Ron Fein | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pair of McKinzie Colts, Munnings Filly Share OBS Bullet Wednesday

A pair of colts from the first crop of McKinzie and a filly by Munnings shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 during the first session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Wednesday in Central Florida.

Consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, the daughter of Munnings (hip 26) was the first to set the bullet mark some 15 minutes into the under-tack show. The bay is out of the unraced Ansaam (Bernardini), a half-sister to Grade I winner Denman's Call (Northern Afleet) and from the family of multiple Grade I winner Evening Jewel. She was a $95,000 purchase at last year's Keeneland September sale.

The very next horse to work Wednesday, hip 17, a colt by McKinzie consigned by Raul Reyes's Kings Equine, also worked in :9 4/5.

“He did it the way I expected him to,” Reyes said of the work. “He was superior up at the farm. He showed a lot of talent there and he stepped up to the plate today. He is just a big, strong-looking horse. He looks like the real thing.”

The dark bay is out of multiple stakes winner Altamura (Artie Schiller). He was purchased by Scott and Evan Dilworth for $135,000 as a weanling at the 2022 Keeneland November sale before RNA'ing for $125,000 back at Keeneland last September.

“Scott bought him as a weanling and he didn't sell him as a yearling,” Reyes said. “They got lucky they didn't sell him because he really showed up today.”

Asked how the colt had changed over the winter, Reyes said, “He just got more tucked up and muscled. I thought he was a good-looking horse when I got him, quite honestly.”

An hour into Wednesday's session, hip 89, another son of Gainesway's McKinzie, worked the furlong in :9 4/5. Out of Breech Inlet (Holy Bull), the colt is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed Merveilleux (Paynter). Breech Inlet is a half-sister to graded winner Bauble Queen (Arch), dam of multiple graded winner Blitzkrieg.

The Ontario-bred was purchased by Ron Fein's Superfine Farm for $205,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. He is consigned by Wavertree Stables.

A four-time Grade I winner on the racetrack, McKinzie stands at Gainesway for $30,000.

Reyes said he is a fan of the stallion based on the progeny he has seen so far.

“I love them,” Reyes said. “They have a lot of talent. And they have a good mind. The two that I have experience with so far also have very nice bodies.”

A filly by Bee Jersey (hip 130) turned in Wednesday's fastest quarter-mile when zipping the distance in :20 4/5 for consignor Tom McCrocklin. The juvenile is out of Christmas Cove (More Than Ready), a half-sister to graded winner Coal Play (Mineshaft), as well as to the dam of GI Travers S. winner Keen Ice.

McCrocklin purchased the filly on behalf of Michael Sucher's Champion Equine for $110,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearlings Sale in Saratoga last August.

The dispersal of the Lothenbach Stables of the late Bob Lothenbach, which produced a pair of million-dollar mares at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in February, will continue at the OBS March sale. Fourteen juveniles from the dispersal galloped during the under-tack show Wednesday from the consignments of Brennan and McCrocklin, as well as deMeric Sales and Ocala Stud. An additional 26 juveniles from the dispersal will be on the track during the remaining three sessions of the under-tack show.

The under-tack show began at 8 a.m. Wednesday with temperatures in the upper 60's and, with an increasing headwind as the day wore on, concluded just after 3 p.m. with temperatures near 80 degrees.

“The track was great,” Reyes said. “The only thing was the headwind was brutal. It changed later in the day, we experienced a very strong headwind, I would say.”

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The March sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday with bidding beginning each day at 11 a.m.

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City of Light Colt Earns Furlong Bullet at OBS Thursday

A colt by City of Light (hip 570) worked the week's co-fastest furlong of :9 4/5, while a son of First Samurai (hip 588) and a filly by Violence (hip 703) shared the day's fastest quarter-mile work of :21 flat during the fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Thursday in Ocala. Headwinds increased throughout the session and all three bullet workers were on the track during the day's first set.

