales, McKathan and Mihalic also like to strike early in the day, as was the case during the penultimate Sept. 21 session when they paid $67,000 for a son of Liam's Map  from the family of Albert the Great to lead the day's trade.

Gainesway, as agent, consigned the colt (Hip 3835) who was bred in Kentucky by Maccabee Farm out of the winning Indian Charlie mare Pelipa. The colt's third dam, stakes-placed Bright Feather, produced grade 1 winner and sire Albert the Great and stakes winners Watch the Bird and Sheer Bliss.

The colt was the fifth yearling in the ring Saturday.

"He's a colt with a light pedigree and the physical makeup we try to look for," said McKathan from his regular perch in the back viewing ring. "He fell into a price range where we thought there would be some good money on the other side (at 2-year-old sale). At times when horses are really early, a lot of the buyers in the back don't have time to see him.

"He brought what he did because there were several people bidding on him, but it could have been even more if more people were on him," he said. "Maybe we got lucky. It has been an extremely strong market. We hope we made some right decisions."

Grassroots spent $149,000 for four horses. The sole filly was Hip 3839 by Temple City  out of the Danzig mare Polish Flower. Consigned and bred by Monticule, she was purchased for $20,000.

Also bred and consigned by Monticule was Hip 4007, a $10,000 colt by First Samurai  out of the Candy Ride  mare Betises de Cambrai. The last was Hip 4097, a colt by Not This Time  consigned by Patricia Clark, agent. Bred in Kentucky by Eureka Thoroughbred Farm out of the Unbridled's Song mare Fantasy Song, the colt was purchased for $52,000. 

On Saturday, 215 horses sold for $2,298,500, for an average of $10,691 and a median of $6,500. The 30 not sold represented an RNA rate of 12.2%.

With one session of the September sale remaining, cumulative sales are $358,696,600 for 2,648 yearlings sold from 4,238 cataloged to date, for an average of $135,459 and a median of $52,000. The cumulative RNA rate is 24.9%.

Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge Farm, agent, consigned a son of Palace  (Hip 3982) purchased by Chris Randall for $60,000. The colt's dam is Any for Love, a group 1 winner in Argentina by Southern Halo. He was bred in Kentucky by his consignor. 

The sale concludes Sunday with the 13th session beginning at 10 a.m. The sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.