Canada’s premier yearling sale grossed over $7 million for the second year in a row.

by Dave Briggs

The two-day London Classic Yearling Sale concluded on Wednesday (Oct. 16) at the Western Fair Agriplex in London, ON with the average up 6.9 per cent over 2023.

That said, 38 fewer yearlings were sold this year than last, which helped the average.

In all, 246 yearlings produced a total gross of $7,015,000 and an average of $28,516.

In 2023, 284 yearlings produced a total gross of $7,579,000 and an average of $26,687.

The first year the sale was operated by its current owner, The Western Fair Association, was in 2022. That year, 186 yearlings had a total gross of $6,637,000 for a record average of $35,682.

“Personally, I had a goal of hitting $7 million in gross sales with the number of horses we were selling,” said sale manager Greg Blanchard. “So, to hit that, I was happy. You always would like to see it a bit higher for the breeders that support the sale. But I think we’ve got to be pretty happy that we saw a jump in average this year.

“The sale was really well attended and went smoothly from an executional standpoint. So all things considered, without too much time to digest things, we’re pretty happy overall.”

Ten yearlings sold for $100,000 or more, including the sale topper Hip #156 Saulsbrook Big Dog, a Bulldog Hanover colt out of Atlanta Girl that sold for $150,000 to Bulldog Hanover’s trainer and part-owner Jack Darling out of the Princeton Farms Inc. consignment.

The other six-figure yearlings sold were:

• Hip #98 D A Bodacious, a Cattlewash colt out of Vivid Shine that sold for $140,000 to Bill Donovan of Delray Beach, FL out of Dean and Ashley Wilson’s consignment.

• Hip #208 HP Fashionista, a Muscle Mass filly out of Fashion Goddess that sold for $135,000 to Benoit Baillargeon of Guelph out of the Erinwood Equine consignment.

• Hip #54 D A Masstermind, a Muscle Mass colt out of Pretty Crafty sold for $120,000 to Steve Colvin of Hanover, ON out of Dean and Ashley Wilson’s consignment.

• Hip #90 Stonebridge Wings, an Archangel colt out of Stonebridge Glide sold for $115,000 to Marcel Barrieau of Cambridge, ON out of the Stonebridge Farm consignment.

• Hip #140 Century Merlo, a Cattlewash filly out of Lady Jake that sold for $110,000 to Doug Paul of Wilmington, DE out of the Century Springs Farm consignment.

• Hip #173 HP Imagine, a Green Manalishi filly out of Canaco Runner purchased for $110,000 by Barrieau from the Erinwood Equine Inc. consignment.

• Hip #209 TH Feel My Mass, a Muscle Mass colt out Feel Invincible AS that sold for $110,000 to Millar Farms of Stouffville, ON out of the Preferred Equine consignment.

• Hip #158 Mimosa Seelster, a Cattlewash filly out of Mellow Yellow that sold for $100,000 to John Lamers of Mount Brydges, ON out of the Seelster Farms consignment.

• Hip #235 JS Iamthatspecial, a Muscle Mass filly out of I Am Special that sold for $100,000 to Keith Coulter out of the Twinbrook Farms consignment.

“I had a good feeling about Cattlewash coming into the sale,” Blanchard said of the stallion’s first Ontario crop. “They’re good looking individuals. And you know, his New Jersey crop made some noise this year, so that translated the way I expected.

“Of course, the Bulldog Hanovers sold well, especially when you consider that the mares he was bred to in the first crop were a real wide spectrum, because he wasn’t the Bulldog Hanover of his tremendous 4-year-old season at that point.”

Bulldog Hanover bred a select group of just 79 mares before his 4-year-old racing season began. His first full commercial crop — which numbered 177 — will sell in 2025.

“It’s pretty exciting to think that if he clicks next summer, then what we can expect next fall could be incredible,” Blanchard said. “Then, of course, Green Manalishi made such a huge splash in Ontario this year that his offspring were sought after. Muscle Mass is always Muscle Mass and Bettors Delights are always sought after. So, it was a really nice mix, and there were some exciting new stallions into the mix.”

Three consignors topped $1 million in gross sales — Dean and Ashley Wilson ($1,351,000), Preferred Equine ($1,236,617) and Seelster Farms ($1,228,623).

Preferred’s David Reid said, “I thought the marketplace was stable. Thought the traffic on Monday [for the sale preview] was very good. I think [Wednesday] you probably saw an uptick in internet bidding. They utilize that service, which I think is good. The auctioneer did a great job. They kept it rolling and kept a good pace. So, operationally, I thought it went well, and I thought the marketplace was right on par.”

By average, the leading sellers were Century Springs Farm ($50,667), Seelster ($39,633) and Princeton Farm ($39,583).

Top consignors by gross (with three or more sold were):

Dean and Ashley Wilson — $1,351,000

Preferred Equine — $1,236,617

Seelster Farms — $1,228,623

Winbak Farm — $762,912

Erinwood Equine — $703,160

Princeton Farm — $474,996

Twinbrook Farms — $433,004

Century Springs Farm — $304,002

Stonebridge Farm — $296,000

Venture Hill Farms — $254,000

Top consignors by average (with three or more sold were):

Century Springs Farm — $50,667

Seelster Farms — $39,633

Princeton Farm — $39,583

Stonebridge Farm — $37,000

Erinwood Equine — $35,158

Dean and Ashley Wilson — $33,775

Twinbrook Farms — $33,308

Preferred Equine — $26,311

Winbak Farm — $15,894

Venture Hill Farms — $15,875

Blanchard said he thinks the current Tuesday-Wednesday format seems to work well and will, likely, be repeated next year.

“We like where it lands right after the [Ontario Sires Stakes Gold] Super Finals,” he said. “We think that really works well for us, we’re racing [at Western Fair] as well on that Monday and Tuesday evening, and on Tuesday night, we had the dining room open and encouraged folks from the sale to come on over for a night of racing and dining.

“We had a really nice crowd, and a ton of people from the sale. A lot of the consigners took their staff out and other folks. It was a really good atmosphere. That’s kind of what we want. We want a good event that people want to attend from a social aspect as well as obviously coming to do some business. I think we’re seeing that grow each year as well.”

Three years in as operators of the sale, Blanchard said Western Fair is pleasantly surprised with the results.

“It’s exceeded expectations, to be honest, from many different standpoints, but I think the one thing that excites me is how the entire Western Fair Association, from the board on down, has really gotten behind it,” Blanchard said. “I think everyone’s very proud that we now host and operate an event of this stature. The staff just really gets into it. A lot of people that you know on the team that had no involvement with horses or with the horse industry, let alone a yearling sale. And now they’ve got a couple of years under their belt, so they’re really learning about the entire process, and they’re really enjoy it.”