OBS October Concludes With Open Session

The two-day OBS October Yearling Sale came to a close Wednesday in Ocala, Florida, with moderate declines in the relevant statistical categories.

Following on the heels of a strong Select Sale Tuesday, the action Wednesday was a bit more subdued, with 256 open yearlings reported as sold for gross receipts of $4,367,900. The average of $17,062 was down by just over 8% from last year's $18,593. The median price declined by 13.3% to $13,000, while the buyback rate was nearly double that of 2021 at 30.2% compared to 16.6% last year.

Girvin Yearlings on Top at OBS Wednesday

A colt and a filly by fast-starting freshman sire Girvin shared top billing at Wednesday's open session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's October Yearlings Sale when attracting matching $110,000 bids.

Michael Sucher's Champion Equine, which acquired a colt by Girvin for $140,000 at last week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, purchased another son of the stallion for $110,000 Wednesday. Hip 418 is out of stakes-placed Absoulute Heaven (Not for Love) and was consigned by Boutte Sales. He was bred by Tim Aheam.

Sucher, who purchased the sale-topping full-brother to multiple Grade I-winning juvenile Cave Rock (Arrogate) for $700,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale in August, campaigns first-out winner Commandant, another colt by Girvin, whom he acquired for $300,000 at the OBS April sale earlier this year.

Later in the session, the Green family's D. J. Stable, which acquired the co-toppers during Tuesday's select session of the auction, went to $110,000 to purchase a filly by Girvin (hip 610) from Camelot Acres Racing and Sales. The bay is out of Liberty Flag (Kingmambo) and is a half-sister to stakes winner Little Chesney (City Zip). The yearling was bred by Janet Erwin.

For full results, click here. Next on the calendar is the company's Winter Mixed Sale set for Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 24 and 25, 2023.

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Undefeated Juvenile Showgirl Lynne B On The Improve Ahead Of Breeders’ Cup

Westlake Racing Stable LLC's Showgirl Lynne B is on track for a planned start in the upcoming Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland following a five-furlong breeze over Gulfstream Park's Tapeta surface Wednesday morning.

The workout was the third five-furlong breeze over the all-weather surface since the undefeated 2-year-old daughter of Constitution's allowance victory on turf at Kentucky Downs Sept. 8.

“It was a nice solid work. I liked the finish and I thought the gallop-out was an improvement over last week,” trainer Bob Hess Jr. said. “She'll have two more breezes and then head up to Lexington on Thursday the 27th.”

While Showgirl Lynne B's connections consider her to be Breeders' Cup worthy, they aren't quite so sure which of the Nov. 4 races for juvenile fillies she will draw into – the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) or the Juvenile Fillies (G1).

“I'm pretty confident we'll get into the dirt race. I'm not sure about the turf race – that normally overfills,” Hess said. “We'd prefer the turf race and we hope it works out that way.”

Showgirl Lynne B has yet to run on dirt.

“I think she'll handle anything. She's just that kind of horse,” Hess said.

In the absence of turf during the reconstruction of the grass course during the spring and summer months at Gulfstream, Showgirl Lynne B debuted July 22 on the Tapeta course, pressing the early pace before drawing clear by a length at 5 ½-furlongs. She made her stakes debut in the Aug. 20 Sharp Susan at 5 ½ furlongs on the all-weather surface, receiving a ground-saving trip under David Lopez before opening a lead in the stretch and holding on to win by a length.

Showgirl Lynne B demonstrated versatility in a subsequent Kentucky Downs turf start at 6 ½ furlongs, winning a $250,000 allowance for Keeneland September Sale entrants in which she tracked the pace before taking over the lead in the stretch under Florent Geroux and holding on to win by a neck.

The Hess trainee returned to Gulfstream to prep for the Breeders' Cup over the Tapeta surface.

“We work most of our 2-year-olds on Tapeta because we think it's good in preventing shin issues,” Hess said. “Since she's won over it, we've been trying to work her over it as well.”

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Repole Purchases Majority Interest in Mo Money Mo Honey

Mike Repole purchased a majority interest in Robin Doser and Metropolitan Thoroughbreds' undefeated 3-year-old colt Mo Money Mo Honey (Uncle Mo–Stopshoppingdebbie, by Curlin). The colt has been transferred from Benny Feliciano, Jr. to Todd Pletcher.

“It's a storybook, man. I keep pinching myself. It's surreal. I'm not sure it's actually happening,” said R.J. Bistle, co-owner since 2005 of Metropolitan Moving & Storage in Laurel who races as Metropolitan Thoroughbreds. “It's unbelievable. He arrived in New York okay. I'm sure Todd and his team want to take a look at him and make a decision where to put him.”

Mo Money Mo Honey fetched just $14,000 at Keeneland's September 2020 yearling sale. He wound up on a farm in Kentucky where he was put up for sale. Feliciano found him and Doser and Bistle agreed to split the purchase price of $15,000.

Mo Money Mo Honey graduated by six lengths on debut at Laurel July 16 at Laurel. He returned in a six-furlong entry-level allowance Aug. 14 against older horses and cruised by seven lengths, then beat his elders again by 4 1/4 lengths in a second-level allowance Sept. 23 at Pimlico.

“He's running those times, and he just does it so naturally. I don't even know if he's a speed horse. I think he's just talented and he just goes to the lead,” Feliciano said. “I think he can do either or. We rated him the one time and he was fine. The best may be yet to come. He may be good going long. He might be a better horse at that. If he can carry that speed, he'll be dangerous no matter where he goes.”

“We received offers after all three of his races, and they gradually got bigger as the horse raced with more widespread interest,” Bistle said. “Our intention was to keep some money and stay with the horse, and doing both allowed us to have the benefit of both. We get to put some money in our pocket and we get to go watch the horse race as an owner. It's the best of both worlds, really.”

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Sotheby’s To Auction Paintings from The Jockey Club

Some 38 works of art with a combined estimated value of $900,000 to $1.3 million from The Jockey Club will be auctioned off in Sotheby's Sporting Life Sale, with online bidding open from Oct. 14-25.

Leading the group is a significant painting by John Frederick Herring Sr., titled: The 1828 Doncaster St. Leger Won by The Colonel, which is estimated to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000. John Frederick Herring Sr.'s series of racing pictures inspired by the 1828 St Leger S. are some of his most highly prized sporting works and this piece is one of the most valuable by the artist to come to auction in over a decade.

The 1828 Doncaster St. Leger Won by The Colonel depicts the 1828 St Leger race led by The Colonel*, who can be seen on the far right of the image above, overtaking the group made up of Belinda, Velocipede, and Besy Bedlam, who are all identified by the inscription underneath. Adding to the drama of the scene, Herring depicts the galloping horses with all four legs outstretched and off the ground (something which was proved impossible half a century later by Eadweard Muybridge's series of cabinet cards capturing a horse in motion), nevertheless, Herring's cinematic composition freezes the rush and excitement of racing horses flying through the air in physically impossible strides.

“The Jockey Club has owned these beautiful works of art for many years, and for that time they have been displayed in our offices in New York City,” said The Jockey Club's Jim Gagliano. “Early next year, we are moving to a location in New York that doesn't have the space to accommodate the collection. As a result, The Jockey Club board of stewards authorized management to research options for the collection, including a sale. We are pleased that Sotheby's has agreed to handle the auction, and we look forward to these pieces finding the right homes so they may continue to be appropriately enjoyed.”

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Club's initiatives in support of the Thoroughbred industry.

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