David Scanlon

Action Heats Up at OBS Wednesday

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

OCALA, FL – With a pair of seven-figure colts leading the way, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds produced a day of strong bidding Wednesday in Florida. During the session, 177 juveniles grossed $25,829,000 for an average of $145,927 and a median of $80,000. Through two sessions, 347 horses have sold for $48,388,000. The two-day average of $139,447 jumped 36% from last year's corresponding figure, while the median of $75,000 soared up 50%.

The cumulative buy-back rate is 19.5%. With the subsequent inclusion of post-sale transactions, it was 13.3% a year ago.

A colt by Medaglia d'Oro became the auction's second seven-figure juvenile when selling for $1,750,000 to Jed and Tim Cohen's Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal. The session-topping youngster capped a big day for de Meric Sales, which is the leading consignor with 19 sold for $6,374,000 at the auction's half-way mark.

Japanese trainer Mitsu Nakauchida made the day's second seven-figure purchase when acquiring a colt from the first crop of Mendelssohn for $1.3 million from the Scanlon Training and Sales consignment. Some 30 hips earlier, Nakauchida had purchased a colt by Mendelossohn's half-brother Into Mischief for $825,000 from de Meric Sales to be the session's leading buyer.

While Dave Scanlon enjoyed top-level success, he said he also saw activity at lower levels of the market.

“The trade is pretty good,” Scanlon said. “It's always good for the top horses. You always get rewarded for those. The ones that were lesser, you have to hustle a little bit, but it's been good.”

Buyers, meanwhile, were facing a competitive marketplace in Ocala.

“I am finding it very challenging quite frankly,” bloodstock agent David Ingordo said. “There are a lot of horses who are very, very nice and they are costing a nice price. We came here to buy and we've had mixed success because of the prices. We are disciplined, but we are not cheap buyers. We do set limits and some of these are going right by. There are lot of horses who are maybe not vetting and stuff. The market is good. If you bring a nice horse, you get a nice price. There is some value there too. We bought a nice filly earlier for $67,000 that we valued higher, so there are still some diamonds in the rough.”

Bloodstock agent Chad Schumer, whose five purchases so far at the sale are topped by a $535,000 colt by Goldencents, agreed he was forced to pay a premium for the horses he was looking to buy.

“I think the market is strong,” Schumer said. “I have heard a lot of people kind of complain about the market, but there hasn't been a single horse that I've bought that wasn't many bids over the reserve. I am selling tomorrow, so I might feel differently. But I think it's been a very good market. There is tremendous demand for these horses and it seems to be coming from all over.”

Kirk Wycoff of Three Diamonds Farm had a pinhooking score with a Curlin filly selling for $600,000 late in the day, but said things on the buying end were difficult.

“The horses it feels like we could spend $100,000 to $200,000 for before the pandemic are now $200,000 to $400,000,” he said. “I know the numbers don't necessarily say the market has doubled, but the quality horses have gone up considerably. It is good for the business. We have our regulatory situation kind of under control, so it is a good time to be in horse racing.”

The OBS Spring sale continues through Friday with sessions beginning each day at 10:30 a.m.

Well-Related Medaglia d'Oro Colt Headed to California

A Medaglia d'Oro half-brother to champion sprinter Drefong (Gio Ponti) (Hip 401) proved quite popular in Ocala Wednesday, summoning $1.75 million from Jed Cohen's Red Baron's Barn and his son Tim Cohen's Rancho Temescal. The colt will join the California-based stable of trainer Mark Glatt. Spendthrift Farm was the underbidder.

“It was certainly a little more than we wanted to go, but Jeff [Mullins], Mark [Glatt], Joe [Miller] and I all agreed he was a standout colt,” Tim Cohen said. “I talked to my dad and said we found a special one. I didn't tell him how far we had to go, but we will find out soon.”

He added, “For such a big colt to go that quickly [:10 1/5] without being asked was significant for us. These guys took good, hard looks on our behalf. It was a special opportunity and we are grateful to do it.”

Sandra Fubini's Machmer Hall purchased Hip 401's unraced dam Eltimaas (Ghostzapper) for $77,000 in foal to Mizzen Mast at the 2013 KEENOV sale, the same year she produced three-time Grade I winner Drefong, who now stands stud in Japan. The half-sister to champion Action This Day's 2017 filly by Candy Ride (Arg) brought $675,000 at the OBS March Sale and her 2019 Curlin colt summoned $425,000 at last year's April sale.

