Climate Hanover, a daughter of Walter out of the mare Crucial, he is also a full sister to the colt Cambridge Hanover, who topped the yearling portion of last year’s Standardbred Horse Sale when sold for $1 million. The family also includes 2021 Dan Patch and O’Brien Award-winning filly Venerable and Grade 1 stakes winner Voguish.
Climatic Hanover, bred and shipped by Hanover Shoe Farms, is eligible for New Jersey.
“She’s the one we came for,” Hagmann said. “It’s a really good family and she’s a beautiful filly. I think she’s going to make a great racehorse, and hopefully a great prospect as a broodmare.”
Next on the list of bestsellers was the trotting colt Seven Pledges, a son of Chapter seven-Clockwork Orange, which went to Andrew Harris for $700,000. He is the first foal out of Clockwork Orange, but his family also includes the 2024 Dan Patch Award-winning filly Allegiant and the standout Beer Budget from Ontario. He was bred by Jonas Schlabach and delivered by Concord Stud Farm. He is eligible for New York.
“I love the colt,” Harris said. “He was my pick from the sale. What a great family, and the individual matched. Apparently everyone else felt the same way, because when I looked around and saw who the underbidders were, I got a good feeling about why we paid that price. Not that you ever want to pay that price, but everyone is paying a premium for Chapter Sevens right now. His name is Seven Pledges, and we had to pay seven hundred (thousand).”
Harris also bought the session’s most expensive pacer, the filly Sootie Hanover, for $485,000. She is a daughter of Bulldog Hanover-Shining Beauty, and her second mother is Dan Patch and multiple O’Brien Award winner American Jewel. The family also includes Grade 1 stakes winner Odds On Platinum. The Ontario and Kentucky eligibles were bred by Brittany Farms and shipped by Hanover Shoe Farms.
“She had a royal family and for me she was the best filly in the entire sale,” Harris said. “We’ll give it a try and see what happens. You don’t come across families like this very often.”
Landing between Sootie Hanover and Seven Pledges in price was the trotting colt Command Center, which was purchased by Robert Lindstrom as agent for $500,000. He is a son of Chimpanzees-Mission Brief and three-quarter brother of the 2-year-old colt Apex, which has won several grade 1. Marcus Melander, Apex’s trainer, will also train Command Center, who is bred by the Mission Brief Stable and commissioned by Hunterton Sales Agency. He is eligible for the Kentucky and Kentucky Stallion Bonus.
A total of 170 horses passed through the auction ring during the first session of the auction, yielding a total of just under $16.3 million and an average of $95,841. Last year, 150 horses sold on opening day for $16.5 million, an average of $110,387. In 2023, 153 horses were sold for $15.2 million, an average of $99,497.
At this year’s auction, 53 horses sold for at least $100,000 and 18 for at least $250,000.
“It was a strange day; talk about a roller coaster,” said Dale Welk, president and chief operating officer of the Standardbred Horse Sales Company. “There were a lot of good buys for buyers, but the best sold, the best. As discussed at Lexington and other sales, there is virtually no middle market. People have spent over $100 million on yearlings at other sales. It’s a little depressing, but it’s the market.”
“If you sit back and think about it, there are still over 500 yearlings to go, and we have 50 in the mixed sale. Tomorrow we have a lot of really good Captain Coreys, so hopefully tomorrow will be good.”
Trotters averaged $123,372 for 78 yearlings, while fillies averaged $126,220 for 41. Pacers average $72,500 for 92 yearlings, with colts average $81,455 for 44.
Walter led trotting sires with an average of $192,692 for 13 horses, followed by Chapter seven for $186,947 for 19, and King Of The North for $156,667 for six. In terms of pace, Cattlewash averaged $197,500 for two horses, followed by Captain treacherous for $102,778 for 18 and Bulldog Hanover at $91,883 for 12.
The second session of the three-day yearling portion of the Standardbred Horse Sale begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. The last session for the yearlings starts on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
A two-day mixed sale will be held on Thursday and Friday, with sessions starting at 11am on both days.
Find the auction’s yearling catalogue here and mixed sales catalogue here. Visit the sales company website for the live stream hereand click for full results here.
Through Ken Weingartnerfor the USTA
#Walner #filly #tops #opening #session #sell