LEXINGTON, Ky. – With Kentucky remaining in the grips of frigid weather, some fireworks could heat things up inside the Keeneland sale pavilion as the auction hosts its January horses of all ages sale over three sessions, from Monday through Wednesday, with some key lots offering clear potential for big bids.
Keeneland has cataloged 1,317 horses, including supplemental entries through Thursday, for this sale, which is a continuation of the mixed-sale season that began in November. Broodmares and broodmare prospects, horses of racing age, and stallions and stallion prospects will be on offer, along with foals of 2024 – short yearlings. The sale begins with a single-session Book 1 and continues with a two-session Book 2. Each session of the sale begins at 10 a.m., and Keeneland said this week that it does not expect schedule changes due to weather, with a significant amount of snow and ice in the area during the first full week of January and below-freezing temperatures persisting.
“Given the recent snowfall in Lexington, our maintenance team has worked hard to ensure roadways, show rings, and barns are clear and ready for the sale,” Tony Lacy, Keeneland’s vice president of sales, said in a press release. “We will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and share updates as needed.”
Pretty Birdie, who brought seven figures in her first trip through the Keeneland auction ring at the November breeding stock sale, and Re Entry, dam of a broodmare prospect who sold for a high sum at that same auction, are among the supplemental entries. They add intrigue late in the Book 1 session.
Grade 3 winner Pretty Birdie, an offering from the estate of the late John Hendrickson, drew a high bid of $1.1 million from Stonestreet Farm at Keeneland November. However, Keeneland said in a press release that Pretty Birdie “never had been observed as a cribber, but she was seen to crib post-sale. For that reason, the mare is being re-offered at the January sale.” Gainesway, which handled the Hendrickson estate offerings in November, will again have consigning duties as Pretty Birdie is re-offered.
Cribbing is a vice wherein horses will set their upper teeth against a stationary object, arch their neck, and pull back, with many also inhaling air during the process. Experts aren’t sure why horses crib, but many hypotheses suggest that horses learn the behavior out of boredom or frustration; the behavior then rewards the horse by releasing endorphins. While cribbing can be somewhat controlled by the use of neck collars or changes in management, it is considered a highly undesirable behavior. Not only can cribbing be destructive to various structures, it also can affect the physical well-being of the horse, with potential strain including excessive wear of the teeth, stress on various neck muscles and the esophagus, or even digestive upset.
Keeneland’s conditions of sale state that a horse who is known to be a cribber must be clearly identified by the consignment. The condition also is announced from the auctioneer’s stand before bidding begins and is displayed in prominent red letters on the bid board, along with the horse’s hip number and current bid. A limited warranty for buyers in the conditions of sale states that Keeneland must be notified within seven days from the date of sale if a horse is found to be a cribber and a winning bidder wishes to pursue the return of the horse.
Cribber or not, Pretty Birdie, who is carrying her first foal, to a March cover by Candy Ride, represents an opportunity to buy into one of the Whitney stable’s major families – a rare opportunity over the years, which should continue to draw interest. This dispersal came about after Hendrickson, widower of Marylou Whitney, died in August at age 59. Hendrickson had continued to campaign horses in the Whitney blue following his wife’s death in 2019.
Pretty Birdie, by homebred Bird Song, was one of Hendrickson’s successes, winning the 2021 Schuylerville Stakes. She is out of Bird Sense, a great-granddaughter of Whitney’s Broodmare of the Year Dear Birdie, dam of Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone and Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town. Pretty Birdie has a double dose of the family – Bird Song, by Unbridled’s Song, is out of Bird Town.
A few hours after Pretty Birdie went through the ring at Keeneland November, graded stakes winner Shotgun Hottie sold for $1.5 million to Case Clay Thoroughbred Management. Her dam, Re Entry, is now on offer at Keeneland January. Gainesway will consign the unraced 13-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, as agent.
Millionaire Shotgun Hottie, by Gun Runner, won four stakes, highlighted by the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher in 2023. She placed in eight other stakes. Re Entry is being offered in foal to Candy Ride, sire of Gun Runner, for a foal bred on the same cross.
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