Hip 12 – Justify x Samaready colt
Consigned by Four Star Sales, Agent
It is not that common to see a top Australian bloodline turning up in the Keeneland sales, but here we have a Justify colt out of the Australian champion female sprinter Samaready. She won the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes at two and then the G1 AJ Moir Stakes at four. Samaready was in foal to Snizel when Coolmore purchased her for AU$1.8 million in 2020. The subsequent foal was Shinzo, who followed his dam to Group 1 glory, winning the Golden Slipper and earning Australia’s champion two-year-old colt honour. Shinzo now stands for A$49,500 (US$35,363) at Coolmore’s Australian farm in the Hunter Valley. Samaready travelled to Kentucky to be covered by Justify.
It was back in 2016 that Justify took his own turn in the Keeneland September Yearling Sale ring where he fetched US$500,000. The unbeaten Triple Crown hero now stands for a fee of US$200,000 and continues to amaze with the versatility of his progeny. He has produced Group 1-winning dirt sprinter Arabian Lion, champion two-year-old fillies both on turf and dirt like Opera Singer and Just F Y I, Epsom Derby winner City Of Troy, and now the Gold Cup hero at Ascot Scandinavia. It will be interesting to see how the Justify element will interact with this speedy and precocious bloodline from Australia. The same Justify and More Than Ready cross has also produced G1 Belmont Oaks winner Aspen Grove.
Hip 42 – Cody’s Wish x Spanish Star filly
Consigned by Pope McLean (Crestwood Farm), Agent IV
It feels like yesterday that the incredible story of Cody’s Wish moved the whole racing world and beyond, but now his first crop of foals is already at the yearling sales. Cody’s Wish is regally bred, a seven-furlong to mile specialist who never missed the placings in his career and was crowned Horse of the Year in 2023. He has drawn a lot of attention in this year’s sales so far – his yearlings were the market leaders among those from the first-crop sires at The Saratoga Sale and the New York Bred Yearling Sale.
There are 84 Cody’s Wish offspring at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, and one of the stellar pedigrees among them is this filly by Spanish Star. That makes her a half-sister to last year’s G1 Test Stakes winner Kilwin, while other siblings include two graded stakes winners: turf sprinter One Timer, and Just Basking who was a performer on both dirt and turf. Her granddam also produced the G1 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston.
Hip 54 – Into Mischief x Streak Of Luck colt
Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, Agent for Aaron & Marie Jones LLC
Ted Noffey’s stellar two-year-old season put everyone on notice about this colt who is his full-brother. Ted Noffey’s undefeated season last year included a show-stopping 8.5-length victory in the G1 Hopeful Stakes, a 2.75-length victory in the G1 Breeders’ Futurity and a one-length victory in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. All of that earned him the Eclipse Award for Champion Two-Year-Old Male. As a result, his dam Streak Of Luck was sold at auction in November last year to AMO Racing for a jaw-dropping US$6.2 million. Ted Noffey was sold at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale two years ago for US$650,000, and his Munnings half-sister, Above All Odds, was knocked down to Mike Repole at this very auction last year for US$425,000.
Into Mischief has been the North American leading sire for seven years in a row, and has produced 27 Group 1 winners and eight Eclipse Award winners. Last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale saw six Into Mischief progeny sell for over US$1 million. It won’t be a surprise if we see this colt do it this year.
Hip 116 – Gun Runner x Amazement colt
Consigned by Darby Dan Farm, Agent VII
This colt’s pedigree is familiar to those who follow Japanese racing. His granddam, Wonder Again, was the younger full-sister to Japanese champion and cult hero Grass Wonder who sadly passed away last year. Wonder Again herself was a two-time turf Group 1 winner in North America, and she continued to extend the family line as a broodmare when her grandson Colonel Liam, half-brother to this Gun Runner colt, became a three-time turf Group 1 winner.
