Nick Sallusto | Horse Racing Free Tips

$775K Caracaro Filly Tops Solid OBS Spring Opener

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm

OCALA, FL – While it took some time to find its stride, the first session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training gained momentum throughout the day and concluded with figures in line with the first session of its record-setting 2023 renewal.

“I thought it was a good day,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “A good horse sells well and I thought we had a lot of nice horses today. Holding true to last year, that's a great start to the week. Obviously, there are a lot of nice horses left to come.”

From a catalogue of 302 juveniles, 205 horses went through the ring Tuesday for a gross of $19,725,000. The average of $136,034 was right on par with the 2023 figure of $136,665, while the median of $87,000 rose 16% from a year ago.

With 60 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 29.3%.

The auction's first hour included a number of RNA's as the Spring Sale settled into rhythm and many of them were getting sold Tuesday evening after bidding had stopped for the evening.

“I think some of that was the sale just getting started,” Wojciechowski said of the measured start to the sale. “I think a little bit of that maybe getting their feet wet, getting their sea legs. I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of those horses getting sold in the post-sale setting here pretty quick.”

Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni and trainer Bob Baffert purchased the session's top-priced lot, going to $775,000 for a filly by Caracaro on behalf of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. The filly was consigned by Global Thoroughbreds.

Pedro Lantz, bidding on behalf of KAS Stables, purchased the session's top-priced colt, a son of Global Campaign, for $650,000. The juvenile was consigned by Eddie Woods, who was the session's leading consignor with nine sold for $2,213,500.

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

Three Amigos Strike for Caracaro Filly

A filly from the first crop of Grade I-placed Caracaro (hip 199) turned heads with a quarter-mile work in :20 2/5 during last week's under-tack show and she duly delivered in the sales ring Tuesday when selling for session-topping $775,000. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, alongside trainer Bob Baffert, handled bidding out back of the pavilion to acquire the speedy filly on behalf of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. She was consigned by Global Thoroughbreds and was bred by the consignment's Rafael Celis.

The Caracaro filly's work last week | Judit Seipert

“We are happy to get her,” Lanni said. “She did everything she was asked to do. She went fast, came back great.”

The filly is out of Key d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to stakes-placed Twirled (Twirling Candy).

Caracaro, who was second in the 2020 GI Travers S. and GIII Peter Pan S., stands at Crestwood Farm for $6,500.

“He is throwing a beautiful athletic horse,” Lanni said of the stallion's first crop of foals. “You see a lot of Uncle Mo's influence.” @JessMartiniTDN

Caracaro Keeps Rewarding Celis

Caracaro is the stallion who keeps giving for Rafael Celis, who campaigned the bay in partnership with Lucas Noriego's Top Racing. After watching his homebred filly from the first crop of Caracaro sell for $775,000 at OBS Tuesday, the native of Venezuela was beaming with pride.

Rafael Celis and family | Jessica Martini

“That was our best filly in the whole program,” Celis said. “We had high expectations for her. She's by Caracaro, who is our stallion that we own with Crestwood Farm. We were really excited about her. She had been doing well all the way in training. We weren't sure if we should work her a furlong or a quarter, but she prepped really nice and we decided to go a quarter. She was really fast and the gallop out was really strong. She went out in :44 and :59, which was very good.”

Celis purchased Caracaro for $95,000 as a weanling at the 2017 Keeneland November sale. He admitted he almost had the horse sold as a 2-year-old in 2019.

“In our program, we buy weanlings and take them to the 2-year-old sales,” Celis said. “That's what we do. I almost had him sold, but he had an issue and we got him back after we sold him. So we decided to race him.”

In the COVID-delayed season of 2020, Caracaro broke his maiden by six lengths at Gulfstream Park in January and returned to just miss when second behind Country Grammer in the GIII Peter Pan S. in July. He was second behind Tiz the Law in the GI Travers S. in what proved to be his final career start.

“We qualified for the Kentucky Derby, but we couldn't make it because he had a problem with his suspensory,” Celis said. “We couldn't race in the Derby, so we went shopping around to see who wanted him as a stallion. The Crestwood people were open and we made a deal with them.”

While Celis has just 10 broodmares in the U.S., his family has plenty of experience in the breeding industry.

“We have a breeding farm in Venezuela,” he said. “So we have been in the horse business for 50 years. The name of Caracaro is actually the name of our farm in Venezuela, which my father, who passed away, named and that's why we named the horse Caracaro.”

Celis will offer two more juveniles by Caracaro this spring and has an additional 10 yearlings for next year. But he won't completely divest his foals by the stallion.

