Bill's Columns

Keeneland’s April sale returned on April 8 as a combined 2-year-old plus Horses of Racing Age sale, which grossed $6,083,500, an average of $90,799 for 67 head sold, which was 39.6% of the 169 total catalogued. Two-thirds of those sold (45) were horses of racing age, which averaged $59,911 with a $500,000 topper (the 3-year-old filly Sweet Diane), while just 22 two-year-olds sold; they averaged $153,977, including a $1.3-million full sister to Bourbon War, by Tapit out of G1 winner My Conquestadory. Even without her the other 21 juveniles averaged $99,404. So Keeneland seemed satisfied that a $6-million day was worth the effort, and it certainly showed again that horses of racing age fit in well with auctions of 2-year-olds, especially if there aren’t so many 2-year-olds.

There are more 2-year-olds catalogued (1,221) to the upcoming four-day OBS April sale, scheduled for April 23-26, than have been catalogued in all the North American 2-year-old sales up until now. Thus far there have been 852 two-year-olds catalogued, of which 469 have sold (55.0%), for an average of $168,385. This is 15% more catalogued than at the corresponding time last year (739); 21% more sold (388 last year); a 17% higher gross ($67,370,000), but a 3% lower average ($173,364 last year). In fact this year’s figures are more in line with 2017, when at this point 839 two-year-olds had been catalogued, of which 444 had sold (52.9%) for $83,615,900, and a 12% higher average (in 2017) of $188,324. At OBS April last year, 698 two-year-olds sold of 1,222 catalogued (57.1%), grossing $68,735,500, an average of $98,474.

However the most important bloodstock sale in the world last week was William Inglis’s Easter Yearling Sale, which took place April 9-10 at Inglis’s new Riverside Sale Complex at Warwick Farm in the Sydney suburbs. The sale was a touch stronger than last year’s edition: from the same number catalogued (450), 346 were listed as sold (a splendid 76.9% of the catalogue), which was 3% more than the 337 which sold in Book 1 last year (there was a small Book 2 last year, which has been dispensed with). The sale gross was A$122,795,500, a 5% gain over 2018’s Book 1 total of A$116,847,500, and the average this year was A$354,900, up 2% over last year’s Book 1 average of A$346,728. Two years ago there were 10% fewer catalogued (404) and sold (308) in Book 1, which grossed A$109,320,000 and averaged A$354,935.

So the Easter Sale has held steady to grown slightly, which is good news, as even though the two most important sales, Magic Millions in January and Sydney Easter, have been up in single-digits, most of the other sales have been down at least some, and a few by nearly 20%. Though there are a few minor yearling sales still to come, the vast majority of the Australasian yearling market has now come under hammer. To this point, from the count of Brianne Stanley from our organization (The Bill Oppenheim Group), with help from Andrew Reichard and his team at Bluebloods, a total of 5,329 yearlings have been catalogued at Australasian yearling sales, an increase of 2% from the 5,203 catalogued in the same sales last year. A total of 3,906 yearlings have been sold, which is 73.3% of those catalogued, but a drop of 3% from corresponding 2018 sales, when 4,045 yearlings (77.7% of those catalogued) had sold; in other words, 126 more yearlings were catalogued, but 139 fewer yearlings sold. The combined gross is down 4%, or about A$19.3-million, from A$521,517,750 in 2018 to A$502,195,500 this year. The overall average is almost dead level: A$128,545 this year, a three-tenths of 1% decline from the A$128,929 average to this point in 2018.

A total of 18 sires have averaged over A$150,000, of which four averaged over A$400,000: Redoute’s Choice, who died in March, topped the table with 33 yearlings averaging A$487,504, while Snitzel (67/A$404,307), I Am Invincible (107/A$403,318), and Fastnet Rock (51/A$400,159) finished in a virtual three-way tie for second. Those three top living sires, representing Arrowfield, Yarraman Park, and Coolmore respectively, among them have had 225 yearlings sell in 2019, for an aggregate of US$64,762,700, and an average of US$287,834. That’s a very strong showing by any international standard.

Arrowfield’s Not A Single Doubt, like Snitzel a son of Redoute’s Choice, ranks fifth by 2019 yearling average (57/$311,742), followed by Darley’s Exceed And Excel (38/A$299,079), and New Zealand’s top sire, Savabeel (54/A$293,202). Darley’s Medaglia D’Oro (no longer shuttles) had 28 yearlings average A$288,867 to rank eighth by average, with Widden’s Zoustar, the top second-crop sire, averaging A$276,084 from 81 yearlings sold. Darley’s venerable Lonhro (12/A$260,000) rounds out the top ten. The top freshman sire on average, Brazen Beau (46/A$241,989), is another Darley inmate, followed by Widden’s Sebring (78/A$234,481); Victoria’s Woodside Park’s Written Tycoon (108, A$226,866), and Coolmore’s Pierro (50/A$207,746), the leading third-crop sire. Yarraman Park’s Hinchinbrook (54/A$196,215), Coolmore’s leading first-crop sire, Vancouver (71/A$187,117), Darley’s former shuttler, Teofilo (15/A$176,490), and Vinery’s More Than Ready (55/A$159,853), who has just stood his last Australian season, complete the list of Australasian sires to have averaged over A$150,000 so far this sales season. Darley stands or stood five of the 18 sires, though Medaglia D’Oro and Teofilo no longer shuttle south.