STRONG growth in final figures, allied to a pair of millionaire lots, helped propel the Keeneland January Sale to a successful outcome. Reduced to four days, the sale saw demand fueled by a buying bench that brought purchasers from across the USA, Australia, Ireland, England, Japan, Korea, Russia, South America and Turkey.

“The international aspect of the January Sale was stronger than we normally see,” Keeneland’s director of sales operations Geoffrey Russell said. “The depth and breadth of foreign participation are unique to Keeneland. Our sales team travels year-round to educate horsemen about our auctions and nurture relationships with established buyers in markets around the world. Foreign buyers value American bloodlines.”

The first two days featured the better quality lots on offer.

MONDAY

THE sale got off to a solid start on Monday, with all of the key measures showing considerable improvement on last year. Leading the way was a racing and breeding prospect in the shape of the Tapit four-year-old Bellavais, winner of a pair of stakes races in 2017.

Out of a Grade 3 winning half-sister to Grade 1 Diana Handicap and Garden City Handicap winner Winter Memories, Bellavais is a granddaughter of another dual Grade 1 winner in Memories Of Silver. She was sold by Darby Dan Farm and cost purchaser Steve Young $485,000. Afterwards Young said: “She is from a family that you have to have a world of respect for,” before adding, “I thought she would be a good gamble to go ahead and run as a four-year-old.” Todd Pletcher will train her.

The best-selling yearling in the opening session was a colt from the first crop of the Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. This half-brother to Grade 2 winners Smooth Air ($1,117,000) and Overdriven was purchased by Robby Harris on behalf of Alex and JoAnn Lieblong for $400,000.

The five-year-old Street Cry mare Stradivarius won once as a three-year-old and was sold in foal to Medaglia D’Oro. She also possesses an attractive pedigree, being a half-sister to two winners at the highest level, the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes winner Eskendereya and Group 1 Middle Park Stakes winner Balmont. She cost John Stuart of Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services $375,000.

Shadai Farm representatives were busy and made two significant buys. They paid $350,000 for Grade 2 runner-up Majestic Quality, a four-year-old daughter of Quality Road. Her dam is a half-sister to Grade 1 CCA Oaks and Mother Goose Stakes winner Octave. Earlier their bid of $300,000 secured the Grade 2 winner Lady Fog Horn. Both horses were consigned by Barry Weisbord’s ELITE and will now head to Japan to be covered.

The stakes-placed Charm City Girl, a granddaughter of Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes winner and $1.8 million earner Tout Charmant, sold for $350,000 to Larkin Armstrong. The daughter of Pioneerof The Nile is carrying her second foal, by Union Rags.

The Uncle Mo five-year-old Motown Lady, who was placed in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes, was the best of the draft from Taylor Made Sales Agency on the opening day. The consignors sold 31 lots for almost $2.8 million. Motown Lady realised $340,000.

A stakes winner at two and three, the four-year-old Happy Mesa, a daughter of Sky Mesa, will now head to the breeding shed after her sale for $300,000.

TUESDAY

FIREWORKS were kept under wraps on Tuesday, but finally unleashed when the last lot entered the ring. Mrs McDougal won the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes and four other races, netting just shy of $500,000 in earnings having cost $450,000 as a yearling. When the hammer fell she had realised more than three times her racecourse earnings, selling for $1.6 million to Steve Young. This was Young’s second session topper of the week.

A daughter of Medaglia D’Oro and out of the multiple stakes winner Distorted Passion, Mrs McDougal drew plaudits from Young. He said: “She is a terrific filly who, early in her career, was arguably the best three-year-old filly on grass when she won at Saratoga.” He added: “I think she has unlimited potential as a broodmare.”

Pat Costello’s Paramount Sales consigned an American Pharoah half-brother to Caravaggio who had one buyer’s name written all over him. He was duly sold to MV Magnier, who was in Australia, and the price was a cool $1 million. “American Pharoah doesn’t need any explaining and Aidan O’Brien always believed Caravaggio to be the best sprinter he ever trained, so when our team considered this colt the best individual in the sale it was an easy decision for us to make,” Magnier said in a statement.

Eaton Sales sold five lots on Tuesday for $2,465,000 and three of them brought $300,000 or more. The day’s top lot was one, while the Macho Uno mare Banree was secured by Andre Lynch for $450,000. She is a graded stakes-placed half-sister to Grade 3 winner Gloryzapper. Eaton Sales’ yearling colt by War Front, out of a half-sister to the dam of triple Group 1 winning juvenile Air Force Blue, sold to Baccari Bloodstock for $390,000.

Spring Eclipse is the dam of the 2017 stakes winning two-year-old Bet She Wins and she is a half-sister, by Unbridled’s Song, to a pair of graded stakes winners. In foal to Gemologist, she cost Green Leaf Farm $425,000. Popp Bloodstock’s $300,000 bid for the Mineshaft yearling filly out of Grade 2 winner Summer Applause won the day.

The buyback rate on Tuesday was 26%, a massive improvement on Monday’s figure of 39%. The median at the second session was unchanged from a year ago, while there were double-digit increases in turnover and average.

WEDNESDAY

The pace, and quality, of the Keeneland January Horses Sale changed noticeably on Wednesday, the first of two days selling in Book 2. However a milestone was reached the same day when the turnover passed that achieved at last year’s five-day sale.

Springhouse Farm paid $145,000 for the session-topper, Runway Doll, a four-year-old daughter of Majestic Warrior c who was sold as a racing or broodmare prospect. Consigned by ELITE, the filly is a half-sister to stakes winner Song Warrior and from the family of Grade 2 winner Conquest Panthera.

A yearling colt by Violence brought Wednesday’s second-highest price of $130,000 from Summers Street Stable. The colt is out of the winning Arch mare Ms Arch Stanton and from the family of Grade 1 winners Healthy Addiction and My Sweet Addiction.

During Thursday’s final session, two horses sold for $80,000. Donato Lanni, agent for Baoma Corporation, bought Tabulation, an eight-year-old daughter of Giant’s Causeway in foal to Mineshaft. Consigned by Gainesway she is out of the Afleet mare The Administrator and is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Saint Marden, stakes winner Sweet Lips and Grade 1 Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro.

Mr Classical sold to Fergus Galvin, agent for Marc Detampel. Also for $80,000. Consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, the four-year-old Bernardini colt is to resume his racing career with trainer Brendan Walsh at Fair Grounds.