“We are going to keep two for racing,” he said. @JessMartiniTDN

Global Campaign Colt Sells To KAS Stables

Hip 291, a colt consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent III from the first crop of WinStar's Global Campaign, may be bound for Saudi Arabia after bringing a final bid of $650,000 from Pedro Lantz, acting as agent for KAS Stables. Selling late in Tuesday's session, the colt impressed Lantz not only during his :10 breeze last week but also as a yearling at OBS last October.

Global Campaign | Sarah Andrew

“I tried to buy this horse as a yearling at OBS October [last year]. And I saw his breeze–he has spectacular action and a very fluid stride.”

Buying for Saudi Arabia-based KSA Stables, Lantz noted that the colt may ship overseas but could also stay in America as KSA is looking to expand their operation. By Global Campaign, who is represented by his first 2-year-olds this year, the colt's price exceeded Lantz's expectations.

“I was expecting four [hundred thousand], maybe five [hundred thousand] but people are paying and everyone is on the same horses. So I told them [KSA Stables] to be prepared for at least five [hundred thousand] because the horse [vetted] clean and was about perfect.”

Lantz was busy throughout the day, also picking up hip 195, a filly by Nyquist also from the Eddie Woods consignment for KAS Stables bound for Saudi Arabia, and looks to stay busy throughout the remainder of the week.

“This is a sale that you can get a good horse,” Lantz continued. “I expect to go for [a few] more horses this week. There are a lot of nice horses–in the final two days especially.” @SGrimmTDN

Uncle Mo Filly to Coolmore

A filly by Uncle Mo (hip 166) jumped to the top midway through the session at OBS Tuesday when selling for $600,000 to Justin Casse, who was bidding on behalf of Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. The bay, who was consigned by Tom McCrocklin, worked a quarter-mile last week in :20 3/5. She is out of graded winner Jacaranda (Congrats), who is a half-sister to Constitution and is the dam of Grade I-placed Be You (Curlin) and stakes-placed American West (Curlin).

Justin Casse at OBS in March | Photos by Z

“She is extremely attractive,” Casse said of the filly. “It's a lovely family. The dam is a half-sister to Constitution. She's an Uncle Mo filly, everything you would want from a nice female family sire line and possible future broodmare prospect.”

McCrocklin purchased the filly for $380,000 on behalf of Michael Sucher's Champion Equine at the Fasig-Tipton October sale last fall.

Of the filly's final price tag Tuesday, Casse said, “I thought she was one of the best fillies here, so it was good to get in at that price. I haven't seen what the rest of the sale has been like, I know it's early, but we are happy to get her.” @JessMartiniTDN

Spendthrift Partners Up on Nyquist Colt

A third of the way through Tuesday's opening session, Spendthrift Farms's Ned Toffey started the action off, going to $550,000 for a colt (hip 125) by GI Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. Bred in Maryland by Bowman and Higgins Stable, the colt was purchased as a yearling for a sale-topping $205,000 by Thorostock & Seth Morris Thoroughbreds at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale and is out of a winning half-sister to the dam of MGISW and young Spendthrift sire Cyberknife (Gun Runner).

Ned Toffey | Spendthrift

“He was hard to miss,” said Toffey after signing the ticket. “He's a big, beautiful colt and [we] had him identified based off his breeze. I love the sire and he's just a big, athletic-looking horse.”

Toffey confirmed that the colt, who worked in :10, will head west to race in partnership with MKW Racing and Breeding LLC.

“He'll go back to Spendthrift to get a little bit of a break and then we'll send him out to Richard Mandella.” @SGrimmTDN

Maryland Sale Topper Shines at OBS

A Maryland-bred son of Nyquist (hip 125) brought the top price of last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale when bringing a final bid of $205,000 from Thorostock and Seth Morris Thoroughbreds and he helped kick start the OBS Spring sale Tuesday when selling for $550,000 to Spendthrift Farm/MKW Racing and Breeding.

“He was an extraordinarily well-balanced, good-minded horse,” Thorostock's Nick Sallusto said after sending the colt through the ring Tuesday. “He had almost perfect conformation. He was really typical of Nyquist. We felt really lucky the day we found him.”

Nyquist | Sarah Andrew

Sallusto continued, “At the time, Nyquist wasn't as fashionable as he is right now. But I have long been a fan of his. I just felt he was a lot of horse at that particular sale and I wasn't sure I would be able to get him.”

The juvenile worked a furlong during last week's under-tack show in :10 flat.