Gun Runner is another exciting sire with 14 Group 1 winners among his offspring. He had 12 of his progeny pass the US$1 million mark at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale, double the number of Into Mischief progeny who passed the seven-figure benchmark at the same sale. Gun Runner has sired the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone who was known for his rivalry against Japanese star Forever Young, and Japan’s talented three-year-old Finger, who won the first two legs of the Japanese Dirt Triple Crown this year. Considering this colt’s half-sister Astoundment was sold to Nobutaka Tada for US$180,000 at Keeneland in November 2021 and is serving as a broodmare in Japan, there could well be some Japanese interest.
Hip 202 – Curlin x Dreaming of Julia filly
Consigned by Gainesway, Agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised
This filly has a ton of obvious potential as a racehorse and a likely broodmare, being a full-sister to Shadwell’s champion filly Malathaat, whose storied career made her a fan favourite. A G1 Kentucky Oaks winner among three top level wins at three, Malathaat would suffer an agonising defeat in that year’s G1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff against Japanese longshot Marche Lorraine, with a dream setup but a troubled trip. Malathaat raced on at four and came back to her best in the late summer with two more Group 1 wins. Then, in the final race of her career, she was able to get that Breeders’ Cup Distaff win, which had eluded her the previous year, in a dramatic three-way finish, and retired as a six-time Group 1 winner. Malathaat’s younger full-sister Julia Shining is also a graded stakes winner, adding more expectation to this filly.
Curlin, pensioned from stud duties earlier this year, needs little introduction and among his leading progeny are the above mentioned Malathaat and Cody’s Wish. His year so far is highlighted by Golden Tempo who finally gave his sire a Kentucky Derby victory and went on to claim two legs of the Triple Crown by winning the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. His son Journalism, the 2025 G1 Preakness Stakes hero, will take up stallion duties at Coolmore after closing out his career with a recent win in the G2 San Diego Handicap.
Hip 251 – Nyquist x Heavenly Love filly
Consigned by Gainesway, Agent XXVII
The North American classic generation featured in the 2024 Kentucky Derby is probably the most memorable in the past decade, headlined by Sierra Leone, Japan’s Forever Young and Fierceness. Not necessarily because they are all individually accomplished, but due to the fact they finished in the top three of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic for two years in a row and produced many stories on and off the racetrack. Among these three, Sierra Leone was the one who always dug in, finishing a close second in the 2024 editions of the Derby and winning the Classic with his trademark get-back and run-on style, and never finishing out of the money in his 14-race career. The fact that he and Forever Young share the same granddam makes their story, as well as their pedigree, even more attractive.
This September, Sierra Leone’s stellar record and pedigree will be brought to mind at Keeneland through this Nyquist half-sister. Nyquist, himself a Kentucky Derby winner, has produced quality winners on both dirt and turf, including the G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and G1 Met Mile winner Nysos, and G1 winner and Breeders’ Cup Mile runner-up Johannes. Most recently, Nyquist was highlighted by Knightsbridge’s impressive 6.25-length victory in the G1 Pacific Classic.
Hip 327 – Flightline x Mira Alta filly
Consigned by Warrendale Sales, Agent XIII
The 2022 world champion Flightline’s first crop is off to a decent start, with a couple of eye-catching winners on the American dirt such as Flight Command and Inshallah, and is represented by 73 hips in the Keeneland September Sale this year. However, even to the surprise of Lane’s End’s Bill Farish, it was on the Japanese turf that Flightline got his first winner as a sire, when Demian won a Tokyo seven-furlong newcomer race by 1.25 lengths.
Demian was purchased by Naohiro Sakaguchi last year at this sale for US$1.7 million, and is now being pointed towards the G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over a mile on turf at Tokyo on October 10. With Hip 327 being a full sister to Demian, Japanese buyers will surely be interested now that they know this pedigree can suit the fast track and firm ground of the Tokyo turf course.
Hip 569 – Flightline x Dacita colt
Consigned by Lane’s End, Agent
Flightline has had two winners in Japan so far, the other being Shonan Galleon, who debuted with an impressive 2.5-length win in a nine-furlong turf newcomer at Hakodate, setting a new two-year-old track record in the process. Shonan Galleon was a successful mixing of Flightline and South American blood, with his dam being the champion Argentine filly Tan Gritona.
