2020 Keeneland September Sale

[HB1994]

Quality Road x Akron Moon <<this one has some crazy birthmark on his leftside and honestly, when I watched his walk, looks like it impacts his stride? idk, someone with a better eye would need to look

It looks more like a scar than a birthmark.

https://vimeo.com/453141142

That is a wicked scar. Wonder how he got it?

[Flanders]

Quality Road x Akron Moon <<this one has some crazy birthmark on his leftside and honestly, when I watched his walk, looks like it impacts his stride? idk, someone with a better eye would need to look

It looks more like a scar than a birthmark.

https://vimeo.com/453141142

That is a wicked scar. Wonder how he got it?

I would guess a fence was involved and he impaled himself badly.

[Squeaky]

Maybe I am old- fashioned but I disagree with the unprofessional short shorts worn by the young females handlers. I don’t remember this in the past at a fancy sale like this. I always recall pressed tan chinos and a button down shirt was the uniform. If you need to wear shorts then should be just above the knee and more discreet. Or is this the new strategy- show lots of leg for the mostly male bidders ( yuck). I know others will disagree.

[Flanders]

Maybe I am old- fashioned but I disagree with the unprofessional short shorts worn by the young females handlers. I don’t remember this in the past at a fancy sale like this. I always recall pressed tan chinos and a button down shirt was the uniform. If you need to wear shorts then should be just above the knee and more discreet. Or is this the new strategy- show lots of leg for the mostly male bidders ( yuck). I know others will disagree.

Keeneland isn't employing the handlers this year because of covid. They are the consignors employees.

[KatieK101]

Just checking some results and see that Timber Town (the group that consigned for Mandy Pope) brought 8 horses that have come up so far... sold 1 (War Front / Aloof 230k). 2 RNA'd (125k and 175k) and the other 5 were OUT. Why bother putting Mandy's on the truck just to take them home?

Outs include:
Tapit x Groupie Doll
Tapit x Havre de Grace
Tapit x Ill Take Charge
Arrogate x Songbird
Quality Road x Akron Moon

I had the exact same thought.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Maybe Timber Town/Pope thought there would be more interest in them, but when not enough potential, deep-pocketed buyers came by to examine the youngsters, they got sent home instead?

[Flanders]

I doubt they shipped the outs to the sale since most all/were announced outs before it started.

[Northport]

Just checking some results and see that Timber Town (the group that consigned for Mandy Pope) brought 8 horses that have come up so far... sold 1 (War Front / Aloof 230k). 2 RNA'd (125k and 175k) and the other 5 were OUT. Why bother putting Mandy's on the truck just to take them home?

Outs include:
Tapit x Groupie Doll
Tapit x Havre de Grace
Tapit x Ill Take Charge
Arrogate x Songbird
Quality Road x Akron Moon

I had the exact same thought.

I know it's harsh but honestly I kind of feel like at this point she's kind of just wasting everyone, including the horse's, time. Yearlings bound for sales have a completely different exercise, feed, and turnout regime than those being kept to race, and someone has to work with those yearlings to get them in prepped and used to being showed. Then you have people who earmark the horses as ones of potential interest and come to see them (though at this point I'm sure bloodstock agents are onto her schtick)... it's kind of like reverse tire kicking.

[Mylute]

Have we established tbe logic behind this?

[Flanders]

Not really any logic but this is how I see it. I like that Mandy buys the big mares but on the other hand, I'm not sure I do. She breeds the mares to the same stallions, to produce sales yearlings, she treats them like sales yearlings, then she pulls them before the sale and decides to keep them. Then she sends them to obscure trainers and they run like crap. I can't imagine what she has spent on horses but she hasn't had any level of success. You would thinking spending $50 million on a handful of mares and sending them to elite level stallions would produce something more than well nothing. Has she bred a Stakes Winner? I know her only Graded Stakes winner was Groupie Doll when she ran one time after being purchased in November.

[Katewerk]

Have we established tbe logic behind this?

I was going to write something about a friend who collected hardcover books until the second floor of her home began buckling, but upon checking further that's not even the oddest part... that's the fifth Groupie Doll foal by Tapit???

[Mylute]

Have we established tbe logic behind this?

I was going to write something about a friend who collected hardcover books until the second floor of her home began buckling, but upon checking further that's not even the oddest part... that's the fifth Groupie Doll foal by Tapit???

Pope LOVES Tapit and she sends basically everything she owns to him year after year, no matter what has resulted from the cross. This leads to a number of fans being disappointed when they find out Pope won the bidding on a top mare because she'll likely be wasted by going to the same sire. I remember seeing a lot of comments like this when she bought Songbird, but she actually bred her to Arrogate her first breeding but I think that was for publicity if nothing else (but then she didn't sell the filly).

Like you said, GD has been bred to Tapit 5 times. What has resulted from this? Nothing yet but that won't stop Pope apparently.

That being said I *think* she has actually branched out from Tapit for 2020.

[Katewerk]

Pope LOVES Tapit and she sends basically everything she owns to him year after year, no matter what has resulted from the cross. This leads to a number of fans being disappointed when they find out Pope won the bidding on a top mare because she'll likely be wasted by going to the same sire. I remember seeing a lot of comments like this when she bought Songbird, but she actually bred her to Arrogate her first breeding but I think that was for publicity if nothing else (but then she didn't sell the filly).

Like you said, GD has been bred to Tapit 5 times. What has resulted from this? Nothing yet but that won't stop Pope apparently.