Working shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, hip 570 became the 10th juvenile of the week to work the furlong in :9 4/5. The bay colt, consigned by Wavertree Stables, is out of Wear Red (Henny Hughes) and is a half-brother to stakes winner and graded-placed Jessica Krupnick (Uncle Mo). Wear Red is a half-sister to Grade I winner Eskendereya (Giant's Causeway).

Ron Fein's Super Fine Farms purchased the colt for $170,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Omar Ramirez sent out hip 588 to work his :21 flat bullet quarter-mile shortly after the start of Thursday's session of the under-tack show. The colt is out of Woodsboro (Congrats) and his third dam is graded winner La Rosa (Wild Again).

Ramirez acquired the colt for $65,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale. He was purchased by My Little Team Racing for $50,000 following a :10 1/5 work at the OBS Spring sale in April.

Just minutes after that colt worked, Hip 703 turned in her :21 flat quarter-mile work for A.G. Sales. Out of the unraced Brief Tears (Orientate), the dark bay filly is a half-sister to graded winner No Problem (Munnings).

Jose Andres Gaspar purchased the filly for $10,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

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

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Fine Time to Have a Keen Ice Baby

Keen Ice, who has been flying under the radar behind some heavy-hitting first-crop sires, has been non-existent at the 2-year-old sales so far this year, but that's about to change when the Calumet stallion has two juveniles catalogued for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. And the timing couldn't be better following his son Rich Strike's dramatic victory in Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby.

Ron Fein of Superfine Farms and partner Juan Centeno will offer the first colt by Keen Ice to sell at a 2-year-old auction when they send hip 95 through the sales ring in Timonium May 23. The gray colt will be consigned by Centeno's All Dreams Equine.

Fein and Centeno purchased the colt for $17,000 as a weanling at the 2020 Keeneland November sale, but the youngster's appeal wasn't really about his GI Travers S.-winning sire, according to Fein.

“We bought him because of the individual,” Fein recalled Monday. “At that particular time, COVID was in its height, I didn't go to the sale. Juan went to the sale. He looked at the conformation. I worked the book and watched the sale virtually.”

The colt is out of Tap Spin (Arg) (Tapit), a full-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Tapiture, as well as graded winner Rotation and stakes winners Remit and Retap.

“I took a look at the pedigree and I thought was terrific,” Fein said. “Juan liked his conformation and we bought him.”

Fein continued, “We decided instead of selling him as a yearling, we would sell him as a 2-year-old and because of his May birthday, we held off selling him until the Maryland sale.”

Fein and Centeno have already had success selling purchases from that 2020 November sale. The partners purchased a son of Tapwrit for $35,000 as a weanling and resold the colt for $450,000 at last month's OBS Spring sale.

Knowing he had this colt to sell, Fein had been keeping an eye out for other juveniles by Keen Ice to be offered at auction this spring.

“It was just strange that there were no Keen Ices sold,” Fein said. “There weren't any in the earlier sales.”

Asked if he had started to worry about the stallion's commercial appeal, Fein admitted, “You always think about that. But you always look at the individual horse, that's the important thing.”

And Fein is optimistic about the individual he will be offering at the Midlantic sale.

“Absolutely super,” Fein said of how the colt was doing ahead of the sale. “He's got a super head on him. He's got an excellent physical. He seems like he's going to be fast. With his pedigree, I hope that he is. There have been only good things. We are pretty excited about him.”

And the extra buzz of being by a stallion who just sired a Kentucky Derby winner couldn't hurt either.

“I would think it has to help,” Fein said. “I think people should start to look at Keen Ice now. He's a horse that won $3 million, won the Travers. He was a super horse. I have no idea why everybody turned off on him.”

Keen Ice is also represented by a filly in the Midlantic catalogue. Parrish Farms consigns hip 597, a daughter of multiple stakes winner Quality Lass (Exclusive Quality). The juvenile was purchased for $5,000 by Ramiro Salazar, agent, at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. She RNA'd for $29,000 at last year's OBS October Yearling sale.

The under-tack show for the Midlantic sale will be held May 17-19, with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. The auction will be held May 23 and May 24. Bidding begins each day at 11 a.m.

The post Fine Time to Have a Keen Ice Baby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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