Miss Yechance Set for Keeneland Sale before BC Tilt

Miss Yechance (IRE) began her preparations for Breeders' Cup week in blissful ignorance of the many factors at stake for her connections. Karl Burke's filly stepped out of quarantine for the first time Oct. 27 to go for a gentle lap of Keeneland's training track and is not expected to need anything more than minor fine-tuning ahead of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) Oct. 31. For Alessandro Marconi, the bloodstock agent who bought Miss Yechance on behalf of his Middle Eastern clients Al Leith Racing Club for 250,000 guineas (US$355,612) on Tattersalls Online some 16 months ago, there's much more to think about. Within the space of a few weeks, the daughter of Cotai Glory (GB) has gone from winning a valuable handicap at the York Ebor meeting to being a fully-fledged group 1 star when dominating the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp (G1) from the front. On the evening of Oct. 28, she will be one of just over a dozen select lots offered at Keeneland's Championship Sale and the team has had to digest news of her being drawn widest of all in stall 14 for the race itself. "She looks great, that's for sure," Marconi said from Keeneland. "She's a little pocket rocket; we were aiming for a very different gate, but hopefully we'll be able to get the best out of it anyway." Miss Yechance had gone unsold at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale and ended up winning a Redcar maiden for Jack Morland a month later. It was then that Marconi decided to strike. "I liked her at Doncaster and I'd kept track on her since the sale," he said. "She had one of the fastest times, but she was one of the smallest, which might have put some people off, and she still looks like a work in progress. "My guys were interested ahead of Ascot; they were trying to have a few runners and obviously when you have a limited budget the best option is going for the 2-year-olds. "Now they're getting more expensive in general, but you've usually got the Goffs London Sale and not much else, so the online sale gave me a chance to not Miss Ye Chance!" The filly finished the turf season with Morland and was then switched to Antonio Cintra and Julio Olascoaga in the UAE. "She kept improving in Dubai; she won and was also second to Six Speed, who became quite useful," Marconi continued. "Twelve months ago at Tattersalls, I bought a Dubawi from Juddmonte called Antrim for the same connections, who won in England for Karl about a month later and went to Dubai. So Karl was a natural choice if she came back to England. "We thought that her form from Dubai could be translated at some stage in black-type races in France or England, and Karl has been able to fulfill the mission." It has been an exceptional period for Italian-born Marconi, who bought Facteur Cheval (IRE) as a foal and will watch the globe-trotter turning out again in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), while his classic-winning €78,000 yearling find Metropolitan (FR) has finished his second season at Haras d'Etreham. "Hubert Guy, a senior of the industry and especially in the U.S., he's bought like 30 group or grade 1 winners and is always joking that I've got a long way to go to catch him up," he said. "I've been very lucky, but I told the owners that you have to make the most of the days like in Paris. We had a few bids for her after the Abbaye and I'm delighted with her condition from what I've seen so far. It's quite a special sale, it's more than a boutique sale and there are very few that are sold 100%, many of the horses are fractional sales, so we'll see how we go." The only three horses being offered outright in the sale are European representatives. Miss Yechance is being joined by Robson Aguiar's Ballinea Star (IRE), the Anglesey Stakes (G3) winner bound for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T), while Adrian Keatley is offering Hell of A Spin (IRE), who is a runner in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T). There is also the chance to purchase a 25% share in Francis Graffard's Extreme Choice (AUS) colt Primetime Emmy (AUS), who is heading for the Juvenile Turf Sprint. The sale, which includes shares in various other United States-trained runners as well as breeding rights to Life Is Good and Nyquist, will conclude with the sale of the venue where the auction is being held. Castleton Farm, a historic stud in the heart of the Bluegrass, is available for the small matter of $57,500,000. The auction begins at 6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.