Chapter Three · September
Keeneland: where the book took shape
Keeneland September is where the Sierra Leone book was really built. We stayed through Books 1 through 3 and approached the sale with the same process on every horse: Legion Bloodstock led the work, Whit Beckman was part of the evaluation, and two additional experienced bloodstock agents helped us independently check the horses we were considering.
The market changed as the sessions moved along. Several fillies we liked went beyond the prices we were prepared to pay. At other points, bidding softened and horses on our list became available below the values we had assigned to them. We tried not to force the mix. If a horse ran beyond our number, we moved on. If the market gave us an opening on a horse we liked, we acted.
Six yearlings came out of Keeneland for $1.25 million. The result is a little more colt-heavy than we expected, but that reflects the opportunities the market gave us rather than a predetermined allocation.
Hip 384 · Keeneland September
Chestnut Filly · Candy Ride (ARG) × Reluctant Bride
Purchased privately for $150,000 at the 2026 Keeneland September Sale (Hip 384) after an RNA at $170,000.
We liked this filly early in the sale, but we did not expect to be able to buy her at a price that worked for us. She went through the ring and failed to meet her reserve. When she RNA'd at $170,000, it created a second opportunity, and we were able to put the deal together privately for $150,000.
Her dam is Reluctant Bride, which immediately connected her to Runaway Bride in the Big Brown barn and gave the team an obvious nickname. With help from our contacts at The Jockey Club, Bridezilla ultimately became her registered name.
The story is a useful example of why we stay engaged after the hammer falls. The ring is not always the end of the transaction. Sometimes the best opportunity appears after everyone else has moved on to the next hip.
Our ReadAt $150,000, the value case is easy to understand. The immediate family contains a Grade I winner in Sassy Image, the dam has already produced a stakes horse, and the filly herself has enough frame and balance to make the pedigree feel relevant rather than merely decorative.
Pedigree, physical & catalog page →
Hip 394 · Keeneland September
Chestnut Colt · Jackie's Warrior × Sail On
Purchased for $110,000 at the 2026 Keeneland September Sale (Hip 394).
Hip 394 was on our short list even though a sprint-oriented colt was not necessarily the profile we expected to emphasize at Keeneland. He is by Jackie's Warrior out of an Into Mischief mare, and both the physical and the pedigree gave us reasons to stay interested.
The important moment came when the bidding began to stall. We had already done the work and knew where we valued the horse, so the softer market gave us an opportunity to step in. We bought him for $110,000, comfortably below the level at which we were prepared to own him.
That is the kind of situation our process is designed to find: identify horses we genuinely want, establish our valuation before the auction pressure starts, and act decisively when the market gives us an opening.
Our ReadThe $110,000 price becomes more interesting when the whole page is considered. The top line brings Jackie's Warrior speed, the dam is by Into Mischief, and the deeper female family runs directly into My Flag and Storm Flag Flying. The physical gives him enough length and scope that we do not have to assume the pedigree confines him to one dimension.
Pedigree, physical & catalog page →
Hip 488 · Keeneland September
Dark Bay/Brown Colt · Omaha Beach × Victoria Barkley
Purchased for $300,000 at the 2026 Keeneland September Sale (Hip 488).
This was a different kind of purchase from the Jackie’s Warrior colt. Hip 488 is a bigger, more route-oriented physical, and he looked to us like a colt who could develop with two-turn dirt races in mind if his ability matches his frame.
Omaha Beach has already shown that he can sire runners with both speed and the ability to stretch out. At $300,000, we did not view him as a horse the market had missed completely; we viewed him as a horse we liked at a price that remained within our valuation.
There is an important distinction between finding a bargain and simply buying the right horse at the right number. This colt fell into the second category.
Our ReadThis may be the clearest pedigree-to-physical match in the book. Stanwyck, Giacomo and Tiago give the female family legitimate route credentials, while the colt himself looks substantial and built to develop rather than merely flash early speed. That is why the $300,000 purchase felt like paying a fair price for the right kind of horse.
Pedigree, physical & catalog page →
Hip 759 · Keeneland September
Dark Bay/Brown Filly · Life Is Good × Ready For Romance
Purchased for $280,000 at the 2026 Keeneland September Sale (Hip 759).
We had this filly on the short list before she entered the ring. The first two-year-olds by Life Is Good were already beginning to run, and she was one of the individuals in the crop that our team consistently liked.
The process on her was the same as the rest of the Keeneland group: multiple sets of eyes, trainer input and a full veterinary review before we were prepared to bid. She sold for $280,000, a number we felt left us in a good position relative to the quality we saw in the horse.
She also mattered to the shape of the fund. Several other fillies we liked went beyond our budget, so we resisted the temptation to chase them simply to balance the roster. Hip 759 met both parts of the test — a horse we wanted and a price we were willing to pay.
Our ReadThe residual-value case is especially appealing here. She is a filly by Life Is Good out of a stakes-winning More Than Ready mare who is already producing stakes horses. If she can add meaningful race performance of her own, the female family gives her a strong broodmare foundation. The physical is good enough that we do not have to rely on pedigree alone.
Pedigree, physical & catalog page →
Hip 856 · Keeneland September
Bay Colt · Vekoma × Whats Yur Story
Purchased for $260,000 at the 2026 Keeneland September Sale (Hip 856).
There was broad interest in this colt among people we respect, which made the final price particularly attractive to us. Vekoma had already established himself as an important young sire, and our team was comfortable with the type of horse he was producing.
We had seen the other end of that market earlier in the year, when Legion was involved with a Vekoma that brought $600,000 at Fasig-Tipton July. Hip 856 came to us at $260,000. The comparison is not that the horses are identical; it is that the sire can command substantially more when the market and individual line up.
For us, this colt was another example of staying disciplined long enough for the sale to come to us.
Our ReadThis colt looks like the pedigree. Vekoma brings high-level speed, and the female family has repeatedly produced fast graded horses, including Forbidden Kingdom. The physical reinforces that theme with power and depth. At $260,000, we were able to buy that package without paying the premium that the strongest Vekoma yearlings were commanding elsewhere in the market.
Pedigree, physical & catalog page →
Hip 1129 · Keeneland September
Chestnut Colt · Justify × Proper Mad
Purchased for $150,000 at the 2026 Keeneland September Sale (Hip 1129).
We stayed through the end of the session, and this colt was one of the reasons why. As the day wore on and buyers began to leave, the market softened. Hip 1129 offered a pedigree we did not expect to be available to us at this price: a Justify colt out of Proper Mad, consigned by Mill Ridge.
He is a May foal, so we expect to give him the time his maturity tells us he needs. That is not a negative in our program; it is simply part of the development plan. The attraction was the opportunity to buy a colt by an elite sire at $150,000 without having to compromise our physical or veterinary standards.
It also reinforced one of the lessons of the week: staying until the end matters. The room can change, the competition can thin out, and a horse that looked out of reach on paper can suddenly become a realistic purchase.
Our ReadThis is the horse where patience may matter most. The sire is elite, the dam side includes Bernardini, Private Mission and Dunbar Road, and the individual has an athletic frame without looking physically finished. At $150,000, we were being paid to accept some developmental uncertainty in a late-May foal while retaining significant pedigree upside.
Pedigree, physical & catalog page →
