Third Session of OBS April Ends With a Bang

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

OCALA, FL–Action started off measured at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale's third session Thursday, but picked up noticeably throughout the day, capped by a $1.7-million Tapit colt purchased by Lane's End Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds. Hip 885 was the fourth seven-figure seller of the sale so far.

There were a few new faces buying in the top end Thursday with Christine and Phil Hatfield's CHP Racing purchasing a $870,000 son of Into Mischief (Hip 844); trainer Cherie DeVaux securing a $685,000 City of Light (Hip 895) colt on behalf of a new colt-buying group; and Lauren Carlisle snagging a $650,000 Kingman (GB) (Hip 904) filly for brand new owner Rich Schermerhorn.

While leading sires Tapit and Into Mischief headlined the day's action, freshman sires continued to make a strong showing. In addition to the aforementioned City of Light, Bolt d'Oro, Army Mule, Tapwrit and Good Magic all had juveniles bring $400,000 or over.

Eddie Woods, who consigned the session topper, led all sellers Thursday with seven head bringing just north of $3,005,000. Niall Brennan, who sold both the previously mentioned Into Mischief colt and Kingman filly, also had a strong day, coming in second with six horses selling for $2,382,000.

Through the first three days of selling, 538 horses have brought $72,814,500 with an average of $135,343 and median of $70,000. There were 106 juveniles led from the ring unsold for an RNA rate of 16.5%.

During the equivalent three sessions last year, 557 2-year-olds grossed $54,811,900 with an average of $98,406 and median of $47,000. There were 79 horses that failed to sell for an RNA rate of 12.4%.

“The market is very good,” Brennan said. “Obviously, people are still focused on quality. They do their homework. Anything that is genuinely nice and shows up that way on the racetrack and vets good, sells very well. You have to jump through a lot of hoops. You are very exposed in the 2-year-old market. So, when you get through everything, you are very well rewarded. It is difficult, but when you have the right product, they sell well. If you have something that just misses the bullseye, you are going to struggle.”

Ciaran Dunne expressed similar sentiments, saying, “It is very spotty. We have obviously had a couple bright spots, but in between can be shaky. It is the nature of our game. We are so exposed between breezing, showing and vetting. There are a lot of hurdles they have to go over, but if you clear them all, you are well rewarded.”

The fourth and final session of the OBS Spring Sale starts at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Tapit Colt Takes Off at OBS

A colt by Tapit (hip 885) became the fourth seven-figure juvenile of the OBS Spring sale when bringing a final bid of $1.7 million from West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley Thursday in Ocala. The juvenile was purchased by West Point in partnership with Lane's End Racing.

“We are looking for stallion in that partnership,” Finley, who did his bidding out back alongside David Ingordo, explained. “A good number of the people in this partnership have equity in [GI Malibu S. winner] Flightline (Tapit), so everybody is excited. The economy is doing well and the horse market at the top end is really doing well.”

The colt is out of Pension (Seeking the Gold) and is a full-brother to GII Adirondack S. winner Thoughtfully, as well as a half to graded winner Annual Report (Harlan's Holiday).

West Point purchased the colt's half-brother Bugle Notes (Ghostzapper) for $825,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September sale.

“We had a half-brother who could really, really run and just got unlucky and took a bad step one day,” Finley said. “But I think he might have been among the most talented of all of our horses. That was in the back of our mind [when we were bidding today.]”

Shug McGaughey will train the youngster, who was consigned by Eddie Woods on behalf of his breeder, Antony Beck's Gainesway.
Gainesway, which purchased Pension for $160,000 at the 2008 Keeneland November sale, traditionally offers its foal crop at the yearling sales.

“We had quite a few Tapits on offer last year and the horse was a little bit immature,” Gainesway's Brian Graves said of the decision to send the colt to the 2-year-old sales. “To be honest with you, like some immature yearlings, some of the feedback we were getting on him was that he might not bring a price that would make the boss happy. Just the way the yearling sales have been for a while, he's a horse who would have ended up in Book 1 because he had a beautiful pedigree. So we just decided to give him some more time. He was a beautiful-moving horse and we thought worth a shot.”

