Those with kids of almost any age will remember the catchy Sesame Street tune "C is for Cookie" sung by none other than Cookie Monster, of course. Seth Rosenfeld certainly knows the tune as he named one of his homebreds after the song and she earned nearly $200K in 2023. While there is nothing wrong with cookies, an argument can certainly be made that "C" is for the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale in 2024. No, Lexington doesn't start with "C" and Kentucky is not considering a name change to Centucky, but the letter "C" is certainly prominent on all fronts of the sale this year. Consider that 200 of the 926 yearlings originally entered in the sale are by stallions that start with our letter of the day. A total of 12 stallions beginning with the letter "C" are represented in the sale, nearly double that of the next most popular letter of "S" which only has 67 yearlings for seven stallions. The "C" collection of stallions begins with a newcomer to North America in Calgary Games. The son of Readly Express will have 18 of his 22 yearlings from this crop at Lexington with nearly half selling through the Hunterton Farm consignment. The plan by co-owner Timo Nurmos was to ship frozen semen to the U.S. to breed 15 to 20 mares in order to sprinkle Calgary Games' blood into the market. "He was a stallion that stood for $9,000 and at the time – 2 to 3 years ago – there weren't a lot of medium-priced stallions. It was either Walner at $30,000 or Chapter Seven, Muscle Hill at $35,000 or $40,000, so he was a tweener," said Steve Stewart, who co-owns Hunterton with his wife Cindy. "We knew that the upside was his stud fee wasn't outrageous but we also knew that most trainers here don't know who he is and we would be selling to a Swedish contingent because they know him. As Americans we are all doubting Thomases. We have to see it to believe it. "People aren't going to go to the sale thinking 'I should buy a Calgary Games', but I'm very happy with the way they videoed and they should be on everyone's list to take a shot at because I don't think they will be crazy expensive. They are nice horses that are correct and very well developed as a rule." Another newcomer to the market is 2021 Hambletonian winner Captain Corey. A son of Googoo Gaagaa, who has been very successful as a stallion overseas, Captain Corey has 39 yearlings slated to sell with a large majority going in the second and third sessions. "He's a great outcross for the industry, so hopefully he hits," said Heather Marshall, breeding manager for Crawford Farms. "I've heard good things from the other farm managers about him and I've watched a couple of tapes and they are all great. "We only have one yearling by Captain Corey, HIP 438 Captain Charlie, but he is breathtaking. He has great size. If he trots on the track next year the way he looks now, he could be a very good horse." "We have two and they are videoing well," said Diamond Creek Farm VP Shaun Laungani about the Captain Corey's. "I think they are going to sell well. The buzz is good." The King of the C's on the pacing side is certainly Captaintreacherous and he'll have 42 of his progeny up for auction. Three of those sell under the Anvil and Lace banner for Kountry Lane Standardbreds, who have been continuing to increase their broodmare band and will sell nine at Lexington. "I think this year's consignment is deeper. We might not have a Plunge Blue Chip or something like that but we have a solid consignment," said Kountry Lane Farm Manager Duane Miller, who was willing to single out one of his Captaintreacherous yearlings as his top pick. "If I had to pick I'd take the Peaky Sneaky colt [HIP 205 Kountry Peaky]. His pedigree score is phenomenal. He has great conformation and a really nice video. Just his presence alone is something that will get your attention." On the trotting front there is little statistical doubt that Chapter Seven sits atop the heap and he has a large sampling of 51 in the sale, including 19 up for grabs on the first night. Miller only has two but is tickled with his opening-night prospect, HIP 35 Kountry Splash, a New York and Kentucky eligible filly. "The one on the first day is really exciting. She's a first foal out of a sister to Plunge Blue Chip [Splash Blue Chip] who is a 1:51 trotting mare. I love that family and Splash is such a great mare," said Miller. "She looks like a typical Chapter Seven. She's about the size of Chapter Seven and has an extremely long barrel and great conformation." A healthy seven of the 51 Chapter Sevens are being sold by Concord Stud Farm for Order By Stable. Owned by the Meirs family, Concord tends to bring some of the best yearlings to the sale each year, and Julie Meirs was able to single out a pair from that Chapter Seven grouping. "It would be 54, the filly out of Windy Corner, and 75, the filly out of White Cheetah. They are both really growing into nice individuals and those mares have always put out nice foals that seem to match," said Meirs. "Trotting fillies seem to be what you want to have, and later on trotting mares." Having a Kentucky-bred is all the rage these days and Crawford Farms is offering up a six-pack of Crazy Wow youngsters on night five of the sale. Tops among them, according to Heather Marshall, is Funk Bus, a colt out of Somebody To Love, who made $618K in her time on the track. "My favorite one is 846. He's just a nice colt overall. He looks the part, comes from a nice family and had a great tape," said Marshall. Other stallions from the "C" family with at least one selling are Cantab Hall, Catch The Fire, Cattlewash, Centurion ATM, Courtly Choice, and Creatine. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Moving on to the yearlings, there are 56 of them which start with the letter "C" and that is no surprise considering how many stallions start with that letter. Of course "C" is coming off a Horse of the Year campaign through 2023 winner of the award Confederate. While we will have to wait a couple of years to see those yearlings, Diamond Creek Farm is supplying us with an astonishing 24 HIPs beginning with that letter. In what can be a bit confusing, most of the horses that Diamond Creek Farm are keeping start with the letter G while the ones being sold are a few letters behind as C's. "There are some that we originally thought we were going to keep but we decided to put them in the sale," explained Shaun Laungani about the couple of yearlings from their consignment in the sale that start with a G. If you are looking for the next champion with a C, Diamond Creek is a good place to start and Laungani suggested a few from his consignment, starting with HIP 61 Copernicus. "Number 61 looks like Gimpanzee, he's super-determined and has really blossomed into a gamer. Being around him, he's really getting into his paddock shows. He seems likes he's going to be a type that wants to race," said Laungani. "That mare [Altar] was so fast and was nearly a Breeders Crown champion if she didn't make a break in the stretch. She's easily the fastest, most talented trotter we've ever bred on the mare's side. She's a highly-anticipated first foal and in the past she would never be in the sale, the Bowden's would keep it and race her, but we are not keeping any trotters. They are all in the sale. We are just going to focus on pacers for a while. We are really just breed-to-sell folks on the trotting side now. "HIP 424 [Carve] is a first-crop Captain Corey. She's a pretty filly who is the first foal out of this mare – we have 18 first-foals in our consignments, which is definitely a record for us. This filly gets out in the paddock for videos and can totally rip, and I had no idea. She was always a sweet filly but I didn't know she had all those gears. She just puts her butt down and goes. People should check her out. "We have this really cool Papi Rob Hanover filly," continued Laungani about HIP 477 Credible. "She's out of the family of Confederate and Pure Country. She is super graceful and really attractive going. She has a lot of elegance and is really light on her feet; gets a lot of air under her. She hangs in the gait a little bit but I don't mind that because she looks really good. "C" is a popular letter for consignors as well, with 127 horses representing four farms. Leading the way is Crawford Farms with 55 in the sale. Marshall offered up her favorite overall and perhaps one that may prove to be a bargain purchase later on. "My top favorite is 66," said Marshall, indicating Wayne Harvey, a Downbytheseaside-sired colt that is dual eligible in Kentucky and Ohio, and from the family of former Horse of the Year Test The Faith. "He's an absolutely gorgeous colt that is put together great and is the perfect size. He's also has a great attitude and is great in the field. "549 on Wednesday [Sundownsomewhere] is from a good filly family. She's a big, strong filly that is gorgeous and stands great. She has a little bit of grit to her, so hopefully she'll have what it takes to be a good mare." Cameo Hills Farm has 32 yearlings being offered up with 21 raised on their farm in New York. Steve Jones is the man in charge and he focused on his opening-night squad when asked for some standouts. "I'm very excited about what we are selling at Lexington," said Jones. "We've got seven selling the first night and we've got three Walner fillies selling, including the first foal out of You Ato Dream, whose brother [Ari Ferrari J] just won the $250,000 race [at Yonkers]. She's beautiful. We also have a Walner filly first foal out of Mazzarati, a filly that was second in the Breeders Crown. Also a Walner filly out of Hey Blondie, whose brother [Flightline] just won a $100,000 race at the Meadowlands. "The Mazzarati filly, when you see her in the field she absolutely flies. They are all nice fillies with pedigree and confirmation that will sell well." Concord Stud Farm checks in third with 25 from their consignment. Unlike Crawford who are selling mostly homebreds, Concord raises and sell foals for others. Who does Julie Meirs like most? "We have a great selection for what people want on the trotting sires for sure," said Meirs. "HIP 25 is a nice trotting filly out of Shake It Cerry. She's a standout from that family. She has a great video and looks the part. From the same family we have a Solveig colt also by Walner. We also have a Gimpanzee from the Cool Papa Bell family, HIP number 76, out of Blk Thai Optional. "The first night is so loaded that there is going to be great horses on the second day," said Meirs, who pointed out a New Jersey and Kentucky colt from the family of Dan Patch winners Crys Dream and Brigham Dream. "To round out our trotters we have a really nice Muscle Hill colt that sells on Tuesday as HIP 292." Last but not least is Cane Run Farm with 15 horses expected to sell. When you are consigning horses for others it can be difficult to pick and choose which ones to highlight and you have to give Elizabeth Caldwell credit for taking a democratic and unbiased approach. "The day-one yearlings are both very nice. Day two is strong too, and I think we have good horses on every day that we are selling," said Caldwell. "So far the popular ones are 27, 87, 226, 337, 392, 524. It's a good, solid group overall. They have made a lot of progress over the past month and hopefully they will be at their peak sale week." When all the bidding is complete, "C" can also be for restaurants, as we found Carson's Food and Drink on E Main St. and Coles 735 Main not far away. Make sure to leave room for desert as in the end "C" is for cookie and there are plenty of options – Crumbl, Insomnia Cookies and Great American Cookies – in Lexington.