{"id":1056,"date":"2009-04-08T11:10:17","date_gmt":"2009-04-08T16:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/?p=1056"},"modified":"2009-04-08T11:49:31","modified_gmt":"2009-04-08T16:49:31","slug":"baffert-purchases-valenzeri-for-19-million-at-keeneland-2-year-old-in-training-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/?p=1056","title":{"rendered":"Baffert purchases Vallenzeri for $1.9 million at Keeneland 2-Year-Old In-Training Sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trainer Bob Baffert<\/a> signed the ticket for $1.9 million for Vallenzeri on opening night, Monday, April 6, of Keeneland\u2019s two-day April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. It is the highest price paid for a juvenile at public auction in 2009.<\/p>\n

Cumulatively, Keeneland sold 66 horses for $11,805,000 during the April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, down 27.57 percent from the corresponding period last year, when 77 horses brought $16,299,000. The average of $178,864 represents a 15.50 percent decrease from $211,675 in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where the Thoroughbred market is today,\u201d said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland\u2019s director of sales. \u201cBut make no mistake; there is great interest in horses that have the potential to achieve what buyers see as the ultimate goal \u2013 the Kentucky Derby. Horses that stood out as classic, two-turn horses sold well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baffert bought Vallenzeri, by Horse of the Year A.P. Indy out of Horse of the Year Azeri, on behalf of client Kaleem Shah. The colt breezed an eighth of a mile in :10.1 during the sale\u2019s Preview Day show on April 2. He was consigned by Eddie Woods, agent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am really excited to get him,\u201d Baffert said. \u201cHe\u2019s well conformed, he has a fluid way of moving, and with that type of pedigree, by a champion and out of champion, you have to step up to the plate and take a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very exciting to have sold Vallenzeri,\u201d said Russell. \u201cEddie Woods consigned last year\u2019s Kentucky Derby winner (Big Brown), and he just may have sold next year\u2019s as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baffert also paid $475,000 for a Smart Strike colt out of the Belong to Me mare Private Feeling, for Mike Pegram, Paul Weitman and Karl Watson. The colt was consigned by Jerry Bailey Sales Agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to go home without him,\u201d Baffert said. \u201cHe worked well (an eighth of a mile in :10 during Thursday\u2019s Preview Day show) and he\u2019s a good mover.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altogether, Baffert purchased colts with classic potential for three different clients, including a Dixie Union colt for Hal Earnhardt for $300,000. He also paid $370,000 for a colt by Songandaprayer that posted the fastest Preview Day work, going an eighth in :9.4. Consigned by Wavertree Stables Inc, the colt is out of the unraced Storm Bird mare Beach Bunny.<\/p>\n

The April Sale has produced two Kentucky Derby winners since its inception in 1993 \u2013 last year\u2019s winner and champion three-year-old colt Big Brown<\/a>, as well as 1995 Derby winner Thunder Gulch.<\/p>\n

Bob Baffert has trained nine Eclipse champions, including Kentucky Derby winners Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trainer Bob Baffert signed the ticket for $1.9 million for Vallenzeri on opening night, Monday,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-racing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1056\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sallyharrison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}