The Gainesway team received positive feedback from Eddie Woods and expectations rose even higher after the colt worked a quarter-mile in :20 4/5.

“We didn't really have expectations when we sent him to Eddie,” Graves said. “Eddie is not a guy who overinflates things. He is a tough guy to please. So when he started giving reports on the horse, we thought we might have something. Then when he breezed and galloped out among the fastest horses in the sale, we knew he was something. I would be lying if I said we didn't think about racing him and hopefully stand him in a stallion stall one day, but there was a lot of competition for him and we are elated with this result.”

Graves concluded, “We take our yearlings to the market to sell, but if they don't want them or if it's brutally unfair, as opposed to giving them away, this is what we decided to do and it paid off.” @JessMartiniTDN

More Mischief at OBS

Not a horse sale goes by these days without Into Mischief's name among the toppers and a colt by the Spendthrift super sire (Hip 844) was in high demand Thursday, summoning $870,000 from Christine and Phil Hatfield's CHP Racing. The Hatfields did their bidding over the phone with OBS's Tom Ventura.

Purchased by Park View Stable for $180,000 at KEESEP, the bay breezed in :10 1/5 for consignor Niall Brennan.

“People just gravitated to him the last couple of days,” Brennan said. “We felt he would sell well. You never for sure how high they will go. He has stallion potential and that is what they are looking for now with these colts.”

Bred by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, Hip 844, who was given the name Hazing by his breeder, is out of No Curfew (Curlin). She is a daughter of one of Lyon's foundation mares, SW & GSP Misty Hour (Miswaki), who has produced the likes of GSW India (Hennessy), dam of MG1SW Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) and SW Kareena (Medaglia d'Oro); SW Pilfer (Deputy Minister), dam of GISWs To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) and Angela Renee (Bernardini); and SW & GSP Sing Softly (Hennessy).

“He was raised right from the start,” Brennan said. “The sire is magic. This horse is just a wonderful representation of him. He is so typical of the sire. He is durable. He is tough. He is a great mover on the racetrack. He's got great balance and strength and vetted very clean.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Shadwell Private Purchases Prove Popular

A Shadwell Farm-bred Medaglia d'Oro colt (Hip 709) consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables was the second private purchase from the late Sheikh Hamdan's operation to attract a big price tag at OBS April, summoning $650,000 from BBA Ireland, which bid over the internet. Late in Wednesday's session, a Nyquist filly, who Barry Eisaman privately purchased from Shadwell, brought $700,000 from D.J. Stable.

“We have to give a lot of the credit to Steve Young,” said Dunne. “He talked us into going out [to Shadwell] to look at the horse. He was very high on him. We bought him when we were up there for the October Sale at Fasig-Tipton. He's just a nice horse. He was a little later developing. We took him down to Gulfstream, but we felt the extra couple weeks would do him good, so we decided to wait and bring him here. He is the type of horse where the best is yet to come.”

Out of the unraced Tapit mare Mahasen, Hip 709 is a half to recent Weber City Miss S. runner-up Khuluq (Bernardini), trained by Chad Brown for Shadwell. The :10 1/5 breezer's second dam is SW Muhaawara (Unbridled's Song), who also produced GSW Shagaf (Bernardini). His third dam is MGISW Habibti (Tabasco Cat).

“We liked everything about him really,” said BBA Ireland's Michael Donohoe, who returned to Ireland Wednesday. “He is a magnificent-looking colt, a nice blend of both his sire and dam sire. He breezed exceptionally well for a big, two-turn type colt. His pedigree was appealing and the update with his sister helped. So, all in all, we couldn't really fault him.”

The future plans for the colt are still undecided, but Donohoe indicated he could remain in the United States.

