Fireworks for Gainesway Clients at Keeneland September

It was a huge Book 1 for Gainesway at this year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale with the consignment offering eight of the 23 seven-figure yearlings sold across the first two sessions of the sale.

That group was led by the third most expensive yearling of the sale, an Into Mischief filly out of Delightful Joy. Purchased by Shadwell Racing for $2.3 million, the filly is a half-sister to the Grade 2 winning Window Shopping out of the Grade 3 winner Delightful Joy.

Bred by International Equities Holding, the filly sees nine stakes winners listed under her four dams on the page with two other stakes performers.

“I honestly thought she would bring every bit of $1.5 [million]. She’s a top physical. She was one of the best-looking yearlings I saw this year. We thought that could happen. From the first time you looked at that filly, you thought that could happen. It’s a pleasant surprise but not shocking,” said Gainesway’s Brian Graves

Gainesway also offered her dam’s half-sister, a MCKINZIE filly out of Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Graeme Six who sold to Greg Tramontin for $550,000. Graeme Six has produced three stakes winners from her nine winners with Grade 3 Cali Star and stakes winner Seymourdini joining Delightful Joy as those with blacktype under the mare’s name.

It was a duo of Take Charge Lady daughters who produced the next two most expensive horses for the Gainesway consignment – both bred by Whisper Hill Farm.

A half-brother to TAPIT’s Charge It was the more expensive of the duo when the Into Mischief colt brought $1.7 million from Jersey City Destroyers Stables.

The colt’s Indian Charlie dam I’ll Take Charge was a winner herself and has one winner from her two to race. She is an 11-year-old daughter of the three-time Grade 1 winner and Broodmare of the Year Take Charge Lady, who has quickly proven to be one of the most important broodmares in recent times.

As a dam, she produced champion Will Take Charge and Grade 1 winners Take Charge Indy and As Time Goes By. Her daughters have also produced champion Take Charge Brandi and three-time Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach. Take Charge Brandi is the dam of another successful TAPIT in the stakes winning Courvoisier.

I’ll Take Charge foaled a full sister to Charge It this year.

I’ll Take Charge’s half-sister Lady Take Charge saw Sinandigan Stable go to $1.3 million to purchase a TAPIT filly out of the War Front mare. An 8-year-old out of Take Charge Lady, the mare saw her juvenile TAPIT son Will Take It sell for $700,000 at this sale last year as well.

“It takes a long time to get (a breeding program) off the ground and going,” said Pope. “Fingers crossed, we will continue with a lot of racing success in the future, and breeding and selling success. The homebred thing is so gratifying. We had high expectations coming in and you always panic at the last minute. Gainesway has done a wonderful job selling yearlings for me.”

M.V. Magnier snapped up a $1.25 million Gun Runner colt from Gainesway during the second day of selling with the colt out of the multiple graded stakes placed Special Event.

Bred by Emory A. Hamilton as the second foal out of his dam, the colt’s three dams on the page are all stakes performers with his second and third dam also producing stakes winners. Granddam La Reina won a Grade 3 and produced three stakes performers, led by the Grade 2 winning Chief Havoc. Her unraced daughter Kaiserin also produced the stakes winning Kleopata.

La Reina is a half-sister to the Grade 1 winner Brahms and stakes winner Olympic with the trio out of the champion mare Queena. Special Event visited Gainesway’s own OLYMPIAD this year.

Hartley/De Renzo and BC Stables teamed up to buy a $1.2 million filly from the Gainesway consignment during Tuesday’s session.

The Into Mischief daughter bred by Gainesway is out of Silver Colors, who produced Grade 1 winner Eskimo Kisses and Grade 1 placed Silver Ride from her four winners. Silver Colors’ foals come by their talent honestly with Silver Colors out of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and champion Winning Colors.

“For us, she was the pick filly of this book,” Randy Hartley said. “It’s just such a great female family and we just felt like if we put enough guys together, we could get her. To have a half-sister to a Grade I Alabama winner and the grandmother a Kentucky Derby winner, you just don’t get those pedigrees that often. So she was a filly we thought we really needed to have in the barn.”

Winning Colors produced two stakes performers herself with four of her daughters producing stakes horses. Included under Winning Colors’ name is champion Adjudicate, stakes winner La Conseillante, and Grade 2-placed War Envoy.

Silver Colors visited TAPIT this year.

It was another million-dollar colt for Gainesway early during the second session when Donato Lanni signed the ticket for SF Bloodstock, Starlight, and Madaket on a $1.1 million Into Mischief yearling. Carried by his dam Magical World when she topped the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November Sale at $5.2 million, the colt was bred by Three Chimneys Farm and Whisper Hill Farm.

This is the seventh foal out of Magical World, whose four winners from four to race include three-time Grade 1 winner and the stakes winning duo of Beatbox and Magic Dance. The page is strong throughout, with Magical World a daughter of the Grade 1 winning Pleasant Home, who also produced Grade 1-placed Pleasant Orb and the dams of seven different stakes performers.

“Nothing would have surprised me with him,” said Three Chimneys’ Chris Baker. “I think he is an exceptional colt. He’s a great-moving colt with a great pedigree–by a top sire out of a top mare. So I think he is well sold and I expect to hear more about him in the future.”

Grandview Equine went to seven figures for two Gainesway offerings during Book 1, kicking off Gainesway’s success with the $1.1 million Hip 18.

The first of this year’s sale to hit the seven-figure mark, that Into Mischief colt was another from the successful Whisper Hill Farm breeding program. The colt is the second foal out of dual Grade 1 winner American Gal, who is a full sister to the stakes winner and Grade 2-placed Americanize.

American Gal is one of three Grade 1 winners on the page with her stakes winning third dam producing Grade 1 winners Seventh Stret and Reynaldothewizard in addition to her Grade 2-placed granddam American Story. Seventh Street also nearly produced another Grade 1 winner with Grade 2 winning daughter Lake Avenue second in the Ballerina (G1) and son Marking second in the Malibu S. (G1).

“He is a really nice colt out of a great family,” Robert Clay said after signing the ticket for Grandview Equine. “He went for plenty of money, but he really checked all the boxes for us. We’re looking for balance and athletic horses. He’s a picture.”

The first foal offered at public auction out of dual champion Songbird was another purchased by Grandview Equine for $1 million.

The winner of 13 of 15 starts with many of those victories coming in Grade 1s, Songbird is the dam of two foals aged three or older with her TAPIT daughter placed at Keeneland. Songbird is out of the Grade 2 winning Ivanavinalot, whose other daughter produced Grade 3 winner and Grade 2 placed Mico Margarita. The Curlin colt sees 10 stakes winners named on the page.

In all, during the first Book of the sale, Gainesway sold 30 yearlings for a gross of $21,420,000 and average of $714,000 with a $537,5000 median. Gainesway led the way by gross during both sessions with their average well above any other consignor with more than three sold during the first day of selling.

“We had high expectations coming in,” Graves said. “I wasn’t sure we had as many million-dollar horses to sell as we actually did. The market proved to be really strong. But we knew we had a really good group of horses for our clients. The market is alive and well.”

Gainesway still has many offerings still to come with the consignment selling through Friday, September 22.