Keeneland Catalogs 4,538 Yearlings for 2018 September Sale

By Amy Owens —-

Book 1 covers first four sessions of 13-session auction

LEXINGTON, KY (Aug. 1, 2018) – Keeneland announced today that 4,538 yearlings have been cataloged for the 75th annual Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the world’s most important sale of Thoroughbreds, to be held Sept. 10-23. The auction, which attracts major buyers from around the world, produces horses that compete at the highest level of racing led this year by Triple Crown winner Justify and four-time Grade 1 winner Monomoy Girl among alumni that have won a total of 132 graded or group stakes in North America and internationally.

September Sale catalogs will be available online at September.keeneland.com beginning Tuesday, Aug. 7. Print catalogs will be mailed Thursday, Aug. 16.

“The unparalleled strengths of the September Sale are the quantity of outstanding yearlings at all price levels and the deepest buying bench globally in the industry,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said. “This year was an historic one for the September Sale with graduate Justify becoming racing’s newest Triple Crown winner. This is another milestone in a sale with a record of consistently producing world-class athletes.”

Among the exciting highlights of the 2018 September Sale catalog are the first yearlings by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

2018 September Sale Format

As announced in July, Keeneland adjusted the format of Week 1 of the 2018 sale, with Book 1 encompassing the auction’s first four days versus the single-session Book 1 held last year. A total of 989 yearlings are cataloged in Book 1, which covers sessions on Sept. 10-13.

The format for the September Sale, which features 13 sessions, one more than last year, is as follows:

Week 1 (Book 1) – Monday-Thursday, Sept. 10-13. Sessions begin at 11 a.m. ET daily.

Friday, Sept. 14 – The traditional “dark day” when no sale will be conducted.

Weekend (Book 2) – Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 15-16. Sessions begin at 10 a.m.

Week 2 (Books 3-6) – Monday–Sunday, Sept. 17-23. Sessions begin at 10 a.m.

Keeneland will present live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the entire September Sale at Keeneland.com.

TVG will offer live coverage of Book 1 featuring on-site reporting from Scott Hazelton.

September Sale Graduates Excel in 2018

The September Sale annually offers the cream of the North American Thoroughbred yearling crop, evidenced by the exceptional racehorses that have passed through its sales ring. Joining the aforementioned Justify and Monomoy Girl, winner of the Grade 1 Central Bank Ashland, Kentucky Oaks, Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks, is a roster of 2018 Grade 1-winning sale graduates: champion Abel Tasman (Ogden Phipps), Accelerate (Gold Cup at Santa Anita and Santa Anita Handicap Presented by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino), Bee Jersey (Runhappy Metropolitan), Bowies Hero (Frank E. Kilroe Mile), City of Light (Triple Bend), Fault (Santa Margarita), Finley’sluckycharm (Madison), champion Good Magic (betfair.com Haskell Invitational), Magnum Moon (Arkansas Derby), Midnight Bisou (Santa Anita Oaks), Pavel (Stephen Foster) and champion Unique Bella (Beholder Mile and Clement L Hirsch).

September Sale graduates also have shone internationally this year, led by such 2018 group winners as Hawkbill (Dubai Sheema Classic-G1 and Dubai City of Gold Sponsored by Emirates Skycargo-G2), Mendelssohn (UAE Derby Sponsored by Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group-G2) and Shamaal Nibras (Jebel Ali Mile Sponsored by Shadwell Farm-G3) in Dubai, Mozu Ascot (Yasuda Kinen-G1) in Japan, Roaring Lion (Coral-Eclipse-G1 and Betfred Dante-G2), Thundering Blue (Sky Bet York-G2) and Order of St George (IRE) (Vintage Crop-G3) in England.

September Sale Seller Bonus Program

In support of Keeneland’s mission to reinvest in its customers and strengthen the Thoroughbred industry, Keeneland last year introduced the September Sale Bonus Program that offers cash rewards to sellers (owners at the time of sale) of horses sold at the auction that win Grade or Group 1, 2 or 3 stakes as a 2- or 3-year-old. Rewards are allocated as follows: $10,000 for a Grade/Group 1 stakes win; $7,500 for a Grade/Group 2 win; and $5,000 for a Grade/Group 3 victory, up to a maximum of $10,000 per horse over the two-year period.

To date, Keeneland has paid a total of $15,000 in rewards thanks to Grade 3 victories by these graduates of the 2017 September Sale:

· So Perfect, winner of the July 1 Grangecon Stud (Balanchine) (G3) at The Curragh in Ireland. Machmer Hall, seller of So Perfect, received $5,000.

· Aster Pegasus, winner of the July 21 Hakodate Nisai (G3) at Hakodate in Japan. Stonestreet Farm, seller of Aster Pegasus, received $5,000.

· Sombeyay, winner of the July 21 Sanford (G3) at Saratoga. Taylor Made Sales Agency, seller of Sombeyay, received $5,000.

Yearlings by Leading Sires in 2018 Catalog

The 2018 September Sale has cataloged 2,372 colts and 2,166 fillies.

These yearlings are progeny of 218 of the world’s leading sires, including Bernardini, Blame, Candy Ride (ARG), City Zip, Curlin, Distorted Humor, Empire Maker, Flatter, Frankel, Galileo (IRE), Ghostzapper, Giant’s Causeway, Hard Spun, Into Mischief, Kitten’s Joy, Lemon Drop Kid, Malibu Moon, Medaglia d’Oro, Midnight Lute, More Than Ready, Pioneerof the Nile, Quality Road, Speightstown, Street Sense, Tapit, Tiznow, Uncle Mo, Union Rags and War Front.

Prominent freshman stallions with yearlings in the catalog include the aforementioned American Pharoah, along with Bayern, Commissioner, Competitive Edge, Constitution, Daredevil, Gleneagles (IRE), Honor Code, Karakontie (JPN), Lea, Liam’s Map, Palace Malice, Summer Front, Tapiture, Tonalist and Wicked Strong.

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For more than 80 years, the Keeneland Association has devoted itself to the health and vibrancy of the Thoroughbred industry. As the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction company, Keeneland conducts four sales a year, and its sales graduates dominate racing across the globe at every level. In April and October, Keeneland offers some of the highest caliber and richest Thoroughbred racing in the world. In 2015, Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Uniquely structured, Keeneland is a private, for-profit corporation that returns its earnings to the industry and the community in the form of higher purses, and it has donated millions of dollars in charitable contributions for education, research and health and human services throughout Central Kentucky. To learn more about Keeneland, visit Keeneland.com.