“I purchased him for a client who has a number of horses in Europe and the Middle East and one 2-year-old has just gone to California. So, I will try to convince my client to send the colt to Santa Anita to target those stakes 2-year-old races during the fall meet.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

New Colt-Buying Group Makes Their Presence Felt

Partnerships focused on buying Classic-looking colts are increasingly popular these days and a new group showed themselves at OBS Thursday. Trainer Cherie DeVaux struck on behalf of a group of her clients to acquire a $685,000 colt by City of Light (Hip 895).

“A couple of my clients put together a partnership to get a few really nice quality colts, who looked like they could go a route of ground,” said DeVaux, who signed the ticket alongside her husband, bloodstock agent David Ingordo. “This colt fit the profile of what we were looking for. We budgeted a bit less, but the market is really strong. To try and get these types of colts, we realize we are going to have to stretch for what we want.”

Hailing from the first crop of popular MGISW City of Light, Hip 895 breezed in :10 1/5 for Mayberry Farm. He is the second purchase of the sale for DeVaux's new group, which also bought a $385,000 colt by Upstart (Hip 135) during Tuesday's opening session.

“This is City of Light's first crop to hit the track and there has been a lot of buzz,” DeVaux said. “They are beautiful horses. He had a beautiful physical and really great breeze with a nice gallop out. He seems to be coming into his own and is a horse we have followed at Mayberry Farm. He is going the right way.”

Bred by Windylea Farm–New York, albeit in Kentucky, Hip 895 is out of SP Pleasant Mine (Mineshaft). This is also the family of GISW Swagger Jack and GSW Tap Dance. The dark bay was purchased by a Mayberry client, PSS Stable, for $170,000 at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

“He's been wonderful,” April Mayberry said. “I loved him from the start. He's been so cool and classy. He just does everything right.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

De Merics Find Homebred Success

De Meric Sales has enjoyed plenty of pinhooking success this week in Ocala, but Tristan and Valery de Meric hit it out of the park with a homebred son of Bolt d'Oro (hip 899) late in Thursday's third session of the OBS Spring sale. Out of Polyester (Tiz Wonderful), the first mare the couple owned, the colt sold for $675,000 to the partnership of Laurie Plesa, Leon Ellman and Glassman Racing. He was co-bred with France and Irwin Weiner.

The de Merics purchased Polyester for $90,000 as an 8-year-old at the 2018 Keeneland January sale.

“This was the first mare we owned,” Tristan de Meric explained. “The reason we owned her is because Val had a dream to have a mare in foal to Quality Road and she was the only one in the sale. We ended up buying her five years ago now. She hadn't had a winner at that time. But she's five-for-five now.”

The mare's Quality Road filly, named In a Dream, made three starts and broke her maiden last June at Indiana Grand. She returned to the de Merics' Ocala base and is currently in foal to Upstart. The mare has also been represented by graded stakes winner Harpers First Ride (Paynter).

Polyester, in foal to Authentic, was sold for $250,000 at this year's Keeneland January sale.

“It's hard enough to buy a horse like that, let alone breed one,” de Meric said of Thursday's result. “It's unbelievable.”

He agreed there was a little extra pride in having bred a sales horse.

“We are always attached to our horses, we are guilty of that,” he said. “But you don't get as attached to a horse when you buy it as when you breed them. When we buy them, there is a period of time we own them and it's usually six to 10 months, but having this one and seeing him when he was a day old over at Ocala Stud when they foaled him, we knew when we saw those angles and we saw him stand up, this was a special horse. To watch him develop and have the crew on the farm play with him all summer, it was very special.”

Polyester had good company on the de Merics' farm last summer. The only other mare on the property was Simply Confection (Candy Ride {Arg}), whose colt Simplification, bred by the Weiners, heads to the GI Kentucky Derby in two weeks.

Asked if he and his wife expected to get more involved in the breeding industry, de Meric said, “We are all in. I don't want to ever have more than five or six mares, but I love having the mares. Val does, too.”

He continued, “We do race. We offered a few people to keep a piece of him to go on and race because we do race more and more. But as a rule, we are sellers and we will always put them on the market.”

