WTBOA Sale Review - And a call out to Victor Bahna, Jr.

Be warned Victor Bahna, Jr., watch your back. You stole my girlfriend at the WTBOA Sale. Hip 48 went for $28,000, which was $6,000 more than I was willing to go for her. Look at this girl:

In all sincerity (if I am ever sincere it is now), I wish Victor the best of luck. He is a good guy and I know she will be treated well.

I would be mad at John Maryanski but he kicked my rear for Hip No. 56 so badly, I can't complain. Wish the Maryanskis all the luck with her too:

Ok, Ok, I took the picture from the wrong side.

Let's get to the basics first. Median ($10,500), gross ($1,297,000) and average were all up ($16,012). That is nice for the breeders and shows that maybe things are continuing to turn around. The sales topper was $57,000 which was $13,000 short of the sales topper last year, Legion of Boom. Here is a picture I took of Hip No. 102, the sales topper, at the farm:

Being a filly guy, most of the horses on my short list went for more (sometimes, much more) than I would have liked to pay. Life goes on and it's good for the WTBOA and breeders in the state.

I want to focus on our local sires but it is hard not to give a shout out to Tribal Rule who sold 5 horses for $57,000, $52,000, $51,000, $26,000 and $8,000. Nice for the recently deceased sire. Stormin' Fever sold two for $30,000 and $28,000. Also, Flatter got a $51,000 from Alaskan born, but Oregon breeder/owner/lover Jody Peetz. The Flatter:

He is pretty much saying to me: "I am a bad ass."

With respect to local stallions, Harbor the Gold, as expected, did exceptional with horses selling for $45,000, $40,000, $32,000, $30,000, $20,000 and $17,000. I made an early offer to buy Hip 98 for $1,000, but was rejected. Seems unfair. I mean really, what are they going to do with an extra $44,000? Hip 98:

El Dorado Farms stallion Abraaj did really well selling horses for $25,000, $18,000, $15,000, $6,000 and $4,500. Nationhood sold 7 for $30,000, $15,000 $8,500, $7,200, $2,000, $1,800 and $1,000. Raise the Bluff sold three including one for $13,500.

First year sires did solid. Coast Guard sold 5 for $15,000, $7,500, $6,000, $5,500 and $2,200. Rallying Cry had two sell for $5,000 and $3,200. Gold Aly had two sell for $4,000 and $2,700. The Gold Aly that sold for $4,000 had a very beautiful body and looked very athletic, so I thought that was a good buy.

As far as my sale went:

I made my short list before the sale even began. I am able to do this because (a) I am looking for fillies only and (b) I am looking for pedigree so they could be part of my broodmare band at some point and (c) I saw most of these horses at the farm before the sale. I also knew I couldn't afford a couple of the fillies (No. 98 and 102).

So my short list at the sale came down to 25, 48, 56, 64, and 94. By the end of my analysis, x-rays and thoughts on what horses would cost I got it down to 48 and 56, but the prices were simply too high. Bad for me, good for the breeders.

However, good for Keeneland November as I will now stick to the original business plan I drafted and try to bring back a couple good broodmares to improve the thoroughbreds in our state. Lexington, I will see you in November.

Always Love Your Animals,

Will