Bacon bred and campaigned Dancin Renee's six-time stakes-winning daughter Risky Rachel (Limehouse). Risky Rachel produced stakes-placed Risky Mischief (Into Mischief), as well as $1-million Fasig-Tipton March 2-year-old Yale (Scat Daddy).

“He was a great friend and I always enjoyed getting a phone call from him during training in the morning because it was always an interesting conversation, to say the least,” said Steve Venosa, whose SGV Thoroughbreds consigned the seven-figure juvenile to the Gulfstream sale in 2018. “He was definitely one of a kind and there will never be another one like him.”

No services had been announced as of Sunday afternoon.

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“He's a very fast horse,” McCrocklin said Tuesday. “I was not surprised to see him work like that. He showed up here and breezed very well.”

The bay colt is out of Cash Reserve (Distorted Humor) and is a half-brother to stakes-placed Reckling (Dialed In) and Campy Cash (Race Day).

“I literally recall telling Michael Sucher that I thought he was the best horse in the [OBS] sale,” McCrocklin said.

Asked if he was surprised by the colt's final price last fall, which made him the most expensive of eight yearlings by his sire to sell in 2022, McCrocklin said, “It was just a very difficult year to buy yearlings. If you had a nice physical horse there was plenty of money out there to buy them. So I wasn't terribly surprised. And it kind of felt like we were going to buy the horse–it didn't feel like a huge stretch. It wasn't one of those 'it was my last bid' stories.”

With the absence of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale from the calendar this year, the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale and the inaugural Midlantic June sale next month in Timonium are the only major juvenile auctions to feature works over a dirt track. The appeal of that surface led McCrocklin to take a 33-horse consignment to Maryland.

“I think buyers like it because they race on dirt predominately,” McCrocklin explained. “I think it gives them a little more confidence. You saw from the times today, it takes a very fast horse to go :10 flat here. Where at OBS on the synthetic racetrack, it's not unusual to see :10 flats all over the place.”

Of the 10 juveniles to work a quarter-mile Tuesday, a colt by Flameaway (hip 15, video) consigned by LG, agent, and a colt by Nyquist (hip 126, video) consigned by Top Line Sales shared the bullet time of :21 3/5.

Top Line Sales also sent out a juvenile by Lookin at Lucky (hip 89) to share the session's second-fastest furlong time. The New York-bred colt, a homebred for Top Line's Torie Gladwell and Jordan Wycoff, turned in a flashy :10 1/5 work during the day's second set.

A bay filly by City of Light (hip 174), who is a half-sister to graded winner The Tabulator (Dialed In), powered through her :10 1/5 work for Steve Venosa's SGV Thoroughbreds.

Becky Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock, which was responsible, not just for last year's $3.55-million May sale topper, but also for GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic), sent out a filly by Munnings (hip 160) who worked the furlong in :10 1/5 in the day's third set.

A pair of juveniles from the first crop of Maximus Mischief shared the second-fastest furlong time Tuesday, with Bryan Ford Training Stable sending out a filly (hip 69, video) and Cary Frommer sending out a colt (hip 125, video) by the graded stakes winner.

The day's six :10 1/5 works also included a filly by Uncle Mo (hip 186). Consigned by Pick View, LLC, the bay is out of Gabriellestoblame (Blame), a half-sister to GI Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist (Uncle Mo). She was bred by Bridlewood Farm.

The under-tack show continues through Thursday with sessions beginning each day at 8 a.m. The Midlantic May sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday. Bidding commences at 11 a.m. for both sessions.

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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.

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“It's been very steady,” consignor Steve Venosa of SGV Thoroughbreds said as he watched his popular Practical Joke filly (hip 63) head out for another show Tuesday morning. “We started with our first show roughly around 8 a.m. and it's been non-stop for the last three hours. The usual faces are here and there are a few new ones, which is always pleasant to see.”

Venosa said the Gulfstream sale, which will be held in the track's paddock beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday, is always a major stop on the calendar for his consignment.

“I think this is the best place to sell a 2-year-old in the world,” Venosa said. “It's a great surface and Fasig-Tipton is a world-class company. The weather is beautiful and I think the sale has been well-received with the amount of people that are here. This is the most important horse sale that I go to. Every year.”

Of the absence of some key consignors, Venosa added, “I am surprised. Because I think, by the amount of people who were here at the breeze show yesterday, and with the state of the market, people want to buy and it's unfortunate they didn't show up. But hopefully the people who are here are going to be rewarded for their efforts.”