Bred by Machmer Hall in partnership with Fubini's daughter and son-in-law, Carrie and Craig Brogden, Hip 401 was purchased by de Meric Sales for $325,000 at Keeneland September with Brogden staying in for a small piece.

“He has been unbelievable since day one,” Tristan de Meric said. “We have just been lucky to have him on the farm. From the first day in the round pen, you could see he was going to be a nice one. He stayed together and just kept getting better every day.”

He added, “Carrie kept a small piece and we partnered up with a few of our good friends, Hubert Guy, Tami Bobo and Gus King. We were lucky it all came together. You never expect that kind of price, but the way it was coming together and with the people who were on him, we weren't shocked to see him hit $1 million.”

Hip 401's sale was the start of a stellar day for the de Merics, who also sold an $825,000 Into Mischief colt (Hip 466) and an $800,000 Curlin colt (Hip 503). —@CDeBernardisTDN

Scanlon Scores With Another Maryland Buy

The Fasig-Tipton October Sale has been good to consignor David Scanlon in the past. He purchased GISW Army Mule for (Friesian Fire) for just $35,000 at that auction and pinhooked him for $825,000 at EASMAY. He scored with another Fasig October buy Wednesday when a Mendelssohn colt (Hip 490) he purchased for $235,000 brought $1.3 million from Japanese trainer Mitsu Nakauchida, who was acting on behalf of an undisclosed client.

“We were up there in Maryland and we have done really good buying out of that sale,” Scanlon said. “We bought Army Mule out of that sale. You get good value there. The day before I was on another Mendelssohn because I really think the sire is going to be a hit, and we didn't get him. I thought this horse had a great demeanor and a beautiful frame. My partner Gabriel Duignan pointed him out too and said he liked him. We called our other partner Bruno DeBerdt and we all got together and bought him. It was a stretch. I usually don't pay that for a pinhook. I'm usually about $100,000 guy, but we decided to take a chance. We loved him.”

As for how the colt has matured since, Scanlon said, “All year we saw something special in him. He matured the way he hoped and got better than we ever imagined.”

Bred by Marcus Stables, the :10 1/5 breezer is out of the unraced Malibu Moon mare Grace is Gone, who is a half-sister to SP Retro (Giant's Causeway). Their dam is GISP Grace Anatomy (Aldebaran).

“He breezed really nicely,” said Nakauchida, who was sporting a Scanlin Training & Sales hat. “His action was very big and dynamic. Physically, he is strong and beautiful. “He will go to Japan and will be under my care. Hopefully, we will win a few races and, if we get lucky, hopefully you will see him in the international stakes.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Into Mischief Colt to Japan

A colt by Into Mischief (hip 466) will be heading to Japan after selling for $825,000 to the bid of Japanese trainer Mitsu Nakauchida, acting on behalf of an undisclosed client, at OBS Wednesday. The colt, who worked a furlong in :10 flat at last week's under tack show, was consigned by de Meric Sales. He was purchased by Mickey Gonzalez's Golden Star Farm for $385,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“I liked his breeze. He has plenty of speed,” Nakauchida said of the colt's appeal. “I saw him at the barn and he's very athletic and he is light. He will go well in Japan.”

Hip 466 is out of Game for More (More Than Ready) and is a half-brother to multiple graded winner Isotherm (Lonhro {Aus}) and Grade I placed Gio Game (Gio Ponti) and Giant Game (Giant's Causeway).

The colt was Nakauchida's first purchase of the sale, but the trainer was quick to double up when taking home a Mendelssohn colt for $1.3 million. @JessMartiniTDN

Curlin Colt for Lund Petersen

A colt by Curlin (hip 503) will be joining Michael Lund Petersen's racing stable after selling for $800,000 Wednesday in Ocala. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, bidding alongside trainer Bob Baffert, made the winning bid.

“He was just a fast-looking Curlin,” Lanni said of the juvenile who worked a furlong last week in :10 flat. “The mare could really run and he went fast and looks the part. So we just hope we get lucky.”

