Ciaran Dunne | Horse Racing Free Tips

Blame Colt on Top as Numbers Dip at OBS June

OCALA, FL – The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training continued its measured pace Wednesday with figures falling off the auction's record-setting 2022 renewal, while a colt by Blame brought the day's highest bid of $485,000 when selling to bloodstock agent Clay Scherer. The session-topping colt, who was consigned by Wavertree Stables, was one of four to sell for $200,000 or more during the day, bringing the total to reach that mark so far at the sale to seven. Eleven had reached that mark at the same point in the 2022 auction.

Through two sessions of the three-day sale, 410 juveniles have sold for $14,922,600. The average of $36,397 is down 5.1% from the 2022 figure of $38,358–which includes post-sale transactions–and is down 8.9% from the $39,961 close-of-day average from a year ago. The median of $20,000 dipped 13% from last year's final figure and 20% from the end-of-day figure.

The cumulative buy-back rate stood at 21.9% after the fall of the last hammer Wednesday.

At this same point a year ago, with 125 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 22.9%. With 32 additional post-sales transactions, 452 horses had sold for $17,337,600 and the two-day final buy-back rate was 17.1%.

Wavertree Stables, which sold two of Wednesday's top five lots, was the session's leading consignor.

Following a season of polarized results at the 2-year-old sales, the June figures were no surprise to Wavertree's Ciaran Dunne.

“It's not anything we didn't expect,” Dunne said. “For what are perceived to be the top-end horses, there are plenty of people there. For everything else, we are just fighting over scraps. The attendance is probably a little disappointing, but I think that is reflective of small fields and super trainers. It's harder for the smaller trainers to drum up clients, so it makes it even harder for them to come here and buy. A thousand horses is a lot of horses in the June sale. I think they are doing very well to have the clearance rate they have.”

The OBS June sale concludes with a final session beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Scherer Takes the Blame

A colt by Blame (hip 430), who worked a co-bullet quarter-mile in :20 3/5 during last week's under-tack show, will be joining the barn of trainer Brad Cox after bloodstock agent Clay Scherer signed the $485,000 ticket to acquire the youngster on behalf of an undisclosed client Wednesday at OBS.

“He was a big, strong colt who worked fast, did everything like you want to see here and he acted fresh every day,” Scherer said of the juvenile's appeal.

The dark bay colt is out of Soul Spirit (Quality Road), a daughter of multiple Grade I-placed Soul Search and a half-sister to graded winner Journey Home (War Front). He was purchased by Ciaran Dunne for $210,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale and was making his first trip through the sales ring this year with Dunne's Wavertree Stables consignment.

“He's big, tall and long legged,” Dunne said following the colt's bullet breeze last week. “He looks like a horse who will go two turns easily. So the fact that he has that speed makes you think he's going to be very dangerous going long.”

Of the colt's yearling price tag, Dunne admitted, “It did seem like a lot, but he was a beautiful yearling. The trend at the 2-year-old market is that they want big, two-turn horses and if you can get a horse like him who looks like he'll go long to show the kind of speed he showed, then you're going to get paid, more so than with the ready-made spring 2-year-old types. So it was a lot of money for him, but he was a beautiful horse.”

Scherer said the June sale has become an increasingly reliable source of good horses, pointing to 2021 graduate and multiple graded winner Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) who won Saturday's GII Santa Margarita S. at Santa Anita.

“Every year, people have been putting good horses in June and good horses have come out of June every year,” he said. “Adare Manor just ran off the screen. There is always a good one here.”

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‘All Grown Up’ OBS June Sale Starts Tuesday

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training–once an afterthought, but now a destination in its own right–begins its three-day run Tuesday in Ocala with bidding slated to get underway at 10 a.m. The June sale brings the curtain down on the OBS juvenile sales season, which featured a co-record sale topper in March and records for gross and average in April.

“The sales calendar has migrated later [in the year], so I think there is still a demand for 2-year-olds out there for sure,” OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said of the expected market in Ocala this coming week. “I think we said it last year, the June sale is all grown up. Sellers have confidence that if they have a horse who needs some time, they can bring it to the June sale and there will be people to buy it. And on the other side of that equation, the buyers are confident when they see the quality of the horses that are coming out of the June sale and their performance on the track.”

