by Joe Nevills
The 2019 renewal of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale didn’t keep up with last year’s record-setting edition when it came to the measurables. Even so, the returns from this year’s auction established a steady cruising altitude for the marketplace, showing it’s fully clear of the Great Recession that brought the Thoroughbred industry to a screeching halt a decade ago, and it proved it can still hit some of the pre-bust economy’s most dizzying heights.
A lot has changed from then to now, but two pillars remain unweathered from the glory days of the mid-2000s: The first is that horse that ticks all the proverbial boxes will bring serious money. The second is, if the horse ticks them with authority, Godolphin and the Coolmore partnership will meet in the back ring to do battle for them.