The gray colt is out of multiple Grade I winner Hard Not to Like (Hard Spun) and was bred by Dattt Farm, which purchased the mare for $2.2 million at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. The juvenile RNA'd for $285,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. He was consigned to the OBS sale by de Meric Sales.

Nyquist Filly Well Received in Ocala

With a Shadwell pedigree behind her, Hip 506, a daughter of Nyquist, was well liked at OBS Wednesday, hammering for $700,000 to the Green family's D.J. Stable, which did its bidding online.

“We bought her privately from Shadwell in September,” Barry Eisaman said. “They were inviting people to the farm because they were selling some of their yearlings. We liked her body, pedigree and mind. She has done nothing but fulfill every dream we could have had for her. She's just a wonderful prospect. She's fast. She's calm under fire. She's just a good filly.”

Hip 506 is out of Hasilah (Hard Spun), who is a daughter of MG1SW Sierra Madre (Fr) (Baillamont). That mare has also produced European champion Aljabr (Storm Cat) and the dam of GSWs Derbaas (Seeking the Gold) and Chiefdom (The Factor). The gray breezed in :10 flat during the under-tack show last week. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Lehigh Bloodstock Hits Another Homerun at OBS

Lehigh Bloodstock, a pinhooking partnership comprised of Three Diamonds Farm and Wavertree's Ciaran Dunne, was behind the $1.2-million More Than Ready colt–a $120,000 KEESEP buy–who topped the OBS March Sale. They hit another homerun in Ocala Wednesday when a Curlin filly (Hip 602) they purchased for $135,000 at Keeneland September brought $600,000 from bloodstock agent David Ingordo, who was acting on behalf of Spry Family Farm.

“We buy 50 yearlings and race 25 and sell 25,” Three Diamonds' Kirk Wycoff said. “We love Curlin. A friend of ours knows the mare and the mare is very fast. We thought the filly would be fast and she was.”

As for the prices, he said, “You never know what to expect. This is a very good horse sale. We were happy to get anything over $500,000 and we would have been happy to race her at less than that.”

The chestnut filly is out of MSP Jumby Bay (City Zip), who was purchased by breeder Don Alberto Corporation for $510,000 at the 2019 KEENOV sale with this filly in utero. She is a half-sister to GSP Royal Obsession (Tapit), a $1-million FTSAUG yearling in 2014 turned $1.15-million KEENOV buy a year later and was purchased by Don Alberto at the 2017 KEENOV sale for $1.8 million in foal to Curlin.

“She's a Curlin filly. Curlin needs no introduction,” said Ingordo, who did his bidding alongside the filly's new trainer, his wife Cherie DeVeaux. “She had a beautiful breeze [:20 4/5]. I've been lucky buying off Ciaran in the past. She was for somebody who wants to buy a nice filly, develop her and hopefully have one for the broodmare band in the future.”

—@CDeBernardisTDN

Colt Makes Cents to Schumer

Chad Schumer, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed client, went to $535,000 to acquire a colt by Goldencents (hip 546) from the Eddie Woods consignment. Woods's Quarter Pole Enterprises pinhooking partnership purchased the youngster for $150,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. The colt's half-sister Just One Time (Not This Time) won the Apr. 9 GI Madison S. and days later he worked a furlong in a bullet :9 4/5.

Schumer was familiar with the pedigree before bidding Wednesday.

“I actually bought the mare Ida Clark (Speightstown) carrying Just One Time,” Schumer said. “We bought her inexpensively, $45,000 [at 2017 Keeneland November sale], for a client. He sold her, unfortunately, but he kept Just One Time and he just won the Grade I with her. The colt was in the sale, it's an amazing pedigree, he was a stunning individual and obviously it was a fantastic breeze.”

Ida Clark resold for $60,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January sale.

The colt was one that jumped through all of the proverbial hoops, according to Schumer.

“Typically, with all due respect to the stallion, they can be small and they can be light,” Schumer said. “They are great runners, but they are usually not sales horses. This horse was a proper sales horse. He is big, strong, with a tremendous walk. He was very correct and he vetted perfectly. I think when you jump through all the hoops and you have a bullet work, you kind of have to expect to pay.” @JessMartiniTDN

Longoria Has a Good Day

Pinhooker Jessie Longoria continued a series of pinhooking scores in Ocala when selling a colt by Race Day (hip 373) for $475,000 to the partnership of WinStar's Maverick Racing, Siena Farms and CMNWLTH Wednesday at OBS. Longoria had purchased the youngster in partnership with Greg James for $42,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale, months before his sire had a pair of colts in the expected Kentucky Derby field.

