Keeneland September Sale 2014; A Look Through the Second Book

Keeneland September Sale 2014; A Look Through the Second Book: Book 1 of the Keeneland September Sale came to a close after four consecutive days of hundreds of yearlings coming through the sales ring. There were multiple babies who went for seven figures, including the top two, which sold on day four. Both colts went for $2.2 million, including a War Front colt and a Tapit colt.

While Book one closes, owners, agents, and trainers are all looking for their next purchase. Combing through Book 2 didn’t take as long as Book one did, but my picks are no lesser quality than day one.

Hip 783 – This yearling, already named Only Joking, will likely go off at high price. If one took a good look at Only Joking, the pedigree jumps off the page. Sired by the highly regarded Distorted Humor, out of the Sadler’s Well mare, Love Me Only (IRE). The female family of Only Joking has been campaigned over in Ireland and other parts of Europe. If we look at Love Me Only (IRE), we can find that she has a famous half brother: Giant’s Causeway. If this colt turns out like his female family, he is going to be a star.

Hip 830 – This filly by Super Saver should be a looker, as her sire is on fire right now with all his two-year-olds lighting up the juvenile scene. Out of the His Majesty mare Palangana, the filly has a lovely female family. Her half sister, Informed Decision, is a multiple graded stake-winning sprinter, with the title of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint to her credit; this filly has a lot to live up to. This yearling filly should hit the ground running next year.

Hip 852 – the bay Lookin at Lucky colt has a winning pedigree, with his dam being a half to Royal Assault. Royal Assault is not only a decent sire, but he did put together a good campaign in his career, winning the Sir Barton Stakes, and hitting the board in the Belmont Stakes, Brooklyn Handicap, and the Long Branch Stakes. This colt is by a very promising young sire, whose first crop is not far behind Super Saver’s. Should bring an honest price.

Hip 912 – the filly by Tapit should turn head simply because she is a grey filly by the number one sire. Being out of the Silver Deputy mare Silver Wolf. Silver Wolf has a Pulpit offspring, but only managed to rack up a bankroll of a bit over 8,000 dollars. Does this show that the cross of the Pulpit sire line over the Silver Deputy line doesn’t work well together? Or was it just that horse? The good thing going for this filly is that her dam is half to two prominent sires in Corinthian and Desert Hero.

Hip 936 – this Giant’s Causeway filly should turn heads when they hear a bit about her distaff line. Not only is she by an Empire Maker mare, her second dam is a full sister to Kentucky Derby hero Monarchos. Whether this proves a good thing, or just another bloodline, this filly has the breeding to run all day, and then some. She should get some attention for sure.

Hip 937 – This Drosselmeyer colt, named General Command, has a lovely female family. Out of an Awesome Again mare, the speed of the Awesome Again on the bottom of the pedigree should help the “slow to get going” Drosselmeyer. If you would like to dig into the pedigree of General Command a bit more, you find that the 4th dam in his pedigree, Sharon Brown, produced Horse of the Year and three-year-old champion Holy Bull. The speed on the bottom of the pedigree should balance out nicely with the stamina of Drosselmeyer.

Hip 1006 – This colt by freshman sire Trappe Shot, out of a Forestry mare, should turn some heads. The Trappe Shot yearlings have been physically impressive this year. With a lovely female family, this colt has a very good chance to succeed. The dam, Andes, is half to Pilfer and India. India produced a Frankel colt this year, and Pilfer has produced prominent racehorses To Honor and Serve and Elnaawi.

Hip 1016 – This filly by Bellamy Road seems to be bred on a nice cross. Miler speed on top with stamina on bottom is what I like to see, personally. The dam, Asbeautifulasyou (IRE), is by legendary sire A.P. Indy, and out of Santa Catarina, who placed second in the Kentucky Oaks as three-year-old. The female family shows many winners in Europe and Ireland, and with the dirt influence, this filly should take to either surface.

Hip 1068 – The chestnut filly here is by elite sire Distorted Humor, out the Giant’s Causeway mare Contentious, and the distaff line here is to die for! The elite of the elite is here in this filly! Contentious is a half to the prominent sophomore Gone Astray, who won the Pennsylvania Derby, the Ohio Derby, and the Salvator Mile in his career. Further back, we find Inside Information, the champion old mare who won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and multiple graded stakes. Inside Information also produced Smuggler, champion three-year-old filly who won the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Mother Goose, among other graded stakes races. This filly will likely bring the bigger bucks.

Hip 1093 – This Smart Strike filly should have heads turning in every direction! Out of an Awesome Again mare, the perfect mixture of speed and stamina is there. This filly should get some indication of who she will be by looking at her half sister, Awesome Maria, winner of the Ogden Phipps (G1). The dam of this filly also has some impressive siblings, as we find Discreet Cat and Discreetly Mine on that list. Look for this filly to bring the high dollar amount.

Hip 1216 – This star-studded pedigree of this Pioneerof the Nile colt. Named King of Denial, this colt should have to deny nothing! Just looking at his catalog pedigree, you see Empire Make, A.P. Indy, Seattle Slew, Weekend Surprise, and Unbridled. The first dam, Mindy, has a half sister who ran second in the Kentucky Oaks. If we go back another generation, we can find the mare that gave us racetrack hero Real Quiet. This colt should bring a lot of money to those who can afford to shell it out.

Hip 1294 – The bay colt by Bernardini should bring a pretty penny, when buyers realize his half brother is New York sire, Rule. There are graded stakes winners strung throughout the female family of this colt, but the one that jumps off the page is Funny Cide. The dam of Funny Cide gave us this colt’s dam. Funny Cide was a gelding, so we could never know if he would succeed in the breeding shed, but this colt is closely related, and that should be enough to get those buyers to shell out some cash.

Hip 1434 – This Giant’s Causeway filly has a lot of family behind her. Her dam, alone, is a full sister to Kentucky Derby hero Fusaichi Pegasus. She also has already produced a group winner in Ireland and England. The second dam in this filly’s pedigree is Angel Fever, who is a full sister to Pine Buff, and a half sister to Demon’s Begone. Angel Fever is also a granddam of multiple stakes winners. This filly should savor distance when she reaches the races, and will likely handle any surface.

Sorting through these yearlings was particularly tough, but I feel this is a great group of yearlings I have picked out. Leaving out some of the yearlings was tough for me, but I believe these are the crème of the crop. Look out for these yearlings and many others as they walk through the sales ring and as they grow up and mature into full-blown racehorses.

Keeneland September Sale resumes with Book 2 on Saturday, September 13-14 beginning at 10:00 am. Books 3-6 are scheduled for Monday, September 15-21.

2014 September Yearling Sale – Hip 680 (War Front – Gold Vault) $2.2 Million: