LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dispersals at Thoroughbred auctions are always a bittersweet occasion. They often represent the closing of a chapter or the shifting of focus for prominent operations, sometimes due to sad circumstances. But on the sweeter side, they represent a chance for other operations to invest in prominent bloodlines that have been crafted like artwork through generations.
Several prominent dispersals add interesting storylines to the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, running Nov. 5-13. Two of those, from historic racing families, made particular waves when they were announced. Stuart S. Janney III will offer a complete dispersal of his breeding stock. The Estate of John Hendrickson will offer a dispersal as well.
Janney, who is chairman of The Jockey Club, has explained that he will continue to be involved in racing. In addition to current horses on the track, he has crops of yearlings and weanlings still coming through the pipeline. However, his children are not committed to running a breeding operation of his scale.
The dispersal consignment at Keeneland will be handled, as agent, by Claiborne Farm, which has long boarded horses for the intertwined Janney and Phipps families.
“The relationship between the Janney family and Claiborne goes back even before the days of Ruffian,” Claiborne’s Seth Hancock said in a press release distributed by Keeneland. “No one has shown more energy, passion, and love for the game than Stuart.”
Janney is the son of Stuart and Barbara Janney, who bred and raced the Hall of Famer Ruffian, and horses such as Grade 1 winner and sire Private Terms and Grade 2 winner and sire Icecapade.
Stuart Janney III bred and raced 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb, in partnership with first cousin Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps and Phipps Stable. Janney’s other top runners include Grade 1 winners Data Link and Hymn Book.
The Janney dispersal at Keeneland consists of 13 broodmares and two broodmare prospects. Those include graded stakes winner My Impression, in foal to Candy Ride; graded stakes winner On Leave, in foal to Street Sense; graded stakes winner Onus, in foal to Violence; stakes winner In a Hurry, in foal to Claiborne’s stalwart sire War Front; and Mata Mua, dam of Grade 3 winner Scarlett Sky, in foal to Life Is Good.
Hendrickson, who, along with his late wife, Marylou Whitney, was known for his extensive philanthropy within the Thoroughbred industry, died in August at age 59. Hendrickson, who served as chairman of the board of the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, among other prominent roles, continued to campaign horses in the Whitney blue following his wife’s death in 2019. His top runners in recent years included graded stakes winners Pretty Birdie and Super Quick.
Pretty Birdie, carrying her first foal, by Candy Ride, is among the highlights of the dispersal of Hendrickson’s estate, with another standout being Quick Town, dam of Super Quick, Grade 1-placed stakes winner Viva Majorca, and stakes winner Quick Quick Quick. Quick Town sells in foal to Runhappy.
There are 19 total offerings – 12 broodmares and seven weanlings – in the Hendrickson dispersal, and 12 of those, including Pretty Birdie, trace directly to Whitney’s Broodmare of the Year Dear Birdie, dam of 2003 Kentucky Oaks winner and champion Bird Town and 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone. The latter, who won two other Grade 1 events, went on to stand at Gainesway Farm, formerly owned in part by the Whitney family. Marylou Whitney continued to board her stock there, and Gainesway, now owned by Antony Beck, will consign the Hendrickson dispersal, as agent.
Although the historic families behind the Janney and Hendrickson dispersals will garner the lion’s share of the attention, there are multiple other dispersals at Keeneland November, including two from prominent programs that have significant numbers, and thus will contribute significant results to the auction’s gross.
Siena Farm will disperse its breeding stock, with Taylor Made Sales consigning the offerings, as agent. The group consists of 31 broodmares and one broodmare prospect.
Anthony Manganaro, chairman and co-owner of Siena, died last year at age 79, and Siena’s remaining partners plan to pull back from breeding and focus on racing. This summer, the 262-acre Siena in Paris, Ky., was put up for sale as the owners continued to still purchase high-end yearlings, buying a pair in partnership with WinStar Farm’s Maverick Racing and the China Horse Club at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale, and eight more with that group at Keeneland September.
Siena has campaigned a number of high-profile horses in partnership, including 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and multiple Grade 1 winner Catholic Boy.
More recently, Siena was part of the partnership on unbeaten 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline. Siena remained invested in his breeding career, and that association will be part of this dispersal. The mares offered include Grade 2 winner and stakes-producer Isabella Sings, carrying a foal from the champion’s second crop. His first mares in foal averaged seven figures last year.
The dispersal of Florida-based Solera Farm, the operation of 90-year-old Ed Seltzer, also is continuing a dispersal it began by offering some lots at this year’s yearling and 2-year-old in training sales and brings significant numbers. Consigned through both Lane’s End and Taylor Made, as agent, the draft has 23 broodmares, 14 weanlings, six broodmare prospects, two racing or broodmare prospects, and one stallion, Rogueish. That son of Into Mischief entered stud in 2020 and is the sire of stakes winner Naughty Rascal this year.
Hinting at the quality of this stock, the Solera dispersal already produced one seven-figure horse, who remained in the family. A Gun Runner filly from the farm fetched $1 million at the Keeneland September yearling sale, with Seltzer’s daughter Krista Seltzer signing the ticket. She plans to race the filly in partnership.
“There is a lot of sentiment there,” Krista Seltzer said. “She’s a lovely filly. I like to have partners where we know my dad can enjoy watching her race and that is super important. He loves the family and I love them.”
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