364 head were catalogued for this sale. These offspring were sired by 25 different. stallions. There was plenty of sire power from seasoned stallions but there were also several freshman sires of interest. I was particularly drawn to California Chrome’s first crop. He had five yearlings in the sale. See a few in the pictures throughout this post. California Chrome’s yearlings included three colts (hips 62, 141, and 350) and two fillies (hips 109 and 205).
The July Sale kicked off at 10 A.M. EST on a very hot and humid day. The parking lot was full though perhaps less with intentions to buy or sell and more just to enjoy it. The restaurant area stayed packed as it was a nice temperature controlled environment from which to watch. California Chrome’s farm, Taylor Made, was wise and kind to provide ice cream at their barn.
Statistically speaking, of the 364 catalogued, 300 were offered of which 202 sold and 98 did not meet their reserve. In the prior year 196 sold and 86 did not. This reflects a 33 percent buyback rate versus 30 percent in 2018. This sale grossed over $18.6 million dollars which was less than last years revenue of over $19.7 million dollars to reflect a 6 percent decline. The average price was down 9 percent, at roughly $92 thousand dollars while the median price remained steady at $75 thousand dollars.
The sale topper also remained steady as it went to a colt sired by Flatter. That is 2 years in a row that Flatter has sired The July Sale top seller. This year, the top price was $440,000 which was down from $520 thousand in the prior year.
Freshman sire, California Chrome’s offspring represented in this sale had two that sold and three that did not meet reserve. Hip 62, was a gray colt out of Stayclassyanddiego. He was consigned by Denali Stud and sold to agent, Michael L. Rone for just $20,000. Hip 109, a filly born to Wildcat Lily, bears a striking resemblance to her father. She sold from Taylor Made to Speculation Equus LLC. for $80,000. Hip 141, a chestnut colt with Beholden for his dam, did not sell. He was consigned by Taylor Made and looks a lot like his sire too. An Exchange Funds bay filly offspring sired by Chrome wore hip 205. She was consigned by a Valkyre Stud agent and did not meet reserve. Finally, hip 350, a bay colt out of Our Fantene, was consigned by agent Joe Dodgen and did not sell at this auction. If I could win the lottery, I’d buy all the Chrome kids!
I’m looking forward to watching these colts and fillies when they hit the ground running in 2020 and beyond. There was plenty of promise in this crop. The yearlings of yesterday are the champions of the future. If you love thoroughbred horse racing, let me know and follow Thoroughbred U.
