Greg Martin | Horse Racing Free Tips

The :9 4/5 works continue to pile up during the fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, with 18 juveniles hitting that mark Wednesday, even as sales officials confirm Thursday's session has been canceled due to forecasted inclement weather in Central Florida. After its unexpected dark day Thursday, the under-tack show will continue Friday and will have an extra day added Sunday.

One of the pack of furlong bullet workers Wednesday was a son of Into Mischief out of multiple Grade I winner Separationofpowers (Candy Ride {Arg}). David Scanlon sent the striking bay with the sparkling pedigree (hip 603) to work early in the session.

“We thought he would breeze really well today,” Scanlon said. “He prepped really good. He's been a very honest horse at the farm. He's real forward training and he has a real spring in his step. I always think :9 4/5s are blessings or gifts. I never go up expecting a :9 4/5, but you like to see it happen.”

Separationofpowers won the 2017 GI Frizette S. and GI Test S. for trainer Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables. Her first foal, a filly by Curlin, sold for $650,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale. Scanlon purchased the Into Mischief colt, bred by Hunter Valley and Mountmellick Farm, for $350,000 at last summer's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

“For us, he was a pretty penny in Saratoga,” Scanlon said. “We always thought he looked like a real 2-year-old type out there. He's a smooth, well-balanced horse with a really nice hip on him.”

Timing had a lot to do with the colt's price tag among all the glittering offerings at the boutique Saratoga sale, Scanlon said.

“I think at the time, he was a little immature,” he explained. “I had a feeling he was just falling through the cracks there a little bit. Sometimes up there, we do that. We kind of have to look for those bargains and cracks in the market a little bit. If they check all of the boxes, we can't really afford them. The horses a lot of people bring up there are extremely mature, big physical specimens like [$2.3-million 2022 Saratoga topper and GI Kentucky Derby contender] Sierra Leone.

“My wife and I always say, 'You've got to be there,'” Scanlon said. “We will vet a bunch of these and they will blow right past us–we aren't even close, we are off by zeroes. But then that one time you are there, you can get one like this. Luckily, we ended up getting him and he's just been a real standout from day one.”

Daredevil on the Comeback

Daredevil's first crop since being repatriated to the U.S. from Turkey in 2021 are now 2-year-olds and the Lane's End stallion was represented by a pair of bullet workers Wednesday.

The Martin family's Britton Peak consignment sent out a colt by Daredevil (hip 594) to hit the bullet mark. The juvenile was forced to wait out a lengthy delay in the under-tack show after a horse bolted into the rail during his breeze and was attended to on the track.

“Unfortunately, we were right behind the accident,” Greg Martin said. “We were ready to work and we had to wait 45 minutes in the chute. Honestly, I hate to be so bold, but I wouldn't have been shocked if he had gone in :9 3/5. He definitely has a nice video. He has a nice, big stride on him.”

The dark bay is out of graded winner Seasoned Warrior (Majestic Warrior), who is a daughter of Canadian champion Saoirse (Cure the Blues). Martin purchased the colt for $37,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale.

“He looked like an absolutely gorgeous individual,” Martin said. “He was well put together. Just the kind of body that I look for. He stood out.”

Shedaresthedevil | Horsephotos

While Daredevil's American-bred runners included GI Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and GI Preakness S.-winning champion 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver, he was already plying his trade in Turkey when those fillies were making headlines in 2020. With his hiatus from the American sales ring now over, buyers may need a reintroduction to the stallion.

“That's why, I think, we got him for that price,” Martin said of the colt's yearling price tag. “I think if he was by a first-year or sophomore stallion or somebody proven, we definitely wouldn't have gotten him for that price.”

Of the colt's progression from last summer, Martin added, “He's definitely gotten bigger. Once in a while, you are going to get that horse who is push-button from day one. And he's been that. He has a really nice pedigree and he's a looker. He's a gorgeous individual.”

A filly by Daredevil (hip 687) worked in :9 4/5 for Hal Hatch's Halcyon Hammock Farm. The bay is out of Starship Gussie (High Cotton), a half-sister to the dam of Shedaresthedevil. Bred in Florida by Mustang Farm, she RNA'd for $72,000 at last year's OBS October sale.

Top Line Well Represented

Five of Wednesday's18 bullet workers were from the Top Line Sales consignment: hip 524, a filly by Into Mischief who is a full-sister to graded winner Maximus Mischief; hip 548, a colt by Gormley; hip 577, a colt by Vekoma; hip 622, a colt by Not This Time; and hip 638, a colt by Maclean's Music.