Torie and Jimbo Gladwell, whose Top Line Sales had a seven-figure sale at the OBS March sale two weeks ago, will look to keep the momentum going with a three-horse consignment at  Gulfstream.

“We always try to bring five or six to Gulfstream,” Torie Gladwell said. “A couple of clients had a few cross-entered into March and April and we lost one or two. And we ended up with three down here. So it's a typical consignment for us.”

Following Monday's breeze show, consignor Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables described the importance of the Gulfstream sale with its South Florida backdrop and proximity to high-class racing both encouraging buyers to dream big.

“We're selling the dream,” Dunne said.

Gladwell echoed those sentiments Tuesday.

“I think we definitely need to continue this sale down here,” she said. “It's such a great market. A lot of these buyers that come from overseas just really like the atmosphere here and come down with big clients and big owners. It's a sale that we need to continue. Boyd and the Fasig team do a great job entertaining and offering all the hospitality.”

Top Line Sales was represented during Monday's breeze show with a colt by City of Light (hip 100) who worked the furlong in a co-second fastest :9 4/5.

“The track was great yesterday,” Gladwell said. “Horses seemed to go a little faster. They were getting across it a little easier than in previous years. The gallop-outs were faster and they came back not blowing and not as tired.”

Of activity at the barns Tuesday, Gladwell said, “It's been steady. The majority of the big buyers are here. There are some middle-market buyers who are showing up, so I think it's going to be a good market overall. The trainers haven't shown up yet, but I expect they'll come after training hours later today.”

Among the trainers at the barns late Tuesday morning were Bob Baffert, along with bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, as well as Simon Callaghan and agent Ben McElroy, Dale Romans and Gustavo Delgado. Representatives from Stonestreet, Spendthrift and WinStar Farms and major buyer Larry Best were busy shopping, as were agents Pete Bradley, Deuce Greathouse, Fabricio Buffolo, John Dowd, Dennis O'Neill, Jaime Hill, Conor Foley, Justin Casse, Raime Lightner, Joe Brocklebank and Patrick Lawley-Wakelin.

Hoby Kight was enjoying the view from the Hartley/de Renzo Thoroughbreds consignment as a Medaglia d'Oro colt (hip 88) he purchased for $225,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale made repeated trips from the barn to shows Tuesday morning.

“According to my consignors, they said he's been very popular and he's been out all morning,” Kight said with a smile.

Of the colt's appeal as a yearling, Kight said, “I loved his angles. As a 2-year-old guy, you want to buy a horse that you are able to see something that in the future is going to be good, something that for whatever reason, the big guys didn't go for. That's what we do. Everybody sees the obvious horse, but we have to buy the potential.”

The dark bay colt, who worked a furlong in :10 flat Monday, is the second horse Kight has bought for clients Marvin Boyd and Charlie Allen.

“They bought one a couple of years ago and it turned out good,” Kight said. “So this is the second horse they've had with me to do this. I bought the horse [hip 88] and they bought him from me within five minutes.”

Kight agreed the Gulfstream sale was an important stop on the juvenile sales season, particularly because of the Hallandale oval's dirt track.

“It's phenomenal,” he said of the sales results. “You look at all the great horses who have come out of this sale, per number, it's unbelievable.

He continued, “First of all, it's the dirt. There isn't any faking it. They are what they are. It separates them out. I have a couple of other horses for people scattered around because I am a full-fledged supporter of a good dirt horse sale. I believe in it. For what I do, I buy a horse who is always going to be a Corvette. At OBS, they all go fast. On the dirt, you can't do that.”

Danzel Brendemuehl's Classic Bloodstock consignment at Gulfstream includes a colt by Nyquist (hip 62) who worked a furlong in :9 4/5.

“It's been pretty busy,” Brendemuehl said of activity at her sales barn Tuesday. “Especially with just two horses, it's been steady and I've gone through most of my cards already. All of the right people are here. This sale has been a good sale and Boyd and Fasig have taken care of us over the years. We come because of that. The right buyers are always here. They did a great job on the breeze show. They kept the track in great shape. We were lucky the wind died down and we didn't have to deal with that like we did last year.”

Susan Montanye of SBM Training and Sales saw plenty to be optimistic about ahead of Wednesday's sale.

“It looks like there are a lot of people here,” she said. “I think everybody who needs to be here is here. It's beautiful weather and it looked like it was a great breeze show. The track was great. So I think it will be a successful sale for a lot of people. Just from the looks of it, people are here to buy.”

