Let’sbefrankbaby makes US$700,000 at Keeneland
Last year’s South Australian Fillies Classic (Gr 3, 2500m) winner Let’sbefrankbaby (Frankel) proved popular on the first day of the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sale on Tuesday when she sold to Willingham Stud for US$700,000 (approx. AU$1,067,900).
Raced by prominent South African owners, Drakenstein Stud’s Gaynor Rupert, Larry Nestadt and Gary Barber, the Australian-bred daughter of Frankel (Galileo) won five times for Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock, a haul which was headed by her Group 3 win at Morphettville. Having pocketed $337,475 in career prize-money the mare was exported to America in September.
Under the same ownership, the mare was given one start in America under the tutelage of Mark Casse. But, after she finished a well-beaten tenth of 11 runners in Grade 3 company at Keeneland, the decision was taken to sell her at the breeding stock sale.
Let’sbefrankbaby is out of Irish Listed winner Baby Pink (Invincible Spirit), who was purchased by Blandford Bloodstock for 160,000gns at the 2018 Tattersalls July Sale and shipped to Australia after being covered by Juddmonte’s champion stallion Frankel (Galileo) on southern hemisphere time.
Baby Pink was offered by Coolmore Stud carrying Let’sbefrankbaby in utero, with Badgers Bloodstock and Glentree Thoroughbreds going to $700,000 to secure the mare.
The Glentre–bred Frankel filly, who would turn out to be Let’sbefrankbaby, was then snapped by her trainers, Peter Ford Bloodstock and Haywood Bloodstock for $400,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale when offered by Mike Fleming’s Bhima Thoroughbreds draft.
Baby Pink herself is out of US Grade 3 winner Dress Rehearsal (Galileo), making her a half-sister to Listed winner Traisha (Invincible Spirit).
Let’sbefrankbaby was one of three purchases for Willingham Stud at Keeneland on Tuesday, with the global operation also purchasing the British-bred three-time US Grade 1 scorer Anisette (Awtaad) for US$1,800,000 (approx. AU$2,746,000), while they also secured the unraced Speightstown (Gone West) mare Bunskie for US$700,000.
Kia Ora and Milburn Creek on the board
Ananda Krishnan’s Kia Ora Stud are familiar names on the Keeneland buyers sheet and on Tuesday the Hunter Valley operation made its first purchase the 2024 edition of the sale when they bought the Hill ‘N’ Dale-consigned Last Call (English Channel) for US$550,000 (approx. AU$839,000).
A winner of the 2022 Natalma Stakes (Gr 1, 8f) in Canada, Last Call is out of the winning Black Minnaloushe (Storm Cat) mare Over Served, making her a sister to the stakes-placed multiple winner English Tavern.
At last year’s sale, Kia Ora forked out US$360,000 for Grade 2 winner California Angel (California Chrome), having spent US$450,000 on stakes winner Toby’s Heart (Jack Milton) the year before. California Angel was served by the farm’s Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) last month, while Toby’s Heart produced a filly by So You Think (High Chaparral) this year and was covered by Farnan in September.
John Muir’s Milburn Creek also makes the annual trip to Keeneland in search of US blood to support its broodmare band and were successful on Tuesday when teaming up with J L M Estates to buy Fuente Ovejuna (Lope De Vega) for US$400,000 (approx. AU$610,200).
Offered by Taylor Made Sales Agency, the daughter of Lope De Vega’s (Shamardal) three wins are headed by a Listed victory. She is out of Lipstick Rose (Dream Ahead), who is herself a sister to French Group 1 winner Jemayel, while she also counts US Grade 1 scorer Mast Track (Mizzen Mast) among her half-siblings.
Roses For Debra leads the way at Keeneland
Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm landed the day’s top-selling mare during Tuesday’s opening session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale when she bought multiple Graded stakes winner Roses For Debra (Liam’s Map) for $2.4 million (approx. AU$3,661,300), writes Eric Mitchell and Sean Collins of Bloodhorse.
The strapping grey or roan mare is a daughter of Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song) who won Graded stakes on all-weather and turf.
“She was very elegant, very well put together,” said Pope. “She was very fast. It was on the grass, which is not necessarily ideal for American breeding programmes, but she was so fast.
“I needed some mares with speed to add to the stallions that I’d like to breed to.”
John O’Meara, who raced Roses For Debra alone at first and later in partnership with Cheyenne Stable, said the sale was “unbelievable,” considering he bought her for US$25,000 from Dromoland Farm that dispersed stock following the death of farm owner Gerry Dilger, a friend of O’Meara’s.
“It’s very exciting,” he said. “I can’t believe I was lucky enough to purchase such a nice mare for a small amount of money. It’s all thanks to Gerry Dilger.
“It was unbelievable to go to the races with a horse like this. It was a wonderful ride, it’s going to be awful hard to find another one like her.”
While Pope said she is always looking for opportunities at breeding stock sales, she is keen this year to find mares to support homebred stallion and Grade 1-placed, Grade 2 winner Charge It (Tapit), who is entering stud next year at Gainesway at US$12,500 (approx. AU$19,000), and 2023 Blue Grass Stakes winner Tapit Trice (Tapit), whom she raced with Gainesway and also enters stud next year with a US$20,000 (approx. AU$30,500) fee.
“Probably similar kind of mares [for both sires],” she said. “Neither one of them could really get out of the gate. They always needed a chance to get going. We’ll probably be looking for some mares to put some speed with them.”
As for mating plans for Roses For Debra, Pope said she is looking for a stallion capable of the same versatility as her newest broodmare purchase.
“We’re thinking Curlin, Justify, we have a couple good options there,” she said. “Both work on the grass and the dirt, it’s a good cross.”
Whisper Hill paid a total of $4,875,000 (approx. AU$7,437,000) for five horses to lead buyers during the session, while Roses For Debra was one of nine seven-figure horses sold, contributing to a nearly 15 per cent increase in gross sales over last year.
Weanling colts by Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday) and Curlin (Smart Strike) sold for US$900,000 (approx. AU$1,372,900) and US$725,000 (approx. AU$1,106,000), respectively, to be the highest-priced weanlings sold at public auction in North America this year.
Glen Hill Farm acquired Tuesday’s top-priced weanling, consigned by Taylor Made, agent for the complete dispersal of Ed Seltzer’s Solera Farm. Out of Grade 3 winner Eres Tu (Malibu Moon), the Into Mischief colt is from the family of Preakness (Gr 1, 9.5f) winner Tank’s Prospect (Mr Prospector).
“We were trying to buy some colts in September, and we couldn’t get near anything,” said Glen Hill’s Craig Bernick. “We thought we’d try to buy some foals. He was the best one here. It was a lot of money, but I figured that he would be.
“When we came here, he was a very obvious horse – a really classy mover, pretty head. I really like him, of course. He’ll go back to the farm in Ocala. We’ll raise him, and we’ll put him in training.”
Amo Racing USA paid $725,000 for the weanling colt by Curlin from the family of Grade 1 winners Cavorting (Bernardini) and Clairiere (Curlin). Consigned by Denali Stud, he is out of the Liam’s Map mare Liam’s Promenade.
On Tuesday, Keeneland sold 143 horses through the ring for $62,370,000 (approx. AU$95,148,000), for an average of $436,154 (approx. AU$665,300) and a median of $350,000 (approx. AU$534,000). Compared to figures from the first session in 2023, the gross increased 14.78 per cent from $54,340,000, while the average dipped 3.68 per cent from $452,833 to $436,154. The median of $350,000 was 6.67 per cent lower than last year’s $375,000.