Hip 899 will be the second foal out of Polyester to race for Karl and Cathi Glassman, who purchased her son Klugman (Practical Joke) for $140,000 at the 2020 OBS October Yearling Sale. A 13-length maiden winner at Gulfstream in February, the 3-year-old won an allowance at Gulfstream just before the Glassmans began bidding on his half-brother Thursday.

“We fully own Klugman,” Karl Glassman said. “But this colt is a partnership between Laurie Plesa, Leon Ellman and Glassman Racing. Eddie Plesa will train him, so he will stay in Florida.”

Of the colt's final price, Glassman admitted, “This was a bit more than we expected. Obviously two other people really liked him, but we were going to leave with him.” @JessMartiniTDN

Upstate NY Native Jumps into the Game With Juvenile Purchases

Real estate developer Rich Schermerhorn has lived just north of Saratoga his entire life, but only attended the races for the first time last year and now he's hooked. He jumped right into ownership at OBS this week with a trio of purchases led by a $650,000 Kingman (GB) filly (Hip 904). Bloodstock agent Lauren Carlisle bid on Schermerhorn's behalf.

“I am new to this game,” said a jubilant Schermerhorn, who hopes to be racing at Saratoga this summer with his new purchases. “I am a real estate developer and I have lived 20 miles north of Saratoga my whole life. I went to the track for the first time last year and now I own six or seven 2-year-olds. I purchased three here, two solo and partnered on this one. I live across the street from Chad Brown. I feel Chad Brown is the best in the world. He is taking on anything I buy. There is more to come and I am looking forward to it.”

Consigned by Niall Brennan, Hip 904 was bred in Ireland by Demers Bloodstock and was scratched from the Tattersalls October Sale. The :10 flat breezer is out of Post Perfection (Majesticperfection), who is a half-sister to GSW Hello Liberty (Forest Camp) and SW & GSP Pious Ashley (Include). This is also the family of recent GIII Providencia S. winner and GI Starlet S. runner-up Cairo Memories (Cairo Prince).

“There is only one trainer fit for this horse. We knew that,” said Carlisle. “When she breezed, I got goosebumps. Her gallop out was great and she had a great presence at the barn.”

As for the price, she said, “That is what we expected. In this market it has been extremely hard to buy the ones you are high on.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Cairo Prince Filly to Sadler

A filly by Cairo Prince (hip 839) will be joining the Southern California barn of trainer John Sadler after selling to the fledgling partnership between Gary Hartunian's Rockingham Ranch and Mike Talla for $575,000 at OBS Thursday. Bloodstock agent Kim Lloyd signed the ticket on the filly, who worked a furlong in :9 4/5 last week for Hal Hatch's Halcyon Hammock Farm.

“A Cairo Prince [Cairo Memories] just won a Grade III at Santa Anita, 1 1/8 miles on the turf [Providencia S.] and this filly looks like she'd love that,” Lloyd said. “We showed her to Rockingham Ranch and Mike Talla saw the video and said he wanted in. She'll go to California to John Sadler.”

The gray filly is out of the unraced Nippy (Pulpit) and is a half-sister to graded winner Gibberish (Lea) and from the family of graded winner Well Monied and Economic Model.

“She has a beautiful shoulder and balance and then, oh by the way, she's very, very fast,” Lloyd said of the filly's appeal.

Hip 839 was Lloyd's second purchase this week on behalf of the partnership. He also acquired a filly by West Coast (hip 507) for $250,000 Wednesday.

“He has some horses with us, just a few 2-year-olds,” Lloyd said of Talla. “[The partnership] is new this year.”

Bred by Dell Ridge Farm, hip 839 was purchased by Hatch for $62,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“She looked fast and she was fast,” Hatch said of the filly. “All I ever did was say, 'Don't let her go too fast,' all season. We brought her over here and let her do what she could do naturally. She has just been real easy the whole way.” @JessMartiniTDN

The post Third Session of OBS April Ends With a Bang appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Uncle Mo Colt Tops OBS April Opener

by Christie DeBernardis & Jessica Martini

OCALA, FL–A son of Coolmore's super-sire Uncle Mo (Hip 206) topped the opening session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale Tuesday, summoning $2.3 million from Gary Young, who was acting on behalf of Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing Stables. It was the first $2-million sale since 2017 when a colt by Tiznow brought a record-breaking $2.45 million.

