Sanford Bacon Passes Away

Longtime New York breeder Sanford Bacon passed away Friday. He was 95. Bacon bred hard-knocking Say Florida Sandy (Personal Flag), a multiple graded stakes winner and earner of over $2 million, as well as his half-sister Dancin Renee (Distinctive Pro). Both were named New York-bred champions. Say Florida Sandy was New York Horse of the Year in 2001 and 2002 and a three-time champion sprinter in the state. Graded stakes winner Dancin Renee was named New York Horse of the Year, as well as champion sprinter and champion older female, in 1997.

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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Awesome Slew Colt Sets Furlong Mark at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Tuesday

TIMONIUM, MD – The three-day under-tack show ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale began on a picture-perfect day in Timonium Tuesday with a colt by Awesome Slew (hip 91) working the bullet furlong of :10 flat early in the first of the day's seven sets. The juvenile is consigned by Tom McCrocklin, who purchased him on behalf of Michael Sucher's Champion Equine for $150,000 at last year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's October Yearling Sale.

“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’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.

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For Loya, It All Comes Full Circle for OBS Debut

Cesar Loya, who was first introduced to Thoroughbreds as a kid when his father worked for Dr. Pug and Susie Hart, will offer his first consignment at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale next week and it seems fitting the star of his five-horse draft may well be a filly by Mitole (hip 738) that Loya and his wife Danielle Jones-Loya raised on behalf of the Harts on their Ocala farm.

“My dad worked for Dr. Pug and Susie Hart. I grew up at their farm from when I was seven years old,” Loya said. “I've known Dr. Hart for 30 years now. I have this horse for them and they've given me an opportunity to go out on my own. So it's all come full circle.”

Despite his early immersion in the Thoroughbred world, Loya initially had other career plans.

“I did a stint in the military,” Loya, who was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, explained. “I did four years in the military.”

After four years, Loya decided it was time for a new direction.

“When I got out, I went to work for [Ocala horseman] Steve Venosa,” Loya said. “He pretty much took me under his wing. He gave me the opportunity. That's when I knew that I loved the horses.”

In addition to Venosa, Loya said he gained valuable experience from his late mother-in-law, Brenda Jones, who passed away in 2018.

“Brenda Jones was a great, great horse buyer and pinhooker,” Loya said. “Getting to be around her taught me a lot.”

Loya spent 16 years working for Venosa before deciding to head out on his own last year.

Asked what had prompted the decision, Loya chuckled and said, “I had a newborn.”

He continued, “We have a farm here in Ocala. So we can train and be self-employed. My wife travels to the sales, too, so now I can travel with her. And I can spend more time with my family.”

As he headed into the under-tack show last week, Loya admitted to some anxiety.

“I think there is always nerves when you do anything you love and are passionate about,” Loya said. “But it was more excitement, I would say. Especially about this filly.”

“This filly,” is the daughter of Mitole out of Olive Branch (Speightstown), a graded-stakes placed mare and half-sister to graded winner Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro). Loya had to wait until the fourth and final session of the under-tack show to unleash the filly, who worked a furlong in :9 4/5 last Friday.

“We raised her,” Loya said of the filly. “I was very high on her since the farm and my expectations [for her Friday] were very high. She has a great disposition. She is very light on her feet and she is an athletic, smart filly.”

Of the filly's work, Loya said, “She proved me right. To myself.”

Loya's connection to the Harts and their faith in him make the filly's stellar work even more meaningful.

“When I decided to go on my own, they were the first people to say, 'We will give you a horse,'” Loya said. “And they gave her to me.”

The sales scene is nothing new to Loya. But what was it like to have horses working under his own name?

“I did it for 16 years for Steve–and he had a lot of fast horses– and you have expectations about what it's going to be like. But to hear your name? It's definitely different.”

Looking back at his first under-tack show as a consignor, Loya said, “I think I had a very good breeze show. They all showed up and did what I thought they would. And I thought their gallop outs were excellent.”

For his first sales season, Loya expects to concentrate on the upcoming OBS sales.

“We own our own horses and we take outside clients,” he said. “I will end up traveling, but this being my first year, I will have horses at April and a few in June.”

With two days left before sales time, Loya has been pleased with the activity at the OBS sales barns.

“I think it's very vibrant,” he said. “All of the top people that you can think of are here on the sales grounds now. There is just a really good feeling in the air.”

The OBS March sale begins Monday and continues through Wednesday with bidding commencing each day at 11 a.m.

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