During the TDN's visit to Ocala last spring to scope out which first-crop sires were earning favor with the 2-year-old consignors, the response was fairly conclusive. Bolt d'Oro was a common prediction for leading freshman sire, and the consignors who believed in him before his first juveniles reached the starting gate certainly hit the nail on the head.
Interestingly, of the seven Bolt d'Oro progeny that were featured in our 'Thoughts from Ocala' video series (see here and here), five of those went on to break their maiden on debut. That group includes Agency, who spent his early days under saddle with SBM Training and Sales and went on to run second in the GIII Best Pal S., as well as King's Fortune, who was with Niall Brennan. Now owned in part by Brennan, the colt got his first win last month at Gulfstream for Todd Pletcher.
So who do the consignors in Ocala believe is the standout freshman sire this year? The most-mentioned stallion among the three consignors we visited was, hands down, Omaha Beach.
True, it's not an incredibly out-of-the-box response as the Spendthrift sire does hold the top stud fee in his class at $30,000 this year, but given his illustrious pedigree and the success of his yearlings in the sales ring, consignors have every reason to be excited about the Omaha Beach juveniles.
Read on to find out what a few consignors have to say about Omaha Beach. Click on each name to watch our 'Consignor Perspectives' video feature, where we go more in-depth about this year's class of first-crop stallions.
We are really impressed with the Omaha Beach 2-year-olds so far. I think the fact that he was a dirt horse lends the possibility that he could be versatile on any surface. I think they're going to be early, but I don't think they're going to have distance limitations either. I think he has a lot of potential to be a really great sire.
Our Omaha Beach filly out of Hot Water (Medaglia d'Oro) is just really special. She seems to be a really good filly–very athletic, loves her job, moves well on the racetrack. Just everything you like to see in a young 2-year-old at this stage.
The Omaha Beach filly out of Starlit Daydream (Can The Man) is a handy filly. She has an efficient way of moving and a lot of quality about her. She shows a lot of promise.
Also mentioned: Vino Rosso (Spendthrift, $15,000)
Value first-crop sire pick: Enticed (Darley, $5,000)
I've got a couple Omaha Beach 2-year-olds that I'm really impressed with. They share a lot of the similarities of War Front in their power and their musculature, but they seem to have a little bit more size and scope to them.
We have a nice Omaha Beach going to the OBS April Sale. He's out of the mare Queen's Wood (Tiznow) and is a big, powerful colt. He's a really strong horse, but he just floats over the ground effortlessly. We're really happy with him and really excited about him as a prospect.
Also mentioned: Vino Rosso (Spendthrift, $15,000) and Mitole (Spendthrift, $15,000)
Value first-crop sire pick: Maximus Mischief (Spendthrift, $5,000)
I have one Omaha Beach colt and one filly and I like them both. I like that in a sire, when they don't lean more towards fillies or more towards colts. They are all kind of similar looking and they all are good-minded. They move nicely. They've done everything I've asked of them and look like they have some talent.
Also mentioned: Audible (WinStar, $25,000) and Catalina Cruiser (Lane's End, $15,000)
Value first-crop sire pick: World of Trouble (Hill 'n' Dale, $5,000)
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