“He looked good, he looked just like he did now,” Longoria said of the yearling purchase. “But Race Day was cold as water. Nobody wanted them. When I bought him, my friend said, 'What are you thinking? You know that horse is really cold.' It made me feel bad. But I liked the horse and I've always had a habit of buying horses like that that my intuition tells me is the right kind. I went with my gut and it panned out.”

Hip 373 turned in a quarter-mile work in :21 flat during last week's under-tack show.

“I knew he was going to do very well,” Longoria said of Wednesday's result. “Everybody who looked at him loved the horse. He has one hell of a mind and that's what you have to have to get through all the pressure and stress. He's a happy horse. He galloped out huge.”

Race Day will be represented on the First Saturday in May by GI Curlin Florida Derby winner White Abarrio and GI Arkansas Derby runner-up Barber Road.

During Tuesday's first session of the OBS Spring sale, Longoria sold a colt by Mor Spirit (hip 218) for $230,000 to Exline-Border Racing. The juvenile had been purchased by Longoria for $62,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale.

“I had a new client who approached me and this was our first horse,” Longoria explained.

At the OBS March sale, Longoria and James sold a filly by Shackleford (hip 544) for $300,000 to Hideyuki Mori. The bay had been purchased for $40,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October sale.

“I usually end up with six to eight [yearlings] every year,” Longoria said. “I like to keep my numbers down. I like to be hands on and I do a lot of work myself. So with six to eight with better pedigrees, I can invest more and get better quality. I think when you have more pedigree, if your horses don't work the greatest, you still get people to come look. Without pedigrees, if your horses don't perform top notch, you don't have anybody come look. If you buy something with pedigree, and especially if they work fast, you get everybody on them. It kind of gives you a guarantee.” @JessMartiniTDN

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Consignors Talk First-Crop Sires Ahead of 2-Year-Old Sales

As the calendar inches inexorably towards March and a spring-long series of 2-year-olds in training sales, consignors are putting the finishing touches on juveniles heading to auction, paying particular attention to youngsters representing their stallions first crop to hit the track. The TDN is reaching out to consignors with 2-year-olds heading to the sales rings at OBS and Gulfstream Park next month to find out which freshman sires have impressed them.

EDDIE WOODS

Prolific consignor Eddie Woods has 24 juveniles catalogued for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which will be held Mar. 16 and 17, and a further 17 head catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, which will be held Mar. 31.

“The Gormleys are very nice,” Woods said when asked which freshman sires had impressed him. “They are quick, agile horses. They look like they will be pretty precocious and early.”

Winner of the 2017 GI Santa Anita Derby, Gormley (Malibu Moon–Race to Urga, by Bernstein) stands at Spendthrift Farm for a 2021 stud fee of $5,000.

Woods will offer a pair of 2-year-olds by Gormley at the OBS March sale (hip 371 and hip 531).

Practical Joke (Into Mischief–Mystic City, by City Zip) has been much-hyped in Ocala this winter. Woods will offer a colt by the multiple Grade I winner–who stands at Ashford Stud for a fee of $22,500 this year–at OBS March (hip 113).

“The Practical Jokes are the talk of the town,” Woods said. “I have some of them and they are quite nice. Most of them–apart from one–all look the same. They lean towards that Into Mischief-ey thing–bay horses with white stripes down their faces and a white sock here and there and that kind of build to them. And they've trained well.”

Of the other 2-year-olds by freshman sires at his Ocala farm, Woods continued, “The Connects (hip 164 and hip 530) are nice. I don't think they are the first few months of the racing year, but they will be nice horses at the end of the day. They are good movers. And the Masterys are (hip 513) nice horses, too.”

Connect (Curlin–Bullville Belle, by Holy Bull), winner of the GI Cigar Mile, stands at Lane's End for a 2021 fee of $15,000. Grade I winner Mastery (Candy Ride {Arg}–Steady Course, by Old Trieste) stands at Claiborne Farm for $25,000.