Purchased by Scott and Evan Dilworth for $250,000 at KEESEP, Hip 206 was consigned by the Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales.

“April is a good sale,” Scott Dillworth said. “It's funny I sold a filly about 10 years ago here, her name was Tanda and she topped the session at $145,000 and here today you have a horse bring $2.3 million. This sale has just grown so much. It's a phenomenal sale.”

Eddie Woods also had a big pinhooking score with the day's highest-priced filly. Hip 199, a daughter of Violence purchased for $90,000 at FTKJUL, summoned $630,000 from Carolyn Wilson Tuesday.

Justify led the freshman class Tuesday with a $600,000 colt (Hip 11), who was also bought by Young for Zedan. Other first-crop stallions to crack the top 10 were Bolt d'Oro, Tapwrit, City of Light and Mendelssohn.

A total of 159 2-year-olds sold Tuesday for a gross of $21,849,000. The average was $137,415 and the median was $70,000. Fifty-four horses were led from the ring unsold for an RNA rate of 25.3%.

There were no seven-figure sellers during last year's opening session, when 194 horses grossed $18,362,900. The average was $94,654 and the median was $50,000. Thirty-one juveniles failed to sell during that session for an RNA rate of 13.8%. These stats include post-sale figures.

Both buyers and sellers described Tuesday's opener as “spotty.”

“It's very spotty,” Gary Young said. “If you bring the right horse in, you're getting paid. If the horse has any flaws or his preview was just so, so, they are having a little trouble selling them. The buyback rate looked about what you'd expect. When you have a 1200-horse sale, they aren't all going to be like that horse in there [the session-topping Uncle Mo colt].”

Woods expressed similar sentiments, saying, “It's a little spotty. Some of my buddies are saying the same. There is the odd horse getting money and the others not. Usually the best day here for me is the last day.”

The Spring Sale continues Wednesday with the second of four sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Zedan Working on His Next Derby Prospects

Amr Zedan owned the ill-fated Medina Spirit (Protonico), who crossed the line first in last year's GI Kentucky Derby, and has one of this year's Derby favorites in 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba (Gun Runner).

Bloodstock agent Gary Young was busy purchasing Zedan's 2023 Derby prospects at OBS Tuesday, led by the $2.3-million session-topping colt by Uncle Mo (Hip 206).

Hip 206 inspired a fast, furious and prolonged round of bidding between the Coolmore contingent out back and Young, who did his bidding on the phone with Zedan from the pressbox alongside trainer Bob Baffert and his wife Jill. The bay colt will join Baffert's barn when he returns from his suspension.

“He was just a tremendous athlete,” Young said. “Everything about his preview was good. He was very nice at the barn. Mr. Zedan wants good colts to run this time of year. We obviously did okay last year with Taiba. We are hoping between this colt and the Nyquist [purchased for $700,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale], we have some nice horses for next year. I like this horse a lot. This horse acts like he can do anything to me. He will probably get a month out at Barry Eisaman's just to unwind and then join Bob's stable when he gets back right before Del Mar.”

As for the price, Young said, “We were prepared to go over $3 million on this horse if we had to. We knew going in there were a lot of big players on him. We kind of knew it might come down to us and Coolmore.”

Bred by Corser Thoroughbreds, Hip 206 is out of Borealis Night (Astrology), who is a half to GSP Kinsley Kisses (Congrats) and Spooky Woods (Ghostzapper). Purchased by Scott and Evan Dilworth for $250,000 at Keeneland September, the bay breezed in :9 4/5 for Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales.

Early in the session, Charlie Boden stood in for Young, signing the ticket on a $600,000 Justify colt (Hip 11) that Young picked out for Zedan's stable. That colt will also be trained by Baffert.

