by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis
LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which opened with a strong Book 1 session Tuesday, continued its momentum with the first of two Book 2 sessions with strong demand for both mares and foals Wednesday.
“It was outstanding,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said of Wednesday's session. “Coming off yesterday, it was really positive across all the metrics. And I think we improved the position today. The gross was up 61% over last year, the scratch rate was down, and our clearance rate was up to 78%. It was really healthy across the board.”
For the session, 235 horses sold for $47,382,000. The average of $201,626 was up 37.66% from last year's Book 2 opener and the median rose 12.50% to $225,000.
The auction had its 18th seven-figure offering when the Raging Torrent Syndicate bid $1.3 million to acquire the 5-year-old broodmare Anywho (Bolt d'Oro) from the Grovendale Sales consignment.
“The mares were very strong,” Lacy said. “Anybody looking for a quality mare really had to step up and pay.”
Lacy continued, “I think it's a bullish market. It feels like people are very aggressive going for what they want. There is more of an eagerness, an enthusiasm for breeding–and it's a domestic demand primarily, which is very encouraging. There are a lot of new people getting in the game and there are a lot of breeders who felt like they needed to refresh their broodmare bands. The breeders recognize that mediocrity is not rewarded. Quality is what they are looking for and they are focusing in on. And when quality gets rewarded, it incentivizes breeders to keep stepping up their programs. I think that's only [good] for the gene pool and for the industry as we move forward.”
Tony Lacy with trainer Brendan Walsh | Keeneland
The competition for weanlings remained fierce Wednesday, with 104 weanlings selling for an average of $176,923 and a median of $150,000. At the corresponding session a year ago, 86 weanlings sold for an average of $126,279 and a median of $90,000.
“The weanling market was extremely strong,” said Keeneland Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach. “We nearly doubled the number of six-figure foals from the corresponding session last year. If you look at the $300,000 and up foals, there were 17 today. There were seven in the session last year. And those 17 today are by 13 different sires. There is depth to the market and that bodes well, both in the range of what's available, but also the buyer base. That's the most rewarding part of all.”
A pair of weanlings by first-crop sires shared top honors during Wednesday's session, with a filly by Cody's Wish bringing $550,000 from Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds early in the session matched later in the day by a colt by Elite Power purchased by Glen Hill Farm.
The Keeneland November sale continues through Tuesday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.
Bolt d'Oro's Anywho Snapped Up for $1.3 Million
Continuing its robust spending in Keeneland's Book 2 opener, the group listed as Raging Torrent Syndicate dug in for another seven-figure purchase on Wednesday when extending to $1.3 million for MGSP Anywho (Bolt d'Oro).
The ticket was signed by Paul Curran representing Ace Stud. Entering stud at Lane's End, Raging Torrent won the GI Malibu Stakes, GI Hill 'n' Dale Met Mile and G2 Godolphin Mile.
Hip 290, consigned by Grovendale, was sold in foal to Not This Time.
“Well, it's just really cool,” said Grovendale's James Keogh. “It's always lovely to sell a horse for a million dollars. And, you know, she was a lovely, lovely mare, and she came from a tremendous female family, and she was just impossible to fault.”
“To sell a horse for a million dollars, but to bring a mare in here and sell it at Keeneland, it's life changing for people like my wife and I. It's just a fantastic day.”
After the Ring with @JamesBKeogh on the $1.3 million sale of Anywho in foal to Not This Time #KeeNov pic.twitter.com/GcuNeIUZoN
— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) November 5, 2025
The daughter of SP Fancy and Flashy (Zensational) is a half-sister to Grade III-placed Wipe the Slate (Nyquist). Anywho was bred in Kentucky by Brookfield Stud.
Campaigned by Hronis Racing and trained by John Sadler, the 5-year-old was retired with a trio of wins and earnings of just under $250,000. During her career, she also finished third in the GIII Rancho Bernardo Stakes and in her sole start in 2025, in the GIII Las Cienegas Stakes at Santa Anita.
“She is obviously a well-raced filly and the covering sire was very popular with us,” said Curran. “We have bought a couple of mares covered by Not This Time. He is just a phenomenal stallion. He seems to be the real deal in the sense that going from a very small fee to where he is now at $250,000 is a testament to him.”
Outlining what the team is looking for to visit their new stallion, Curran said, “We are trying to support our new stallion Raging Torrent and she is going to go to him. We are trying to pick up a couple of nice mares with some nice covers to them and she fit the bill.
“She is a nice high-profile mare to send to him. We are trying to get some quality mares to him with some runners on the ground and she is perfect for that.
“We really liked the Medaglia d'Oro broodmare line as well, that was a factor as well. I think she'll suit Raging Torrent very well. We're pleased we got her.”
Book 2 fireworks! Anywho, a mare by Bolt d'Oro and in foal to Not This Time delivers $1.3 million in the ring early in the day. Consigned by @grovendalesales, purchased by Raging Torrent Syndicate. pic.twitter.com/nKa3ktAQF7
— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) November 5, 2025
Raging Torrent Syndicate's other purchases on Wednesday include hip 260, Very Scary (Connect), who brought $625,000 and was also a member of the Grovendale consignment.
