The breeze show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's upcoming Spring Sale gets underway Sunday and runs through Saturday, Apr. 16.
Hips 1-176 will breeze Sunday; followed by Hips 177-352 Monday; Hips 353-528 Tuesday; Hips 529-704 Wednesday; Hips 705-880 Thursday; Hips 881-1056 Friday; and Hips 1057-1231 Saturday.
The Spring Sale runs Tuesday, Apr. 19 through Friday, Apr. 22 with each session beginning at 10 a.m. Hips 1-308 go on the block Tuesday; followed by Hips 309-616; Wednesday, Hips 617-924 Thursday; and Hips. 925-1231 Friday.
Given a perfectly rationed ride from the front by the evergreen Yutaka Take, Jean Gros (More Than Ready) became the first winner at group level in Japan for his legendary sire in Saturday's $841,637 G2 New Zealand Trophy at Nakayama, a steppingstone to next month's G1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.
The 6-1 third favourite off a stalk-and-pounce success in listed company over 1200 metres Feb. 27, the full-brother to MGSW & GISP Tom's Ready was kicked straight into the lead from gate six and led through reasonable fractions of :23.5 for the opening quarter-mile and :46.8 for the first 800 metres. Going comfortably on the single right-handed turn, Jean Gros turned for home after six furlongs in 1:10.5 and finished strongly to cross the line a head better than favoured Matenro Orion (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}). The latter, drawn gate one, was maneuvered to the outside past halfway and was forced to take the overland route on the bend. He kicked hard in the stretch, but could not quite overhaul the leader in the dying strides. Lubeck (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}), a full-brother to the globetrotting Deirdre (Jpn), was third. Take was riding his first winner of the race since landing the 2004 renewal–also for trainer Hideyuki Mori–atop fellow American-bred Seeking the Dia (Storm Cat). The 2021 winner was Bathrat Leon (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), upset winner of the G2 Godolphin Mile Mar. 26.
Pedigree Notes:
Jean Gros is the 98th worldwide graded/group winner for WinStar's More Than Ready, still going strong at the age of 25.
Blackstone Farm acquired Goodbye Stranger carrying the foal that would become Tom's Ready for $40,000 at Keeneland January in 2013 and also bred the stakes-placed Wrong Color (Gemologist) from the mare before selling her to Nursery Place for $120,000 with Jean Gros in utero at KEEJAN in 2019.
Entered for but withdrawn from the Keeneland November Sale eight months after his foaling date of Mar. 2, Jean Gros was bought back by John Mayer's operation on a bid of $130,000 at Keeneland September the following fall. Turned over to consignor Al Pike, the bay was knocked down to Mori for $265,000 at last year's OBS March Sale after breezing an eighth of a mile in :10 flat.
Mori, whose success with traveling American-bred gallopers is well-documented, signed for eight horses for over $2.2 million at OBS last March, including the $750,000 topper now named Clos de Mesnil (Practical Joke). She is a maiden winner from four starts to date. Six of the eight have won at least one race.
Barren to Arrogate for 2020, Goodbye Stranger is the dam of a yearling filly by Audible and is due to Horse of the Year Authentic this season.
In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Nakayama and Hanshin Racecourses, the latter of which plays host to the first of this year's Japanese Classics–the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) over 1600 meters:
Saturday, April 9, 2022 11th-NKY, New Zealand Trophy-G2, ¥103.5m ($835k), 3yo, 1mT JEAN GROS (c, 3, More Than Ready–Goodbye Stranger, by Broad Brush), a $130K Keeneland September buyback turned $265K OBS March breezer, has won three of his seven trips to the post, his last two over the metric six furlongs, including record-setting success at Chukyo in December and an impressive victory in the Listed Marguerite S. at this venue Feb. 27. (see below, SC 7). Blackstone Farm acquired Goodbye Stranger carrying the foal that would become MGSW & GISP Tom's Ready for $40K at Keeneland January in 2013. The mare was resold to Nursery Place for $120 with this foal in utero at KEEJAN in 2019. Jean Gros stretches back out to a mile for this first attempt at group level. B-Nursery Place & Partners (KY)
Sunday, April 10, 2022 4th-HSN, ¥9,900,000 ($80k), Maiden, 3yo, 1400mT MOZU BONHEUR (f, 3, Street Sense–Endless Chatter, by First Samurai) was well-beaten on debut over the dirt at Chukyo last Decembeer, but showed some improvement when tried over a nine-furlong trip on the grass at this track 17 days later. A $200K KEESEP yearling, the Apr. 7 foal is out of Endless Chatter, who carried the silks of this breeder to a victory in the Summer Colony S. at Saratoga and a third placing in the GI Beldame S. in 2014. Endless Chatter, who drops back to seven furlongs here, is a daughter of Ornate (A.P. Indy), a full-sister to Claiborne's outstanding late sire Pulpit who is also the dam of SW & G1SP Whitecliffsofdover (War Front). B-Alpha Delta Stables LLC (KY)
The 2022 Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual series continued Apr. 5 with a panel who discussed pedigree and conformation considerations when selecting racehorses. The series is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, and Stoll Keenon Ogden.
Sponsored by Ocala Breeders' Sales Company (OBS), Tuesday's session was moderated by Caton Bredar and included panelists Phil Hager, Taproot Bloodstock; Chad Schumer, Schumer Bloodstock Agency; Gayle Van Leer, Gayle Van Leer Thoroughbred Services; and Tod Wojciechowski, director of sales, OBS.
Highlights of the webinar include how to read five-cross pedigrees and catalog pages, the importance of a horse's female family and conformational flaws and how they can affect a horse's potential as a racehorse. Additionally, conversation included the role of veterinarians in sales inspection, selection and purchases, the importance of a good airway and the different tools available to assist in the purchasing process.
The next session of the virtual owner conference is a veterinary panel and will be held on Tuesday, May 10, at 2 p.m. ET. Sponsored by Mersant International LTD and OCD Pellets, the session will be moderated by Mike Penna of Horse Racing Radio Network and include Dr. Larry Bramlage, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Lisa Fortier, Cornell University; and Dr. Steve Reed, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital.
This year, OwnerView will also host an in-person conference in Saratoga Springs, New York, July 25-26.
