Ocala Breeders' Sales Company | Horse Racing Free Tips

Distorted Humor Colt Brings $700k at OBS

A colt by Distorted Humor, supplemented to the OBS July sale, sold for $700,000 to bloodstock agent Jacob West late in Thursday’s final session of the three-day auction. Out of Tizacity (Tizway), the juvenile was consigned by McKathan Bros. and was purchased by Kevin McKathan for $165,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October sale. Co-breeder Matt Lyons purchased Tizacity for $5,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton February sale.

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OBS July Sale Starts Tuesday

The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age sale, the last of the company’s traditional three juvenile auctions which this year have all been billowed and buffeted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, gets underway Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. OBS staged its March sale just as the pandemic was causing mass shutdowns and economic upheaval across the globe and, at the close of business, the two-day auction had suffered across-the-board declines and a buy-back rate of 40%. The OBS Spring Sale, pushed from its normal April dates to mid-June, seemed to fare better as racing began opening up again, with a buy-back rate of just 19%, albeit with a significant number of horses scratched from the catalogue. The July sale, which is being held a full month later than its originally scheduled date, comes as summer racing heats up at the marquee Del Mar and Saratoga meets, but uncertainty still looms as virus cases continue to spike in some parts of the U.S.

“We are starting to see more racing around the country and we are glad to see racing going forward,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “But we are still dealing with a level of uncertainty. What you hear every day on the news isn’t necessarily helpful to our cause, but we’ve got a good group of horses here and if somebody needs a 2-year-old, there are plenty of them here.”

OBS unveiled its online bidding platform during the Spring Sale and is expecting increased internet participation at its three-day July sale.

“I think we’ve created a great avenue for buyers, in the event that they are not comfortable traveling or are unable to travel, with the online bidding,” Wojciechowski said. “That proved to be wildly successful in the first sale and I think it will become a bigger part of the process moving forward. There have been more registrations [ahead of the July sale] and even anecdotal information with people saying, ‘Hey, I am not going to be able to make it down, but I plan to bid online,’ and ‘I’ve got somebody there looking at horses for me.'”

OBS staged a six-session under-tack show ahead of the July sale. A pair of New York-bred juveniles shared the fastest furlong time, a filly by Not This Time (hip 640, :9 4/5) and a colt by Laoban (hip 983, :9 4/5), while a colt by Half Hours (hip 383) turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of :20 1/5.

“I thought the under-tack show went very well,” Wojciechowski said. “Nobody sells more 2-year-olds or breezes more 2-year-olds anywhere in the world than OBS. Nobody has six-day breeze shows or seven-day breeze shows. For us to be able to maintain a fair surface for six or seven days in a row, dealing with variable conditions, with the heat, the rain and the wind, all of those things. I think it was a very fair breeze show from day one to day six.”

Consignors will have another opportunity to sell 2-year-olds at OBS this year. The company has added a 2-year-olds in training session to its October Yearling Sale.

“There has been a lot of positive feedback from consignors on it and we are definitely having a 2-year-old section in our October Yearling Sale,” Wojciechowski said.

At the close of business of last year’s June sale, OBS had sold 183 horses for a total of $7,426,100. The average was $40,580 and the median was $17,000. The buy-back rate was 19%. A filly by Into Mischief attracted the highest price ever at the auction when bringing a final bid of $900,000.

The July sale will run Tuesday through Thursday with bidding beginning each day at 10 a.m.

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Laoban Colt Earns Furlong Bullet at OBS Under-Tack Finale

A colt by Laoban work the co-fastest furlong of the week Sunday during the sixth and final session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale under-tack show. The session, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed a day after lightning damaged the track’s timing equipment.

From the first crop of GII Jim Dandy S. winner Laoban (Uncle Mo), hip 983 was the second juvenile to work the furlong in :9 4/5 during the under-tack show. Out of One Look (Henny Hughes), the bay is consigned by Jesse Hoppel’s Coastal Equine.

“This track has played really weird all week,” Hoppel said. “But the way he prepped, we thought he’d be a :10 flat type horse. If you think they are in one spot, you get lucky and they go a little bit faster and, if you have some bad luck, sometimes they go a little bit slower. But he was really spot on today. He did really good.”

A full 27 juveniles worked the furlong in :10 flat during the week. Hip 983 and hip 640, a daughter of Not This Time, were the only of the week to work in under :10.

