Ocala Breeders' Sales Company | Horse Racing Free Tips

Frosted Colt, Nyquist Filly Fastest at OBS Tuesday

A colt by Frosted (hip 449) matched the fastest furlong time of the week so far, while a filly by Nyquist (hip 484) tied the fastest quarter-mile breeze with workouts during the third session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Tuesday in Central Florida.

Hip 449 worked a furlong in :9 3/5 shortly after 8:30 a.m. for the Longoria Training and Sales consignment. A $50,000 Keeneland September acquisition, the youngster was one of a group of yearlings purchased last year in the first-time partnership of Texas businessman Paul Neatherlin and consignor Jesse Longoria.

“I was very excited about the way the colt worked,” said Neatherlin. “He worked phenomenal, I thought. I was really pleased.”

The bay colt is out of Handwoven (Indian Charlie), a full-sister to stakes-placed Auspicious and a half to graded-placed Flatter Than Me (Flatter).

“He was just a real nice colt with a big hip and a good, sloping shoulder and a huge walk,” Neatherlin, who began pinhooking some 15 years ago with his uncle, the late trainer Mike Neatherlin, said of the colt's appeal last September. “Jesse and I both loved the colt and when we went up to buy him, Jesse told me, 'No matter what this horse brings, don't let him go. Don't miss out on him.' We thought we had a bargain at $50,000.”

Some four hours after the bullet breeze, Longoria and Neatherlin teamed up with another yearling purchase when a colt by Omaha Beach (hip 500) worked a furlong in :10 flat.

Neatherlin, who is vice president of sales for Platinum Pipe Rentals, said he pinhooks six to eight horses a year. He had recently been partnering with Robert Brewer. Among their success was a Cross Traffic filly purchased for $18,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale who sold to Bill Parcells's August Dawn Farm for $150,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale. Now named Maple Leaf Mel, the filly is undefeated in three starts and a two-time stakes winner.

Brewer and Neatherlin also purchased a Midnight Storm filly for $27,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcased and sold her following a :9 4/5 work for $240,000 at the following year's OBS March sale.

Despite their success, Neatherlin found himself looking for a new pinhooking partner heading into the yearling sales last fall.

“Robert Brewer decided he didn't want to do it this year,” Neatherlin said. “He suggested Jesse and I love Jesse. I've known him for 30 years and he's a good friend of mine. And I know he's a great horseman.”

The partnership got off to a good start at the OBS March sale last month when selling a filly by Vino Rosso (hip 579) for $185,000. The bay had been acquired for $55,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Neatherlin currently has just one horse in training, a filly by Accelerate who RNA'd at the March sale.

“The Accelerate filly caught that big headwind in March and worked :10 2/5, but looked really good doing it,” Neatherlin said. “I turned down $30,000 after the sale and just kept her and I will run her. I've run a lot of horses in my life, but now I am mainly into pinhooking.”

Nyquist Filly Breaks Out of the Pack

Anticipating a spate of fast furlong workers over a tight track Tuesday morning, Jimbo and Torie Gladwell of Top Line Sales hoped their filly by Nyquist (hip 484) would distinguish herself from the pack with a quarter-mile breeze. The filly duly delivered a bullet drill in :20 3/5 right at the start of Tuesday's session as temperatures hovered around a chilly 51 degrees.

“Talking about it this morning, we thought there might be a handful of fast eighth-mile breezes, :9 4/5s, because we thought the track was going to be nice and tight,” explained Torie Gladwell. “So we wanted to separate this filly from all those :9 4/5s. That's why we decided to go a quarter with her.”

Of the end result, Gladwell said, “She prepped really fast and we knew she would have a shot of going the :20 3/5. That wasn't too much of a surprise with her. But we are really happy with it. She showed up.”

The bay filly is out of stakes winner Hi Holiday (Harlan's Holiday), a half-sister to graded winner Dr B (Liam's Map). She was purchased by the Gladwells for $100,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale and Torie Gladwell credited her mother-in-law Martha for landing on the yearling.

Top Line Sales sent out a pair of fillies to work quarter-miles Tuesday. In addition to hip 484, they also sent out a filly by Liam's Map (hip 518) who covered the distance in :20 4/5.

“They are almost complete opposites,” Gladwell said of the two speedy juveniles. “The Nyquist filly is an average-sized filly and tries really hard. The Liam's Map filly is a big filly and it looks like she's just galloping, floating across the track. When the breeze rider jumped off, he said, 'Oh my gosh. I didn't think I was going that fast. She must have a monster stride.' I think she does have a big ground-covering stride. She is a really laid back, cool filly.”

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. Bidding begins each day at 10:30 a.m.

The post Frosted Colt, Nyquist Filly Fastest at OBS Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bregman’s No Nay Never Colt Steals the Show at OBS Monday

A colt by No Nay Never (hip 332) turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of the second session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Monday in Central Florida, covering the distance in :20 4/5. The juvenile was the first of three from an initial pinhooking group owned by Houston Astros third-baseman Alex Bregman to hit the OBS track ahead of next week's auction.