Wavertree Stables had a pair of juveniles share Wednesday's :9 4/5 co-fastest furlong time. Hip 567 is a filly from the first crop of Horse of the Year Authentic out of stakes winner Sandy's Surprise (Drosselmeyer), while hip 637 is a New York-bred daughter of Omaha Beach out of Sister Margaret (Pulpit).

For the second day in a row, Grassroots Training & Sales had a pair of bullet workers: hip 599, a filly by Munnings; and hip 625, a filly from the first crop of GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Spun to Run.

Also working in :9 4/5 Wednesday: hip 523, a filly by Not This Time consigned by Centofanti Thoroughbreds; hip 530, a filly by Nyquist consigned by Niall Brennan Stables; hip 555, a filly by Global Campaign consigned by Best a Luck Farm; hip 591, a colt by Hard Spun consigned by Harris Training Center; hip 642, a colt by Street Sense consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds; and hip 690, a filly by Not This Time consigned by Grade One Investments.

A filly from the first crop of graded winner Instagrand (hip 551) turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of Wednesday's session when covering the distance in :20 3/5. Consigned by Hoppel LLC, the bay is out of Runaway Renee (Munnings) and was purchased for $70,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale.

Conditions during the first four days of the seven-session under-tack show have been ideal, according to Scanlon.

“I don't remember in recent years when we've had such absolutely perfect days,” he said. “I can't remember a year when we had so many cool mornings combined with an east wind–or a tailwind–for so many days in a row. It's been ideal conditions.

It's made for perfect breeze days.”

The ideal conditions are expected to be interrupted by heavy rain Thursday, prompting OBS officials to postpone the under-tack show's fifth session until Friday. Hips 691 through 863 are scheduled to work Friday, with hips 864-1035 on Saturday and hips 1036 through 1208 on Sunday. All sessions begin at 8 a.m.

The OBS Spring sale will be held Tuesday through Friday with bidding starting each day at 10:30 a.m.

The post Bullets Continue to Fly at OBS Wednesday, but Weather KO’s Thursday Breezes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Horses run deep in the blood of the Martin family. Anyone following the sport at any point during the past 50 years would in all likelihood be familiar with the lineage, which in some ways has developed its own brand name in racing. Beginning with the legendary Hall of Famer Frank 'Pancho' Martin, famously known for training Sham to runner-up finishes to Secretariat in the 1973 Kentucky Derby and Preakness S., and followed by his son Jose Martin, who commandeered the career of a trio of champions, including top sprinter Groovy, the family name remains prolific today through the efforts of third generation horseman Carlos Martin, who is a successful trainer on the ultra-competitive New York circuit. And while the family legacy is a rich one, the present day Martins continue to build on that illustrious reputation, highlighted by their latest venture, Britton Peak, which will offer its first draft of horses at the upcoming OBS March Sale in Ocala, Florida.

The fledgling operation, which bases its stock at Big Lick Farm in Morriston, Florida, is directed by its founder and CEO Gloria Martin-Wallshein, in addition to another longtime horseman in the family, Greg Martin, who is the head bloodstock consultant and barn manager overseeing the purchase and development of all of Britton Peak's youngsters.

“It's about rebuilding old relations and developing new ones,” said Gloria Martin, daughter of Jose Martin, who previously worked in Manhattan for two decades, first as a project manager at an entertainment hedge fund and later in the public relations sector in the culinary industry and luxury branding. “We wanted to do something my family has never been done before. We have the contacts and the knowledge. It's not like we need 10-15 years to build our brand.”

Dipping its toe in the waters over the last two years, the operation previously sold a few horses under a different banner, however, 2022 represents Britton Peak's first foray under its own name. Leading the operation's eight horse roster at next week's March sale is Hip 164, a colt by Bolt d'Oro who blazed an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 during the initial day of under tack works Thursday. Out of Street Love (Street Boss), the Apr. 4 foal, a $50,000 Keeneland September purchase, is out of a full-sister to Grade I winner Capo Bastone.

“He certainly wasn't a surprise,” said Greg Martin, trainer and former assistant to his father, Frank Martin. “He was very forward from Day 1. He is an absolutely gorgeous individual and a really beautiful mover. He has been one of my top thee or four horses on the farm all year. It's scary because he's still so immature, and doesn't fully know what the game is about yet. But he has a lot more in the tank.”