The Raging Torrent Syndicate was the leading buyer on Wednesday with two purchases generating $1.925 million. Through the first two days of selling at Keeneland, the operation led all buyers with five purchases totaling $5,225,000.–CBoss
Green Knows Who's Ticket
Bloodstock agent Finn Green, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, went to $750,000 to acquire the 4-year-old broodmare Who's Ticket (Quality Road) (hip 267) from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment Wednesday at Keeneland. The bay mare, in foal to Practical Joke, is a daughter of champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway). Her second dam, Charming (Seeking the Gold), produced Omaha Beach, and third dam Take Charge Lady (Dehere) produced champion Will Take Charge. It was a family Green got to see up close when he served as racing manager for 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man.
Who's Ticket | Keeneland
“I stepped into the receiving barn at Santa Anita in 2013 for the Breeders' Cup with Mucho Macho Man and Will Take Charge came in,” Green recalled. “So we go all the way back to that point with this family. You don't get many Grade I-producing mares that repeat in multiple generations. So pedigree is very important to the client.”
The mare, bred by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Three Chimneys Farm, was purchased by Glen Hill Farm and Three Chimneys for $450,000 as a weanling at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November sale. She was followed into the Keeneland ring Wednesday by her first foal, a colt by Munnings bred by Three Chimneys and Glen Hill, who sold for $450,000 to Glen Hill Farm.
Of plans for the mare, Green said, “[The client] may even go to New York with her. But she will come back to a Kentucky stallion.” @JessMartiniTDN
Thirty Year Farm Enters the Fray with 750K Medaglia d'Oro Buy
Thirty Year Farm made it on the board Wednesday with Golden Ghost (GB) (Medaglia d'Oro), purchased for $750,000 during the second day of selling at Keeneland.
Offered as hip 413, the 4-year-old was consigned by Taylor Made Sales on behalf of the D J Stable Curated Reduction. Taylor Made Sales led all consignors Wednesday with 31 head amassing $8.165 million. Also on top through two days of selling, the agency sold 60 horses for $27,205,000.
Bidding from the far end of the main pavilion, the operation's Matt and Kristen Esler were accompanied by their advisor, Edgewood Farm's Carson Asbury.
Golden Ghost | Keeneland
What was the initial attraction to the filly?
“Did you get a look at her?” Thirty Year Farm's Matt Esler asked with a laugh. “She is a really good-looking mare–definitely checked those boxes. We are bullish on Not This Time. I think she'll be a really nice broodmare.”
The English-bred filly, in foal to Not This Time, is out of G1 Prix de l'Opera heroine Villa Marina (GB) (Le Havre), a half-sister to dual Australian Group 1-winning Huetor (Fr) (Archipenko).
“Medaglia d'Oro is an A+ cross with [Not This Time],” explained Esler. “We've had some success with Medaglia d'Oro in the past, so that definitely factored into [the purchase].”
Thirty Year Farm has been gradually increasing its number of residents since the couple secured the tract of land in Saratoga, just under five miles from Saratoga Race Course, eight years ago.
Since the purchase, the Eslers have been focused on developing a blueprint that is tailor-made to their program.
“We don't try to re-invent the wheel,” said Esler. “We look for proven mares or mares with great pedigree and we are always looking for physical traits of performers.”
Facing stark competition for younger race fillies and mares at this season's November sales has proven anything but easy to fill orders for most operations.
“We had a harder time buying this year than we've had in the last few years out of this sale,” Esler admitted. “We thought it was an 'us' thing. It's obviously not.”
He continued, “This year, we've had a bit of a youth movement. We have gotten away from some of the older mares and this year, they are all on the younger side. We'll also see if we can't make [race fillies/broodmare prospects] ourselves.
“Overall, we want great bloodlines and for them to have good, solid first dams.”
Thirty Year Farm made its first-ever purchase at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale, securing Yanira (More Than Ready), a half-sister to Classic-producing mare Puca (Big Brown) and GISW Finnegan's Wake (Powerscourt {GB}), for $575,000. The bay mare is in foal to Good Magic.–CBoss
'Something Special': Cody's Wish Weanling Demand Continues at Keeneland
Weanlings from the first crop of Horse of the Year Cody's Wish continued to be in demand in the sales ring at Keeneland Wednesday. Randy Hartley went to $550,000 to secure a filly by the Darley stallion (hip 257) on behalf of Tom Durant. The filly was bred by John Ferguson's Natalma Bloodstock, which purchased her dam, Union Maiden (Union Rags), for $250,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. She was consigned by Lane's End.
Hip 257 | Keeneland
“We are seeing something special in the Cody's Wishes,” said Hartley. “We really wanted to try to buy one and we've gotten outbid on a few and didn't get one. I felt like this filly was the best one left, for us anyway. So we were going home with her.”
Cody's Wish had four weanlings sell for an average of $416,250 at Monday's Fasig-Tipton November sale.
Through two sessions of the Keeneland November sale, seven weanlings by Cody's Wish have sold for an average of $256,429. The stallion stands at Darley for $60,000.