“I think it will highlight him for sure,” Hoppel said of the bullet. “But if the horse made a good video-which I think he did, he’s got a really good way of moving–then he will be just fine. I don’t think you have to necessarily be the bullet to sell a horse well. As long as the horse has good action and they go fast the right way, that’s the thing, they have to go fast the right way. Sometimes you get a horse that goes really fast and they look like something is about to fly off. And that’s no good. But I think he did it the right way, so they’ll appreciate it.”

Hoppel is consigning the colt on behalf of a group of friends who partnered to buy the youngster for $3,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale. Luis Franco signed the ticket in Lexington last fall.

“He is a robust, strong, aggressive colt,” Hoppel said of the juvenile. “He is a horse that doesn’t not show up. Some of these colts sometimes they get a little lazy or they start thinking about other things. He’s a very game individual.”

Hoppel sent out 11 juveniles to work during the week at OBS–including the bullet quarter-mile worker on the first day of the under-tack show–and the consignor said the track shifted from session to session as conditions went from hotter to cooler temperatures and was hit by several major rainstorms.

“I think the biggest part of the track is that it’s heat sensitive,” Hoppel said. “And dealing with July in the state of Florida, heat is an issue. That track gets to be a softer, slower playing track the more heat that is on it. When it is cold, the track is hard and fast. So this week, we had rain, we had heat, it just depends on was it a cold rain that cooled the track off or not. We had some days that were faster than other days. I had enough horses here that I had a good sampling throughout the week and I know where these horses are amongst themselves. So I know some days were different than other days. And those good agents, they know this track plays different day to day, so they will measure these horses on a per-day basis.”

A filly by Bahamian Squall (hip 1030) turned in Sunday’s fastest quarter-mile work when covering the distance in :20 3/5. Consigned by McKathan Brothers Sales, the dark bay filly was supplemented to the July Sale. She is out of Up for Grabs (First Samurai) and was purchased by Fernando Velasquez for $1,000 at last year’s OBS October Yearling Sale.

A colt from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Protonico (Giant’s Causeway) equaled the fastest three-furlong work of the week when covering the distance in :33 flat Sunday for Whitman Sales. Out of Mongolian Changa (Brilliant Speed), the dark bay was purchased by Christy Whitman for $1,000 at the OBS Winter Sale.

The once-raced 3-year-old filly Chambers Creek (Goldencents) (hip 992), consigned by Bobby Dodd, also worked in :33 flat Sunday.

The July sale will be held Tuesday through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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Not This Time Filly Sets Furlong Mark at OBS

A filly by Not This Time worked the fastest furlong of the week during Thursday’s fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale. Consigned by de Meric Sales, the chestnut (hip 640) covered the distance in :9 4/5. She is out of Exotic Design (A.P. Indy), a daughter of multiple Grade I winner Exotic Wood (Rahy) and a full-sister to stakes winner Key to Power. Silvestre Avila purchased the youngster for $19,000 at last year’s OBS October Yearling Sale.

“I thought she would be able to work in :10 flat or :10 1/5,” Avila, who is partners with his brother-in-law Chalino Lopez on the filly, said. “She had been training very well and she prepped over there very, very well. So I thought she could do :10 flat, but this :9 4/5 is better for me.”

Of the filly’s appeal last fall, Avila said, “I liked the filly when I saw her in the barn. She’s a nice-looking filly with beautiful lines. And I like to buy the new sires.”

Avila agreed he had picked the right new sire last season, with the red-hot Not This Time already represented by three winners on the racetrack and a million-dollar juvenile in the sales ring.

“Exactly. I got lucky,” he said with a laugh.

Avila and Lopez enjoyed a major pinhooking score with another first-crop sire at last year’s OBS March sale, selling a filly by Daredevil purchased for $5,000 at OBS October for $155,000.

Avila has been working for the de Merics for the past eight years and Tristan de Meric called him a “vital member of our team.”

After last year’s success at the March sale, Valery de Meric said of Avila, “He does everything for us. He lives on the farm, he breezes and preps all the 2-year-olds, he night watches for us, he even watches the kids for us sometimes.”

The Not This Time filly is the only yearling Avila purchased last year.

“When I bought that one last year, I tried on a few others, but didn’t get them,” Avila said. “I like to buy one or two a year. She’s the only one this year, but hopefully she’s the right one.”

A colt by Ghostzapper (hip 639) turned in Thursday’s fastest quarter-mile work of :21 1/5. He is out of Excellent News (Rahy), a half-sister to graded stakes winner Here’s to You (Bertrando). The bay is consigned by Randy Bradshaw who purchased the youngster for $250,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 7:30 a.m. The July sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday with bidding commencing each day at 10 a.m.

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