Woods will offer a son of 2-year-old champion Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile–Just Parker, by Forest Camp) (hip 142).

“The Classic Empire is very smooth, he's a beautiful horse,” Woods said. “He's a very likable horse and a good mover.”

While he doesn't have many to sell, Woods said he has been impressed by the first crop by champion Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}–Quiet Giant, by Giant's Causeway), who stands at Three Chimneys Farm for $50,000.

“I think I might have only one going to a sale, but the Gun Runners have come around really well and they act like nice horses,” Woods said. “They have a lot of class and a lot of scope. The thing I like the best about them is how much they've changed since the Fall. We're heading into the spring and it's like night and day on some of them. They've strengthened up, gotten stronger across their backs and they train really well. And they are just good, solid horses. They are all mentally stars and they act like nice horses. I was a little negative on him at the yearling sales because of their back ends, but I'm liking them quite a bit right now.”

The 2020 juvenile sales season, which had only just begun when the pandemic caused mass lockdowns across the globe, suffered through a series of cancellations and postponements, but Woods said he sees positive signs ahead of the 2021 auctions.

“I think the vibe is pretty good right now,” Woods said. “The farm visitations are pretty lively and plentiful. We are in a different mindset than last year. We went to the sale in March last where the bomb had just got dropped and not knowing where we were at. We were fortunate the sale went well and after that, it was just a very much hang-on-to-your-britches kind of year. This year, we kind of believe we know where we are at. Our sales are going to go on and things are more positive. And hence, everything is more positive. If you look at the breeding stock sales in the early part of the year, they were very, very good for what they are. So everything is in a really positive mode and we've got that feeling here on the farm with the phone calls and the people wanting to come look at the horses. So hopefully, it continues on to the sales. It will probably be the same as ever, all top end, but at least there will be people there for that.”

GENE RECIO

You can count Gene Recio among the consignors excited about the first 2-year-olds by Practical Joke, who won the GI Champagne S. and GI Hopeful S. at two and added the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. at three. Recio will offer a colt by the Ashford stallion at the Gulfstream sale (hip 106).

“I have two Practical Jokes,” Recio said. “One of them is going to OBS April, a filly, and I have a colt out of Do the Dance (Discreet Cat) going to Fasig-Tipton Miami. They were both really good movers and very, very forward horses from the get-go. Even before we breezed, they galloped like they had a purpose, like they were going somewhere. So he's my pick right now for the earlier type horses and the Saratoga-type maiden special weight type horses. Both the ones I have are medium-sized, strong, very good moving and, touch wood, they have been very sound thus far.”

Recio has a pair of colts by American Freedom (Pulpit–Gottcha Last, by Pleasant Tap) (hip 58 and hip 446) among the 17 head he has catalogued for the OBS March sale.

“The American Freedoms are beautifully made horses,” Recio said. “I have two of those and both are really well-made. They both have great attitudes. He is by Pulpit and they seem to both have a lot of energy–a lot of good energy, the kind that wants to go out and go to work every day. Physically, they are just well balanced, bigger-than-average sized horses, with very pretty necks and good hips and good shoulders. They are kind of the shape that everybody seems to like.”

Winner of the 2016 GIII Iowa Derby, American Freedom stands at Airdrie Stud for a 2021 fee of $6,000.

At the Gulfstream sale, Recio will offer a colt from the first crop of Mohaymen (Tapit–Justwhistledixie, by Dixie Union) (hip 75).

“I have only one by Mohaymen, but if he is any indication of what the Mohaymens are like, I wish I had a whole barn full of them,” Recio said. “He's a big, scopey horse with a very pretty neck on him and as good a mover as I have. And he's very good-minded for a Tapit bloodline.”

Winner of the 2016 GII Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth S. and GII Lambholm South Holy Bull S., as well as a pair of graded wins at two, Mohaymen stands at Shadwell Farm at a fee of $7,500.

Asked about his expectations ahead of the 2-year-old sales, Recio said, “Same old story. I think if you jump through all the hoops–you breeze fast, vet clean and look good at the end of the shank–you'll do extremely well. If you don't, it's sometimes hit or miss in those areas.”

SUSAN MONTANYE (SBM Training and Sales)

Susan Montanye's SBM Training and Sales has a small but select group of juveniles by freshman sires heading to the auctions this spring.

