Lexington Selected Sale Pacers

The average at last week’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale was a record $56,304, up 24.5 % over last year, when the sale was up 13.46% over 2014. Trotters averaged $1,640 more than pacers.

Somebeachsomewhere sold 39 yearlings—23 colts and 16 fillies—for an average of $123,615. That’s almost $38,000 more than he averaged for five fewer yearlings last year in Lexington. And it’s more than double what he averaged for 50 sold at a disappointing sale in Harrisburg in 2015.

Right off the bat, at hip number one, he sold a filly out of Put On A Show for $550,000. And later on that night he sold a son out of double millionaire Darlin’s Delight for $450,000. Another high-dollar sale was a son of Big McDeal for $300,000. 46% of his offering—12 colts and 6 fillies—brought at least $100,000. 87% of them sold for at least $50,000—that includes all 25 colts. Only one failed to reach the $25,000 level.

Sixty-one by the sire of Darlinonthebeach, Pure Country and Check Six, will be available in Harrisburg in early November. Captaintreacherous and Sweet Lou, each of whom bred 140 mares in 2015, will sell their first crops next year. The Pennsylvania market is very popular, but sharing the buyers’ loot with that pair will put pressure on SBSW’s bottom line at the 2017 sales.

So Surreal, a half to Well Said from the second crop of SBSW, who was retired at two with a fast mark, sold three colts and a filly for a $60,000 average—two of them brought more than $50,000. He bred 130 mares in 2014. If he’s that popular off a severely truncated career, what will happen next year when the Captain comes online?

Bettor’s Delight, who has been the leading sire of all-age pacers in North America for some time, although he recently fell $172,000 behind his younger adversary SBSW, sold 29 for an average of $55,655. This is his second, and last, Pennsylvania crop. Next year’s group will be back in the Ontario program. The sire of Betting Line will sell 57 in Harrisburg. Bettor’s Delight sold three for more than $100,000; 16, or 55%, brought at least $50,000; and almost 80% sold for more than $25,000. Last year he sold 25 for an average of more than $42,000 in Lexington. BD produces long lasting types that can win at the highest level, but he’s never been an object of affection commensurate with his output at the sales.

Art Major saw his average drop almost $16,000 from last year’s sale. Thirty-one averaged a shade over $39,000, down from $55,000 last year. The 17-year-old stallion ranked third in the NYSS for both the two and three-year-old classes. His stud fee dropped from $12,000 to $10,000 in 2016.

American Ideal sold 15 colts and 17 fillies for an average of $48,375, about the same as last year. Two colts and a filly topped $100,000, while half brought at least $50,000. More than 65% brought at least $25,000. On the downside, the 14-year-old sire of Funknwaffles, Candlelight Dinner and bedroomconfessions, sold nine for less than $25,000.

A Roncknroll Dance introduced 19 from his first crop. They averaged $36,421. A colt out of See You At Peelers brought $120,000, while another colt and filly sold in the 50s, but most fell in the middle, with almost 74% bringing at least $25,000. Four sold for less than that. The seven-year-old double-millionaire stands in the tough, and soon to be tougher, Pennsylvania market for a modest $5,000. There are 69 in this crop; 25 will be for sale in Harrisburg.

Sportswriter outdid OSS rival Shadow Play by a mere $378 in average. He sold nine for a $54,778 average. Five of them brought at least $50,000 and all nine sold for more than $25,000. Last year the nine-year-old son of Artsplace, whose promising son Sports Column was barely staked outside the OSS, averaged more than $34,000 for 11 sold. Sportswriter is second to Mach Three on the OSS leader board.

Shadow Play only sold five; they averaged $54,400. A colt brought $70,000 and a filly $100,000. This is up from last year when four averaged $35,500. World champion Lady Shadow has put a charge in his resume

Western Ideal saw a colt out of a daughter of Worldly Beauty sell for $100,000, but beyond that the results were disappointing, as six of the seven failed to top $25,000. They averaged about $30,000, thanks to the outlier. Last year nine by the sire of Rocknroll Hanover and Artspeak averaged $47,000, but as was the case this time, there was a $200,000 outlier and six of Eight failed to top $25,000. Twenty-seven by Western Ideal will sell in Harrisburg. In 2015 twenty-two averaged $33,000 there.

Well Said, who saw his fee cut in half to $7,500 in 2016, sold eight colts and ten fillies for a $23,611 average. That’s down from last year when 30 averaged a shade over $39,000. Control The Moment helped raise the ten-year-old’s profile, but only one of the 18 topped $50,000. That’s a damning figure. 44% sold for at least $25,000, but the rest did not. Fifty-two will sell at Harrisburg. There were more than 60 available there in 2015, and 18% topped $50,000.

Betterthancheddar sold eight from his first and only New York crop. They averaged a robust $50,875, with three-quarters selling for at least $50,000 and all topping $25,000. The Breeders Crown and Franklin winner now stands in Ontario for an attractive $3,500 (cdn) fee. Ten will sell in Harrisburg.

The Indiana stallion Always A Virgin, the sire of world record holder Always B Miki, only sold one, but that half-brother to Ohmybelle and Bob Ben And John brought $110,000, so it was worth the trip. AAV sells one filly in Harrisburg.

Roll With Joe, the sire of Messenger, Adios and Tattersalls Pace winner Racing Hill, sold nine for a $30,000 average. That’s down considerable from his $47,454 average for 11 sold here last year. Only one topped $50,000 and 55% failed to exceed $25,000. Joe was second to American Ideal among two and three-year-olds in the NYSS this year. He’ll sell 21 from his crop of 64 in Harrisburg.

Rock N Roll Heaven averaged $39,778 for nine from his second last New York crop. That was up considerably from the $17,241 he averaged for 29 sold here in 2015, however, a sister to Band Of Angels and Romantic Moment skewed that figure when she sold for $150,000. Two other fillies topped $50,000 but two-thirds of the offering failed to crack $25,000. Twenty-eight will sell in Harrisburg. Heaven will have a monopoly on the NJSS landscape in a couple of years, but by then that may be like owning a big chunk of the desert.

Joe FitzGerald