“He is a very well-balanced horse,” said Young. “He worked well. I trust Hidden Brook. I think they do a very good job down there. Bob Baffert would know Justify better than anyone and he was very bullish on this horse. That's about where we thought he'd go. We are happy to get him. The market is very strong.”

When asked if Hip 11 was their next Derby prospect, Young said, “That's what we are shopping for. Mr. Zedan likes looking for good colts. He was obsessed with the Derby before I went to work for him.”

Bred by Bonne Chance Farm, Hip 11 is out of the SP mare Unbound (Distorted Humor) and his third dam is Hall of Famer Personal Ensign (Private Account). The :10 flat breezer was scratched from the Fasig-Tipton October Sale last year.

He was just a smaller yearling, kind of a late bloomer, and we thought a 2-year-old sale would suit that horse really well,” Bonne Chance manager John Durr said. “It paid off for us, that's for sure.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Uncle Mo Colt a Home Run for Dilworth

Scott Dilworth knew from the first time he saw the colt that he would be coming home with a son of Uncle Mo from the Terrazas Thoroughbreds consignment at last year's Keeneland September sale. Dilworth and his wife Evan purchased the yearling for $250,000 and reaped the rewards for the investment when selling him for $2.3 million at OBS Tuesday through the Top Line Sales consignment.

“He walked out of the stall and I just said, 'Wow.' That was it,” Dilworth said of his initial impressions of hip 206. “We went to look at him a ton of times–when you like one, you go back and look at him a few times–and I remember Eduardo Terrazas asked me, 'How come you are always smiling so big whenever you come see this horse?' And I said, 'He just makes me smile.'”

Dilworth continued, “John Bassett is a good friend of mine and he helped me get started in this business. He is the one that found him the first time. We fell in love with him. He's one of those kind that you know you are going to take home.”

Of the seven-figure result, the Texan said, “This is what I live for. I get wound up about it. I feel very blessed.”

The juvenile is from the first crop of horses bred on Mark Corser's Corser Thoroughbreds. He is out of Borealis Night (Astrology), who was purchased carrying the colt for $285,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November sale.

The result was bittersweet for Corser after the mare suffered a fatal paddock accident earlier in this month.

“That was the mare's first foal and she didn't have a foal last year,” Corser said. “She just dropped a Quality Road foal and two weeks later she had a paddock accident and I had to euthanize her.”

Despite the loss of the mare, Corser agreed there was a lot of pride in having a seven-figure colt come out of his fledgling breeding operation.

“It's absolutely fantastic. Right from when that colt was born, he had an aura about him and a presence,” Corser said. “We are a small farm, just starting out. I have two young girls and all of the horses that were born that year we named. And he was named Small Mo because he was a small horse when he was born and obviously an Uncle Mo. We would go out and kiss him and watch him grow up with his friends. We watched the horse blossom. I am really happy for the new owner. I can't wait to see what the horse does. And you can rest assured that I will be putting some money on him. I will be trying to get some of that $2.3 million.”

Of the Quality Road foal, Corser said, “Mom stamped him really well. He has size and her beautiful looks.” @JessMartiniTDN

Woods Hits a Homerun With Violence Filly

Eddie Woods had a nice score during the opening session of OBS April Tuesday, selling a $630,000 Violence filly he purchased for just $90,000 at Fasig-Tipton's July Sale last term. Hip 199 was bought by owner Carolyn Wilson, who did her bidding alongside her trainer Larry Rivelli.

“We were specifically looking for one of the best fillies in the sale and this was,” Rivelli said. “We agreed we would take one shot and this is our shot. I am very happy. I don't usually get very excited, but I am with this one and I'm happy for Carolyn.”

The conditioner continued, “She is a big, correct, beautiful filly. She got over the ground perfectly. With her size, I think she is going to get more distance. To be able to have that kick and turn of foot, how can you go wrong? I am pretty confident she will be a nice filly. She vetted perfect. She was flawless. That's what we were looking for.”