“They are all going to the select sales, so I love them all,” Montanye said of the group. “I've told everyone who has called about them.”

Among SBM's offerings next month is a colt by Gormley (hip 44) and the operation has a second colt waiting in the wings for a later sale.

“I have one mare, and I'm going to breed her to Gormley, because of what I've seen and you can get to him fairly inexpensively,” Montanye said. “I have two of them–one I am taking to Miami and the other one I'm taking to April or Maryland, they just wanted a little more time with him. But they are both very, very nice. I think there is a lot of Malibu Moon in them. Both are pretty good-minded colts. Neither one of them are going to be my bullet, my fastest that I have in my barn, but I think both of them are more than just sprinters. They are both fast, don't get me wrong, but I think they are horses that can stretch out.”

Montanye continued, “My Classic Empire and Arrogate are both double-nominated, however the Arrogate (hip 78) is 100% sure going to go to the Miami sale. He is a super, super nice horse. It's a shame that the sire is no longer around because I think he would have made one hell of sire, just based off of what I see.

“The Classic Empire (hip 77), I have one in my barn and I know of a couple others that are very nice,” she continued. “I do have him double-nominated and I don't know where I'm going to take him yet. He is cool as a cucumber. I breezed him myself the other day. I try to get on them all at least a couple of times throughout the year. I had not been on my Classic Empire yet until last Thursday when I breezed him. He was flat-footed, walked out there like an older horse. I asked him to work, he worked. I asked him to pull up, he pulled up. Walked him home, never got fired up. Just as quiet as a mouse.”

Montanye admitted there were still uncertainties in the marketplace, but also signs for optimism.

“I don't know what to expect, truthfully,” she said. “I've heard the Koreans won't buy or can't buy. That's going to be a big blow to the industry as a whole, I think. Because it's not just about what they buy, but it's a matter of what they drive up. As far as who is coming to buy and what the market looks like, I thought it was hard to buy yearlings. And if you look at the November and January sale on babies, I thought it was extremely solid. All you kept hearing was tough, tough, tough. I thought it would be an opportunity to buy, but it was tough.

“Last year, we had the shitty end of the stick,” she said. “This year, I think as a whole you do need to be on the upper end with a nicer horse. The middle market might take a hit. I hope not because I had horses I bought that I didn't pay a lot for for the middle market. So I sure hope there is a market for them. Now that the election is behind us, at least we can move forward from that, and the stock market seems to be doing well. Gas prices are coming up, so oil is going to be better. All of that in itself is a reflection of what the industry does. I hope everybody is ready to come buy, because we have some nice horses.”

David Scanlon will offer a colt by Practical Joke (hip 148) at the Gulfstream sale and has another youngster targeted at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in May.

“We've been really high on Practical Joke,” the consignor said. “There has been a good buzz on him around town. And we've got a couple going. We have one big, precocious colt going to the Miami sale that I'm very high on. And we've got another horse with Bruno DeBerdt, with our syndicate, that we've got going to Maryland that we are very high on. They have good hind legs and very strong bodies. They are built very tough, kind of rugged-looking and very precocious. Both horses look like they are going to be very quick and early. They have a strong build to them.”

Scanlon Training and Sales will offer a filly by Classic Empire (hip 72) at the Gulfstream sale.

“We have a couple of Classic Empires that I am very impressed with,” Scanlon said. “We have three of those that we will be selling. They are very elegant looking, very pretty horses. And they are also training very well and they seem very precocious, like they are going to be quick and early.”

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Delayed Midlantic Sale Starts Monday

TIMONIUM, MD – The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, postponed from its traditional May date due to the coronavirus pandemic, kicks off its two-day run at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium Monday morning with bidding scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. A total of 563 juveniles were catalogued for the auction, with 154 listed outs as of Sunday afternoon.

Buyers were out in force on a steamy morning at the sales barns Sunday, with trainers like Barclay Tagg, John Servis, Ron Moquette, Mike Trombetta and Mark Hennig all making the rounds along with bloodstock agents David Ingordo, Dennis O’Neill, Joe Miller, Josh Stevens, Phil Hager, Patrick Lawley Wakelin, Alistair Roden and Patti Miller.

