Following two years of posting large increases, the Keeneland September Yearling Sale ended on Sunday with a set of results that almost matched Keenlast year’s totals.

The final aggregate ended up just over half a million dollars less than last year, coming in at a bid or two less than $280 million. The median for 2,819 horses sold was unchanged from a year previously at $50,000, while the average was $99,312 and this was just about 3% less than a year before.

The buy-back rate was 22% this time compared to 20% in 2013. It was interesting that 13 lots made $1 million or more this year, a drop of five from the year before and this year’s top price of $2,200,000 (achieved twice) was also less than in 2013 when it was $2,500,000.

Nonetheless Keeneland’s director of sales Geoffrey Russell expressed pleasure at the sale’s performance. “It was a very successful sale. We have had two Septembers that have had very large increases, so now we’ve had a good, stable market, and a solid market is what the industry needs at this stage.”

The sale quality tapers off but even the final session produced a pair of six-figure lots and a sparkling pinhooking success when Martin Keogh’s MJK Bloodstock sold a son of Fort Prado for $120,000, having purchased him last November in the same ring for just $13,000. This colt and a son of Concord Point, who made $112,000, were some way ahead of the rest on the final day.

On Friday there were five lots into six-figure territory and they were led by a pair of colts that realised $160,000 each. They were sons of Haynesfield, represented by his first crop, and Afleet Alex. On Saturday it was the turn of Archarcharch to steal the headlines when a member of his first crop sold for $110,000.

With a very different means of consigning in the USA compared to most of the rest of the world, the leading vendors list looks very different. Lane’s End, owned by the Farish family, led the list of vendors having sold 211 lots for $28,581,500 and an average of $135,458. Taylor Made was in second place despite selling some 276 yearlings. Three other farms sold yearlings that brought more than $10 million and mention must be made of the 131 lots sold by Gainesway that averaged $137,015.

MAGNIER MILLIONS

Four buyers dominated the purchaser’s list. In spite of buying just 67 yearlings (or 0.02% of the total numbers sold), their spend of just short of $30 million accounted for 10.6% of the total sale aggregate. A standout number was the fact that M.V. Magnier’s acquisition of seven yearlings was for an average of more than $1 million, some way ahead of Shadwell’s average of $766,667 for nine lots.

However, the honour of leading this table by gross was John Ferguson and his 22 lots purchased cost his principal Sheikh Mohammed $7,880,000. This was just a short-head in front of Ben Glass’s spend of $7,805,000 for 29 lots as agent for Gary and Mary West.

The outstanding sire performances came from Tapit and War Front. Gainesway stallion Tapit reigned supreme with 36 lots selling for an average of more than $600,000, four times his current fee and nearly five times his fee in 2012.

Four of his offspring brought seven-figure amounts and he was responsible for one of the joint top-priced lots in Clearsky Farms’ son of Justwhistledixie that sold to Shadwell Estate. The total amount paid for his progeny was $21,725,000 and this was more than twice that of the next best sire by gross, Unbridled’s Song. This was the third successive year that he has topped the table by total sales.

War Front sired the other $2.2 million sale topper when a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Contested was knocked down to M.V. Magnier. He was sent to the sales by Claiborne Farm where the sire stands. War Front’s 16 lots sold averaged an impressive $491,375 and this was over three times his current fee and a spectacular return of eight times his 2012 fee of just $60,000. Moyglare Stud Farm paid $1.5 million for the sale’s top-priced filly, a daughter of Medaglia D’Oro who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Nereid and stakes winner Sea Queen.

The sale format always engenders some comment and this year was no different. The major change made in 2013 was to extend Book 1 to four days and this was repeated this year.

Geoffrey Russell believes that the format works. He pointed out that the sale has international appeal and, in addition to a huge domestic market, it attracted buyers from Europe, Dubai, Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Korea and Russia.