Ocala Breeders' Sales Company | Horse Racing Free Tips

In Search of More Records, OBS Spring Sale Starts Tuesday

Looking to follow-up on a record-setting 2022 renewal, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training opens its four-day run in Central Florida Tuesday morning, with bidding beginning at 10:30 a.m.

“Once again the consignors have brought a quality group of horses,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “The breeze show went smoothly and those horses got to show themselves on the track. We are excited for the sale.”

The Spring sale has become a must-stop on the juvenile sales calendar for consignors and buyers alike. The juggernaut auction set records for gross, average and median for three straight years and the streak was only halted by a global pandemic in 2020. A year later, it picked up right where it had left off, setting another high mark for gross in 2021. The rebound was complete in 2022, with records across the board once again.

“It's the go-to 2-year-old sale in the world,” said Wojciechowski. “I think the increase in international trade continues from year to year mainly because, quite frankly, the horses who have come out of the April sale go on and do well, they perform at the racetrack. Ultimately, that's what brings clientele back to buy horses here. They've been happy with the purchases they have made and have been successful with them. And that's been proven all over the world.”

During last year's Spring sale, 705 juveniles sold for $90,723,000 for an average of $128,685 and a median of $65,000. Five horses topped the $1-million mark, led by the $2.3-million Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo), who won this year's GIII Southwest S. That colt's buyer, Amr Zedan, has already made an impact at OBS this spring, paying a sale-topping $2-million for a son of Good Magic at the March sale, which opened the juvenile sales season last month.

The March sale concluded its three-day run with strong final figures, but left buyers and sellers expecting to see a broader market at the Spring sale, with its catalogue of 1,222 head.

“I think there is always still going to be a flight to quality, but April has proved itself the spot to buy any kind of horse at all different price levels,” Wojciechowski said. “So, I think we will see that again this year.”

During last week's seven-session under-tack show, four horses shared the furlong bullet time of :9 3/5: a filly by Mendelssohn (hip 141, video); a colt by Frosted (hip 449, video); a colt by Into Mischief (hip 967, video); and a filly by Speightstown (hip 1012, video).

A daughter of Speightstown (hip 618) equaled the track record while working the week's fastest quarter-mile of :20 1/5.

“I thought it was very consistent all seven days,” Wojciechowski said of the under-tack show. “We were fortunate that we had a very good weather pattern. We had a few days where headwinds entered into the equation, but other than that, we didn't have to contend with rain or a variety of different temperatures. It was pretty steady throughout the week. Everybody got a great chance to display their horses.”

Asked if this year's Spring sale could surpass the record-setting 2022 renewal, Wojciechowski said with a chuckle, “We are certainly going to try.”

The Spring sale continues through Friday with bidding beginning each day at 10:30 a.m.

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Good Magic Filly Earns Bullet at OBS Saturday

A filly by Good Magic (hip 1112) turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of Saturday's final session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training when covering the distance in :20 3/5 for consignor Tom McCrocklin.

“I don't clock my horses at any point,” McCrocklin said. “All these 2-year-olds I sell, I never have a stopwatch in my hand. But at this point, I think I know who can run and who can't. That filly has appeared to be fast for a while and she showed up today and had a really good breeze.”

McCrocklin purchased the youngster for $190,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. She is out of Tiz Heavenly (Tiznow), a daughter of multiple graded-stakes winner Tasha's Miracle (Harlan's Holiday).

“Good Magic and her physical,” McCrocklin said of his decision to purchase the filly last year. “She's a very, very pretty filly, very balanced. There are some fast horses on the female side of the pedigree. Tasha's Miracle was a very fast filly. She ran in the Railbird and the Hollywood Oaks. And there are some very fast horses under the third dam. Obviously when you are selling 2-year-olds, speed is at a premium.”

The filly's pedigree has advantages beyond speed, according to McCrocklin.

