It's been a few weeks since I brought my Keeneland September colt (pedigree, catalog page) over to a sales prep facility.  I stopped by Friday to check on his progress -- it's only a couple of miles from my office, so quite convenient to get there during a lunch break -- and I was impressed by the progress made thus far. 

The colt has built up some muscle in his chest and has gained weight. He's always been on the small side and still is, but I'm pleased that he's filling out nicely.  He's a little short in the croup and has an overall delicate, feminine look.  Based on his dam's other colts, he'll hit a growth spurt as he comes into 2 years old.  He continues to handle well and has adjusted to his new routine without balking. He's still learning to stand at conformation pose but seems to be catching on. 

He's got 6.5 weeks of prep remaining, during which time he should continue to build muscle and get used to constant grooming.  While they're sucklings, weanlings, or short yearlings, I tend to groom for two reasons:  accustom the foals to being handled, and inspect them regularly for injury or abnormal growth.  I'm not especially concerned with getting them polished and pretty -- but that's exactly what yearling sales prep is all about! 

Now that the Keeneland September catalogs are out (online, at least), we know that he'll be going on Sunday, Aug. 21, as hip #4701.  A day or two later than I'd hoped, but at least it's still the weekend.

One thing that amuses me as I look at the Keeneland catalog page is that under the colt's second dam is the colt Cash Wager, who is listed as "champion imported sprinter twice" but doesn't show up in bold.  Ah, if only his four grade I wins in Trinidad and Tobago counted as black type....

For those of you who enjoy browsing the hips, the 2008 Keeneland September Yearling Sale catalogs are online here.  You can search by sire, first dam, or consignor -- or, download each of the eight books.  As always, you can also search by individual hip number (see catalog search here).

If you find a hip with especially interesting catalog page / pedigree, please comment!  Over the next couple of weeks, I'll pull a few pedigrees (both early and late in the sale) and indicate what I like about them.  Hope to hear other opinions as well.

When the hammer fell following hip #568 at yesterday's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale, it marked the closing of the first major yearling auction in 2008.

Many breeders were holding their breaths throughout the last couple of weeks, knowing that the July sale is the first test of the strength of the yearling market. Unfortunately, the final numbers don't hold much optimism.  While there was still enthusiasm for stand-out colts and fillies, the overall figures were off from last year, including increased RNAs and decreased gross, average, and median prices (more details here). 

Considering the long-term effects of the Thoroughbred auction market, my thoughts eventually turned to my own foals. Early last week, I vanned my yearling colt (pedigree) over to a sales prep facility to get him ready for the Keeneland September sale. What an ordeal that was.

I generally introduce my foals to the trailer while they're weanlings, get them used to loading and unloading, and then stop once they're comfortable with the routine. They remember the lessons when I go to load them next -- whether it's a few months or a year later -- and they don't bat an eyelash. This year, my Honour and Glory (SRO) colt decided to be the exception. It surprised me; he's always easy to handle and has good ground manners. It took a good 45 minutes to get him loaded this time, though -- and then, only after he'd reared up and flipped over (which is when I introduced him to the twitch!). Once we arrived at the facility, he was back to his mild-mannered self, fortunately.

The colt will go through 60 to 70 days of "prep," during which time he'll build some muscle with frequent walks, avoid the coat-bleaching sun by being stalled during the late morning and early afternoon, and learn to stand still in a conformation pose. I've prepped my own foals before but am happy to turn over the job this year to a specialist -- and with only one yearling to sell, I know he'll be better represented by being in the barn of a consignor.

I was pleased to see that the Honour and Glory offerings (2 colts) at Fasig-Tipton sold for an average of $97,500. Broad Brush was represented by three foals (a colt and two fillies) as a broodmare sire; they sold for an average $76,000.  Honour and Glory beat the $92,298 overall sale average... Broad Brush was under but still respectable... and the two stallions both saw 100% sales (vs. the sale's 39% RNA rate).

For additional Fasig-Tipton coverage, check out the free Data Digest, or head over to the Hammer Time blog.

Yearling sales are a big deal.  If you want to gauge the strength of the industry, take a look at the yearling market.  (And if you're really into such things, you probably already subscribe to TBH MarketWatch...).  Each year, thousands of yearlings go through the ring (in 2008, we'll probably see more than 14,000 of them, with maybe 10,500 sold). 

For more detail, take a look at an 8-year summary of North American yearling sales, or look at yearling auction results by individual sale (click the "yearlings" tab to see sales results for 2007 and for 2008 year-to-date).

So, it's June.  The beginning of June, even.  The tail end of horses-in-training sales.  Why am I discussing yearlings?

Because those sales are already in the works.  Fasig-Tipton's July select session and Saratoga August sales are right around the corner.  The colossal Keeneland September yearling sale follows shortly thereafter.  Many of the sales, in fact, have entry deadlines long since passed. The sales companies are preparing catalog pages, double-checking consignment details, and preparing for barn after barn full of rambunctious yearlings.

And because I've got a colt going through the ring in September.  Over the next few months, I'll post regular updates on the whole process of going through a sale.  Many of you have done this before -- some of you do it every year -- and your comments are appreciated.  And for those of you who are new to Thoroughbred auctions, this is a great opportunity to ask questions of your fellow readers!

So, here's the start of my story:  I have a colt by Honour and Glory (on SRO) out of my Broad Brush mare Brush Back (her pedigree).  Here is the colt's five-cross pedigree and TrueNicks rating.  He's on the small side but well-conformed and attracts a good bit of attention.  Small, unfortunately, is generally a detractor for yearlings.  The colt has excellent ground manners.  We went through a spell when he reared up constantly; I was able to stop that behavior, fortunately, and he's now quite well behaved.  

The colt (he's unnamed... sales yearlings generally are not named prior to their sale) is pastured 22 hours a day and is stalled for morning and evening feedings and grooming.  I put him up overnight twice a month to familiarize him with being stalled for long periods, but otherwise, I want him to "be a horse" and run/graze/socialize as long as possible. Because of his time outdoors, he's got some sun-bleaching, another detractor when going through the ring.

I've decided to send the colt to Montessori Farm for sales prep and consignment.  Lots more on those details will come in future posts.  For now, suffice it to say that the colt's daily routine will change significantly starting mid-June (about 90 days out from the sale):  he'll see more stall time during the day to make his coat darker, he'll have a more formal exercise regimen to build some muscle, and he'll learn to walk and pose for viewings by potential bidders.

While this colt is my first foal out of Brush Back, she has had six previous foals, all of which were sold at the Keeneland September yearling auction.  Their yearling prices have ranged from $5,000 to $105,000.  One of them went on to sell for $600,000 as a 3-year-old.  The mare's progeny yearling average is about $40,000, with mostly mid-range stallions.  Honour and Glory's lifetime progeny yearling average is just under $60,000.  If this colt continues to develop nicely and the yearling market remains steady, he should beat those averages come September.

In occasional posts over the next three months, we'll look at decisions made along the way:  breeding choices, the multitude of expenses to get from breeding to newborn foal to yearling, the "sales prep" stage, and finally the colt's pre-auction showings and his trip through the ring.