Bregman Family Racing made its debut on the racetrack a winning one just last May when the first horse to carry the family's colors, Cadillac Candy (Twirling Candy), graduated at Churchill Downs.

The family's focus will still be on racing, according to Ciaran Dunne, whose Wavertree Stables preps Bregman's horses in Ocala, but the reoffered lots reflect a slight adjustment for the three-year-old stable.

“Alex made the decision to sell a few colts to try to finance his racing stable,” Dunne said. “I think he's decided that racing fillies is probably, in his grand scheme of things, going to be a better plan. He wants to develop a broodmare band and sort of have a long-term plan of action. By selling the colts, it helps finance some of the racing stable and the broodmare band. That's not to say he won't race a colt going forward, but, if he races fillies, he wants to own them 100% and he'll partner on colts with the hope of making a stallion. We have three in the sale for him here and if the right people with the right plan came along, I am sure he would be more than willing to stay in and be a partner.”

Hip 332, an Irish-bred son of No Nay Never, was purchased on behalf of Bregman by bloodstock agent Mike Akers for €180,000 at last year's Arqana August Yearling Sale. He is the first foal out of group winner Etoile (War Front), who is a full-sister to group winner and multiple Group 1-placed Ancient Rome.

“We got him in October or November sometime,” Dunne said of the colt. “It took him a little while to get his feet underneath him. It's a long process between shipping and quarantine and everything else. But ever since, he's been a really straightforward horse. His works have been more than solid coming into this. So we went in there with high expectations and I think he delivered. He's just a really solid colt by probably one of the top stallions in Europe.”

On behalf of the Bregman family, Wavertree will also send out a colt by Twirling Candy (hip 402) to work Tuesday and a son of Omaha Beach (hip 617) to work Wednesday.

“He absolutely loves the horse business,” Dunne said of Bregman. “It will be bittersweet for him. Racing is his first love. Pinhooking is probably going to be very hard for him. But we've had the discussion, 'look if you bring them over, you have to sell them.' So I think he will. But, like I said, if someone were to come along, I think he would be more than happy to stay in.”

Four horses shared Monday's fastest furlong time of :9 4/5. A filly by Flameaway (hip 177, video) worked the bullet for David McKathan and Jody Mihalic's Grassroots Training and Sales just minutes after the session's 8 a.m. start time. Out of Cinnamon Girl (Meadowlake), the chestnut filly was purchased by Grassroots for $15,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Consignor Marcial Galan sent out a colt by Jimmy Creed (hip 239, video) to share the fastest furlong time Monday around 10:30 a.m. Out of Days Like This (Congrats), the juvenile was bred by Jason Hall, Stephen Baker, Herschel Martindale and Mike Riordan.

A colt by Triple Crown winner Justify (hip 299, video), who is out of D'Wildcat Speed (Forest Wildcat) and is a half-brother to multiple Group 1 winner Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy), gave Jonathan Navas's Navas Equine its first :9 4/5 work when he hit the track around 10:40 a.m. Monday morning.

“I am very fortunate to have such a nice individual under my care,” Navas said. “He is an easy colt to work with. He is that kind that goes out there, puts in a lot of effort in training, does his best in the morning, and then comes back to the stall. Rest and repeat.”

Navas picked the well-bred colt out of the back ring at Keeneland last September and purchased him as part of a pinhooking partnership for $50,000.

“I saw him in the back ring, but I didn't inspect him at the barn,” Navas said. “His page is obviously really strong. And I liked the way he was taking everything in at the sale. We liked what I thought I could polish and develop a little bit more with training.”

Asked if he was surprised to get the colt at that price last fall, Navas said, “Yes, to be honest, it was a little bit surprising. With that pedigree, I would have thought I would have had to extend my budget a little bit more. He didn't look as athletic as he does now. He had a belly and he was a little bit narrow as a yearling. But with the time and training, he became a better-looking athlete. That's what I visualized last year and I think that's what we have right now.”

From a racing family in Venezuela, Navas launched his consignment in 2020. He was represented by a Shackleford filly who worked a quarter-mile bullet in :20 3/5 at the 2021 OBS June sale. Purchased for $7,500 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale, the filly sold for $70,000 that June. Now named Join the Dance, she resold for $110,000 at last year's Keeneland Horses of Racing Age Sale and is two-time stakes-placed.

“This is my third year consigning and I had never had a :9 4/5 before,” Navas said of hip 299's work Monday. “He was able to put up this great workout for us and am I very happy with it. It was pretty impressive.”

A colt by Twirling Candy (hip 192, video), consigned by Steve Venosa's SGV Thoroughbreds, completed the quartet of bullet workers shortly before noon Monday. Out of Conquest Babayaga (Uncle Mo), the dark bay was bred by St. Elias Stables and RNA'd for $120,000 at Keeneland September last fall.

The colt was the second from the SGV Thoroughbreds to turn in a :9 4/5 work this week at OBS. A filly by Flameway (hip 37, video) hit that mark for the consignment Sunday.

