Pedigree power can still be found moving past the dark day and into the middle and later books of the Keeneland September yearling sale. A glance through Book 3 - running over two sessions, on Sept. 14-15 - reveals several half-siblings to classic winners and close relations to champions, perhaps slotted a bit lower in the sale due to physical factors. Additionally, some horses who were cataloged here have recently gotten major catalog updates from new Grade 1 winners in the family. Those will spark interest in a book that garnered a top price of $900,000 last year. Here is a short list of those who, on paper, bring particularly strong credentials. This list accounts for outs and catalog updates as of Sept. 12.
Session One - Saturday, Sept. 14
Hip 1136, colt by American Pharoah – Dayatthespa, by City Zip. Consigned by Summerfield, agent for Stonestreet Farm.
Stonestreet-bred yearlings commanded some of the top prices in the first two books of Keeneland September. This son of Triple Crown winner and prominent multi-surface sire American Pharoah is out of Eclipse Award champion turf female Dayatthespa. Her three winners from four starters include stakes-placed Tenbury Wells.
Hip 1219, colt by Volatile – Hot N Hectic, by Henny Hughes. Consigned by Frankfort Park Farm, agent.
By a popular freshman sire, this is a half-brother to Carson's Run, who, since the catalog, has won the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby.
Hip 1301, colt by Good Magic – Musical Mystery, by Concerto. Consigned by Farfellow Farms.
Good Magic, who has produced a classic winner from each of his first two crops, got another Grade 1 winner to his credit when Mixto won the Pacific Classic. That provided one of the bigger updates to this book, as this colt is Mixto’s full brother. Musical Mystery is a full sister to Grade 1 winner Rigoletta, dam of Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway, from the same Smart Strike sireline as Good Magic.
Hip 1336, filly by Speightstown – Perfect Flute, by Pleasantly Perfect. Consigned by Crestwood Farm, agent.
This filly represents a rarity, from one of the final crops of Speightstown and also providing a chance to buy into a Juddmonte female family. The winner Perfect Flute, dam of three winners from as many starters, is out of Kentucky Oaks winner Flute. Several of Flute’s daughters are stakes producers, including the dam of the ascendant 3-year-old colt Dragoon Guard.
Hip 1338, filly by Uncle Mo – Piedi Bianchi, by Overanalyze. Consigned by Gainesway agent.
By a multiple classic sire, this is the first foal out of a hard-knocking racemare, who won five stakes, and placed in multiple Grade 1 events.
Hip 1488, colt by Tiz the Law – Ana Luna, by Dream Well. Consigned by Upson Downs Farm, agent.
Multiple Grade 1 winner Tiz the Law has emerged among this year’s leading freshman sires with a pair of stakes winners, and his offspring have been adept on turf early on. This colt is a half-brother to a turf Grade 1 winner.
Session Two - Sunday, Sept. 15
Hip 1556, colt by Authentic – Dawn Raid, by Vindication. Consigned by Warrendale Sales, agent.
Stakes-placed Dawn Raid, a half-sister to Canadian champion Embur's Song, is the dam of Exaggerator, whose multiple Grade 1 wins included the Preakness Stakes.
Hip 1701, colt by City of Light – Moondance, by Malibu Moon. Consigned by Brookdale, agent.
The winning Malibu Moon mare Moondance is the dam of Hang the Moon, who won the Grade 2. John C. Mabee Stakes in early September at Del Mar.
Hip 1707, colt by Liam’s Map – Morena, by Privately Held. Consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm.
Morena was a champion in her native Peru and is the dam of six winners from as many starters. Chief among those is an American classic winner, the Belmont Stakes victor Creator.
Hip 1827, filly by City of Light – Stormy Welcome, by Storm Cat. Consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent.
This is another sibling to a new Grade 1 winner who got a big catalog update in August. Raging Sea, the half-sister to this filly, was already a multiple stakes winner, and landed her first Grade 1 in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga. Stormy Welcome, also the dam of stakes-placed runner and stakes producer Welcoming, is from the direct female family of blue hen Weekend Surprise, who produced classic winners and sires A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.
Hip 1905, filly by Improbable – Athena, by Street Sense. Consigned by Indian Creek, agent for Stonestreet Farm.
Multiple stakes winner Athena is the dam of two winners from as many starters, led by this year's Grade 3 winner Emery, who has been second in the Grade 1 Test Stakes since the catalog was released.
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