Britton Peak also presents Hip 52, a colt by Pioneerof the Nile out of GSP Quick Release (Trappe Shot), representing the extended family of sprint champion Safely Kept; and Hip 605, a colt by Empire Maker out of the Tapit mare Mapit, a half-sister to MGSP Gold Standard (Medaglia d'Oro). The latter hails from the family of the Grade I-winning millionaire Dream Supreme, dam of GI Hopeful S. winner Majestic Warrior.

“I like him a lot,” said Greg Martin. “He is by a proven stallion. The horse also has such a physical look to him. He's scopey, well built and a gorgeous individual.”

Also included in Britton Peak's March consignment: Hip 397 and Hip 535, a pair of colts by Mendelssohn; Hip 472, a colt by Cloud Computing; and Hip 540, a colt by Bolt d'Oro.

“I'm a fan of sophomore sires,” stated Greg Martin. “I like them because you have the unknown factor, basically assessing the potential of a stallion. [When selecting a stallion], my big thing is looking at their past performances as racehorses, and horses that were precocious early. That's not necessarily to say that every race was a super race, but more that they showed those signs of brilliance. I look for stallions that have that 'wow' factor during their racing career. I'm also a big pedigree guy, so I look at that too.”

In regard to the bottom side of the pedigree, Greg Martin added, “Our horses will typically have something under the second and third dams because honestly, if they have a lot of black-type under the first dam, I can't afford them. Having been in racing my whole life, I am familiar with good horses going back a few years, so that is definitely one of the things I look at.”

He continued, “I also really like Mendelssohn. He's a half to Into Mischief–that whole family is so prolific. And I really loved the horse himself. He shipped all over the world, was so hard-knocking and consistent. It's as good a pedigree as you can get.”

Rounding out the consignment is Hip 539, a colt by Candy Ride (Arg), a half-brother to GIII Schuylerville S. winner Comical (Into Mischief), who also hit the board in the GI Chandelier S. and

GI Del Mar Debutante S. The juvenile's dam, Kayce Ace, is a full-sister to dual Grade I winner Colonel John (Tiznow) and GISP Mr. Hot Stuff.

While this year's March offering (after two outs) is comprised of colts exclusively, Britton Peak has four fillies slated for next month's OBS April Sale. At the sales, the operation typically favors colts on a 70-30 ratio.

“The colts just happened to be a little bit more advanced at this stage, a little bit quicker to develop,” said Greg Martin, explaining Britton Peak's colt-centric consignment at the March sale. “It was not necessarily by design to bring only colts here. It's just the way it happened.”

In regard to having a hand in both selecting and training the current roster of pinhooks, he added, “It's so nice when you get to pick them out and then train them too because obviously, I'm not going to buy something that I don't like. So, I'm starting off with horses that there was something that I saw in them as yearlings. You start with them from Day 1 and, hopefully, they develop into what you pictured in your mind. We have been very fortunate in that they all have come along nicely.”

All In the Family
Beginning with four horses in 2020, Britton Peak quickly expanded on that number, and ended up pinhooking six to seven horses in each of the past two seasons. The operation appears poised to surpass that mark very early in 2022, with 35 head under its own banner currently, and eight of those slated for March and an additional seven targeting the upcoming OBS April Sale.

“This wasn't something that we decided to do on a whim. This has been planned out for many years and we were just waiting for the right opportunity to come on the scene strong,” said Greg Martin. “We were going to do it the right way or we weren't going to do it.”

Also debuting this season, Britton Peak's first syndicate group–Heritage 43 Equine–is represented by seven horses, including three juveniles at OBS March.

According to Gloria Martin, the goal is to continue expanding the operation's portfolio into a full-service enterprise, including all phases of training, sales, bloodstock selection and ultimately, breeding.

“By having a training facility in Ocala, we can provide all our clients a one-stop shop hub–breaking, training, rehab, equine consulting [bloodstock agency],” explained Gloria Martin. “As consignors, we want to engage in every aspect related to our clients' acquisitions.”

Also involved in the family firm is Jose Martin Jr., the youngest son of Jose Martin, and further broadening the family tree is Greg Martin's 21-year-old son, Gregory Jr., who works as an assistant to his father.

“We have come a long way to this year's launch of Britton Peak,” said Gloria Martin. “I had a dream a decade ago to continue my grandfather's and father's tradition of excellence as horsemen and to ensure their legacy lives on through Britton Peak. Racing is really in our blood. Four generations of Martins. It really is a family affair. It's been a long time coming.”

The post Britton Peak a Family Affair at OBS March appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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