The final sets of Sunday's initial session of the under-tack show had horses working into a headwind, but it was the earlier sets Monday that had to deal with the wind, according to Dunne.

“All the way through the first set and through the second set, there was a pretty good headwind and then it seemed to get quieter towards the end of the day,” Dunne said. “We had a horse go :10 1/5 in the last set, so I think the track has been consistent the whole way through, which is all we can ask.”

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. Bidding commences each day at 10:30 a.m.

The post Bregman’s No Nay Never Colt Steals the Show at OBS Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Mendelssohn, Bolt d’Oro Fillies Set the Pace at OBS Sunday

A filly by Mendelssohn (hip 141) had the fastest furlong breeze of Sunday's first session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, while a daughter of Bolt d'Oro (hip 3) turned in the day's fastest quarter-mile breeze.

Consigned by Off the Hook, LLC, hip 141 worked the furlong in :9 3/5 an hour and a half into Sunday's session of the breeze show. The bay filly is out of the unraced Caroline Victoria (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), a daughter of graded winner Mighty Caroline (Stormy Atlantic) and from the family of Grade I winner American Theorem. She was bred in Florida by J Stables and Gelfenstein Farm.

Hip 3 skipped her quarter-mile in :20 3/5 just minutes into the session, which began at 8 a.m. with temperatures in the upper 60s. The dark bay filly is out of stakes winner and graded-placed Above Fashion (Paddy o'Prado). She is consigned by Brandon and Ali Rice's RiceHorse Stable, which purchased her for $160,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October Sale.

The New York-bred filly will sell just at the start of the four-day Spring sale Apr. 25, so Brandon Rice said he knew she needed to set herself apart from the crowd with her work Sunday.

“She has the tactical speed to go an eighth, but we decided, with her being so early in the sale, we couldn't afford to blend in,” Rice said. “We wanted to make sure that we set ourselves apart. We knew that she had tenacity and a will to run and that's the heart that you find in those good horses. We were delighted that she was able to put her best foot forward.”

Ali and Brandon Rice are both from legendary pinhooking families and RiceHorse Stable had almost immediate success when the couple teamed up. Humble and Hungry (Limehouse), a $7,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling sold for $200,000 at the 2010 OBS Spring Sale and went on to be a graded-stakes winner on the track.

“Ali and I, we play pretty humble pinhooking and we make a living modestly in this business trying to flip horses in partnerships and on our own,” Rice said. “We buy horses for $5,000 and $10,000–kind of like my dad [Bryan Rice] did when he had a Breeders' Cup champion [Storm the Court] a couple years back with a $5,000 horse who sold for $60,000. And our first pinhook together was a $7,000 horse who sold for $200,000.”

The Rices knew early on that they had something special with their speedy filly.

“Every once in a while, we get these moments of brilliance where we have an elite athlete and they usually show themselves in early spring when you breeze them and they have a big stride and just ridiculous stamina,” Rice said. “She was one of those that was just a step better than most other horses all season in her turn of foot and her love of the game, her willingness. And she has a huge stride that made everything look easy.”

Rice agreed the filly's six-figure yearling price was an unusual stretch for the operation.

“We don't usually drift up into the six figures,” he said. “We haven't had an investor that has asked to play on, what I call, high-stakes poker pinhooker. The bread-and-butter pinhooking that my family has raised me on is between $5,000 and $50,000 and that is probably the comfort zone. And then we will stretch on up to $60,000, $70,000 or $80,000 at times. But we aren't strangers to the six figures. We've done it and we've had clients send us horses that are six-figure horses that we tried to fetch a profit for. We've learned a lot from working from other people–we had I'm a Chatterbox (Munnings) back in the day and we had Talk Veuve to Me (Violence). We've had a few really good fillies that have helped to evolve my eye.”

By the last set of Sunday's session, which ended shortly after 1 p.m., temperatures were up in the mid-80s and there was a noticeable headwind, according to Rice.

“Throughout the day, the headwind was picking up for the last couple of sets,” Rice said. “I had a couple of :10 2/5 and :10 3/5's that suffered from it. And then the warmth–it definitely feels like spring in Florida–that weather does slow things down, as does the headwind. So it might have been a tick or two slower as the day went on. That's normal. Anyone that shops at sales knows that.”

The under-tack show continues through Saturday, with each session beginning at 8 a.m. The Spring sale will be held Apr. 25-28 and bidding commences each day at 10:30 a.m.

The post Mendelssohn, Bolt d’Oro Fillies Set the Pace at OBS Sunday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

OBS Spring Under-Tack Show Begins Sunday

The first of seven sessions of the under-tack show ahead of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training begins Sunday morning at 8 a.m.

Hip numbers 1-175 are scheduled to breeze Sunday, followed by hips 176-350 Monday; hips 351-525 Tuesday; hips 526-700 Wednesday; hips 701-875 Thursday; hips 876-1050 Friday; and hips 1051-1222 next Saturday.

The OBS Spring sale will be held Apr. 25 through Apr. 28. Sessions begin daily at 10:30 a.m.

The post OBS Spring Under-Tack Show Begins Sunday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post