Half-brother to Danehill sells for $60,000 at Keeneland

EARTH PLANET (Distant View), a winning half-brother to supersire Danehill (Danzig),

was sold to Oscar Lobo for the top price of $60,000 at Sunday's penultimate

session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale in Lexington, Kentucky.

Consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent, as a racing or stallion prospect, the

four-year-old colt was cataloged as Hip No. 5331.

The chestnut was produced by Razyana (His Majesty). In addition to Group 1

star Danehill, Earth Planet is also a half-brother to Grade 2-winning sire Eagle

Eyed (Danzig); Grade/Group 3 hero Shibboleth (Danzig); Grade 3 queen and stakes

producer Harpia (Danzig); stakes victress Euphonic (The Minstrel); and multiple

Group 3-placed sire Anziyan (Danzig). Razyana is out of the winning Buckpasser

mare Spring Adieu, who is herself a half-sister to Hall of Famer and

breed-shaping sire Northern Dancer (Nearctic).

Earth Planet sports a record of 9-2-2-2 with $66,594 in earnings. His first

eight starts came in France, where he captured a pair of allowances at Lyon

Parilly and Chantilly in 2007. The Juddmonte Farms homebred raced only once in

the United States, finishing seventh in an allowance/optional claimer at Del Mar

on August 17.

Ardmore Stud, agent, went to $52,000 to secure the day's leading weanling, a

Yes It's True colt who toured the ring as Hip 5260. The March 22 bay is the

second foal from the unraced Vision Quest (Seeking the Gold), a three-quarter

sister to Grade 3 victor and multiple Grade 1-placed Voodoo (Petionville). The

Florida-bred colt's second dam is seven-time stakes heroine Slide Show (Slewacide).

He was offered by Moreau Bloodstock International, agent.

On Sunday, 189 horses were sold for $1,244,600, down 13.1 percent from the

$1,432,300 realized by 169 head at the comparable session one year ago. The

average declined 22.3 percent, from $8,475 to $6,585, while the median was cut

in half, from $6,000 to $3,000.

With 14 of 15 sessions in the books, 2,869 horses have changed hands for

$184,888,400, posting an average of $64,443 and a median of $22,000. Those

cumulative numbers represent plunges of 45.7 percent in terms of gross receipts,

38.1 percent for the average price and 37.1 percent for the median. By this

point in the 2007 sale, 3,267 horses had brought $340,203,700, recording a

$104,133 average and a $35,000 median.

The auction concludes Monday, with the final session beginning at 10 a.m.

(EST). For more information, visit keeneland.com.