Canadian Yearling Sale Recap?

Yesterday was the Canadian Yearling Sale in Ontario.  Would it be another bloodbath for breeders?  An upswing indicating the industry was stabilizing?  VFTRG contributor Joe F., takes a look and recaps the sale for us.

This year’s Canadian Yearling Sale, which was anticipated with all the enthusiasm of a trip to the dentist for a root canal, was more successful than most expected. Forty-seven fewer yearlings were sold for an average that was up $1,830 or 18%. The fact that it was conducted on a single day this year obviously didn’t hurt. 

The star of the sale was Muscle Mass, the eight-year-old full brother to Muscle Massive, who during his abbreviated career won the Bluegrass and ISS at two and set a world record on a half. He stands for a very reasonable $5,000 fee at Winbak. The buyers were obviously impressed with the performance of his offspring in the OSS as thirteen Muscle Mass’s sold for an average of $23,269, more than 56% above the overall sale average. He was fortunate in that 10 of the 13 sold were colts. They averaged $25,200, while the 3 fillies averaged $16,833. A full brother to multiple OSS Gold winner, Muscle Matters, brought $70,000. That outlier skews the picture somewhat; 5 of the 13 sold for less than $15,000. 

The established top dog among Ontario trotting stallions, fourteen-year-old Kadabra, continued to slide at this particular sale. Two years ago 19 Kadabras averaged almost $30,000. His top seller was a $115,000 filly. He took a big hit last year as four colts and eight fillies averaged a disappointing $12,800. $23,000 was the top price he commanded. This year there were only five Kadabras sold, and they averaged $10,800. There were two colts and three fillies. The top seller brought $17,000. When it comes to this particular sale, Kadabra, the performance of Bee A Magician notwithstanding, has apparently been tossed from his throne by young upstart, Muscle Mass, who stands for $10,000 less.

Shadow Play has been the hot young stud on the pacing side. The eight-year-old, who had the misfortune of being born the same year as SBSW, stands for a paltry $4,000 at Winbak. Last year nine of them averaged $11,600; the top priced colt went for $15,500 while the most expensive filly sold for $2,000. What a difference a year makes. His offering at this year’s sale averaged a rich $28,200. The problem is that there were only five Shadow Plays to choose from. A dozen or more of his get would have served as a great incentive for high-end buyers to make the trek to Flamboro. Breeders apparently didn’t believe they’d get fair value at this venue. A filly brought $47,000 and a pair of colts sold for $30,000. 

Fourteen-year-old Mach Three, always a force in the OSS, had nine sell for an average of almost $15,000. Eighteen Mach Threes averaged $37,500 two years ago, while thirteen averaged $13,800 last year, a 63% drop. Five colts and four fillies sold this year with a $32,000 colt representing the ceiling. He had a $140,000 filly sell at the CYS in 2011. 

Sportswriter’s first crop has been on the radar because he represents one of the last opportunities for his daddy, Artsplace, to successfully carry the Adios line forward amid the slings and arrows of his nemesis, Western Hanover, and new kid on the block, SBSW. The buyers at the CYS apparently weren’t impressed. Thirteen yearlings, five colts and eight fillies, averaged a ho hum $11,269, with the fillies averaging less than $10,000. A filly sold for $23,000 and a colt for $20,000. 

Another first crop stallion, the Yankee Glide six-year-old Holiday Road, was greeted with less enthusiasm than Sportswriter. Holiday Road is a full brother to Ken Warkentin. He won the Peter Haughton at two and the Stanley Dancer at three. Eleven of them averaged a shade over $8,000. Eight were fillies, which didn’t help his average. A half brother to Tymal Timeout brought $21,000 but most went for under $10,000. Holiday Road stands for $3,500.

Mister Big is another who failed to impress the buyers. Six sold for a $7,500 average. One colt brought $21,000 but the others all went for under $10,000. Put the Santana Blue Chips in the same slot; six averaged about $5,500. 

Eleven sons and daughters of Badlands Hanover averaged under $10,000. There was quite a gender split as the colts averaged $17,675 and the fillies, $6,750. 

The amazing twenty-six-year-old stallion, Camluck, just keeps on ticking. Six colts and two fillies averaged almost $16,000. His top priced colt brought $36,000. 

The Angus Halls went from averaging about $29,000 in 2011 to under $7,000 last year. Twenty-one sold in 2011, nine for $25,000 plus and a couple of those for about $100,000. Sunday fourteen averaged $11,371, close to double last year but still very weak. A full sister to Angie’s Lucky Star brought $24,000 and another filly sold for $30,000. Seventeen-year-old Angus Hall stood for $10,000 a couple of years ago; he was dropped to $6,000 in 2013. The elevator may go down another couple of floors in 2014. 

Jereme’s Jet sports a deceptive $12,730 average. A half brother to McApulco brought $30,000; a half sister to Champagne Tonight sold for $32,000 and a filly out of near millionairess, Southwind Madonna, commanded $42,000. Nine of the other ten sold for less than $10,000. The Jereme’s Jets sold for big money in 2010; the average dropped to $20,000 in 2011; it fell to $4,500 for seven last year. The fact that he sold three for good money this year is certainly a positive sign. 

So the overall average was up from last year but buyers were very selective. They were willing to toss money at Muscle Mass and Shadow Play, but not so much at Sportswriter, Holiday Road, Well Said and Jereme’s Jet.