Three fillies look to continue another strong showing for Anderson Farms Sept. 19 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Hip 1615, a Nyquist filly out of the Smart Strike mare Precision Farming, leads the way for David Anderson, who manages and owns Anderson Farms and is the filly's breeder/consignor.
Hips 1902 and 1904 complete the trinity. Rod Ferguson Farms bred Hip 1902 (by Street Sense out of Gold Medalist, by Medaglia d'Oro ), while Anderson Farms teamed up with All My Hart Racing to breed Hip 1904 (by More Than Ready out of Grace and Dignity, by Animal Kingdom). Anderson indicated he suspects strong Books 1 and 2 will serve as a boon to the later sessions, with many buyers having been outbid earlier in the sale.
"I think we brought in a pretty good draft here in Book 3," he said. "Physically, I've got a Street Sense filly out of a Medaglia d'Oro mare, Gold Medalist, who would probably be the biggest and strongest and stand out a little bit. But in terms of pedigree, all three have some depth and sire power. …so I'm pretty confident. It's been a tremendous sale so far, and it's been a pretty common theme I've been hearing: people are getting shut out, so that money is going to move back into the deeper books and overall it should be a great marketplace."
Anderson spoke highly of Keeneland's allure.
"It's become really the world's marketplace," he said. "You get all the buyers from Europe, Japan, and down under. It's a place that you've really got to be. We can sell any type of horse in this sale."
Over the years, the Ontario-based operation has repeatedly cashed in with one particular mare: Orchard Beach, by Tapit . Her fourth foal, a Medaglia d'Oro filly, was responsible for the third-highest sale price at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale ($1.6 million). The all-star mare has hardly missed a step; her first foal, Sergei Prokofiev, by Scat Daddy, sold for $1.1 million at the 2017 Keeneland September Sale. Her second foal, a Hard Spun filly named Turko Beach, went for $950,000 at the following year's sale, and her third foal, an Air Force Blue colt by the name of Early Warning, brought $400,000 the year after that. From 2017 to 2020, the all-star mare's progeny collected a combined $4,050,000 in four passes through the Keeneland sales ring.
Anderson Farms went back to the well with a full brother (Hip 98) to the pricey filly that sold in 2020, but Keeneland buyers fell short of Anderson's expectations, as the Medaglia d'Oro colt failed to meet the reserve price with a final bid of $495,000.
Despite the disappointment in Book 1, Anderson rebounded to sell three yearlings in Book 2 for a combined $1,185,000, highlighted by Hip 1089, a Justify filly that sold for $625,000 to Whisper Hill Farm. She was bred by Anderson Farms.
"We all have our favorite sires that we've had good luck with and done well with, but I'm not barn-blind," he said. "I breed to what I think will create ultimately the best racehorse."
Many of Anderson's largest paydays have come in Books 2 and 3, so look for a session six splash from the Canadian consignment.