“I like the Good Magic part because it adds some Classic stamina into the pedigree,” he said. “He is a son of Curlin, but I don't think he was a typical son of Curlin. He was very precocious. He was a very good 2-year-old. [The filly] has a lot of Good Magic qualities in her. And she is out of a Tiznow mare. So again, we are bringing speed and stamina on both sides of the pedigree.”

Five horses shared the day's fastest furlong time of :9 4/5.

Caliente Thoroughbreds sent out a son of Solomini (hip 1109, video) to share the day's fastest furlong. The chestnut is the first foal out of Timberlea (Flatter), a half-sister to graded winner Untrapped (Trappe Shot). He was purchased by Gerardo Barragan for $50,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

A colt by Triple Crown winner Justify (hip 1124, video) worked Saturday's furlong bullet for Scanlon Training & Sales, which purchased him for $125,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. The bay is out of graded-stakes winner Touching Beauty (Tapit).

A filly by Demarchelier (GB) (hip 1128, video) worked in :9 4/5 for Niall Brennan Stables. The juvenile is out of Treasured (Arch), a full-sister to stakes winner Desert Phantom. She was purchased by Cayson Lane for $16,000 as a weanling at the 2021 Keeneland November sale.

Envision Equine sent out a colt by Army Mule (hip 1187, video) to share Saturday's furlong bullet. The bay is out of Western Kitty (Western Fame) and is a half-brother to stakes-placed What in Blazes (Straight Fire). He is from the family of Tiznow, Budroyale and Paynter and was bred by KMN Racing.

A colt by GI Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist (hip 1219, video) turned in his bullet work for Best a Luck Farm, which purchased him for $150,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. He had sold for $130,000 as a weanling at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. Out of the unraced Zetta Z (Bernardini), the juvenile's third dam is GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Unbridled Elaine (Unbridled's Song).

After sending out nearly 30 horses to work during the week, McCrocklin admitted it was a relief to get to the end of the marathon seven-day under-tack show.

“I was very pleased overall,” he said of his consignment's results. “We had 27 breezes and 25 horses went in :20 and change or :21 and change for a quarter-mile–all my horses go a quarter by design. I am proud of the consistency.”

Of track conditions throughout the week, McCrocklin added, “I was very happy with the track. I think the two things that are consistent with this track are temperature and wind. There is nothing OBS can do about either of those. I find that if you have a headwind, so does everyone else. If you have tailwind, so does everybody else. And I'll leave it up to the buyers to do their own handicapping and grade on a curve.

“As far as the temperature, there is no secret the cooler it is, it tends to be a little faster and bouncier. And the hotter it is, it tends to slow down and get just a little bit sticky. But it's a very safe surface and the horses tend to come back very well from their breezes. Our X-rays have been really good so far, so no complaints on the track. I think OBS does a great job.”

The OBS March sale opened the juvenile sales season with strong figures–led by five million-dollar sales–last month and McCrocklin expects to see continued strength at the top of the market, but is worried about lower levels of the playing field.

“I think it's a very deep market,” he said. “You hear it everywhere you go, but I worry more on the lower-middle to lower end. I don't find that we have the depth of buyers that we need. I've developed the expression, it's easier for me to sell a horse for $200,000 than it is for $30,000. I think that's the world we live in right now.”

The OBS Spring sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10:30 a.m.

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Six Share Furlong Bullet at OBS Thursday

Six juveniles shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 during the fifth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training in Central Florida Thursday.

Among the sextet was a filly by Enticed (hip 710, video) who is among the first crop of homebreds at Mario Bencomo and Alejandro Esis's New Horizon Farm in Ocala.

Asked if expected a bullet work from the filly, who is the farm's lone entrant in the sale, Bencomo said, “Yes. At the farm she worked really nice and she was always sound. So I expected what I saw today.”

Bencomo, who is involved in e-commerce, grew up around racing in his native Venezuela and returned to the sport when he moved to the U.S. almost 10 years ago.

