Taylor: Market Should Remain Strong in January

Mirroring the November market, demand for short yearlings should be strong and overall business solid at the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale, said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency.

Taylor Made, which has been the leading Keeneland January consignor by gross 15 times since 2001, again offers one of the largest strings of horses cataloged for the Jan. 8-11 auction in Lexington with sessions beginning at 10 a.m. daily.

"I think the market for short yearlings is going to be strong because I don't think people got their orders filled in November," said Taylor, whose organization actively buys as well as sells at major auctions. "We had a budget for weanlings (of 2017; yearlings of 2018) and we only got about 60% of it spent in November and I think a lot of others are in the same boat. I think anything of quality on the (short yearling) end is going to be very strong."

In absence of a major dispersal that usually drives up January prices, Taylor believes the mixed market at Keeneland will be solid, noting that the first sale of the calendar year can vary more than the November auction.

"In general, January is a less predictable sale than is November in terms of quality," Taylor said. "Some January (catalogs) have dispersals or really nice mares coming off the track who missed the November sales. In general, the top quality stock goes to November rather than January, so January has a cyclical trend to it in terms of quality.

"I expect a solid market," the horseman continued. "At the top end, it's going to be really hard to buy horses and at the middle it's going to be strong. At the bottom end it's going to be hard to find buyers, and sellers are going to have to be careful on their reserves."

Taylor said the bull market for bloodstock is being driven by the record U.S. stock market and overall gains within the business community.

"As we all know, the stock market will slow down eventually and there will be a correction," Taylor said. "Right now, there is so much momentum in the business sector, and with a lot of the de-regulation that you are seeing that people find it easier to do business, are more nimble, and are willing to make more investments. That is driving the efficiency of the companies and the stock market and you are going to see that flow over. When the stock market is doing good and people look at their portfolios, it makes them feel a lot better about stroking that check to Keeneland for some bloodstock."

As for Taylor Made's offerings at Keeneland, Taylor said Minks Aprise, a broodmare prospect added late to the sale and not included in the print catalog, has a lot to offer potential buyers.

A 6-year-old daughter of Northern Afleet , Minks Aprise is a stakes winner in the U.S. and Canada and multiple graded-placed. Minks Aprise is out of the unraced El Prado mare Couturier, whose dam is Fabulous—the second dam of multiple grade 1-winning millionaire Turbulent Descent.

"She's a very sound horse and I love the way she's bred," Taylor said. "Her pedigree opens her up to a lot of different matings. She had graded stakes talent and was very versatile," Taylor said of the mare. "Some of her best races were won on the front end and she showed a lot of speed. If something happened and she needed to change tactics she could come from off the pace."

As a late addition to the auction, Minks Aprise is scheduled to go through the ring as the final offering during the sale's Jan. 8 opening session.