With a svelte catalogue of 99 head, the auction's under-tack show was held Tuesday morning. After a night of heavy rain and thunder storms, the first of five sets began at 8 a.m. under a light drizzle, but skies cleared throughout the show, which concluded under muggy and sunny conditions shortly before noon.

Clovis Crane, who will consign 16 horses to the one-session auction, got the under-tack show off to a fast start when the first horse over the track, a filly by Frosted (hip 79), worked her furlong in :10 flat.

Crane Thoroughbred Services ultimately sent out three of the day's five :10 flat bullet workers, with a filly by Social Inclusion (hip 69, video) working in the first set and a filly by Flatter (hip 86, video) working in the day's third set.

Crane also sent out the day's fastest quarter-mile worker, a filly by Kantharos (hip 47) who covered the distance in :20 4/5.

“I have been telling a lot of people all along that I had an unbelievable group and obviously, today, with the way they went, it showed,” Crane said. “We have had 21 graded stakes horses come off of our farm and I would suspect that there are a couple in this group that will add to that number.”

Asked to pick some highlights from his day, Crane said, “I put the Social Inclusion filly [out of Royal Aspen {Congrats}] in the first set because I thought she would be a star and she showed up today. The Flatter filly [out of stakes-winner Valued Strike {Smart Strike}] is crazy fast. And I have a Palace Malice filly [hip 73, :10 1/5] who appears to me like she can really run.”

The bullet worker by Kantharos, who was one of seven juveniles to work a quarter-mile Tuesday in Timonium, is out of La Titina (Distorted Humor), a daughter of multiple Grade I winner Ask the Moon (Malibu Moon).

A $125,000 Keeneland September purchase, she will be making her second trip through the sales ring this spring after RNA'ing for $110,000 following a :10 1/5 work at the OBS April sale. In addition to her work at OBS, the filly has a pair of published works at Penn National, most recently going four furlongs in :47.20 (1/21) June 9.

“I was telling everyone how awesome my Kantharos filly was,” Crane said. “She breezed in :47 1/5 in hand at the racetrack June 9. And she came out of it good then. We trained her lightly for the last two weeks and then we prepped her easy over here. We prepped her easy and she went in :21 4/5 and :35 1/5, so we knew she was sitting on go.”

Of the filly's trip south to Ocala, Crane said, “She just didn't like that track. I gallop everything myself the first couple of days when we go anywhere and I could feel it the first day. I said, 'Oh, boy, she doesn't like this.' She still breezed :10 1/5 and :21 1/5 and she went good, but didn't make anyone's short list. I literally only showed her eight times down there. She had done nothing wrong. She X-rayed clean, she came back out of it good. So I just went back to training her at home and, over the dirt, she moves great. She just didn't move good over the synthetic. She came to what I was thinking she was today.”

Also sharing the bullet furlong Tuesday was a filly by Enticed (hip 35, video) consigned by James Layden and a filly by Practical Joke (hip 56, video) consigned by Wes Carter on behalf of Crossed Sabres Farm.

Crane comes into the inaugural Midlantic June sale with the catalogue's largest consignment.

“[Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sales Director] Paget [Bennett] has always been wonderful to me and she asked me if I would save a couple of nice horses for here,” Crane said of his decision to target the auction. “So the Social Inclusion, we saved her for here on purpose and there are a couple of other horses we saved for here. The Kantharos filly, I didn't want to go back to OBS June because she didn't like the surface and I knew it. I am sure there are several horses here that would rather have the dirt surface. And I think buyers will like the dirt surface better. It's a truer representation of what you're going to get.”

While the June sale is slim on numbers, Crane sees potential for the auction's growth, but agreed this year's first sale might not have enough horses to attract a large buying bench.

“I don't see why it shouldn't gain momentum [in the future],” he said. “But if I were a buyer, I would be at this sale [this year] because I think there are bargains to be had. I have reached out to several top buyers and they aren't coming. So I think it will be a buyer's market and that's unfortunate because I've got a great group and I won't get rewarded in some spots. But at the end of the day, I am going to be in this business for a long time, so it will be all right. Hopefully they will buy runners from us now and then they'll buy from us again in the future.”

While many of the major Ocala operations have skipped this year's Midlantic June sale, the Central Florida horsemen were represented by a handful of consignments, including those of Tom McCrocklin and Raul Reyes's King's Equine.

“Fasig-Tipton, in a nutshell,” McCrocklin said when asked why he decided on a return trip to Timonium this year. “I know they wanted to try it. It's kind of walking the highwire the first time and maybe it's an opportunity to sell some horses. We will see how it goes.”

McCrocklin, who sold a $700,000 colt by Awesome Slew at last month's Midlantic May sale, brought 11 horses to the June sale. The auction comes some two weeks after the traditional end to the juvenile sales season in the OBS June sale, but McCrocklin thinks this later date shouldn't intimidate buyers.