That being said I *think* she has actually branched out from Tapit for 2020.

Groupie Doll is one of my all time favourites, and watching so much potential thrown out the window is just painful.

[KatieK101]

Not really any logic but this is how I see it. I like that Mandy buys the big mares but on the other hand, I'm not sure I do. She breeds the mares to the same stallions, to produce sales yearlings, she treats them like sales yearlings, then she pulls them before the sale and decides to keep them. Then she sends them to obscure trainers and they run like crap. I can't imagine what she has spent on horses but she hasn't had any level of success. You would thinking spending $50 million on a handful of mares and sending them to elite level stallions would produce something more than well nothing. Has she bred a Stakes Winner? I know her only Graded Stakes winner was Groupie Doll when she ran one time after being purchased in November.

I used to like that she bought the big mares, but now I only appreciate that they stay state-side and Timber Town has an active social media following. That’s it.

I remember recently reading an article that stated her advisors are strongly pushing her to breed Havre de Grace to Galileo, but she refuses because she wants to see Grace in her backyard. At this point, I don’t think she’s really looking for a return on her investments, because they’re pets or collectors items to her.

I would much prefer Jane Lyon or Barbara Banke buy the top mares. They’ll be well loved and shown off, with the added bonus of being sensibly bred rather than just sent to a “one size fits all” stallion.

[Flanders]

Pope LOVES Tapit and she sends basically everything she owns to him year after year, no matter what has resulted from the cross. This leads to a number of fans being disappointed when they find out Pope won the bidding on a top mare because she'll likely be wasted by going to the same sire. I remember seeing a lot of comments like this when she bought Songbird, but she actually bred her to Arrogate her first breeding but I think that was for publicity if nothing else (but then she didn't sell the filly).

Like you said, GD has been bred to Tapit 5 times. What has resulted from this? Nothing yet but that won't stop Pope apparently.

That being said I *think* she has actually branched out from Tapit for 2020.

Groupie Doll is one of my all time favourites, and watching so much potential thrown out the window is just painful.

At least, she has a 2020 Justify colt and was bred to Into Mischief for 2021.

[CorridorZ75]

Have we established tbe logic behind this?

I was going to write something about a friend who collected hardcover books until the second floor of her home began buckling, but upon checking further that's not even the oddest part... that's the fifth Groupie Doll foal by Tapit???

Pope LOVES Tapit and she sends basically everything she owns to him year after year, no matter what has resulted from the cross. This leads to a number of fans being disappointed when they find out Pope won the bidding on a top mare because she'll likely be wasted by going to the same sire. I remember seeing a lot of comments like this when she bought Songbird, but she actually bred her to Arrogate her first breeding but I think that was for publicity if nothing else (but then she didn't sell the filly).

Like you said, GD has been bred to Tapit 5 times. What has resulted from this? Nothing yet but that won't stop Pope apparently.

That being said I *think* she has actually branched out from Tapit for 2020.

Pretty sure Gainesway has a policy of no maiden mares to Tapit which is why she had to find another stallion.

[Slewfan2]

Pharoah still holds appeal because he has many SW and GSWs across several countries, on dirt and turf. He has also had an upswing in SHs which is a good sign. I would certainle be more interested in buying produce of a stallion who has gotten a recent surge of SHs.

How many top dirt runners has Pharaoh really gotten? None in this country. To me, he’s good and yet extremely overrated at the same time. For all those spending millions of dollars on his yearlings, have they even come close to earning their purchase prices back? Several of his turf SW here are sprinters....that’s nice, but not moneymakers. Shrug, if I wanted a good turf horse, I could spend a lot less money on a non-Pharaoh yearling and still come away in good shape.

About the RNA’s and OUTS, I think it’s because people aren’t working or their businesses have been compromised, and just can’t afford to spend millions of dollars...Maybe breeders should have reduced their RNAs... I wonder if the “OUTS” can be explained by breeders not wanting to accept less than they think the yearlings should bring. It might benefit 2 year old sales next year?

[CorridorZ75]

The American Pharoah half-sis to Yaupon just sold for $1.2M.

It truly amazes me that the Kitten's Joys are treated like they have the turf plague, but people still spend millions on APs. At least KJ will get you a Grade 1 turf horse. I get that AP puts out a beautiful yearling, and fillies will have residual value for a little while coming from good producing female families, but it still just boggles the mind a bit.

???
American Pharoah has produced multiple graded stakes winners domestically and abroad both on turf and dirt, including G1s on turf. I think it's also fair to say that Coolmore intentionally sent turf mares to him in the hopes of producing a global sire.

Yes, but he has had incredible books, and his SWs have been in almost all pretty minor stakes. I also find it odd that the one country his dirt runners have excelled in is Japan, and his turf runners there haven't been as impressive. It is not that he isn't a good sire, I just think he is overrated at 6 figures all things being equal. I would be sending a mare to and buying yearlings from Speightstown or Uncle Mo before going to AP.

[Gemini]

Quality Road x Akron Moon <<this one has some crazy birthmark on his leftside and honestly, when I watched his walk, looks like it impacts his stride? idk, someone with a better eye would need to look

It looks more like a scar than a birthmark.

https://vimeo.com/453141142

That is a wicked scar. Wonder how he got it?

I also wonder why anyone would try to sell a yearling with such a scar in this day and age of hyper-perfectionism.

[Diver52]

^^^^^^

The legend is that Zenyatta's yearling price was depressed because she had a skin rash.