“My family in Venezuela was always involved in the racehorse industry,” he explained. “I always saw the industry as a hobby, but when I moved to the United States in 2014, I started to do research and try to figure how the industry works here in the U.S.”

Bencomo acquired the 80-acre Morriston, Farm that was formerly Eddie Coletti's Sunrise Stable South in 2021 and has been busy refurbishing the property.

“I bought the farm just 2 1/2 years ago and I've been trying to rebuild it,” he said. “I bought it in pretty bad condition and I've been improving all the buildings, the fences, and the racetrack. And I built a swimming pool.”

New Horizon made its debut at OBS with a pair of pinhooking prospects in March 2021.

“Originally, we started with pinhooking yearlings to 2-year-olds,” Bencomo said. “Now we are moving to homebreds. For the next year, we are going to have 14 or 15 homebreds, by Kentucky and Florida stallions.”

Hip 710 is out of Mooji's Empire (Empire), a mare New Horizon acquired privately. The juvenile is co-bred with CESA Farm.

While only its third year of operation, New Horizon Farm was celebrating its second bullet worker at OBS. The consignment was represented by a filly by Good Magic (hip 984) who worked a quarter in :20 4/5 before selling for $200,000 to trainer Peter Miller on behalf of Kaleem Shah at the 2022 OBS June sale. She had been a $35,000 Keeneland September purchase by New Horizon.

Following next week's auction, New Horizon Farm heads north with a four-horse consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale.

“I am going with four to the Maryland sale,” Bencomo said. “I have two homebreds there and then I am going to keep some for racing.”

Bencomo remains active in the e-commerce industry, but he sees a day when his racing operation will take up much of his time.

“It's still a hobby,” he said of the farm. “But in the near future, I think it will be a profitable business.”

Miles Doubles Up on Bullets Thursday

Randy Miles sent out a pair of fillies to share the bullet furlong Thursday and, at the end of the day, the consignor admitted he was pleasantly surprised by the results.

“We knew they were quick, but most of the time at the 2-year-old sale, you just want them to stay out of trouble and try their hardest and do the best they can possibly do,” Miles said. “They did it today. But sometimes 2-year-olds don't cooperate.”

A daughter of Race Day (hip 719, video) out of the unraced Morning Memo (Morning Line), who is a daughter of graded winner Memorette (Memo {Chi}), worked shortly before 10 a.m. The bay filly was purchased by Miles's Cool Hill Farm for $27,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“She's a lovely filly and she had a beautiful breeze,” Miles said of the youngster. “She's so easy and classy in the barn. She's really what you want in a horse. Race Day may not be the flavor of the month, but as we all know, he can get you a good race horse. We didn't pay a whole lot for her, but when we saw her, we loved her build and her athleticism.”

A filly from the first crop of Maximus Mischief (hip 728, video) worked just short of noon Thursday. Out of My Rolex (Proud Accolade), the juvenile is a half-sister to stakes-winner It's High Time (Gone Astray) and from the family of Grade I winner Black Seventeen. The Florida-bred RNA'd for $55,000 at last year's OBS October sale and Miles is consigning her on behalf of breeder Tracy Pinchin.

“I have three of them and they are all here at the sale,” Miles said of offspring of graded-winner Maximus Mischief. “They all act like they want to run. They all act precocious. This filly is about 15.3 and I have a colt who is 16.2. And I have one in the middle. So I am getting all shapes and sizes, but I do like their desire to try and to work hard and their mental attitude.”

The pair of Thursday bullets made three on the week for Miles, who sent out a son of Solomini (hip 692) to work in :9 4/5 Wednesday.

“He's just beautiful,” Miles said of the colt. “I generally just let him do his own talking. Everybody who has been by has been impressed with him. We knew he was talented. My partner, Bo Hunt is an excellent trainer and a lot of times when these young horses show that they have speed, we don't breeze them that often. It was about every two weeks to 20 days that we breezed him and he showed it every time.”

