More Than Ready Filly Tops Keeneland's Fifth Session

Lark Rise, a filly from the family of champion grass horse Leroidesanimaux was purchased by Glennwood Farm for $325,000 to pace the Nov. 10 session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency, agent for Juddmonte Farms, Lark Rise (Hip 1525) is an unraced 3-year-old daughter of More Than Ready  cataloged as a broodmare prospect. Her dam, the unraced Giant's Causeway mare Tare Green, is a half sister to Leroidesanimaux, the multiple grade 1 winner who earned more than $1.6 million.

Bred in Kentucky by Indian Creek, the filly had been purchased by Juddmonte for $550,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

With Glenwood Farm owner John Gunther returning to Vancouver, British Columbia, bidding on the mare fell to Hubert Guy.

"He loved the mare and he asked me to bid for him," Guy said. "He was on the phone with me and he wanted her.

"She's a very nice mare. Physically, she looks like a real quality horse. She's got a beautiful coat and she was very well-presented by Juddmonte and Hill 'n' Dale. She looks like she has a great temperament and she has a good size on her which should be great to carry babies."

With the Sunday session concluding Book 3, Guy said the market is the same as it ever was, with quality individuals in demand.

"The market, it's the same thing," Guy said. "It's the same as a yearling sale or any sale. The right horses sell for a lot of money. The right people are on the right horses and they're not afraid to pay. But I think it's pretty good trade."

The second-highest priced mare on the day was Kasbach, a 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro  purchased by Anderson Farms for $230,000. Consigned by Indian Creek, agent, the mare in foal to Kantharos  is out of the multiple group-placed Danehill Dancer mare Wild Wind, who is also the dam of German stakes winner Wild Bud. The extended female family includes grade 1 winner and leading sire Kingmambo.

Heading into the Nov. 11 sixth session of the 12-day sale, Keeneland has sold 1,154 horses (from 1,948 cataloged) for gross receipts of $168,962,700, on near even terms with the $166,323,000 figure through five sessions a year ago. The aggregate average is $146,415, compared with $145,007 and the median is down slightly to $80,000 from $82,000. The cumulative RNA rate is 22.5%.

Sunday's session saw 248 horses sold for $14,169,500, down 10.3% from the same day in 2018, with the average decreasing 1.64% to $57,135 and the median price up 7.5% to $43,000.

Pat Costello of Paramount Sales said his group sold well Sunday, particularly a colt (Hip 1735) from the first crop of Connect  purchased by Dailey Bloodstock for $250,000.

"The Connect colt really stood out," Costello said. "Connect produces a beautiful individual. That price was on the upper end of where I thought he would go. He had a dozen scopes (endoscopic exams), but in this book you don't know how high they're going to go. We're very happy.

"If you make the mark, you get well paid," Costello said of the market.

Peter O'Callaghan, shopping for weanlings to pinhook into yearling sales, waited until the final hour of the eight-hour session to acquire a Twirling Candy  colt for $180,000.

"There were some nice horses, but for us he was the pick of the day and we waited all day to get him," O'Callaghan said of the colt offered by Taylor Made Sales Agency as Hip 1892. "He was a particularly good Twirling Candy and he has a lovely pedigree."

Bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich III & John D. Fielding, the colt is from the female family of grade 1 winner Harmony Lodge and Arkansas Derby (G2) winner and sire Graeme Hall.

While he was hoping to get the colt bought in the name of P & B Stables for around $150,000, the final price reflects the strength of the market, O'Callaghan said.

"It's a lot of money but for what we're trying to buy that's what they cost," he said. "It is very strong and as always it gets stronger for the standard of horse as the days go on. There is nothing stronger than a good weanling market, because there aren't many good weanlings by the proven sires on the market. For good weanlings by proven sires you often get yearling prices for them."

Renee Dailey, who purchased the weanling Connect colt from Paramount, agreed most buyers end up on the same horses.

"It's strong, it's very strong," Dailey said. "It's hard to buy. The good ones are still selling very well. That's encouraging for us moving forward. I fawned very hard at a lot of weanlings this week and this was the one that I got by the boss."

The sale continues Nov. 11, with a session beginning at 10 a.m. EDT.

With additional reporting by Christine Oser and Meredith Daugherty.