The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale's opening session took off on Nov. 7, seeing nine horses bring over $1M to six distinct buyers. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase a 2.5% fractional interest in Breeders' Cup winner Flightline sold for $4.6M to agent Freddy Seitz for a non-disclosed client just before the main catalog kicked off.
The first day of the 11-day sale was topped by the exceptional champion dirt female mare Midnight Bisou, who captured the attention of Japan's Katsumi Yoshida, who saw out fierce bidding to be victorious at $5.5M for the five-time grade 1 winner of over $7.4M currently carrying a Tapit foal. She sold as Hip 235 with Hill' n' Dale at Xalapa, agent for owners Chuck Allen and Jeff Bloom.
Katsumi Yoshida made a total of three purchases Nov. 7 to be the session leading buyer by gross, spending $9.7M at an average price of $3,233,333 per horse.
"We are coming off a very successful Breeders' Cup. Our team put in a huge effort to turn this around from putting on the largest racing event in North America to switching into having the second largest horse sale in the world within a few hours," Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said. "I must commend everybody here because it is no short order, I can promise you. The fact that we were able to do something like the Flightline fractional interest was a mammoth effort. To watch the pavilion overfill today was something that gives you chills."
Keeneland reported 135 horses of the 184 through the ring Monday sold for gross receipts of $62,380,000, to post a 21.4% increase over 2021 gross. An increase in the average price of 10.6% was made at $462,074 and a median of $280,000, a 13.8% decrease over 2021. Forty-nine horses failed to meet their reserve, representing an RNA rate of 26.6%.
These figures exclude the fractional interest in Flightline.
In response to the decrease in median price, Tony Lacy said, "I think we see in certain areas some correction, which is not unexpected at some point. That's just a factor of the marketplace in a slightly adjusting market."
Comparably during the opening session of the 2021 sale, 123 head sold of the 166 to go under the hammer for gross receipts of $51,374,000. Suitable for an average price of $417,675 and a median of $325,000. The forty-three horses who failed to meet their reserve represent an RNA rate of 25.9%.
"I think the demand for quality goes back to everything; the gross and average were up. The medium was down a little bit, so that was something of note, but we saw that quality stock, like Shamrock Rose, who brought $2.5M right off the Breeders' Cup last time through the ring in 2019, when she came through today in foal to Curlin , she brought $3M. I think you see buoyancy. Midnight Bisou brought $5.5M; she sold for $5M the last time she went through the ring (in 2020)," Lacy said. "We are seeing a focus on the quality and broadness in the marketplace with the top 15 horses through the ring purchased by 11 distinct buyers; it's always good to see that. There was a good mix of domestic and international. As we look through the figures, it's great to see the increase in the number of horses sold over $2M and the number of seven-figure horses go up."
Hill' n' Dale Sales Agency sold 20 of their 24 horses on offer in the first session to be the leading consignor by gross after Day 1 with receipts of $11,505,000, at an average price of $575,250 per head.
"The blood was flowing through our veins today from the very get-go. I think everybody's excited about what happened over the weekend," commented Lacy. "We're getting that energy, focusing back on this side of the laneway, getting horses sold for our clients and facilitating for our buyers. We were very proud of how it worked out today."
The sale continues Nov. 8, with Book 2 selling Hips 240-616 beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET. As of Monday evening, 88 horses had been withdrawn from session two.