“He's really advanced since [October],” Sallusto said. “He is a later foal, so we knew he had plenty of advancement left in him. And he still does. He has so much more to go. He has put every foot forward the right way. He never had a day of missed training. He was a lovely horse.” @JessMartiniTDN

Omaha Beach Filly Brings $390,000 For JVC Training And Sales

JVC Training and Sales's Jorge Villagomez saw a good return on investment when the Omaha Beach filly (hip 127) he purchased for clients for $40,000 at Keeneland September last year brought a final bid of $390,000 from Woodford Thoroughbreds during Tuesday's session.

“Her particularly, she's been special for a long time,” said Villagomez. “They say the cream always rises to the top and she was always very fast so it's no surprise that she came over here and did what she did.”

Omaha Beach | Spendthrift/Autry Graham

After working in :10, hip 127 stayed busy throughout the lead up to the sale.

Villagomez continued: “She had a ton of activity–almost an overwhelming amount. She was shown over 100 times and got plenty of attention [from vettings]. We're not at all surprised that she brought the kind of money she did. [Her breeze] was exceptional and everyone was on her.”

Early in the sale, Villagomez, who will sell three more hips later in the week, was cautiously optimistic on his expectations.

“For the good horses? The buyers are here. They're here for horses that breeze well and [vet] well. The rest of [the horses] will be hit or miss. But I don't think anyone will have a problem selling a good horse.” @SGrimmTDN

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Son of Nyquist on Top at Fasig Midlantic Finale

A son of Nyquist brought a sale-topping $205,000 during Tuesday's second and final session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale in Timonium, MD.

With a catalogue some 20% smaller than it was last year, the 2023 renewal of the auction saw 289 head fetch $7,078,000 at an average of $24,491 (down 7.9% year over year from $26,597) and median of $12,000 (down 20% from last year's cumulative figure of $15,000).

Last year there were 23 horses to sell for $100,000 or more–there were only 12 to reach that number this week.

For Tuesday's longer session, which came after a later-starting afternoon of selling Monday, 190 yearlings changed hands for gross receipts of $4,715,000. The average was $24,816 and median was $12,000.

“I thought it was fairly consistent, very much in line with previous years,” said Fasig-Tipton President and CEO Boyd Browning, Jr. “The catalogue was smaller this year, which obviously had an impact on the gross. Average declined slightly, median declined a little bit, which are trends we've been seeing in the regional markets. All in all, I thought the sale was fine, it was fair, it was consistent, and really as expected–it was in line with our expectations and what we've seen in this marketplace in recent years.”

The overall buy-back rate was 21.5% compared to 17% 12 months ago. The RNA rate was 25.5% at the conclusion of the session Tuesday–it had been 16.2% at last year's corresponding session and was 19.5% on Monday–but Browning noted that post-sale transactions were still being processed and the RNA rate would come down as those additional sales were finalized and recorded.

Nick Sallusto's Thorostock LLC and Seth Morris Thoroughbreds purchased the sale and session's top two lots Tuesday: hip 160, a Maryland-bred Nyquist colt from Becky Davis Inc., agent; and hip 376, a $175,000 son of fellow Darley resident Street Sense offered by Northview Stallion Station.

The sales top five sellers all went through the ring Tuesday. Eight of nine toppers for the sale were colts, with the lone filly in that group hip 368, a Maryland-bred miss from the first crop of Vekoma. Northview also consigned that filly, who was purchased by Golden Lion Racing.

“I think, generally speaking, the average person would generally rather have a colt than a filly to go to the races with,” Browning said. “And I think that's even more so the case in a regional marketplace where you don't have collector-type pedigrees, generally speaking, so I think there's always going to be an affinity for colts.”

Yearling season will wrap up later this month when Fasig holds its four-day Kentucky October Yearlings sale Oct. 23-26, and Browning isn't anticipating any more surprises back in Lexington: “There were no real emerging great signs or negative signs with the marketplace [in Maryland]. We already have a pretty good idea of where things are, it was in line with what we've already seen this year and I would when we go back to Kentucky in a few weeks for the last yearling sale of the year it'll again be very similar to what we've been seeing.”

Visit www.fasigtipton.com for complete sales results.

Sallusto 'Stocks' Up

Nick Sallusto's Thorostock, in partnership with Seth Morris Thoroughbreds, took home Tuesday's top two lots, the $205,000 Nyquist colt consigned by Becky Davis, Inc. as hip 160; and hip 376, a $175,000 son of Street Sense bought out of the Northview Stallion Station consignment.

The purchases, along with four other more inexpensive pick-ups ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, will be heading to next year's 2-year-old sales.

