Old Forester Colt Tops Canadian Yearling Sale
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A colt by Canada's current leading sire Old Forester was purchased by John DiScola for CAN$90,000 (US$68,875) to top the Sept. 2 Premier Yearling Sale conducted by the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's Ontario Division in Rexdale.
Offered by Bernard McCormack's Cara Bloodstock, the colt (Hip 15) was bred in Ontario by Whitford Bloodstock. The colt's dam, the multiple stakes-placed Smarty Jones mare Holidaysatthefarm, was purchased by the breeder for $25,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale out of the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment.
Holidaysatthefarm is a half sister to multiple grade 3 winner Rich in Spirit, the dam of grade 2 winner and grade 1-placed Wishing Gate, who herself produced stakes winner Summering.
Conducted under COVID-19 restrictions that included limitations on the number of attendees and other safety protocols, the auction was the first for the Ontario division since the CTHS incorporated online bidding into the live bidding process. The CTHS online bidding platform was developed by Direct Livestock Marketing Systems, an internet marketing company specializing in real-time internet auction sales and is part of the largest livestock marketing network in Canada.
CTHS reported 142 horses sold for gross receipts of CAN$2,831,300 (US$2,166,717), an average of $19,939 (US$15,259), and a $14,500 (US$11,096) median. The 55 head that went unsold represented a 27.9% RNA rate.
During the 2019 edition of the sale, 157 yearlings grossed $3,381,400 (US$2,541,064), with a $21,538 average (US$16,188) and $13,000 (US$9,771) median. Last year's RNA rate was 35.9%.
CTHS Ontario president and sales chair Peter Berringer said the results were gratifying, considering there were no six-figure transactions and the delayed start to the racing season at Woodbine due to the global pandemic.
"With no individual yearlings selling for over $100,000 this year and with the delay of racing and the lifestyle changes due to the COVID-19 health pandemic, the CTHS was pleased to see the median of the sale increase by 12% from $13,000 to $14,500," he said. "We are thankful to all oour loyal supporters, breeders, and new purchasers at the Ontario Premier Yearling Sale. Showing the confidence that it still pays to breed, buy, and race in Ontario."
Berringer said more than 200 potential buyers registered for online bidding and watching the sale, with CTHS still compiling statistics on how many purchasers it assisted in their buying.
Two yearlings bred in Ontario by the late Gustav Schickedanz and consigned by Glenn Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm shared billing for the sale's second-highest price of $82,000 (US$62,752). Schickedanz, who with his wife, Ann, operated Schomberg Farm north of Toronto and had a large tract in Aiken, S.C., died last June 17 at age 90.
Bought by Jim Menzies, Hip 119 is a daughter of Mr Speaker that descends from one of Schickedanz's top female families. The filly's second dam, the multiple stakes winner Woodsmoke, produced grade 3 winner Grand Bili and stakes-placed Conquest City Girl and Enoree. Sharpening Up, the yearling filly's stakes-winning fourth dam, produced three stakes winners, including Queen's Plate winner and champion Woodcarver and grade 3 winner Firm Dancer, and was Canadian Broodmare of the Year in 1999.
Going to Derek Chin was Hip 136, a son of Schickedanz's leading sire Langfuhr named Langstaff Road that is a half brother to stakes winner Will She (Wando) and multiple stakes-placed Sweet Grass Creek (Wando) and a full brother to stakes-placed Sweet Crimson. The colt's dam, the stakes-placed City Zip mare Sweet Banana Breeze, is a full sister to the hard-knocking stakes-placed The Zipster, a winner of 12 races from ages 2 to 8.