That performance on the racetrack was in evidence over the weekend when Adare Manor (Uncle Mo), a 2021 graduate of the auction, won the third graded stakes of her career in the GII Santa Margarita S. at Santa Anita.

“That's just another indicator that June has become its own sale,” Wojciechowski said. “It's not a clean-up sale, it's not a leftover sale. There are horses that are targeted for the June sale because they are maybe later foals that would benefit from more time,” Wojciechowski said.

A total of 1,081 juveniles have been catalogued for the three-day auction, down slightly from the 1,114-strong 2022 catalogue which produced a record gross when 653 horses sold for $26,986,500 and an average of $41,327. The 2022 auction also produced its highest-ever median of $25,000.

The OBS March and Spring sales produced strong results compared to their 2022 renewals, but drew mixed reviews from consignors who had purchased yearlings in a highly competitive market last fall. The average sales price at last year's bellwether Keeneland September Yearling Sale rose 7.83%, but the course-charting OBS Spring sale this spring saw an average increase of less than 1%.

The yearling market last year was also impacted by a number of high-purchasing partnerships intent on acquiring well-pedigreed two-turn colts. Their activity pushed many pinhookers out of that segment of the market and led to a dearth of those type of horses in the 2-year-old sales this year.

“There has been a shortage of good colts and if you were lucky enough to have one, you got paid,” consignor Ciaran Dunne said last week.

Dunne said he expects to see a continuation of a polarized market at OBS this week.

“The horses who breeze good and vet good, I think there will be plenty of money here for them,” he said. “But I think if you miss here, it's going to be a wide miss.”

Wojciechowski also said he expects to see continued strength at the top of the market at the June sale, while the middle market may hold the key to the ultimate success of the auction.

“I think we will continue to see a flight to quality–or perceived quality,” he said. “The upper end always seems to take care of itself.”

Of the sometimes enigmatic middle market, Wojciechowski said, “I think there is sometimes a disconnect, everyone talks about the middle market and I have yet to hear one person define the middle market the same way as the next person. I think that the middle market is a moving target. Sometimes what the buyer perceives as the middle market and what the seller perceives as the middle market, don't always add up. But I think that the top usually takes care of itself and the devil will be in the details of that perceived middle market.”

During last week's six-session under-tack show ahead of the June sale, a filly by Bucchero (hip 999) turned in the fastest furlong of :9 3/5 and a colt by Chitu (hip 347) had the fastest quarter-mile work of :20 1/5.

“We had fairly consistent weather, although the first couple of days were a little cooler,” Wojciechowski said of conditions at the under-tack show. “The third and fourth and fifth days, we started seeing that westerly wind and it got hot quickly. But all in all, the horses did well, they performed well. And it was a good breeze show.”

The June sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning each day at 10 a.m.

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City of Light Colt Earns Furlong Bullet at OBS Thursday

A colt by City of Light (hip 570) worked the week's co-fastest furlong of :9 4/5, while a son of First Samurai (hip 588) and a filly by Violence (hip 703) shared the day's fastest quarter-mile work of :21 flat during the fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Thursday in Ocala. Headwinds increased throughout the session and all three bullet workers were on the track during the day's first set.

Working shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, hip 570 became the 10th juvenile of the week to work the furlong in :9 4/5. The bay colt, consigned by Wavertree Stables, is out of Wear Red (Henny Hughes) and is a half-brother to stakes winner and graded-placed Jessica Krupnick (Uncle Mo). Wear Red is a half-sister to Grade I winner Eskendereya (Giant's Causeway).

Ron Fein's Super Fine Farms purchased the colt for $170,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Omar Ramirez sent out hip 588 to work his :21 flat bullet quarter-mile shortly after the start of Thursday's session of the under-tack show. The colt is out of Woodsboro (Congrats) and his third dam is graded winner La Rosa (Wild Again).

Ramirez acquired the colt for $65,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale. He was purchased by My Little Team Racing for $50,000 following a :10 1/5 work at the OBS Spring sale in April.

Just minutes after that colt worked, Hip 703 turned in her :21 flat quarter-mile work for A.G. Sales. Out of the unraced Brief Tears (Orientate), the dark bay filly is a half-sister to graded winner No Problem (Munnings).

