Public auction prices for the 21 horses entered and still under consideration for the Kentucky Derby (G1) range from a $11,000 bargain buy from the last book of the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to a $2.3 million sale topper from Fasig-Tipton's boutique Saratoga selected yearling sale.
Fourteen horses sold for $1 million or more at the 2022 edition of The Saratoga Sale, but none brought more than the Gun Runner colt who was the second foal out of the grade 1-winning Malibu Moon mare Heavenly Love. White Birch Farm and M. V. Magnier went to $2.3 million for the dark bay or brown colt now known as Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Sierra Leone.
Gainesway, agent for breeder Debby M. Oxley, consigned Sierra Leone at Saratoga. Gainesway general manager Brian Graves said it was obvious Sierra Leone was something special, but Graves liked him so much at the time he proclaimed him the best yearling he had seen all year if not in several years.
"Gun Runner already had several grade 1 winners from his first crop, which was unusual, so it looked like he could be a super stallion, and Sierra Leone was a beast of a yearling out of a young grade 1 winner," Graves said. "He had a strong body, a beautiful neck, and the action of a tremendously athletic individual. He was the culmination of decades of the Oxleys buying and dealing in the highest-quality bloodstock. I had written Ms. Oxley a letter, and I said if I can't get seven figures for this horse, I will sell him commission free.
"It's really neat to see that quality show up on the track now and be as rewarding as he looked. I told Chad Brown the same thing when we sold him. We went to dinner last week, and Chad said, 'You told me that was the best yearling you'd seen in years, and I believed you.'"
On the other end of the price spectrum are respective $11,000 and $14,000 purchases West Saratoga and Mugatu. Mugatu, a Kentucky-bred colt by Maryland-based stallion Blofeld , went through the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Mugatu worked one furlong in :10 3/5 at OBS, where he was consigned by Wavertree Stables and purchased by Dan Preiss, agent, for $14,000. Mugatu is yet to earn black type, but he gained potential Kentucky Derby standing with a fifth-place finish in the Blue Grass.
Firmly in the field is 2023 Iroquois Stakes (G3) winner West Saratoga, whom trainer Larry Demeritte scooped out of Keeneland September for owner Harry Veruchi for $11,000.
Demeritte is known for patrolling the back ring at yearling sales and identifying and assessing value just minutes before a horse enters the bidding ring. Demeritte said his budget for West Saratoga, a colt by Exaggerator, was $12,000.
"Whatever money the clients give me, I look for the best horse for that price that day," Demeritte said from his barn at Churchill Downs April 30 as West Saratoga got a bath nearby. "I don't buy cheap horses. I buy good horses cheap."
Demeritte said West Saratoga stood out to him as having a strong shoulder and hip with great overall balance.
"I normally buy a lot of speed horses because I want the return to come back quick, but I told the barn, 'I'm gonna buy one horse that I think will get the route of ground.' And I saw this horse, and I said, 'This is the one.' If you look at this horse, you can't pick him apart. You can' find a defect when you look at him, and he has a great mind.
"They take a long time to knock the hammer, and I was sitting there saying, 'Knock the hammer!' It was late in the sale. I was fortunate to buy this horse."
ORACLE BLOODSTOCK GETS TWO IN DERBY
Conor Foley's Oracle Bloodstock, as agent, has the distinction of buying two horses at Keeneland September that made it to this year's Derby, going to $325,000 for multiple grade 2 winner Dornoch and $85,000 for Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) runner-up Society Man.
"It is a pretty humbling and shocking feat for two of them to be able to get into arguably the world's greatest race," said Foley, who also credited Oracle's director of bloodstock Jim Hatchett and Nick Esler for the purchases. "The people who own these horses are super people and we couldn't be happier that they get to experience this."
2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage hadn't made his first start yet when Oracle purchased his full brother Dornoch—a Good Magic colt out of Puca, by Big Brown —but Foley had history with the pedigree.
"I tried to buy Mage at the (Fasig-Tipton Midlantic) 2-year-old sale, and then four months later I see Dornoch, and he was a wow horse. Having seen the older brother and liking him, that gave me confidence we were getting an athlete on both sides," Foley said. "And I always had an affinity for Puca. Jerry Crawford bred Puca on a foal share with Paul Pompa, and I liked her so much I encouraged Jerry to buy Paul out. It was the first filly Jerry ever bought!"
Another shrewd purchase in this year's Derby was executed by Travis Durr, Kristian Villante, and Kyle Zorn's Legion Bloodstock, who under the name "In the Trees" purchased subsequent 2023 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) winner Honor Marie for $40,000 at Keeneland September.
"We were buying horses for our racing group at the time and we were on a budget so to speak," Durr said. "Honor Code was cold at the time, but the colt had all the parts and the look we like and the pedigree behind him. We were happy to get him for that price."
Honor Marie was one of three horses in this year's Derby field—along with Track Phantom and Epic Ride—who were consigned by Nicholasville, Ky.-based Taylor Made Sales at Keeneland September.