This year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale also boasts Flightline offspring with a South American damline, a colt by Chilean champion Dacita. The mare had an accomplished career on turf, winning three Group 1s in Chile including their 1,000 Guineas and Oaks equivalent, and then won the G1 Diana Stakes and G1 Beverly D Stakes after being transferred to the United States.
This colt’s second dam Daja is a prolific top-class producer and her offspring include the Chilean champion two-year old filly Dafonda and Dacita’s Group 1-placed full-sister Dalala. The last-named is the dam of Dastan who in June won the G1 Gran Premio Alberto Vial Infante on turf. Considering three out of five winners so far by Flightline have won on the grass, Dacita’s colt seems to have a lot of turf potential and is another youngster likely to attract interest from Japanese buyers.
Hip 646 – Up To The Mark x Inchargeofme colt
Consigned by Nursery Place, Agent
Last year’s ill-fated G1 2,000 Guineas winner Ruling Court’s half-brother by first-season sire Up To The Mark should draw plenty of attention. The late Ruling Court was sold for a relative bargain US$150,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, but his price later surged to €2.3 million at the Arqana 2yo Breeze-Up Sale. That kind of steal won’t happen again, and his Ghostzapper younger half-sister was sold at this sale last year for US$1.175 million to Imad Alsagar’s Blue Diamond Stud operation known for Nashwa.
Ruling Court’s half-brother on offer this time is one of the first sons of the American turf champion Up To The Mark to step out at Keeneland. Up To The Mark’s successful four-year-old season saw him earn the Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Male Horse after he won three Group 1s in a row and was gallant in defeat in the Breeders’ Cup Turf against Auguste Rodin. Up To The Mark is by the red-hot stallion Not This Time, and it will be interesting to see how the buyers rate the newcomer stallion’s value.
Hip 1115 – Epicenter x Peace Peddler filly
Consigned by Greenfield Farms, Agent VIII
This year’s Japanese Derby hero Lovcen will take a shot at history and try to become Japan’s ninth Triple Crown hero by winning the G1 Kikuka Sho this October. Lovcen’s success has surprised many as he is out of the less-supported stallion World Premiere, but he is also another great example of the Japanese breeding industry incorporating North American bloodlines.
Lovcen’s dam Songwriting was a Keeneland September graduate in 2014 and was sold to Katsumi Yoshida the following year at the two-year-old sale. Songwriting was out of Canadian champion older mare Embur’s Song, who also produced this Epicenter filly’s mother, Peace Peddler, herself a US$200,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Given that this yearling shares the same granddam with Lovcen, she presents an interesting opportunity to get a close relative to a Japanese Derby winner at Keeneland.
Her sire Epicenter is best known for his 5.25-length demolition job in the 2022 G1 Travers Stakes. His first crop runners are two-year-olds this year, and as of late August he has five winners in total.
OTHER LOTS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Hip 47
Half-brother to triple crown winner Justify by Gun Runner
Hip 81
Justify filly by Coolmore-owned Toy, from the family of Gleneagles, Joan of Arc and Giant’s Causeway
Hip 217
Justify half-brother to Japanese multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Jasper Krone
Hip 227
Justify filly by Epsom Oaks winner Forever Together, from the family of City Of Troy
Hip 238
Not This Time filly by champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive, first foal
Hip 254
Flightline colt from the Better Than Honour female line that has produced Rags to Riches, Casino Drive, Jazil and Arcangelo
Hip 502
Elite Power colt by multiple graded stakes winner Yuugiri who was raced in the famous Tsunebumi Yoshihara colors known for Air Groove, Air Messiah et al, first foal. The family also has produced graded stakes winner Air Almas in Japan.
Hip 621
Gun Runner filly whose nephew is this year’s Japanese Derby 5th Matenro Gale. ∎