Victor Centeno's Two Oaks Equine sent out a filly by Bolt d'Oro (hip 785) to work in :9 4/5 during Thursday's first set of workers. The filly is out of the unraced Petunia (Into Mischief) and was purchased by Centeno for $20,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

A colt by Into Mischief (hip 793) worked in :9 4/5 for Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, which purchased him as a weanling for $350,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. The bay is out of Pisa No Tiffany (Fusaichi Pegasus), a half-sister to Tapit.

A colt by Army Mule (hip 845) worked in :9 4/5 for Pick View, LLC. The youngster, who sold for $40,000 at the 2022 Keeneland January sale, sold again for $110,000 to Gracie Bloodstock on behalf of Anthony Tate at the Keeneland September sale. The chestnut is out of Raging Atlantic (Stormy Atlantic), a half-sister to Grade I-placed Seven Trumpets (Morning Line).

Four horses shared Thursday's fastest quarter-mile breeze of :21 flat: a colt by Blame (hip 786, video); a filly by Hard Spun (hip 814, video); a colt by Cable Bay (Ire) (hip 847, video); and a colt by No Nay Never (hip 868, video).

“I think those guys have done a great job with the track,” Miles said when asked to assess conditions from session-to-session at the under-tack show this week. “We got a little wind push this afternoon and I think another day they had a good wind push. But overall, trying to keep it consistent from the first set to the last set, I think it's been pretty consistent. And that's hard. This thing is kind of a monster to tame. And they've done a pretty good job with it.”

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The Spring sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday with bidding beginning each day at 10:30 a.m.

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Speightstown Filly Blazes Quarter-Mile at OBS Wednesday

A filly by Speightstown (hip 618) zipped a quarter-mile in a track record-tying :20 1/5, while six horses shared the day's fastest furlong time, during the fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training in Central Florida Wednesday. Hip 618, who worked just after 11:30 a.m. and with temperatures approaching 80 degrees, is consigned by Juan Centeno's All Dreams Equine.

“You never know if they can go that fast, but she prepped pretty fast,” Centeno said. “I knew she could at least tie that prep or improve on it and obviously, she improved. But she's always been that filly who gives her all every time. She just has a natural talent. Every time she goes up there, it's all business. When she is in the stall, she's nice and relaxed. I think she has a brilliant future.”

The filly is out of the unraced Last Dance (Revolutionary), who is a half-sister to graded winner Speightster (Speightstown) and is out of a full-sister to Dance Smartly.

Centeno purchased the filly for $17,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“She is not perfect,” Centeno said. “Her conformation wasn't perfect. That's probably why people passed on her last year. But we took our chances because she has a beautiful body. And you never know how they are going to come out. You have to play and see what happens. In the early days, you start seeing which ones really start shining from the rest and she was one of those. She was not that fast, but she was always better than the rest.”

The filly's :20 1/5 breeze ties the record for the fastest quarter-mile over the OBS surface, matching, among others, the time of future Grade I winner Princess Noor (Not This Time), who sold for $1.35 million at the 2020 Spring sale.

Asked what it was like to lead his speedy filly up to the track Wednesday morning, Centeno said, “Before you go, you feel sick. You just hope she doesn't take a bad step or anything. It's just nerve-wracking. And after it, you feel so proud for her. She's the one who did it all. It's just a special feeling in your heart to say, 'Wow. Look at these beautiful things.' They can make you feel so wonderful.”

A Day at the Beach for Wavertree

Six juveniles shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 during Wednesday's session of the under-tack show and two were fillies from the first crop of Omaha Beach from the Wavertree Stables consignment, which also sent out a colt by the multiple Grade I winner to work the day's second-fastest quarter-mile time of :20 3/5.

“We went up there with high expectations,” said Wavertree's Ciaran Dunne. “They were horses who had trained really well all year and had advertised themselves in their works as fast horses. And I think they all showed up.”

