Keogh's Consignment 'Worth the Walk' to Barn 47

Barn 47 is located about as far from the pavilion where the Keeneland September Yearling Sale is taking place as you can get and still stay on the racetrack property.

But consignor Martin Keogh believes it would behoove buyers to make the hike (or zip up there in one of the courtesy shuttles) to look at the horses he is offering under the MJK Bloodstock nom de plume during the Sept. 22-23 Book 6 that brings down the curtain on the marathon sale.

"Typically, some people scratch their horses out of Book 6, but I'm keeping mine in there because I'm bringing in a nice group of horses and I think people will still be hungry for horses," said Keogh, who has 14 yearlings entered in the Keeneland sale. "I have a meat-and-potatoes group here. We will be on the hill, and it will be worth the walk."

Keogh also sold yearlings in Book 3 of the sale and said, "It was solid, but it was kind of like pulling teeth. But I got them moved."

With a consignment consisting primarily of weanlings or short yearlings (bought in January or February of this year) for resale, Keogh has an equity interest in each horse he owns in partnerships. Because of the risk inherent in buying young horses to sell later, Keogh does not have pricey horses.

"I have cheap pinhooks. I have to be able to sleep at night," he said. "I am partners in every one of them. My partners take confidence that I own part of every horse, too. If they're losing money, I'm losing money."

Typical of the type of horse MJK buys and sells is Hip 4096, a son of Congrats  out of the winning Mr. Greeley mare Blues Legend set to go through the ring Saturday. Since being acquired for $10,000 at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, the colt has had a significant pedigree upgrade. His half sister, Giovanna Blues, finished second in the Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (G3T).

"He is a big, strapping colt with a nice family upgrade," Keogh said of the colt, whose second dam is grade 3 winner and multiple grade 2-placed Cozy Blues, by Cure the Blues.

Keogh, who previously worked for Glennwood Farm and Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge Farm before striking out on his own seven years ago, is a hands-on horseman who has a small operation based at the former Overbrook Farm of the iconic W.T. Young.

"I know these horses inside and out, and I'm not afraid to take them to the 2-year-old sales if I need to," he said. "I lease a barn at Overbrook. It's a great place to raise a horse. I'm blessed to be able to drive in the gates of that place every day."