Sales Question
 

When the Keeneland Sales section came out in the DRF a few weeks ago I kept it so that I could shop for yearlings I'll buy right after hell freezes over.

I had a few circled, including a full sister to Any Given Saturday who was taken out of the sale. However, I also took a look at hip #470, a colt by Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus out of the Dehere mare Take Charge Lady. TCL was a multiple graded stakes winner and obviously by far and away the best offspring of Dehere.

What blew my mind was that this guy was purchased for only $85,000. Take Charge Lady's first foal was purchased last year for $3.2 million, but that probably had something to do with the sire being Seeking the Gold.

I'm wondering what would make such a seemingly well-bred colt go for so cheap? Was he crooked or something? I am completely clueless as far as the yearling sales go, so anyone who can offer any input would be appreciated.

Just as a side note, there were a few other sharp looking yearlings in the catalog, including a half-sister to Ashado and Sunriver who was purchased by Todd Pletcher on behalf of Aaron and Marie Jones for $600,000. There was also a colt in the sale that is a full brother to the $8.2 million purchase from a year ago by Godolphin. He is by Storm Cat out of the Grade I winning mare Awesome Humor.

OK, just my sales musings.

NT

It is possible the vet work wasn't ideal and with so many horses (and so many nicely bred horses) in the sale many of your top buyers can be picky.

The numbers on Fupeg seem to be cooling off as well.

I also circled this colt as one I'd dream to have at a decent to low price. I was floored when i saw they'd even let this one at such a low price. I'd keep it before I let it get out there for $85,000.

The horse probably vetted-out poorly. Plus, with so many horses in such a sale, many fall through the cracks.

It may have been a buyback. If it wan't, then clearly the seller knew he had "nothing" and was willing to cut his loses on this horse and let him go for a pittance. There's an old saying in the sales world: Better to regret selling than to regret not selling.

There is a TON of veterinary work done on these horses and the horses radiographs etc are available on file to buyers. Today's buyers are looking for a "perfect" horse in terms of vet records. It's possible that the FuPeg/TCL baby had weak films or didn't scope well. If he was selling in the first 2 books he couldn't have been too bad to look at. Maybe he squeaked into the premier part of the sale on breeding.

I read that a lot of the sale horses have had their legs corrected by minor surgery. I don't recall the percentage but it was quite high. The article went on to say that the buyers actually cared little about the legs being corrected, as long as they are correct. But the x-rays and other testing carry some weight.

Hip Number: 470
Buyer Name: Mark Johnston
Horse: DB/BR, C Fusaichi Pegasus-Take Charge Lady
Sales Price: $85,000


Well he was sold, not BB. Hmm must have been a problem with the vet. But sometimes the ones w/ small problems and not 100% correct make very nice runners. Its a way to get one at a decent price. I cant wait to see what Hip 821 and Hip 915 bring.

Ironically, one of the first stories in the yearling sale section was about Jambalaya and how he had a vet report one page long. He also had the look of a gawky runner who was a long way from being fully developed. The Phillipses bought him from Mark Casse for $2,500 and here he is a two-time Grade I winner and millionaire.

NT

Exactly. Those kind of turnarounds are rare but they do happen. And if someone was willing to take the time and let a colt develop and grow out of the gawky stage, and get over small problems, that is how you can get one cheaper than normal.