“If you are trying to buy a nice racehorse, what's the big deal if you buy them a month ago or two weeks ago or right now,” McCrocklin said. “It's not like we have gone into the Twilight Zone because it's two or four weeks later. And there are some nice horses here. I have personally seen nice horses train here all week. I would invite people to take a look at them.”

Asked if he was concerned about a lack of buyers at the sale, McCrocklin said, “Yes. Absolutely. But look, so many of these horses are bought remotely now, you can get photos, walking videos, gallop-out times, breeze videos, bid online, bid on the phone. So if you don't want to come, I get it, but it's not a reason not to go through the process and buy a horse.”

Reyes brings six horses for his second trip to Timonium this year. The consignor, who was perennially a leading presence at the slimmed down–and now defunct–Barretts May sale, wasn't worried about the smaller catalogue.

“I always like the small sales,” Reyes said. “I used to go to California when they had those smaller sales and I did very well there.”

As always, Timonium's location at the crossroads of several racing venues will prove advantageous in attracting buyers, according to Reyes.

“There are so many racetracks that are so close and people need horses,” Reyes said. “They will be here tomorrow afternoon.”

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“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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Consigned by Britton Peak, hip 999 is out of stakes-placed Imperial Strike (Imperialism). The filly was bred in Florida by Wendy Lee Christ.

Hip 1072, a supplement to the original catalogue, is consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales and worked his quarter-mile bullet right at the start of Saturday's session of the under-tack show.

“He prepped really good for us over here, so I was expecting him to breeze well,” said Kevin McKathan. “We backed him up to a quarter. He's a big, stretchy two-turn horse and I thought that would suit him best. He worked really well and he galloped out huge. He went out in :32 flat and :44 and change. And he came back in good shape and vetted good.”

The chestnut colt, bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, is out of stakes winner Deanaallen'skitten (Kitten's Joy) and was purchased by McKathan for $115,000 as a weanling at the Keeneland November sale.

“Really, I wanted a Vino Rosso,” McKathan said of the colt's initial appeal. “I thought he was a really classy horse and I liked a lot of his foals. So I wanted to get my hands on one. I found [hip 1072] way up on the hill at Keeneland in Book 4 or 5. He was hid out up there–Ramsey was selling him. He was a little backwards, but when I saw him, I just said, 'I need to own him.' We paid well for him and he's been a super colt all the way through.”

The youngster was entered in last year's Keeneland September sale and Fasig-Tipton October sale, but was withdrawn from both. He worked at OBS April before being withdrawn from that sale as well.

“The plan when we first bought him as a weanling was to flip him as a yearling,” McKathan said. “And then it got so tough to buy yearlings, especially for myself, and he was such a nice horse that we just decided to keep him. He was in the April sale and he breezed there. He kind of breezed average–he breezed in :10 1/5–and I knew he was a lot better colt than that if I stretched him out and gave him a better run at a little further distance, so that's what we did.”

McKathan continued, “He's the kind everyone needs. He's a two-turn horse and when they pull him out on the shank, they will love him. He's leggy, stretched out with a long neck. He's a beautiful horse.”

Asked how he found conditions throughout the six sessions of the under-tack show, McKathan said, “I believe it was as good as we could get it. We always struggle with that last set because as the track heats up, that's the toughest there is. But horses were still able to get over it. I think the weather was pretty good for us–I've seen it much worse in June. So, overall, I think the track was good. If you could get in the first or second set, the horses seemed to breeze well throughout there. It got to be a little bit more of a struggle through the third. That's just always how it's going to be.”

The OBS June sale will be held Tuesday through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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Consignor Omar Ramirez sent out a filly by Street Boss (hip 817) to share Friday's bullet time of :20 3/5 while working early in the day's first set.

“I was waiting for her all week,” Ramirez admitted. “I knew she was going to throw a big work. I knew whatever the bullet was going to be, she'd be close to it. She is a super nice filly.”

The juvenile, who was purchased for $75,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale, RNA'd for $145,000 following a :10 flat work at the OBS Spring Sale in April.

“She worked in :10 flat in April and she galloped out huge,” Ramirez said. “I said I would buy her back for $150,000. I didn't want to give her away because she is a nice filly. That's why I sent her a quarter this time, so people know she's a runner.”

The chestnut filly is out of Desperate Chick (Tribal Rule), a half-sister to graded winner Native Bombshell (War Front). Native Bombshell is the dam of stakes-winner Lady War Machine (Street Boss).

A filly by Bucchero (hip 785) from Sergio Centeno's Blue River Bloodstock consignment, matched that :20 3/5 time some 3 1/2 hours later. The chestnut filly is out of Corfu Lady (Corfu) and from the family of multiple graded winner Halo's Image. She was bred by Saul Rosas.