“They just have substance to them,” Hartley said of Cody's Wish's first-crop weanlings. “They have got the hips, the minds, you can just tell they are born with it. It's not like they are putting it on them. And he was such a special racehorse. I bought his halter for $5,000, so surely I can buy a filly. We stretched a little bit, but she has some pedigree.”
Hartley continued, “We are looking for fillies for Tom to race and that, down the road, he can make broodmares.”
Of the competitive weanling market, Hartley said, “The market is setting the prices, so it's hard to be surprised, but yes, I am surprised. There are fewer babies here because the yearling market was so good. I feel like a lot of people are hanging on to stuff. But if you pay a lot here, and you come back to sell, there are going to be a lot of horses that we didn't see here that you are going to be up against.
“So as pinhookers, we haven't bought much to pinhook yet. We are going to try to find some here in like Book 4,” Hartley added with a laugh. @JessMartiniTDN
Elite Power Colt Tops Glen Hill's Weanling Haul Wednesday
Glen Hill Farm bypassed the competitive yearling market in September in favor of the foal market in November and, while the going wasn't much easier, the Bernick family's operation walked away from Wednesday's session of the Keeneland November sale with four weanlings. Leading the group was a colt from the first crop of champion Elite Power (hip 505) who was purchased for $550,000 from the Grovendale Sales consignment.
Hip 505 | Keeneland
“My mom, Carol Bernick, decided she wanted to have some colts and hopefully target some big races,” Craig Bernick said. “We looked in September 2024 and we couldn't get near a horse, so we bought five foals last year. I just sort of bought what I wanted. Every horse I bid on, I bought. So I thought we would do the same thing this year, but I guess everyone had the same idea this year. We couldn't get near any of the horses yesterday. But we liked four horses today and we were fortunate to get them. We are excited about all four of them.”
Hip 505 is out of Mrs. Postman (Pioneerof the Nile), a daughter of Grade I winner Miss Shop (Deputy Minister) and a half-sister to Tin Type Gal (Tapit). The weanling was bred by William Humphries and Altair Farms, who purchased Mrs. Postman for $50,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November sale. The mare's first foal, a filly by Jackie's Warrior, sold for $210,000 at this year's Keeneland September sale.
“The Elite Power is a really racy colt from a great family,” Bernick said. “The more we looked at him, the more we liked the horse. It was a little more than we were hoping to pay, but maybe not so much more than we expected after everything that has happened.”
Also Wednesday, Glen Hill purchased a colt by Munnings (hip 268)–whom they had co-bred with Three Chimneys Farm–for $450,000; a colt by Street Sense (hip 474) for $375,000; and a colt by Yaupon (hip 420) for $180,000. @JessMartiniTDN
McCauley Mare Has the Right Foundation
Nate McCauley's Foundation Bloodstock was one of the most prolific buyers at the Keeneland January sale earlier this year, purchasing 15 young mares for $670,500 with the intention of putting them in foal and returning them to the sales ring this fall. The plan worked to perfection at Keeneland Wednesday when Will Take Holiday (Will Take Charge) (hip 269) sold for $335,000 to Old Tavern Farm. McCauley had purchased the unraced 6-year-old mare, a half-sister to Grade I winner Trikari (Oscar Performance), for $52,000 in January. She sold Wednesday carrying her first foal after visiting Twirling Candy ($60k) this spring.
Keeneland
“When I saw her in January, I thought she was really nice,” McCauley said of Will Take Holiday. “She had good substance and size. But you could tell that maybe there was still improvement left in her. I have great respect for that family. I had owned it once before. And I have great respect for Trikari. I thought he would come back and have an even better year than it turned out he did. And there was a 3-year-old sister that Mike Maker had who broke her maiden impressively at Gulfstream. Unfortunately, something happened to her after that, so we didn't catch that update.”
Of the decision to send the mare to Twirling Candy, McCauley said, “Twirling Candy is one of my favorite stallions, but you have to be careful what you breed to him. He wants substance and size from the mare. And she had both of those in spades. And he's done really well with [Will Take Charge's sire] Unbridled's Song, so that cross was fantastic. She was perfect for the Twirling Candy play.”
McCauley said Will Take Holiday's $335,000 price tag Wednesday, “exceeded my expectations, but at the same time, I thought she was well-bought.”
Of the difference in the market from January to November, McCauley said, “To me, this is a more competitive market than January and that helps. What we try to do is find value with the maiden mares and find value with the stallions we are breeding them to. And then we hope that that adds up to a more expensive package than what we have invested in them. And when you have a really good market on top of it, that's when you have results like this.”
McCauley expects to be back in action reoffering more members of his January purchases over the next week at Keeneland.
“We RNA'd one at Night of the Stars and sold her after,” McCauley said. “They are a great group. And of course, they are here to sell. We have really conservative reserves. Every year we have 90%-plus clearance rate. There are going to be some that we will lose a little bit of money on and that's ok. But as a whole, I feel good about them.” @JessMartiniTDN
The post Anywho, Yet Another Million-Dollar Mare, Paces ‘Bullish’ Keeneland November Book 2 Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
