Thoughts from Ocala | Horse Racing Free Tips

Thoughts from Ocala: Stars in the Making

As the OBS March 2-Year-Old in Training Sale's breeze show concludes on Sunday and with just a few weeks until the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, we looked at a few promising 2-year-olds that were given high praise from their consignors and have high-class pedigrees. Could these youngsters be future stars in the making?

EDDIE WOODS

2020 c. Gun Runner – Sacre Coeur, by Saint Ballado. Hip 93 at OBS March. Watch :21 3/5 work here.

This colt is a half-brother to MGISW Lady Eli (Divine Park) with a fabulous pedigree. He's a really nice horse and is a beautiful mover. He's not raging fast, but he's incredibly stylish and he keeps growing, which is a good thing. He's all quality. He's different [in his training in comparison to Lady Eli.] He's all Gun Runner. He's laid-back, he'd eat you out of house and home, and he's just a cool horse.

JIMBO GLADWELL

2020 f. American Pharoah – Just Parker, by Forest Camp. Hip 532 at OBS March.

We've got an American Pharoah filly at OBS March that could be any kind of filly. She's done everything we have asked at what looks like half speed. She's doing the same thing the other horses are doing, but it looks like she's in a high gallop. She has a big way of going, she's very smart, and is a big, robust filly. She doesn't look like she needs the grass. It looks like she's going to have a very fast turn of foot. We're super excited about her. American Pharoah is red hot right now and she could be our big horse at OBS.

NICK DE MERIC

2020 f. Nyquist – Financial Recovery, by Street Cry (Ire). Hip 425 at OBS March.

She's a big, husky, stout filly in the Uncle Mo and Nyquist mold. She's steadily gotten better and better in everything we've done with her. We've had a few Nyquists and he's a sire that really impresses me. I love the way they're built. They're big, strong horses with a lot of bone and substance but also, with the ones we've had anyway, they've been really good to work with. They handle the pressure well, they eat, they stay sound. The other thing I like about this filly is that she's really got a natural turn of foot. There was no genius training to make that happen. It's just very natural for her.

2020 f. Into Mischief – Ervsayslethergo, by Hold Me Back. Hip 412 at OBS March. Watch :10 1/5 work here.

I have several Into Mischiefs, including the filly out of Ervsayslethergo, and you've got to love those. Into Mischief is just a remarkable stallion, as obviously the whole world knows by now. They all seem to thrive on the training, they handle it so well mentally, and it just seems like they've almost been here before. It's like you don't have to teach them, they just already know it.

SUSAN MONTANYE

2020 c. Malibu Moon – My Sugar Bear, by Giant's Causeway. Hip 30 at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream.

This colt came out of the Saratoga Fasig-Tipton Sale. He is a big, strong, strapping colt. He is the half-brother to Friar's Road (Quality Road), who won the GII San Marcos S. for Mike McCarthy at Santa Anita. He is probably 16'1 and a 10 mover, so he should be pretty exciting down there at the Miami Sale.

CIARAN DUNNE

2020 c. Into Mischief – La Verdad, by Yes It's True. Hip 23 at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream.

2020 f. Into Mischief – Vaudevillian, by Distorted Humor. Hip 74 at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream.

Obviously for Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream, it's a sale we've always targeted with what we perceive to be our two-turn dirt horses. They're easily the best of the best from what we see early on. This year we are taking two Into Mischiefs down there. They're two very different horses. The filly is very forward and early, whereas the colt is a late foal, but he does everything right. Just as long as he keeps moving forward, we'll go there with him and I think when he shows up, he'll make a lot of noise.

2020 c. Medaglia d'Oro – Mahasen, by Tapit. Hip 28 at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream.

Another colt we're very high on for Fasig-Tipton is the Medaglia d'Oro colt out of Mahasen. He's a big, strong, two-turn horse out of a Tapit mare. He looks like exactly what you want in a two-turn dirt horse and everything he's done to this point has given us that indication.

See our full 'Thoughts from Ocala' series here.

The post Thoughts from Ocala: Stars in the Making appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Thoughts from Ocala Part 3: Finding Value in Freshman Sires

Justify, City of Light, Mendelssohn, Good Magic and Bolt d'Oro all received glowing reviews by various consignors in parts one and two of our 'Thoughts from Ocala' series. Logically enough, this select group of freshman sires holds the top five stud fees amongst their stallion crop in the U.S., each standing for $20,000 or more in 2022.

