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Mere and There on the Turf Himyar Sales Revelations. Rancocas Stable Purchases. Good Sales Still to Come. Even the most optimistic turf commentator would scarcely have ventured a prediction that any of the yearling sales would be marked by such success as that which attended the Himyar Stud auction at Saratoga Friday night. Forty-three yearlings were disposed of for a total of 14,300, an average of ,983.72, a record for thoroughbred auctions at Saratoga. The results of this sale did more than establish a record they showed that the demand for high-class horses is something more than a temporary tendency. There has been a dispostion in some quarters to regard the yearling sales as more or less at the mercy of the weather, but Fridays showing was a marked argument against any such conclusion. With a violent wind and rainstorm doing its best to keep the prospective bidders away from the sales paddock, one of the largest crowds of the series turned out to bid for the Himyar youngsters. An encouraging thing about the Himyar sale is that the general run of prices kept up so well. No record was shattered, so far as a top price was concerned, but the total and the average were exceptional. But one youngster in the consignment brought less than ,000. It is this, rather than the individual high prices, which shows the healthy condition of the market. Almost any time, if an exceptionally fine individual is offered for sale, he will bring a bidding contest and a high price, but only when the market is sound will forty-three yearlings be sold in a single evening with only one falling below the ,000 mark. The active part which Harry F. Sinclair, owner of the Rancocas Stable, took in the biddingfor the choicer offerings at the Saratoga sales seems to show conclusively that the abandonment of the previous Rancocas policy of buying only developed horses has been complete. It was thought that Rancocas would buy only a few yearlings, besides the twenty acquired from Harry Payne Whitney and await the results of tne experiment before changing front completely, but the part taken by trainer Hildreth and Mr. Sinclair in the sales has been so active as to assure the experiment of an extensive trial. Mr. Sinclair acquired the highest priced colt and the highest priced filly of the Himyar sale, paying 7,000 for the former and 2,-500 for the latter. The price for the filly is said to be a record for a yearling of that sex, at the Saratoga sale. And so the sales going along towards the close and the high mark of last year 1,000 has not yet been equaled. It may be that it would have been equalled Friday night, if the storm clouds had held off a few hours, but this is not likely, as all of the more important turfmen who have been active in the yearling market thus Tar were present. Although the Himyar consignment was generally agreed to be the choicest thus far shown at the sales, there are several others yet to come which compare favorably with it, according to competent judges. The 1,-000 mark may still be passed in the remaining part of the series, and nobody Is likely to be much surprised if it la.
