Maclean’s Music Colt Leads Way as Keeneland September Rolls On

[Wandering Eyes]

Gatewood Bell’s Cromwell Bloodstock agency has played at a variety of levels during the opening 10 days of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, filling orders for as low as $35,000 all the way up to a $950,000 purchase in Book 1. Bell remained busy during Thursday’s first of two Book 5 sessions in Lexington and signed the ticket at $300,000 on the session’s most expensive offering, the Eaton Sales-consigned hip 3147 (ThoroStride walking video).

“Frankly I thought he might have been one of the best physicals in the entire sale,” said Eaton Sales’s Reiley McDonald, who consigned the March foal and bred him in the name of his Athens Woods. “He way outsold his pedigree and we were very happy with that. He’s above average in size and I find that the really good horsemen start with the back shoulder set. He has the model profile and he was very deep through his girth. I hope he goes on and does great things for them.”

Athens Woods bought hip 3147’s unraced dam Woodford County (Indian Charlie) for $12,500 in foal to Morning Line at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. That produce, a filly, was retained on a bid of $29,000 when offered as a short yearling at Keeneland January in 2018, but improved by leaps and bounds over the next six months, ultimately fetching $205,000 from Ken McPeek at Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky July sale. Named Morning Gold, she has done her part this summer to enhance the colt’s page, posting an 80 Beyer in graduating in her second career start by 5 1/4 lengths over the Saratoga turf Aug. 11.

“She was a beautiful filly and Kenny McPeek saw the racehorse in her and bought her and she’s really, really good,” McDonald said.

The session’s top price easily surpassed that of the Book 4 finale Wednesday and was the joint-second highest-priced offering in Book 4. McDonald reported that the grounds were still teeming with activity Thursday.

“I thought today was pretty good–there are a lot of people here, but it did feel like the lower-end horses dropped off today considerably compared to [Wednesday],” he offered. “But if you looked at the number of people in the back ring today compared to three days ago, I think there were more people today.”

Through 10 sessions, Cromwell Bloodstock has acquired eight head for $2,324,000, an average of $290,500.

Hip 3233 was tops amongst the day’s fillies. Consigned by the Summerfield agency of Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck, the full-sister to MGSP Tip Tap Tapizar and half to SP Divine Music (Songandaprayer) was hammered down to Phil Hager’s Taproot Bloodstock for $130,000. The dark bay, whose female family includes Pin Oak stallion Alternate (Distorted Humor) and recent GI TVG Pacific Classic hero Higher Power (Medaglia d’Oro), was making her second appearance in the Keeneland sales pavilion, having been led out unsold on a bid of $47,000 as a foal at last year’s November sale.

Thursday’s activity saw 305 horses change hands for gross receipts of $8,827,600, good for an average of $28,943 and a median price of $20,000. The buyback rate was a very low 14.8%. With three days of trade still to follow, Keeneland is reporting sales on 2,177 horses for $352,001,300, on track to become the fifth highest-grossing September sale in history. The cumulative average is $161,691 while the median sits at $80,000. The overall RNA rate is 25.8%.

Bidding resumes Friday morning at 10 a.m. and continues through Sunday. For full results, visit www.keeneland.com.

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