Owners and agents looking for racing stock continue to be major buyers of weanlings during the ongoing Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, with two $550,000 purchases that topped the Nov. 5 session weanling offerings going to end users.
Pinhooker and bloodstock agent Randy Hartley, with Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, bought the first of the two, a filly by first-crop weanling sire Cody's Wish (Hip 257) that he acquired for owner/breeder Tom Durant to race.
"Tom wants some nice fillies this year with some pedigree that when they get done, he can do something with them that way," Hartley said. "We're excited. I'm sure he's excited because we've been getting outrun."
Hartley said he sees something special in all the Cody's Wish weanlings.
"They just have substance to them," he said. "They've got the hips. They got the lines. You can just tell they're born with it. He was such a special racehorse. I bought his halter for $5,000, so surely I can buy a filly."
Cody's Wish, by Curlin , was 2023 Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male after winning a second consecutive running of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and two other grade 1 stakes. Racing from 3 to 5, he won seven graded stakes (five of them grade 1) and retired with $3,106,030 in earnings. He will stand at Darley near Lexington next year for $60,000.
Lane's End consigned Hip 257 as agent for Natalma Bloodstock, which bred the filly after it bought her dam, Union Maiden, for $250,000 during the 2021 Keeneland November sale. Union Maiden is a half sister to grade 1-placed winner Borracho (Uncle Mo), who was third in the 2019 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1).
Hartley said the weanling market is every bit as strong as it was for yearlings earlier in the year.
"There are less babies here because the yearling market was so good. I feel like a lot of people are hanging on to stuff," he said. "You pay a lot here and if you come back to sell well then there's a lot of horses that we didn't see that you're going to be up against."
Hip 257 is the most expensive Cody's Wish weanling sold so far at the Keeneland November sale. The sire has been represented by seven weanlings averaging $256,429 during the first two sessions.
Glen Hill Farm's Craig Bernick bought the second $550,000 weanling, a colt (Hip 505) by Juddmonte Farms' Elite Power , who is also a first-crop weanling sire by Curlin.
Bernick said he bought the colt for his mother, Carol Bernick, who is acquiring several colts with the aim of competing in high-profile races.
"Last year, we bought five colts and I just bought what I wanted. Every horse I bid on, I bought. Well, I thought we would do that again this year," he said with a wry laugh. "We looked in September at 24 (yearlings) and could not get near a horse.
"Yesterday, I guess everyone had the same idea, so we could not get near any of the horses yesterday. We liked four horses today and were fortunate to get them and excited about all four," he said.
Grovendale Sales consigned Hip 505, who is out of the unplaced Pioneerof the Nile mare Mrs. Postman. The dam is out of grade 1-winning millionaire Miss Shop, which makes her a half sister to multiple grade 3 winner Tin Type Gal (Tapit ). The immediate family also produced 2024 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Seize the Grey and grade 1 winner Power Broker.
William Humphries and Altair Farms bred Hip 505 in Kentucky. They bought Mrs. Postman for $50,000 during the 2022 Keeneland November sale. The mare was bred and raced by Len Riggio's MyMeadowview Farm.
Bernick said he liked everything about Hip 505, who also is his sire's highest-priced weanling so far.
"He is a really racy colt out of a great family. The mare didn't run but Pioneerof the Nile is a really good stallion with a high percentage of grade 1 winners … and (the mare) goes back to a really good dirt family. The more we looked at him, the more we liked that horse. He was a little more than we were hoping to pay but maybe not so much more than we expected considering what has happened."
Bernick said he has been fortunate with the Curlin sire line, going back to being a partner in Curlin when he was relocated to Hill 'n' Dale Farms and then later in his champion son Good Magic .
"I thought the Cody's Wishes and Elite Powers were nice-looking horses," he said. "They were both obviously great racehorses, very sound and very fast. I do think they both have great chances to be stallions."
Elite Power won consecutive runnings of the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) in 2022-23 and was subsequently named champion male sprinter each of those years. He won six career graded stakes, of which three were grade 1s. He retired with $3,775,711 in earnings. Elite Power will stand at Juddmonte next year for $50,000. He has been represented by seven weanlings averaging $192,857 so far at the November sale.
Bernick said he expects the weanling market to continue to be strong.
"Most of the people I've talked to practically doubled their money from last year's foals to this year's yearlings. They are obviously back, spending and trying to buy higher quality," he said. "A lot of people were not able to buy yearlings in September and so they said let's buy foals. So there are end users like us buying foals. At the moment, it is a very, very strong market. There is not a ton of real opportunity for value unless the mare is exposed with four or five foals and you are willing to take a shot. Practically everywhere in the market is very strong."
Bernick also bought Hip 268, a Munnings colt for $450,000; Hip 420, a Yaupon colt for $180,000; and Hip 474, a Street Sense colt for $375,000.
