NEWS
Maria’s Mon colt tops third session at Keeneland
Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:16 PM
MARIA'S MON COLT
Photo by Z
by Pete Denk
A Maria's Mon yearling colt provided a spark to an otherwise quiet third session of the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale in Lexington on Wednesday.
Economic indicators continue to lag far behind the 2008 sale. Cumulative total receipts are down 54.6% from $56,186,500 through three days last year to $25,353,400 this year.
Keeneland reported 230 horses as sold on Wednesday for $4,443,800, a 42.8% decline compared with the corresponding session last year. Wednesday’s average price of $19,321 was down 42.1%, and median was down 50% from $20,000 to $10,000. The buy-back rate was 22.6%, a slight improvement from 22.8% a year ago.
Florida pinhooker Jimmy Gladwell went to $390,000 for a yearling colt by Maria’s Mon out of La Cucina (Ire), by Last Tycoon (Ire). He is the most expensive yearling to sell at Keeneland January so far this year.
|
Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale
Day 3 summary |
|
2009 |
|
2008 |
| No. offered |
297 |
(-1.7%) |
302 |
| No. sold |
230 |
(-1.3%) |
233 |
| Pct. not sold |
22.6% |
|
22.8% |
| Gross |
$4,443,800 |
(-42.8%) |
$7,772,400 |
| Average |
$19,321 |
(-42.1%) |
$33,358 |
| Median |
$10,000 |
(-50.0%) |
$20,000 |
| For hip-by-hip results, click here. | | |
“He had a lot of stretch and scope to him, and he was real correct,” Gladwell said. “His mother is throwing some really high quality runners, and we think he was the type of horse buyers will be looking for at the top of the market.”
Sixteen-year-old La Cucina has produced Grade 2 winner and sire Sir Cherokee and 2008 Falls City Handicap (G2) winner Miss Isella. La Cucina, in foal to Empire Maker, sold for $150,000 at Keeneland on Monday.
Gladwell operates Kindergarten Farm in Williston, Florida, but he signed the ticket under Ferguson Valley Ranch, a hunt camp his family owns in Illinois. Gladwell said the colt will go to Kindergarten and will be pointed for a yearling sale later this year.
“We thought he had a lot of quality. The top end of the market is what probably will hold up, and if he pans out, that’s where he’ll be at,” Gladwell said. “Our kids will be involved in the horse, and I just hope we have some luck.”
The Maria’s Mon colt was consigned by Meg Levy’s Bluewater Sales, agent for the Domino Stud of Lexington dispersal.
“I was very pleased with the price,” Levy said. “We could tell he was going to sell well by who was on him. You never know in that range once you get above $150,000. But he had everything a pinhooker or a racing buyer would be looking for: a great physical and a great catalog update.”
Levy was fairly pleased with how the dispersal has gone but sad to see some of the mares sell.
“In a way, it’s sad because we’ve gotten to know the mares. We’ve been selling out of them for the last five or six years,” Levy said. “Considering the market conditions, I think it’s gone well.”
Through three days of the Keeneland January sale, the average price of $39,775 is down 52.8% from $84,238 a year ago. Median is down 50% to $20,000. The cumulative buy-back rate of 24% is a slight improvement from 25.6% through three days last year.
The sale runs through Saturday.
Pete Denk is sales editor for Thoroughbred Times
