By Lindsay Ward, Communications Coordinator, CTHS Alberta Division

Forty-eight thousand dollars was the top price paid for a yearling during the annual Alberta Thoroughbred Sale on Friday, September 13th at Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alberta. There were 111 quality yearlings on offer with 67 selling for total gross sales of $451,300. The top five highest priced yearlings were all Alberta-bred yearlings.

The high seller was Hip #66, an Alberta-bred Oxbow colt out of Samara Street, consigned by Highfield Investment Group, Inc. and sold to 1140021 Alberta Ltd. Oxbow is by Canadian Hall of Fame racehorse and elite sire, Awesome Again. Oxbow is a Grade One winner of the Preakness Stakes and has progeny with over $3 million in earnings to date. Samara Street ($155,220) is a stakes-placed daughter of Street Cry (IRE) who has produced the stakes-placed Choteau ($99,450).

The second-highest selling yearling was Hip #62, a Cape Canaveral gelding, consigned by Highfield Investment Group and purchased by Greg Tracy, Agent for $30,000. This yearling is out of the Deputy Minister mare, Renaissance Woman, who produced the successful Alberta runner, Alywyn ($261,194).

Third was Hip #45, a Commissioner colt out of the stakes placed Next Big Nothin’ by Forest Wildcat that sold for $26,000. This colt was consigned by Running Fawcett Thoroughbreds and purchased by True North Stable.

Hip #11, a Giant Gizmo filly consigned by Highfield Investment Group sold for $25,000 to Greg Tracy, Agent and brought the fourth highest price in the sale. This filly is out of the stakes winning Golden Made ($372,225), a dam who has produced 10 winners including the well-known Alberta runners, Tell Me Lies ($273,650), Centrefire ($145,777) and Golden Cup ($48,920). 

Rounding out the top five high sellers was Hip #30, a Mank colt out of the stakes winning mare Lil Missknowitall ($142,568) by Kafwain. This yearling was consigned by Starline Thoroughbreds and purchased by Don and Sue Danard for $21,000. 

Highfield Investment Group was the leading consignor by gross sales with seven yearlings selling for a gross total of $143,200. Three of the top five highest-priced yearlings in the sale came from the Highfield Investment Group consignment. The leading purchaser by gross sales was Greg Tracy, Agent who purchased four yearlings for a total amount of $78,000. This group included a Giant Gizmo, an Exhi and two Cape Canaveral yearlings.

The total gross sales for the yearling portion of sale totalled $451,300 with an average of $6,736 and a median of $2,700. The 2019 sales average declined 31 percent from the 2018 average of $9,658 while the median amount declined 34 percent from the 2018 median of $4,100. As CTHS Alberta Manager, Jean Kruse, commented, “It was a buyer’s sale.” Consignors faced a challenging market, but purchasers had exceptional opportunities to find affordable yearlings from a quality offering that Alberta breeders have worked hard to produce.

Purchasers and owners of Alberta-bred yearlings have the opportunity to participate in the Thoroughbred Breed Improvement Program, which in 2019 offered over $950,000 to owners of horses foaled in Alberta. Owners of horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing win, place, and show in all sanctioned races in Alberta having a minimum $8,000 claiming price will be paid a bonus amount of 23 percent.   

The CTHS anticipates that:

• Overnight and stakes purses will remain the same in 2020 as they were in 2019. More importantly we expect tangible growth in our Purse Pools in 2021.
• The Breed Improvement Pool will remain the same in 2020 as it was in 2019 offering a minimum 23 percent bonus to Owners of Alberta-breds and a minimum 25 percent bonus to the Breeders of Alberta-breds placing win, place, and show in all sanctioned races in Alberta having a minimum $8,000 claiming price.
• Alberta will offer a similar number of “A” Track race dates in 2020 versus 2019.

In addition, a new CTHS Canadian Sales Stakes Series with annual purses totaling over $1 million has recently been implemented across Canada. This program is open to all Canadian-bred yearling graduates of CTHS Provincial Sales that have met the eligibility requirements within their respective provinces. The program is intended to truly celebrate the Canadian-bred and provide increased incentives for buyers to attend and buy at all the Canadian sales. It is anticipated that the series should increase prices at future Canadian sales which will be beneficial for all consignors. 

Alberta is now home to two beautiful ‘A’ Thoroughbred tracks, the one-mile Century Mile in Nisku on the outskirts of Edmonton and Century Downs in Balzac on the outskirts of Calgary, offering the promise of exciting live Thoroughbred racing for years to come. These tracks and stakes series offer CTHS yearling sale purchasers many opportunities to become involved in the industry and race their prospects. 

Thank you to all the consignors and purchasers who participated in the CTHS Alberta yearling sale for their continued support of the industry and best of luck with your future racing plans. 

For full sale results, visit the CTHS Alberta website.

Photo courtesy of CTHS Alberta Division

Published October 3, 2019.