Ramirez also sent out a pair of Friday's furlong bullet workers: a colt by St Patrick's Day (hip 878, video) and a colt by Yoshida (Jpn) (hip 900, video).

The St Patrick's Day colt is another returnee from the April sale where he RNA'd for $35,000 after working in :10 flat.

“He's such a pretty horse,” Ramirez said of the bay colt, who is out of a half-sister to graded stakes winner Jenny's So Great (Greatness). “I don't know why we didn't get him sold in April, but I had to put him in to work late in the day at that sale. I knew he would work well today because he's really fast.”

From the first crop of Yoshida, hip 900 put in his bullet furlong work late in Friday's session.

“I'll be really honest with you, that was a shock with that colt,” Ramirez said. “I was not expecting :10 flat from him.”

Ramirez acquired the colt for $10,000 at the OBS October sale last fall and the June sale will be his first trip through the ring this year.

“I liked the colt, he was pretty and had all the right parts,” Ramirez said of his early impressions of the youngster. “I brought him to this sale to give him more of a chance to grow up.”

Also sharing Friday's fastest furlong time of :10 flat: a filly by Twirling Candy (hip 733, video) consigned by Grassroots Training & Sales; a colt by Solomini (hip 745, video) consigned by Britton Peak; a colt by The Big Beast (hip 787, video) consigned by AVP Training and Sales; a colt by Klimt (hip 806, video) consigned by Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds; a filly by Redesdale (hip 853, video) consigned by Harris Training Center; and a colt by Arrogate (hip 868, video) consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds.

“The track was definitely slow today,” Ramirez said. “I have a really nice Vino Rosso filly (hip 783) who worked in :21 2/5 and I think she's a little faster than that. There was a headwind today and I think that affected the times.”

The under-tack show concludes with a final session beginning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The June sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday with bidding commencing each day at 10 a.m.

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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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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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Hip 41 turned in his :20 3/5 quarter-mile breeze shortly after the day's 7:30 a.m. start time for consignor Omar Ramirez.

“He prepped really, really good for me,” Ramirez said. “I didn't know it was going to be :20 3/5, but I thought he'd definitely be :20 4/5 or :21 flat.”

The New Jersey-bred colt is out of Lady Overboard (Mishipman) and from the family of Star of Goshen, the dam of Pioneerof the Nile.

Ramirez and a partner purchased the chestnut for $18,000 as a short yearling at the OBS Winter sale last year. He RNA'd for $29,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October sale.

“He was a really well-balanced colt, a really pretty walker,” Ramirez said of his early impressions of the youngster. “And I love Midshipman as a stallion on the mother's side.”

Of the trip to Timonium last fall, Ramirez said, “I didn't get him sold, but I love the horse and I wanted to give him another chance. So we decided to let him grow up more. He's not a huge colt–he's average-sized, but he still has that beautiful walk.”

Solomini was second in the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, as well as that year's GI FrontRunner S. and GI Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity. He was third in the 2018 GI Arkansas Derby.

The 8-year-old stallion, who stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds for $6,500, had three six-figure juveniles at the OBS April sale–led by a colt who sold for $700,000–and another three at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale last month.

Ramirez sold two fillies by the stallion in April and May and returns with a pair of colts at the June sale.

“I did really well with Solomini in April, I had a filly [hip 605] sell for $100,000. She was a really pretty filly and I really liked her. I had another one with Top Line in Timonium [hip 285] and she sold for $150,000. She was another nice filly. And I've got two colts over here. I have one more tomorrow [hip 282]. They were all pretty nice horses, easy to train.”

Tom McCrocklin sent out hip 39 to work her :20 3/5 quarter-mile shortly before 10 a.m. Monday. Bred by Vegso Racing Stable, the chestnut filly is out of Lady Marjorie (Curlin). The mare is a daughter of stakes-winner Light Bringer (Northern Afleet), a full-sister to graded winner Aegean and a half-sister to the dam of Grade I winner Eda.

Six juveniles shared the day's fastest furlong time of :9 4/5: a filly by Bucchero (hip 9, video) consigned by Halcyon Hammock Farm; a filly by Jimmy Creed (hip 25, video) consigned by J. J. Thoroughbreds; a filly by Into Mischief (hip 46, video) consigned by de Meric Sales; a colt by Courageous Cat (hip 51, video) consigned by G.A. Thoroughbred Sales; a colt by Bucchero (hip 92, video) consigned by Hector Barajas; and a colt by Hard Spun (hip 130, video).

Ramirez, who comes into the June sale with a hefty consignment of 52 juveniles, was happy with conditions at OBS Monday.

“I had five today and they all worked really, really good,” he said.

Of his June contingent, Ramirez admitted, “This is my first time that I had so many here. My brother got a bunch of horses and we have some new clients who have a couple of horses. Sometimes I just want to give the horses more time, more chances to grow, so I love this June sale. It's been a really nice sale for me.”

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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