Lady Kierkegaard attracts $310,000 winning bid at Keeneland January

Lady Kierkegaard attracts $310,000 winning bid at Keeneland

January

Earlier on the day, a pair of racing or broodmare prospects tied for the

second-highest price of the session by bringing $170,000.

First up was Hip 929, EVIL KITTEN (Kitten's Joy), who went to Adena Springs

from the Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent. The five-year-old chestnut mare placed

in the 2012 Ontario Colleen (Can-G3) and Ruling Angel before returning last

season to be third in the Zadracarta. She's banked $234,414 to go along with her

19-3-2-2 record.

"The pedigree was very pleasing," Adena Springs General Manager Eric

Hamelback said. "The physical was, in our opinion, extremely good. She'll be in

the broodmare band and we'll see what happens. We feel very happy we got her."

Evil Kitten is out of the winning Santo Mio (Southern Halo), making her a

half-sister to Panamanian listed victor Lucky Halo (Brahms). Her female family

also includes Grade 1 conqueror Jolie's Halo (Halo) as well as Grade 2 winners

Angel Island (*Cougar II), Sharrood (Caro) and Cougarized (*Cougar II).

Hip 943 followed not long after with a winning bid of $170,000 from

Wellington Partners. Consigned by Denali Stud (Craig and Holly Bandoroff),

agent, the Irish-bred FONEPFERESH (Holy Roman Emperor) currently sports a

4-1-0-0, $8,641, career record.

The three-year-old bay filly is the first registered foal out of the unraced

Vee Gita (Vettori), who is a half-sister to 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile star

Vale of York (Invincible Spirit). Others of note in this female line include

Hong Kong champion miler Sound Print (Be My Guest) and Irish champion Smokey

Lady (Habitat); Group 1 Irish highweight and successful sire King of Kings

(Sadler's Wells); and Group 1 hero Steel Heart (Habitat).

A pair of Taylor Made consignees rounded out the six-figure sellers on

Wednesday. Hip 1153, STARSHIP UNIVERSE (Mineshaft), brought $160,000 from Adena

Springs while Hip 963, HARD LIFE (Rock Hard Ten), went to Calumet Farm for

$150,000.

Starship Universe placed in a pair of Canadian Grade 3s last year at

Woodbine, just missing by a head in the Whimsical before running third in the

Hendrie. Her current line reads 17-2-3-6, $106,830.

The five-year-old Kentucky-bred, who sold as a racing or broodmare prospect,

is a daughter of the winning Sir Harriett (Sir Harry Lewis) and counts as

half-siblings the stakes-winning duo of Overpass (Slavic) and Sir Five Star

(Five Star Day). Farther back in Starship Universe's female line one can find

1970 Travers victor Loud (*Herbager).

Taylor Made was acting as agent for Sport Thoroughbreds LLC when consigning

Hard Life, who sold in foal to Hard Spun on a May 14 cover. The six-year-old

mare was third in the 2012 Go for Wand H. (G2) and retired with a 18-3-4-6,

$143,454, resume last March.

Hard Life is out of the winning Life's Pleasure (Deputy Minister), who is a

half-sister to back-to-back Horse of the Year, $7.5 million earner and Hall of

Famer Cigar

(Palace Music). Her third dam is Argentinean Group 1 queen Gold Sun (Solazo),

herself a half-sibling to dual Argentinean champion *Jungle Duchess (Make

Tracks).

Wednesday's session saw the first improvement over the 2013 stand thus far in

the January sale. The first two days registered declines in gross and average,

but on Wednesday the $5,953,300 total for 246 horses rose 20.2 percent on the

$4,953,900 brought for the sell of 227 during the corresponding session in 2013.

The average jumped 10.9 percent, from $21,823 to $24,200, and the median

increased 15.4 percent, from $13,000 in 2013 to $15,000 on Wednesday.

Despite the better numbers, the sale is still off from last year. Thus far,

754 horses have sold for $36,462,400, a drop of 9.5 percent on 2013 when 676

rang up $40,229,000. The average has fallen 18.9 percent, from $59,614 at this

point a year ago to $48,359, while the $25,500 median has shown a modest rise of

2 percent over the 2013 median of $25,000.

"What we've seen through the September Yearling Sale, the November Breeding

Stock Sale and now in January is that all levels of the market are doing very

well within their own strata and that's very positive for our industry,"

Keeneland Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell said. "Keeneland sales indicate

strength at the top level and strength at the middle level.

"It's a fair market," Russell added. "It's not a crazy market. I think this

is the new reality. We are in a market where if you bring a good horse to sell

you'll get a fair price."

The four-day auction concludes Thursday with the session beginning at 10 a.m.

(EST). Full results and live video can be viewed at

keeneland.com.