Donato Lanni and owner Michael Lund Petersen who bought the $1.8-million future GI Acorn S. winner Gamine (Into Mischief) at last year’s sale, were out shopping Sunday morning and stopped by the consignment of Bobby Dodd, who sold the record-setting filly in 2019.

Dodd, who returns with a five-horse consignment this year, is hoping for solid sales results despite uncertain conditions around the globe.

“Yesterday traffic [at the barn] was pretty good and today is better,” Dodd said. “I am seeing people today that I didn’t see yesterday, so that’s encouraging. I am hoping and praying it’s going to be good for everybody, but down at OBS [Spring Sale], it was tough. It was either you are all in or not at all. We sold our horses at OBS and just basically got out of the trap, but we didn’t get any cheese. Under the circumstances and the way the world is right now, I think that’s what a person needs to do, unless you are planning on going racing.”

Gamine’s seven-figure price tag was the most ever paid for a horse out of the Midlantic sales ring and highlighted an auction which set records for both gross and average.

“We sold a really nice horse a year ago and everyone is coming back and congratulating us,” Dodd said. “Last year, I really thought that filly was special. Obviously, I didn’t know she was going to bring $1.8 million and I didn’t really know how special she was, but I thought she was a really nice filly. I have some nice horses this year, I don’t honestly think I have one like her. But you never know what’s going to happen-how one is going to bloom.”

Action was constant at Danzel Brendemuehl’s Classic Bloodstock consignment Sunday morning.

“Obviously we are in very difficult times, so it’s very encouraging to see this many people here. We’ve been run off our feet,” Brendemuehl said.

Classic Bloodstock’s main pre-sale attraction is a colt from the first crop of red-hot freshman sire Not This Time (hip 213) who worked in :10 1/5 during last week’s under-tack preview.

“Yesterday we had 60 shows on 213 and probably more–I didn’t record them all because I can’t keep up,” Brendemuehl said.

Asked what she liked about the handsome chestnut, she said simply, “Everything,” before adding, “If you don’t like him, you don’t like horses.”

Brendemuehl purchased the colt for Robert Lambe for $40,000 from Sally Thomas’s consignment at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October Yearling Sale.

“I keep my mares with Sally in Kentucky, so when Sally tells me she likes a horse, I listen,” Brendemuehl said. “My client and I went to get lunch at Ryleigh’s Oyster Bar and all of a sudden there were a bunch of outs and he was coming up, so I called Peter Penny at the Fasig office and told him he had to bid on the horse for me. So we bought him and we named him Mr. Penny. He’s been my favorite horse all year long.”

While declining to speculate on what the strength of the market will be in Timonium, Kip Elser said there were plenty of shoppers around his Kirkwood Stables consignment this weekend.

“Traffic is right about normal-certainly no less,” Elser said. “What that translates to for tomorrow and the next day, I couldn’t begin to say, but so far we are right on par with the last couple of years as far as traffic.”

Elser had planned to offer a group of horses who would gallop at the under-tack show ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale in March, but with that boutique auction cancelled, the group all turned in quarter-mile works last week in Timonium.

“The [Gulfstream] sale was cancelled and the normal progression is that those horses would be breezing by this time of year,” Elser said. “So that’s what we did. We put more bottom in them. We were actually considering going three-eighths here with all of them and just showing the logical progression to get to the races. But the way the track is laid out here, I didn’t think coming right out of the paddock where it is gave them enough of a warm-up to go three-eighths. So we went quarters and galloped out. They were very consistent and did what they were supposed to do. And I hope that people see it as one more step on the way to getting to the races. This would have been our third year doing it. I still like the idea and the program just as much.”

While the recent OBS Spring Sale suffered declines, consignor David Scanlon is looking for increased action in Maryland as buyers adapt to market conditions and take advantage of the geography of an auction held within a few hours drive of several racetracks.

“I am highly optimistic [about the sale],” Scanlon said. “We brought more up here, I thought maybe with the little bit later start, it would give everyone time to get going. After seeing one sale already happen, I think people are going to see it’s a buyers market. Plus, I think because of the location of the sale, people have been able to drive here. So I think it’s going to be ok-as good as it can be everything considered.”

During last year’s Midlantic sale, 326 horses sold for $29,374,000 for an average of $90,104 and a median of $43,000.

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