Working during the day's first set, hip 532 was first to hit the :9 4/5 mark on the day for Wavertree. The bay filly is out of Intelyhente (Smart Stride), a full-sister to graded winner Bel Air Beauty and dam of stakes-placed Count Alexander (Scat Daddy), who Wavertree sold at the 2017 OBS June sale.

“She is huge,” Dunne said of the filly. “She looks like a colt. She's probably 16 hands, plus. We had her half-brother and that probably played a part in us being as strong as we were [in buying her last year]. We thought he was a very good horse. I think he was a better horse than his race record probably panned out to be–he was very unlucky in a couple of races. But she is a bigger, stronger version of him. You could have passed him off as the filly and her as the colt.”

Hip 667 turned in her :9 4/5 work around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The chestnut filly is out of Malibu Pride (Malibu Moon), a full-sister to By The Light, who produced multiple Grade I winner By the Moon (Indian Charlie).

“She's a medium-sized filly,” Dunne said. “She's real compact and very well-balanced. She's been lightning fast since the first time we said, 'Go.' We spent the spring trying to slow her down. She's really, really quick with a beautiful female family underneath.”

Both fillies were purchased by Paul Reddam and Dunne's Red Wings Enterprises pinhooking partnership for $200,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“Paul has been my partner in Red Wings for many years,” Dunne said. “He is a guy who really goes with his gut feeling. He was very high on Omaha Beach going into the yearling sales and his marching orders were to buy as many Omaha Beaches as I could. I think I called him at one point and said, 'Is that enough?' and the response I got was, 'no.' So we have to give him the credit–or the blame–for the number of Omaha Beaches we have.”

On behalf of Houston third baseman Alex Bregman, Wavertree sent out a son of Omaha Beach (hip 617) to work a quarter-mile in :20 3/5 in the opening minutes of Wednesday's session of the under-tack show. The bay colt is out of stakes-placed Lantiz (Tizway).

Bloodstock agent Mike Akers purchased the colt on behalf of Bregman Family Racing for $185,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale.

“This is a lovely horse. He doesn't necessarily look fast, which is interesting for as fast as he is,” Dunne said. “He looks like a horse with a bit of stretch that will go a route of ground.”

Bregman was represented by a bullet worker by No Nay Never who worked in :20 4/5 during Monday's second session of the under-tack show.

“Mike Akers has done a really job for Alex sourcing racehorses and obviously now pinhooks,” Dunne said. “I think they are good team and they work together well.”

Omaha Beach now has three juveniles to work in :9 4/5 this week at OBS. Mayberry Farm sent out a colt by the freshman sire (hip 466, video) to work in that time Tuesday.

Omaha Beach, winner of the GI Arkansas Derby and GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship, was scratched as the morning-line favorite three days before the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby. He stands at Spendthrift Farm for $30,000.

“They are lovely horses,” Dunne said of the first-season sire's progeny. “They have a shape to them. They have a bit of size and scope. They move really well. Thankfully, all of those things have transferred as you would want them to from yearlings to 2-year-olds. Once we started training them, we were very pleased. They are nice horses to be around and mentally very easy to deal with. They thrive on work. The more we've done with them, the better they were and the happier they were. Obviously, I am a big fan today.”

Also working the furlong bullet Wednesday was a filly by Divining Rod (hip 544, video) who is a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Aloha West (Hard Spun) consigned by Best a Luck Farm; a colt by Maximus Mischief (hip 632, video) consigned by Kings Equine; a colt by Tapwrit (hip 634, video), who is a half to multiple graded-placed Dream Marie (Graydar) and consigned by Top Line Sales; and a colt by Solomini (hip 692, video), who is a half to graded winner Lookin to Strike (Lookin at Lucky) and consigned by Randy Miles.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning each day at 8 .m. The Spring sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday. Bidding commences at 10:30 a.m. daily.

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