Hip 160 is out of Laurel debut winner How My Heart Works (Not For Love), who has been a very productive mare for Maryland breeders Bowman and Higgins Stable. Her first foal Monday Morning QB (Imagining) fetched $25,000 at this sale in 2018, but has racked up more than $334,000 in earnings, including two stakes victories and a graded placing. A 3-year-old full-sister to hip 160 sold to Cary Frommer for $200,000 here in 2021, then brought $450,000 back in the Timonium sales ring last May. Now named Asawer, she was third in this year's G3 U.A.E. Oaks. A still-unraced Arrogate colt from the mare sold for $180,000 to Cash Is King and LC Racing here 12 months ago.

“I think he's very much like his father–he's got a very similar physical to his daddy; very beautiful type of horse,” Sallusto said of hip 160's appeal. “He's very, very well put together–near perfect conformation. He's got plenty of development left in him, he's still a little bit of a baby. I'm a big fan of the sire, he's got a stallion's pedigree, he already has a full-sister who's graded-placed, the mare already has two graded stakes horses from two with a 2-year-old who hasn't started yet. There were just too many things to like about him to not take a swing at him. We just felt lucky that we had the money to buy him today.”

The dark bay also hails from the family of last year's MGISW sophomore colt Cyberknife (Gun Runner), highest-level winners Well Armed and American Patriot, et al.

Sallusto said the final price paid for hip 160 was in line with what he was expecting. When asked if the absence of the colts groups, which have been such a force at the major yearling auctions in Kentucky and Saratoga, made for an easier time shopping for higher-end male prospects, he said, “There's a little less resistance I would say, but I think he was fairly bought,” adding of the market as a whole: “There's good support for the locally based Maryland-bred horses, and overall I think the horses who vet clean and have good physicals are bringing fair money.”

Later in the session, Sallusto was back at it acquiring another top-end Maryland-bred colt by an established Kentucky sire. Hip 376 is the second foal out of Victory Rally (Jump Start), who was a stakes winner going a main-track mile. His second dam is SW American Victory (Victory Gallop) and third dam is MGSW and good producer Who Did It and Run (Polish Numbers).

Hip 376 had RNA'd for $90,000 in August at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. He was bred by Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds. A now 2-year-old half-brother by Union Rags sold for $75,000 here last term and has most recently been breezing in Kentucky.

Nyce Sale for Davis

Consignor Becky Davis admitted that she knew heading into the Midlantic Fall Yearlings sale that she was coming with some standouts, and the market agreed. Davis's consignment grossed $1,005,000 from 25 sold, led by Tuesday's session and sale-topping Nyquist colt as well as another $110,000 son of the Darley stalwart.

“I haven't gone to Saratoga or Kentucky in a long time. I've specifically focused on bringing everything to Maryland and trying to improve our offerings,” Davis said during a brief lull in the action Tuesday. “A lot of what we sell are horses we've raised on our farm. We started sending a lot more mares to Kentucky and improving what we were breeding to when we started missing out on the Two Punch and Not For Love and the Allen's Prospect era. So, I know that we're breeding some of the higher-quality horses in the region. A couple years ago, I made a commitment–along with some other consignors–to try and make the Maryland sales better and take everything we had here. There was a group of us who decided that the sales weren't going to get any better unless we brought our own best, so that's what I've done.”

Davis had also consigned each of hip 160's aforementioned prior foals.

“I think overall, he's been the nicest foal the mare has had. He's phenomenal. I sold his full-sister here two years ago, and she sold for $200,000, but this is a nicer horse than she is,” Davis said of the Apr. 26 foal. “Honestly, he's darn near perfect. Since he was a foal, you just couldn't really pick out anything wrong with him. Some people may have liked to see him be bigger because he's a colt–I would call him average sized–but he's just so well put together, and such an athletic horse with a really good walk. He moves in the field like a dream. He's just the whole package. I was not disappointed by what he brought, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he brought a good bit more.”

Davis notably includes footage of her offerings in the field as part of her promotional walking videos (click for hip 160's video). When asked why, she explained:

“In [2002], I sold [eventual GII Pennsylvania Derby winner] Love of Money (Not For Love) here [for $70,000]. The sale was huge, there were 600-some horses and we had tents in the infield. That horse got loose from a lot of my handlers, and he was running loose in the infield a couple of times. Samantha Siegel (of Jay Em Ess Stable) bought him from me and she told me later that she bought him because she got to see him run.

“I believe it was the very next year–it's been a good 20 years now that I've been doing videos like that. I used to send DVDs out to people. I've been selling horses for a long time, and I've always done so much of it myself. I've prepped all the horses, raised half of them, so I started even doing the videos myself.