An $82,000 KEENOV weanling bred by Twin Hopes Farm, Hip 199 is out of GSW Bold Union (Dixie Union), making her a half to GSP Bold Quality (Elusive Quality). She breezed in a snappy :20 2/5 for Woods during the under-tack show.

“The filly grew up beautifully,” Woods said. “She is very well balanced and was always really quick from the get-go. She vetted extremely well and is a really pretty, flashy filly. I always thought she'd go quick. I didn't think she'd go :20 2/5, but she did. It was great.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Union Rags Filly Caps Big Day for Dilworth

Scott Dilworth's day in Ocala wasn't over with the sale of the $2.3-million Uncle Mo colt. The Texan came back late in the session to sell a filly by Union Rags (hip 306) for $525,000 to Red Baron's Barn or Rancho Temescal LLC. The chestnut, who was consigned by Raffaele Centofanti's Centofanti Thoroughbreds, was purchased by the Dilworths for $90,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale, but RNA'd for $105,000 at Keeneland last September.

“She was a nice filly and we didn't get any love on her at all as a yearling,” Dilworth said. “We thought she was nice enough to take on to a 2-year-old sale and that's what we did.”

Out of Corderosa (Aldebaran), the filly is a half-sister to stakes placed Orecchiette (Harlan's Holiday) and Lane Way (Into Mischief).

The filly worked a furlong last week in :9 4/5 and Dilworth gave plenty of credit to Centofanti for Tuesday's result.

“She was kind of hard to break and they took it very slow,” he said. “We were little bit worried about when they were going to get her here, but they got her here.”

Asked to assess his day at the office, Dilworth smiled and said, “It doesn't get any better than this.” @JessMartiniTDN

Back Ring Purchase Pays for Bobo

Tami Bobo and Fernando De Jesus, who will be represented in the GI Kentucky Derby by Simplification (Not This Time), will go into the First Saturday of May off a major pinhooking score in Ocala after selling a colt by Curlin (hip 66) for $510,000 to bloodstock agent David Ingordo during the first session of the OBS Spring Sale Tuesday. The couple had purchased the youngster for $40,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“He was a strong, forward Curlin,” Bobo said of the colt's appeal last fall. “They are solid, trainable racehorses. You have to love a Curlin.”
Asked if she was surprised by the colt's yearling price tag, Bobo admitted, “Shocked.”

She continued, “Every year at Keeneland, I've been blessed in that back ring. I work that back ring pretty hard. I saw him first in the back ring, followed him up and bought him. It's just my buying style. It's just myself and Fernando, so we can't short list after Book 1. So they walk in the back ring and we make split-second decisions what we are going to pay and walk up and buy them. I've made relationships over the years with consignors that I can trust, so this happened to be with a consignor I trusted and she told me everything was good. So I bought the horse based on her word.”

As for her impending date in Louisville, Bobo said, “Simplification is doing wonderful. I try not to call and get the daily updates on him because it's so nerve-wracking at this point. Life is just such a blessing to have these amazing horses. To be a part of their career paths is just amazing.”

As Bobo was talking, the Derby contender's trainer Antonio Sano walked by to congratulate her on the pinhooking success.

“He trained him this morning, came here today and he is leaving to go back to train him tomorrow,” Bobo said of her trainer, who confirmed the sophomore was doing well. “Having the relationship I have with Antonio makes me want to race more. It's like a family. It makes horse racing fun.”

Ingordo made the winning bid on the colt, who was consigned by de Meric Sales, out back standing alongside trainer John Sherriffs and CRK Stable's Lee Searing and signed under Mayberry Farm.

“I bought him for CRK Stables and he'll go to California with John Sherriffs,” Ingordo confirmed.

Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Hip 66 is out of graded winner Winding Way (Malibu Moon), a full-sister to multiple graded winner Kauai Katie.

“There wasn't anything not to love,” Ingordo said of the colt. “He's by Curlin, he has some page and he breezed beautiful (:10 1/5) and vetted good. He's the kind of horse that, if John gets him to the promised land, we can stand him as a stallion one day.” @JessMartiniTDN

The post Uncle Mo Colt Tops OBS April Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

OBS April Sale Kicks Off Tuesday

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training kicks off a four-day run Tuesday with sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m. daily.