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Steve Venosa, SGV Thoroughbreds

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Consignors were kept busy showing the 136 horses expected to go through the ring Wednesday when bidding begins at 2 p.m.

“This is the first time I sat down since 8 a.m.,” Steve Venosa of SGV Thoroughbreds said shortly after noon Tuesday as his popular colt by Nyquist (hip 146) headed out for another showing. “That one horse there has probably been out all morning. They've all been out. It hasn't let up yet. Everybody is here.”

Fasig-Tipton was forced to cancel its 2020 renewal of the Gulfstream sale due to the pandemic and consignors and buyers both seemed pleased to be back in South Florida for the boutique auction.

“It is good to be back out here,” Venosa said. “Last year was an odd year for everyone. Just to get back here and see all of the activity, it's very refreshing. We are really looking forward to a good sale.”

A few consignments up the row, Dean de Renzo of Hartley/de Renzo Thoroughbreds was also taking advantage of a brief interlude between showings of the operation's popular Gun Runner colt (hip 181).

“We have one of the top horses in the sale, so they usually take a lot of time,” de Renzo said as the handsome chestnut once again headed out of the barn. “He's been out all day. But it feels good to be back here after missing last year.”

DeRenzo and partner Randy Hartley purchased hip 181 for $140,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale and he worked a furlong in :10 1/5 during Monday's under-tack preview.

“We bought that horse kind of just on a gut feeling in the back ring,” de Renzo recalled. “We loved him then and thought we had bought a really nice horse. And he's had a great year for us training and here, under pretty tough conditions, he just came through it all. We knew it coming in that he would, but after seeing that first part of the racetrack, we thought maybe this isn't the place we should be. I guess good horses can get through things.”

De Renzo said holding the under-tack show over Gulfstream's dirt track allowed buyers to separate the talent on display.

“We only have three, but they all performed well considering the conditions we had with the heat, deep racetrack and wind,” de Renzo said. “But that's what I do like about the dirt and breezing on the dirt, when they do get through it, people know that's the horse and then it turns out to be the right horse. We like that because if we have a horse that really performs well, but he's not the right horse, it looks bad on us. We're happy to be here.”

Of expectations heading into the sale, de Renzo said, “I think the sale is going to be strong. I think there are a lot of really nice horses here. After a year off, I think people have settled down a little more about the pandemic, there is more of a comfort zone. So I have good expectations that the sale is going to be what it was two years ago.”

Eddie Woods was the leading consignor at the juvenile sales season's first auction, the OBS March Sale, and the Irishman was seeing similar action at the Gulfstream barns.

“It's been very busy,” Woods said. “It's just backing off a little now. But we've seen everyone and they've been working hard. It just has a good feel to the whole thing, a bit like the March sale. Maybe not as many people as in the March sale, but there aren't as many horses to go around either.”

Woods continued, “The expectations are high here. Fasig has been very high on how the sale has been received by their customers and I'm sure with the credit applications. And we will see what happens.”

Tristan de Meric of de Meric Sales admitted he was one of many consignors who had been surprised by the strength of the market last month in Ocala. He said he hopes the momentum only builds from there.

“I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the market at OBS,” de Meric said. “We sold 26 out of 26 horses that we led to the ring. It was a great sale. I can't complain about that. And if the year can build off of that, like it has historically, hopefully we are in for a fun season. For the right ones anyway.”

After a year of uncertainties and frustrations, buyers are ready to move forward, observed Clovis Crane of Crane Thoroughbred Services.

“All of the buyers are here, so all of the stars are aligned for a huge sale,” Crane said. “If you have good horses, they are going to buy them, it's pretty apparent.”

Crane continued, “I think there is still a lot of uncertainty, but I think there is also optimism. I think the election being over and the uncertainty of that and COVID–I hate to say under control– but there is light at the end of the tunnel, so I think that's a positive. And I think there is optimism. People want to move forward. People don't want to be held back and they are sick of the media telling them the sky is going to fall. We are going to move forward and people are excited to move forward. Racehorses are something to go do and have fun with. It's exciting, the racehorse business. That's what people need right now. They need something exciting and positive.”

When it was last held in 2019, 59 horses sold for $29,115,000 at the Gulfstream sale. The average was $493,475 and the median was $375,000. A colt by Curlin brought the auction's top price, selling for $3.65 million and that youngster was one of six to sell for seven figures at the sale.

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