Jose Andres Gaspar purchased the filly for $10,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 7:30 a.m. The June sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday. Bidding commences each day at 10 a.m.

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Blame, Bee Jersey Juveniles Share Quarter-Mile Bullet at OBS Wednesday

The under-tack show for next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training reached its midway point Wednesday, with a colt by Blame (hip 430) and a filly by Bee Jersey (hip 495) sharing the session's quarter-mile bullet time of :20 3/5.

Hip 495 was among the first horses to work Wednesday morning when she turned in her bullet quarter-mile drill. Consigned by Triple J Equine Sales, the chestnut filly is out of Tale of La Comete (Tale of Ekati). Her third dam is La Comete (Holy Bull), who is the dam of Munnings.

Bred by Charles Fipke, the filly RNA'd for $4,500 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Hip 430, who also turned in his :20 3/5 work early in Wednesday's first set, is consigned by Wavertree Stables. The dark bay colt is out of Soul Spirit (Quality Road), who is a daughter of multiple Grade I-placed Soul Search (A.P. Indy) and a half-sister to graded winner Journey Home (War Front).

“We expected he would work really well, but I can't say we were expecting :20 3/5,” said Wavertree's Ciaran Dunne. “It was a really good work because on the backside, clocking it, it wasn't like he threw in a really fast sixteenth and then just kind of found his way home. He was even the whole way and kind of kept at it around the turn, which is what he is going to be. He's going to go long. The fact that he has that kind of speed makes you think he could be really dangerous going long.”

Of the decision to work the colt a quarter-mile Wednesday, Dunne explained, “I find if you go an eighth in June, you spend the next week explaining why he was only ready to go an eighth. Especially with this horse, he's not supposed to go an eighth of a mile. We wanted to give him a bit of room to get himself uncorked and into a rhythm.”

Dunne admitted the June sale wasn't his first choice for the juvenile.

“April would have been ideal, but he just had a few bumps in the road,” he explained. “Nothing serious, but more growing pains than anything else. Given that he was so big, we just backed off and took our medicine and figured we would wait for here. The general consensus was if he's a nice horse, he'll be a nice horse in June, too. Hopefully we will be rewarded for our patience.”

The June sale has become less a liability and more of an attractive option for horses who needed the extra time.

“I think the same guys that shop all of the other sales will shop June,” Dunne said. “There are horses in here that were in March and April and maybe caught an unfavorable racetrack or just something didn't go to plan. If there are legitimate reasons why they are here, I don't think there is any negative to them being here.”

Dunne purchased the Blame colt for $210,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“The trend, I think, in the 2-year-old market is they want big, two-turn horses,” Dunne said. “If you can get a horse who looks like he will go long and shows the kind of speed that he's got, then you're going to get paid. More so than with the ready-made spring 2-year-old types. So it was a lot of money for him [as a yearling], but he was a beautiful horse. He's always been a beautiful horse.”

The proliferation of high-power partnerships in search of those two-turn type colts at the yearling sales last year pushed most pinhookers out of that segment of the market. That has led to a dearth of those well-pedigreed colts at the 2-year-old sales this spring.

“The most common thing we heard when we were in Timonium [at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale] was that there was a lack of two-turn colts,” Dunne said. “It seemed to be that it was strong on fillies, but light on colts. Hopefully those guys that were shopping colts there and couldn't find them will be here [at OBS].”

Dunne continued, “Some of the colts that were bringing the bigger money [at previous 2-year-old sales this year] were by stallions that the majority of yearling buyers would have turned their noses up at,” Dunne said. “Whereas the fillies that were selling well, by and large, had pedigree. There is just been a shortage of good colts. If you were lucky enough to have one, you got paid.”

A filly by Kantharos (hip 431) turned in Wednesday's fastest furlong of :9 4/5. Consigned by Brayhan Cruz's Cruzin' Thoroughbreds, the bay filly is out of Souper Colket (Ghostzapper) and from the family of multiple graded stakes winner Blofeld. She was purchased for $17,000 by Laura Kelton at last year's Keeneland September sale.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 7:30 a.m. The June sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday. Bidding commences each day at 10 a.m.

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