CONQUEST BUYS SALES TOPPER
This strong bay filly by Court Vision – Keen Victory by Victory Gallop was bought for $150,000 by Conquest Stable at the Canadian Premier yearling Sale yesterday at Woodbine. The CTHS put on the one-day sale. Ivan Dalos bred the sale topper. DAVE LANDRY IMAGE
Canadian Premier yearling sale results
Top Price: $150,000 filly by Court Vision – Keen Victory, by Victory Gallop – purchased by Conquest Stable
Gross sales: $4,210,400
No. sold: 202
Not sold: 66
Average $20,844
Median $13,500
It is difficult to compare the statistics from this year’s ONE-DAY sale to last year’s 2 day sale in which the selected yearlings were separated from the ‘open’ yearlings.
However, here is the gross and average of last year’s auction added and divided:
Gross $4,939,000
No. sold 195
Average $25,328
The MEDIAN for the select session in 2014 was $25,000 while the median for the open session was $4,500.
So, the average price was down $4,404 and that is not terrible considering the large gains made last year plus the one yearling that sold for $325,000 in 2014 that skewed the sales results.
While there were no fireworks as far as a hot commodity-type yearling, the nice ones sold well and the buyers were having a field day picking up some bargains.
A look at the buyers list and you will notice that there is a variety of names who signed sales slips, some familiar faces but some new. The big players from years past were not as involved, however, and the depth of the buyers pool was quite shallow.
Conquest Stables purchased two horses and were two of only three purchased by a Mark Casse owner whereas he signed for four times as moany last season.
It was good to see horsepeople such as John Ross collect quite a few: Ross purchased 7 for $170,000 for himself and clients.
TOP BUYERS
Conquest Stables – 2 for 222,000
John Ross agent – 7 for $170,000
Robert Tiller for Rolph Davis – 4 for $163,000
(Note – Tiller also bought two for 3 Sons Racing and one for The Very Dry Stable)
Tucci Stables 3 for $162,000
Bear Stables 4 for 136,000
Mike Doyle agent 6 for 125
Bill Tharrenos, agent 8 for 121,500
Perfect Timber syndicate 1 – 140,000
Other buyers of note:
Robert Rowe – 1- $95,000
Dominion Bloodstock for Linmac Farm 3 – 76,000
Joey Gee Thoroughbreds – 6 – $97,000
Bill Tharrenos, agent 8 – $122,500
SALE RE-CAP –
Time to hold tight (and Mother Nature,thanks for nothing!)
As a spectator at the sale who did a modest amount of moving around, it was unbearable heat and humidity almost anywhere you went at the sales pavilion.
For buyers, consignors,yearling workers and the horses it was that times 10.
“Who would have thought we would have had that weather for the sale?” said Gail Wood, one of the sale’s top consignors. “The weather was terrible, people could not stand it and it was a huge factor on the results of the sale.”
Indeed, it was bordering on impossible for people to be comfortable on sale day, which began at 11 a.m. when it was already over 30 degrees.
Wood noted that this crop of Canadian-bred yearlings would be the year of least security: in other words, these yearlings were created at the lowest level of security for horse breeders, when the slots-at-racetracks program and partnership was cancelled. There simply are not many horses and this year, the selected yearlings were lumped in with the open yearlings and prospective buyers had to sift through the book to find what was what.
“We have to hope breeders can hang in there,” said Wood. “Nobody is making money right now, they are just holding steady. It is like when farmers have a bad crop, they ave insurance for the bad crop and the government provides aid to give them relief. Horse breeders don’t have that.”
“It was as sticky as the weather,” said McCormack, of Cara Bloodstock. “There was no buyer depth, the Canadian economy is struggling and there was not a lot of stallion variety; all those things affected the sale.”
McCormack also remarked that the 33% rate of RNA’s was “a bit too high”.
“There was a lot of action in the middle {market],” said McCormack. “But getting people to get in and play and buy from the only local sale of Canadian breds? If some were there and tjhink they are just going to wait for next year, that is not going to work.”
The most crucial part of the local yearling sale, which has undergone some tinkering with dates, sessions and even the catering aspect for the afternoon/evening, is that without these horses, there would not be any racing at Woodbine.
Breeders need to be helped out to stay in the business, they need to feel secure that at the end of the current 5-year Wynne plan, there is a another plan in place.
“Two figures who drove last year’s sale were not involved to the same extent,” said Wood about one aggressive underbidder from last year and a leading trainer who did not buy as many.
In addition, the sales pavilion has been there since the 1960s and it has undergone only minimal freshening over the years. It needs a major makeover, air conditioning that works and an overall fix-up that will allow prospective buyers comfort during their shopping sprees.
While we are it, let’s make it a bit better of a sales atmosphere too. Go back to 2-days, have the selected yearlings on one day, require people to at least wear proper shirts (with sleeves!) – let’s be proud of what we have to offer here in Ontario and Canada and let’s get the entire industry and all the organizations to come together to spruce up the sales pavilion and put on a proper show for the most important member of this big industry.
