At $700K, Sebago Lake Headlines Day 2 of January Sale

The second session of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale was highlighted by the Tapit   mare Sebago Lake selling to Whisper Hill Farm over the phone for $700,000. The 5-year-old mare, consigned as Hip 831 by Eaton Sales, sold in foal to Triple Crown hero and leading second-crop sire of 2023 Justify  .

"She's a beautiful mare, in foal to the right horse," Reiley McDonald, managing partner for Eaton Sales, said after the sale. "She's by Tapit and looks like a Tapit. It also helped with the limited supply at the upper levels. We're pleased with it."

Sebago Lake herself didn't do much on the track, but her Uncle Mo   sister Family Way  has; the turf-loving filly was grade 1-placed in the New York Stakes, Beverly D. Stakes, and Rodeo Drive Stakes. She won the Orchid Stakes (G3T) and placed in both The Very One

Stakes (G3T) and Bewitch Stakes (G3T). She sold to David Redvers for $1,450,000 during the 2022 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

McDonald added: "Plenty is going on (with the female family). They got a good buy, the seller got a good price, it was a fair exchange."

Under the second dam, Mekko Hokte, is the multiple group 1 winning sire Caravaggio  and Gallant Bloom Handicap (G2) winner My Jen .

McDonald sold the gray or roan mare for Adam Bowden's Diamond Creek Farm, which made a late decision to add her as a supplemental entry to Day 2. 

"You know, who knows what drives someone to sell, but she was the real thing, and that's why she sold well, and they didn't pay too much, and everyone came out of it with a win-win," McDonald said.

While the session saw declines compared with last year's session 2, buyers were ready for the right horses.

"It started very healthy through the day. There were a couple of spots where it got a little slower, but it ended strong, and again, quality was to the fore," said Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy. "You saw young mares bred to exciting young stallions were selling extremely well. We saw the same pattern as yesterday. The foals by the right stallions with the right physicals and vetted, there was a strong competitive environment for them."

Tuesday's session included a pair of $430,000 short yearlings, the first by Candy Ride  , which sold to John Stewart's Resolute Bloodstock. The filly out of Rags Pauline was bred by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Spearmaco in Kentucky and consigned as Hip 497 by Stone Farm.

Cherry Knoll Farm secured the co-highest-priced short yearling, a Not This Time   colt from the family of Personal Ensign Invitational Stakes (G1) winner Ask The Moon . Warrendale Sales consigned the colt bred in Kentucky by Petaluma Bloodstock as Hip 685.

"Last year, we had a larger number of short yearlings that went through the ring, and that number was down in today's session; we had about 150 yearlings go through the ring," said Keeneland director of sales operations Cormac Breathnach. "I think it was down by nearly half this year, with 85 or 90 head. The scratches played into it."

For the session Keeneland reports 215 horses sold of the 275 to go under the hammer for turnover of $14,527,200, down 29.2% compared with the previous year. The average price dipped 13.8% to $67,568, and the $30,000 median followed suit, dropping 25%. An RNA rate of 21.8% represents the 60 horses that did not sell.

"We always talk about the median because it's a fair measure, and that maybe reflects some of the polarization in the market," Breathnach said. "The top of it is doing well, keeping the average up. There's some selectivity in the middle and lower reaches, and some of it may be the catalog. We don't go through horse by horse to see if they equate to last year. All those things come into play, but the median being down would reflect what we're seeing in the ring."

During last year's second session, 262 head were sold of the 324 on offer for a $20,530,000 gross, setting an average price of $78,359 and a $40,000 median. There were 62 horses who failed to attain their reserve to record an RNA rate of 19.1%.

"There's a lot of confidence out there, speaking to the sellers. They felt it was a good market, and the buyers found it competitive to try and buy the stock they were interested in," Lacy said. "I don't think it's inflated or depressed in any way. It feels like a healthy, fair environment. If you bring the right stuff to market, you will be rewarded."

Over the opening two days, 452 of the 597 horses through the ring sold for $33,798,000, a 10.9% decline over 2023. An average price of $74,776 and a median of $30,000 was recorded, down 0.5% and 25%, respectively. A total of 145 horses have failed to sell, for an RNA rate of 24.3%. To this point, last year, 505 horses of the 650 were traded on offer for a turnover of $37,945,900. A $75,140 average and $40,000 median were made. An RNA rate of 22.3% is representative of the 145 horses that did not sell.

Resolute Bloodstock made four purchases Tuesday for receipts of $703,000, at an average of $175,750, to be the session's leading buyer. Lane's End Farm sold 19 head for a gross of $1,990,000, at an average of $104,737, to be the leading seller.

"I thought generally it was pretty good considering what there was," McDonald said. "It's hard to figure out—sort of all over the map—but it was relatively strong considering (the high) end, the middle end, and down. You wouldn't think it would be strong at all following September. I was encouraged to see the middle and lower end hold up. I know there were a lot of outs and not as many buybacks today, I believe. When people like your horse a little, and when it's staring you in the eyes they won't bring what you want; you just take them out."

Taylor Made Sales Agency has sold horses for $4,538,7000 to be the leading consignor through the opening sessions; those 56 horses averaged $81,048. Agent Steven Young, purchasing for the Bass Family, made three purchases, all Monday, for a total of $2,025,000, at an average of $675,000, to be the leading buyer. 

Selling from Book 2 begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET with Hips 841-1157. As of Tuesday evening, 68 horses were withdrawn from the third session.