Canada’s largest standardbred yearling sale concluded last Thursday on OnGait.com.

by Dave Briggs

The second annual London Virtual Yearling Sale, which ran from Saturday, Oct. 16 through Thursday, Oct. 21 on the OnGait.com platform, was up 32 per cent in gross, but down 9 per cent in average compared with the inaugural online-only sale in 2020 when 44 fewer yearlings were sold.

In all, 146 yearlings grossed $4,357,000 total for an average of $29,842 (all figures in Canadian dollars).

In 2020, 102 yearlings collectively grossed $3,312,990 for an average of $32,480.

This year’s sale topper was hip 89 Mickey Muscles, a son of Muscle Mass out of Lady Bling sold for $125,000 to George Millar of Stouffville, ON from Dean and Ashley Wilson’s consignment.

The other yearling to reach six figures was hip 48 Stonebridge Agate, a Muscle Mass filly out of Stonebridge Cream sold for $105,000 to Larry Walker of Campbellville, ON from the Stonebridge Farm consignment.

A third Muscle Mass yearling, hip 58 Stonebridge Jasper, sold for $98,000 to Luc Blais of Campbellville, ON. The colt out of Stonebridge Encore was consigned by Stonebridge Farm.

The highest-priced pacer sold was hip 69 Battalion Seelster, a Big Jim colt out of Tarport Bearcat that sold for $96,000 to Steve Heimbecker of Waterloo, ON from the Seelster Farms consignment.

Stonebridge Farm of Arva, ON was the sale’s leading consigner by average. The farm averaged $55,250 for eight yearlings sold. Erinwood Equine Inc. was next at $41,500 for 10 yearlings, followed by Century Springs Farm Inc. ($35,474 for 19), Glengate Farms ($35,000 for six), Dean & Ashley Wilson ($31,091 for 23), Icy Stable ($29,667 for three) and Seelster Farms ($28,625 for 51).

As for the sale breakdown, 40 pacing colts averaged $28,894; 52 pacing fillies averaged $25,058; four pacing geldings averaged $24,500; 20 trotting colts averaged $44,166; 30 trotting fillies averaged $33,740 and one trotting gelding averaged $26,000.

As it was in 2020, the London Virtual Yearling Sale was conducted entirely online because the sale’s traditional home — the Agriplex at The Western Fair District in London, ON — is still being used as a COVID-19 vaccination site by the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

There is no word, yet, whether the 2022 sale will be held online, live or a combination of the two.