Three Bring $80,000 to Wind Up Book 5 at Keeneland

Trade during much of the Sept. 20 session of the Keeneland September Sale kept bumping up against an $80,000 ceiling among the first 210 yearlings offered.

Bidding eventually broke through this threshold, but not before three yearlings were hammered at the price.

Bloodstock agent Phil Hager, owner of Taproot Bloodstock, was the first to reach $80,000 for a chestnut colt consigned as Hip 3577, by Include  out of the Mr. Greeley mare Ani La, that he bought for Bonnie and Tommy Hamilton's Silverton Hill farm. The colt was bred in Kentucky by James Heyward and consigned by Threave Main Stud.

"He was well balanced, he had a lot of strength and good leg to him. He just looked powerful," Hager said. "The Hamiltons like two-turn colts. There are some in the pedigree, and he looks like one as well."

Ani La has already produced two stakes horses, including Inconclusive, a full sister to the September yearling. Inconclusive won black-type stakes at Canterbury Park and Indiana Grand and was second in the Bourbonette Oaks (G3) at Turfway Park. The colt's second dam, Floating Island, is the dam of Hence, a son of Street Boss  who won the Sunland Derby (G3) and Iowa Derby (G3) in 2017.

"We didn't want to go too expensive, so maybe you save a little going with a stallion like Include, who's proven but not at the top of the market," Hager said. Overall, he said the competition during the sale has been tough, particularly when shopping for pinhook prospects.

"As far as the racing goes, there are good spots if you look for physicals. The prices have come down quite a bit this week," Hager said. "It was really hard for a really long time. We bought some nice horses in Book 1 and 2, but you just have to pick your spots. It has been a good sale."

Trainer Ken McPeek picked up one of the other $80,000 yearlings, a filly consigned as Hip 3601 by Airdrie Stud's freshman sire Summer Front  out of the stakes-producing Gone West mare Bar Lazy J.

McPeek has already struck gold with Summer Front as the trainer of Fighting Seabee, a colt he bought for $105,000 in 2018 at The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected yearling sale, for Walking L Thoroughbreds. Fighting Seabee has become Summer Front's leading runner to date, having won the With Anticipation Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course. The undefeated colt is a likely favorite for the Oct. 6 Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland.

"She is nice a filly and a good version of Summer Front," McPeek said about Hip 3601. "I think the sire stamps some angles, same hip, similar shoulder and front end, and balance. You go with what's worked. We bought another Summer Front in the summer, and we have the best one racing, so I think the upside is pretty strong for him."

McPeek and his longtime associate and veteran horseman Dominic Brennan bought the filly for Paul Fireman's Fern Circle Stables. Bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones and consigned by Airdrie, the yearling is a half sister to stakes-placed winner She's Not Lazy (Tiznow ) and out of the family of Brereton Jones homebred Believe You Can, winner of the 2012 Kentucky Oaks (G1) and two other graded stakes.

McPeek said the competition throughout the sale has left him the underbidder on several horses, but he said that's to be expected.

"We've gotten outbid on a lot of good horses, but we've bought 17, and I've bought some fantastic horses," he said. "For the last couple days, it has been easier, and we can stretch to get the horses we want. I bought one for $55,000 and one for $80,000 today that I would put up against Book 1 horses, physically. They don't have the sire power, but they have the bodies."

Pinhooker Patrick Hoppel bought the third $80,000 yearling, a filly consigned as Hip 3620 by Three Chimneys Farm's freshman sire Palace Malice  out of the winning Holy Bull mare Breech Inlet. 

Bred in Ontario by Mike Carroll and consigned by Bernard McCormack's Cara Bloodstock, the filly cost a bit more than Hoppel said he was hoping to spend, but he said she was an outstanding individual.

"It was a little out of my comfort zone, but sometimes you have to let it roll when you feel good about one," Hoppel said. "I felt good about her. The pedigree is a little light, but you have to buy the fast horses and hope they make their pedigree. I have to go with what works for me."

The plan at this point is to pinhook the filly as a 2-year-old next year, though that plan could change, Hoppel said.

"You never know. We'll get her home and get her started, rub and scrub on her, and see what happens," he said.

Hoppel bought a couple of other yearlings during the Sept. 20 session, a $42,000 Wicked Strong  colt sold by Four Star Sales and a $25,000 Central Banker  colt out of Paramount Sales' consignment. He said end-users provided stiff competition for yearlings who might have been prospective pinhooks.

"They didn't leave much room for us. You have to have some upside," he said. "We're giving a little more than I'd like to give, but it doesn't matter what I give, I think they cost too much. It is like playing cards. Every now and again, they have to deal you a good hand, and when they do, it's really good. I'm hoping we have the right cards."