The sale comes on the back of a very strong OBS March Sale where 378 juveniles summoned $49.941 million, including four seven-figure sellers.

“The March Sale was very good,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “There was a lot of activity at all levels in March and we anticipate that strength to carry over into April.”

There was a high level of activity on the OBS grounds leading up to the March Sale and consignors saw the same during the seven-day Spring Sale under-tack show last week.

“There was a good buzz in the air at the March sale, better than we've had in some time,” Coastal Equine's Jesse Hoppel said. “I feel the same type of environment coming here in April. I anticipate another strong horse sale.”

With 1231 juveniles in the catalogue, the Spring Sale is a major player on the calendar each year for both buyers and sellers.

“The April Sale is the largest 2-year-old sale in the world and probably the most productive,” Wojciechowski said. “If people are only going to be able to attend one 2-year-old sale, this is probably going to be the one they will attend. The consignors are always impressive. Each year they outdo themselves with the quality of horses they bring.”

Last year's $1.5-million Spring Sale topper Corniche (Quality Road) went on to win the Eclipse Award for top 2-year-old male after a perfect three-for-three season capped by a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Spring Sale graduate Country Grammer (Tonalist) took the G1 Dubai World Cup this term after finishing second to fellow OBSAPR seller Emblem Road (Quality Road) in the G1 Saudi Cup a month earlier.

“We ran one-two in the Saudi Cup, won the G1 Dubai World Cup,”Wojciechowski said. “There are horses that win all over the world that come out of the April sale.”

At the 2021 Spring Sale, a total of 724 juveniles changed hands for a gross of $73,874,900. The average was $102,037 and the median was $50,000.

Tuesday's opening session will offer Hips 1-308, followed by Hips 309-616 Wednesday, Hips 617-924 Thursday and Hips 925-1231 Friday.

The post OBS April Sale Kicks Off Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Six Share Furlong Bullet, Three Share Quarter Bullet at OBS Under-Tack Opener

A half-dozen juvenile colts and fillies shared the bullet furlong time of :9 4/5 at the first of seven under-tack preview shows for the upcoming OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Sunday.

The first to shade 10 seconds in their one-eighth breeze was Hip 87, a filly by Tapiture out of the unraced mare Youngnflashy (Flashy Bull) consigned by Grassroots Training & Sales. The filly was bought for $25,000 at Fasig-Tipton October.

Three more fillies posted :9 4/5 time shortly thereafter–Hip 121, by Speightster, consigned by Randy Miles and bought for $105,000 at Keeneland September, Hip 129, by Mor Spirit, consigned by Kings Equine, agent for Spendthrift Farm and a $25,000 Fasig-Tipton November buy, and Hip 137, by Lord Nelson, consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock and a $37,000 Fasig-Tipton July pickup.

Rounding out the :9 4/5 breezers were Hip 138, an Uncaptured colt named Havnameltdown consigned by Blas Perez Stables bought for $16,000 at OBS October, and Hip 148, a More Than Ready filly consigned by Best A Luck Farm who sold for $75,000 at Keeneland September.

Three 2-year-olds shared the quarter-mile bullet time of :20 3/5, starting with Hip 150, a filly by Bolt d'Oro consigned by Sequel Bloodstock who hammered for $270,000 at Keeneland September. Matching that clocking were Hip 163, a colt by Mendelssohn consigned by Woodford Thoroughbreds who was bought for $120,000 at Keeneland September, and the final hip of the showcase, Hip 176, a Bucchero filly named Miss Bellimbusto consigned by Blue River Bloodstock.

The OBS under-tack shows continue daily through Saturday with all sessions starting at 8 a.m. The Spring Sale is set to be held Apr. 19-22.

The post Six Share Furlong Bullet, Three Share Quarter Bullet at OBS Under-Tack Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights