Conquest Dispersal Day 1 Exceeds Expectations

Over the past four years trainer Mark Casse worked with Ernie Semersky and Dory Newell to build their Conquest Stables into one of the top racing entities in North America, rising to 18th on the purses-earned list in 2015.

So it was somewhat bittersweet for Casse to watch as the major portion of the complete dispersal of Conquest Stable got underway at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale Nov. 14. With Lane's End acting as agent, 35 fillies and racing or broodmare prospects sold Monday for $4,321,500, an average price of $123,471 and a $57,000 median. Colts and geldings are set to go through the ring Tuesday, Nov. 15.

"This was fast and furious," Casse said of the relatively short duration of Conquest Stable's existence. "That's the way he (Semersky) lives. He doesn't do anything slowly."

Over the course of the two days, more than 100 horses will be offered to the public without reserve as part of the dispersal announced in August by Semersky, citing personal reasons.

"It's been hard," Casse said of the last couple of months as he has sent horses to Lane's End to be readied for the auction. "Ernie and Dory are great friends."

The dispersal had actually begun during Keeneland's opening week, with the grade I-winning mare My Conquestadory selling for $1.5 million while in foal to Tapit   and the mare's 2016 Tapit colt going for $410,000.

Jared Hughes, a Kentucky bloodstock agent who assisted Lane's End with the dispersal, said Monday's sales exceeded expectations.

"It's feast or famine, luckily today has been a little more on the feast side," Hughes said.

Hughes said the Tuesday colt and gelding offerings "is a different market. These are fillies and they have broodmare potential. Tomorrow, will be even more feast or famine. But there are some really nice colts in there and I'm excited to see what they bring."

The top price for a Conquest horse Monday was the $800,000 bid by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables for Conquest Serenade, a daughter of Unbridled's Song who is a half sister to Canadian Horse of the Year Fatal Bullet.

Bidding on the gray filly bred in Florida by David J. Lavoie and the Unbridled's Song Syndicate opened at $300,000, with Stonestreet's John Moynihan prevailing in the protracted battle for the filly.

"She's pretty, she's by Unbridled's Song who is a great broodmare sire and we're praying she's going to win a stake for us," Moynihan said. "She is a half to a champion and she could run some. We just thought we would take a shot."

Moynihan said he had discussed the filly prior to the sale with Casse, who will continue to train her.

"You'll have a tough time finding a better mare than her," Casse said. "When you get one that beautiful, by Unbridled's Song, with a great pedigree and can still race, you can't put a number on that. If she stays healthy, she can win stakes."

Produced from the stakes-placed Regal Classic mare Sararegal, Conquest Serenade is also a half sister to stakes winner Millennia. Her half brother Fatal Bullet, a multiple stakes-winning gelded son of Red Bullet, was champion sprinter in Canada in addition to taking down top honors in that country and was a multiple grade III winner in the U.S. while finishing second in the Sentient Flight Group Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I).

Bringing the second-highest price of $480,000 from Adena Springs was Conquest Vivi, a daughter of Court Vision   who has won all three starts for Casse, including the Nandi Stakes and then the Oct. 30 Victorian Queen Stakes.

Bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm, the filly was purchased by Conquest for $112,710 from the consignment of Richard Hogan at the 2015 September Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario division) auction.

Out of the Victory Gallop mare Keen Victory, Conquest Vivi is a half sister to multiple stakes winner and graded-placed Conquest Enforcer.

"She's a nice, quality filly, with a great race record—three for three—a dual stakes winner and Ontario-bred, so she fits the program at Woodbine," said Adena Springs Kentucky farm manager Eoin Ryan of the filly's attributes. "We think she can go on and be a very good 3-year-old."

Ryan said Conquest Vivi will be rested until next spring when she will be campaigned at Woodbine.

"She's just a real typey filly; she's big enough. Very speedy looking. We hope she will benefit from a little time off and stretch out next year."

The dispersal's third-highest price of $400,000 was brought by Conquest Curlgirl, a graded stakes-placed half sister to the dam of grade I-winning millionaire Tiz Miz Sue purchased by Sea Horse Breeders.

A 4-year-old daughter of Curlin  , the filly bred in Kentucky by Bigheart Thoroughbreds had been purchased by Robert McMartin for $160,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment to the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale. Conquest Curlgirl earned more than $170,000 and finished third in the grade II Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita Park.

Produced from the Easy Goer mare Montera, the filly is a half sister to grade III winner Sue's Good News and to multiple stakes winner and multiple graded-placed Easyfromthegetgo. Sue's Good News is the dam of $1.1 million-earner Tiz Miz Sue, the Ogden Phipps Handicap (gr. I) and Azeri Stakes (gr. III) winner.

"She's graded stakes-placed; big family, pretty indvidual, she could run. She had a good race record," said Tim McMurry of Fleetwood Bloodstock, who represented the buyer. "We've been trying to buy mares and this gentleman has lots of (stallion) shares, so he can pay a little more because he's got a big portfolio of shares."

McMurry said it was uncertain which stallion the filly will be bred to next year, noting the buyer has a lot of options.

Casse said the Tuesday portion of the dispersal should also be strong, as there are "some serious colts tomorrow that are going to bring some money. Whether they bring $800,000 I don't know."