Bill's Columns

From our last report (Blood-Horse Daily, November 10), covering Fasig-Tipton November and Keeneland November Books 1 and 2, the needle did not move appreciably, certainly on the lists of leading sires by weanling and covering sire average, through the end of Keeneland, November 17. The entire Keeneland sale, in which for the first time private sales were included, was up by literally 1% in gross, from $197,851,300 last year to $200,139,400, while the average increased by $213, or three-tenths of one percent, from $74,830 to $75,043. I think we can call that close to dead even.

Fasig-Tipton’s one-day gross fell from $89,473,000 to $68,011,000, but it could hardly be called a precipitous drop considering the day’s average was still $531,336; those values are simply a reflection of how many seven-figure fillies and mares were consigned and made the sale. In 2017, for example, the gross was $74,200,000. Last year’s$89-million gross was way off the graph, and doesn’t alter the conviction that the market is essentially stable. The entire Kentucky November market does show a 7% drop in both gross and average, but I maintain that drop is nominal. In 2018, the two sales combined had 2,784 sell for $287,324,300, an average of $103,206; in 2019 the totals were 2,795 sold for a gross of $268,150,400, and an average of $95,939. For further details on the sales for the last five years, see Brianne Stanley’s Weekly Sales Tickers.

Curlin was the leading sire by weanling average with four or more sold (4/$493,750), while Quaility Road had six sell for an average of $404,167. Gun Runner (8/$344,375) and Arrogate (4/$311,250) were the leading first-crop weanling sires. Quality Road (7/$1,175,000) was the leading covering sire of in-foal mares, followed by Medaglia D’Oro (8/$977,500), Curlin (7/$894,286), wide-marging leading first-year covering sire Justify (21/$789,048), and War Front (8/$738,125).

Meanwhile, the main European foal market opened up with big gains in Goffs November Foal Sale, Part 1, held November 18-20. The progression of the sale is the opposite of the U.S., in that the best sell last. The first two days saw the averages virtually even with last year, €18,178 on Monday and €33,613 on Tuesday, though there was a 6% improvement in the clearance rate from the catalogue, from 59% on the first two days last year, to 65% this year. But then the market made a big 32% jump in average on Wednesday, the best day, from an average of €75,534 last year, to €98,248 this year, highlighted by the €1.2-million full brother to Ghaiyyath, by Dubawi. Overall the Part 1 section of the foal sale grossed over €5-million, or 26%, more than last year, while the overall average was up 16% to €49,051. Even the median improved by 7%, from €28,000 to €30,000, for 525 foals sold.

Many sires will have quite a few more weanlings catalogued at Tattersalls December Foal Sale, which is actually held in November, this week, November 27-30. Kingman, for example, had two sell at Goffs for an average of €290,000; he has six more catalogued at Tattersalls. His sire, Invincible Spirit, had three average €210,000 at Goffs, and has another three catalogued at Tattersalls.

Of the sires which had a significant number sell at Goffs, Dark Angel was the hero, with seven foals from his 2019 crop, sired at an €85,000 fee, average €222,143. Sea The Stars had 10 average €157,800; Lope De Vega, eight averaged €128,750; while No Nay Never, like Kingman a top second-crop sire, had seven foals average €105,143, off a 2018 stud fee of €25,000. Among sires with their first crop of weanlings selling, Coolmore’s Churchill had three average €133,300, and Caravaggio had 10 average €90,700, a good start for both, who have 11 and 22 catalogued at Tattersalls. Splitting them by average at Goffs was England’s Cheveley Park’s Ulysses, who had four sell at Goffs, for an average of €93,750.