“This year, I did a lot of the footage myself… Then my 16-year-old daughter edited all the footage and put the videos together… Even with [hip 160], he was so tired [after being inspected so much]. I don't do any forced exercise on the farm, so none of them have been on walkers or lunged or anything like that. They're healthy horses, but they're not like fit athletes–they're babies. So when they get here, and they get shown as much as he did, they get tired. So, I want people to be able to see more than just a tired horse dragged up and down the asphalt… I've had a lot of people buy a lot of really good horses and tell me that they've bought it off of video.”

Davis's other Nyquist colt offering was hip 253, who was sold on behalf of breeder Glenangus Farm and purchased by David and Lori Hughes's Mens Grille Racing. The Maryland-bred is the second foal out of stakes winner and graded-placed turfer Peach of a Gal (Curlin). Second dam Richetta (Polish Numbers) was a Maryland standout herself, and also responsible for MSW/GSP Concealed Identity (Smarty Jones) and two other black-type performers.

“He's also another really impressive, big, strong colt, but not nearly the same [as hip 160],” Davis said of the chestnut. “He was bigger and taller, but not conformationally the same as the other horse. I think he benefitted from being behind the other horse because people who didn't get the first Nyquist I think were in there a little bit on this one. But, he's an athletic horse himself. He didn't have all the conformation to make him top dog… He's a nice colt. I think he'll be a good racehorse.”

Hip 253 had RNA'd for $185,000 at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga while consigned by a different outfit.

Davis acknowledged that while she was having a good sale, not everyone was.

“I've seen a lot of disappointments, for sure,” she said. “For me, it's going very well. But I think I brought the best group of horses I've ever brought here, and it's probably one of the best consignments this sale has ever seen overall… I honestly think the market is more realistic. To be honest, things have been so over the top; people quadrupling their stud fee. Nobody is happy anymore with just doubling their stud fee. You get caught up in these overinflated numbers and get disappointed… at some point we have to realize that people are losing their shirts and spending too much money and maybe everyone's just becoming a little more realistic.”

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Hemingway Saddles First American Winner At Gulfstream Park

Michelle Hemingway has saddled several Grade 1 winners, but it wasn't until Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., that she was able to celebrate her first training victory in the U.S.

New Town Anner Stud Farm's Manor House ($24.60) overtook favored Financial System nearing the wire to win Saturday's featured optional claiming allowance in Race 9 and provide the Virginia native with her first official training victory with her very first starter.

Hemingway worked for some of the most prominent trainers in South Africa after earning an International Equine Marketing degree at Sweetbriar College in Virginia.

“I was a big-time assistant for Joey Ramsden, Glen Kotzen, and Mike de Kock. I had the opportunity to saddle Grade 1 horses,” Hemingway said. “It was very special, but not like today.”

Hemingway is a new addition to Thorostock, a 40-acre training, rehab, and breaking facility that manages New Anner Stud. She has training, rehabbing, and bloodstock responsibilities at bloodstock agent Nick Sallusto's Ocala, Fla., facility.

“I'm crying like a little girl,” she said in the Gulfstream Park winner's circle.

Formerly trained by Michael Stidham, Manor House won his debut by 12 ¼ lengths at Laurel Park last December before finishing off the board following a bad start in an optional claiming allowance at Fair Grounds in January. The 3-year-old son of Upstart came off a nine-month layoff for Saturday's one-turn mile feature but showed no signs of rust in the stretch, prevailing by a neck over Financial System, whom he closely tracked from the start under jockey Romero Maragh. The Florida-bred colt ran a mile in 1:36.03.

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Trio of New Owners Buy Minority Interest in Bella Sofia

Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, and Barry Fowler have purchased a minority interest in the GI Longines Test S. winner Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot). The deal was brokered by bloodstock agent Nick Sallusto.

Medallion, Parkland, and Fowler join original owners Michael Imperio, Vincent Scuderi, Sofia Soares, Gabrielle Farm, Mazel Stable Partners, and Matthew Mercurio in campaigning the filly, who is trained by Rudy Rodriguez.

“Nick Sallusto and I talked after the filly broke her maiden. I felt she was one to keep an eye on,” said Medallion Racing's Mark Taylor. “And her Test was a jaw-dropper. She showed freakish talent, and she's got a sneaky good pedigree. We are grateful for the opportunity to be in on her.”

Sallusto and Hanzly Albina bought Bella Sofia for the original ownership group for $20,000 at last year's OBS June Sale.

“She was an extremely fluid mover at the breeze-ups before the sale, and was a flawless physical at the barn,” Sallusto said. “Her talent was obvious from the first time I breezed her at the farm. Rudy Rodriguez has done an excellent job of advancing her talent.”

The Sept. 26 GII Gallant Bloom H. at Belmont may be next for Bella Sofia, with an eye toward the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

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