[September 27, 2003]
Saturday night's sale topper Courtney Hall sold for $500,000!

Lexington, KY - Courtney Hall, a full sister to two-time divisional champion Cameron Hall [4,1:54-'03, $1.7 million] and Canland Hall [3,1:57,$339,143], topped the final session of the 2003 Tattersalls Select Yearling Sale when Erikki Laakkonen of Georgetown, Ontario, went to $500,000 to acquire her. The entire Saturday night session of Tattersalls was comprised of yearlings from the Walnut Hall Ltd. Consignment.

Ontario businessman Laakkonen also owns and campaigns Cameron Hall, for whom he paid a Standardbred record $1.1 million when that trotting filly was a two year old at the 2001 Tattersalls November Mixed Sale. Courtney Hall was fiery in the walking area and in the sales ring. "I like that she's kicking," said Laakkonen of his purchase.

The sale, with 113 yearlings slated to sell, moved at a rapid-fire pace, starting just after 8 p.m. and wrapping up before 10:30 p.m. "Everybody could sell like this," said Walnut Hall Ltd.'s President and General Manager, Alan Leavitt. "This is the third year we've done it this way. A lot of people also say that's it's nice that you take radiographs of all the horses, but say they don't have the time. This is the 21st Century - you can't expect people to pay money not knowing what they are buying."

"It was a very intense sale," added Meg Nichols Leavitt, owner of Walnut Hall Ltd. "People pay attention, and we don't waste their time."

Carrigan Hall, a Conway Hall three-quarter sister to multiple stakes winner Cartier Hall [4,1:55-'03, $273,291], went for $250,000 to the Valley High Stables of Freehold, NJ. Conway Hall, off to a stellar start at stud, counts among his first crop this week's Kentucky Filly Futurity winner Pizza Dolce and last year's champion freshman colt Broadway Hall.

One of the last horses in the ring, an Artsplace colt named Artemis Fowl, sold for $225,000 to trainer Joe Holloway of Bear, De. The youngster is out of a sister to leading sire Western Hanover and to the dam of Woodrow Wilson winner Modern Art, and is a half-brother to Best Laid Plans [p,4,T1:50.4, $401,085]. The colt was consigned by Walnut Hall Ltd. as agent for Denim Stable of Woodmere, NY.

Galahad Hall, a Striking Sahbra colt out of a daughter of the brilliant Amour Angus - dam of Andover Hall [3,1:51.3, $870,510], Angus Hall [3,1:54.3, $830,654], Conway Hall [3,1:53.4, $818,884], etc. - brought a final bid of $180,000 from agent Gary Baker of West Palm Beach, FL.

A total of 97 of the Walnut Hall Ltd. yearlings sold for a gross of $4,450,000, averaging $45,876. Twelve of the Saturday night yearlings sold for $100,000 or more. Complete results of the four nights of sales at Tattersalls are available on-line at www.tattersallsredmile.com.

- Anne Doolin for Tattersalls
 

Back to the Latest News