While 'value' and 'freshman sires' are two terms rarely used in the same sentence in this industry, as buyers can surely attest, we asked consignors to point out a few first-crop sires who might be flying under the radar now, but could very well be making headlines when their 2-year-olds take to the sales ring and the racetrack. The responses we received were all across the board, but each of the freshman sires noted stand for under $15,000 this year and could eventually wind up creating valuable opportunities for breeders and buyers alike.

CIARAN DUNNE: Wavertree Stables

Our sleeper horse is probably Always Dreaming. We only have two, but if they're reflective of what the rest of them are, I would think that he's a horse with a big future. They've got a beautiful way of going and they act like horses that will stay all day long. We have a colt out of Silent Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) who goes to OBS March [Hip 121]. He's a half-brother to Epicenter (Not This Time), who wants to go long, so we have high hopes for him.

Mor Spirit is obviously a horse that we're a little bit biased on having had him as a yearling and selling him as a 2-year-old, but the colt out of Follow My Tail (Indian Charlie) was probably one of his more expensive yearlings [$160,000 at FTJuly] and he has trained accordingly. He's going to OBS March [Hip 437] and I think everybody will know who Mor Spirit is when he's done.

Another stallion who maybe is a little under the radar is Good Samaritan. Again, we have a very small sampling. We only have one, but she is just a wonderfully-athletic filly. She came to us late, but she's done everything right and she's going to the March Sale [Hip 404] because she pointed herself there rather than us deciding it for her. We're quite excited about her. I think she'll be a neat filly down the road.

JIMBO GLADWELL: Top Line Sales

We have a Tapwrit filly that has really shown a lot of speed early and should be a nice filly over at OBS March [Hip 309]. She has looked like she would go 10 flat from the day we bought her. All we've done is maintained that and kept her going in the right direction. She's good-minded and a really good-moving filly with a lot of balance and muscle. We're very happy with the way she's broken out. Tapwrit was a sire that kind of flew under the radar for us, but she's really gone the right way and is going to be really fast at the sale.

We also have a really nice U.S. Navy Flag filly that came over from Europe. She's doing really well and we're very happy with her. She handles the training and has had no issues with anything we've thrown at her. I think she's going to really throw a big work over at OBS March [Hip 368] and we're very happy with the way she's coming along.

NIALL BRENNAN:

Obviously there are a lot of nice freshman sires this year, but there are a few I don't have any by so it's hard to comment.

However a stallion that I feel like could be very much under the radar is Cloud Computing. I've got two lovely fillies by him that are big, strong, scope-y, classy fillies. They're beautiful movers on the racetrack. They're very light on their feet, very athletic and they act like they've got speed.

One is out of a Malibu Moon mare and the other one is out of a Rock Hard Ten mare. They're both bred to run all day, but they sure look like they'll get over the ground pretty quick to me. I'm impressed with them. Just because of those two fillies, I'm going to pick him as an under-the-radar stallion.

NICK DE MERIC:

Bucchero is as a local stallion in Florida. He's a son of Kantharos, who is a sire that we've had great luck with over the years and we are particularly fond of. We've sold some good Kantharos 2-year-olds over the years. Bucchero seems to be getting nice individuals. We've seen a lot of them at local yearling sales. They seem to be precocious, athletic and quick, and we have a Bucchero filly going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 473] who would fit that description on all accounts.

SUSAN MONTANYE: SBM Training and Sales

I have an Always Dreaming colt that actually is the half-brother to We the People (Constitution), who just broke his maiden for Rudolphe Brisset. This colt is potentially targeting the OBS April Sale. I might even wait until Maryland, depending on what the brother does. He's a big, two-turn, cool horse. I think Always Dreaming might be a little bit under the radar. I know there are other people who have some and they think that they're a little on the early side as well.

I have an Army Mule colt going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 3]. He's more of a two-turn horse. He's a big, pretty colt and has been straightforward. I have another Army Mule filly going to OBS March [Hip 298] as well, and she is going to be hopefully really fast. She's more of a sprinter type. Fingers crossed, she should work lights out and I think Army Mule should be well received. I don't know that the Army Mules are stamped as only sprinters or only two-turn horses. I think he could kind of get you both.

The post Thoughts from Ocala Part 3: Finding Value in Freshman Sires appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Thoughts from Ocala Part 1: Freshman Sires

With the start of the 2-year-old in training sales just around the corner, a visit to Ocala proved to be informative as we checked in with consignors who are starting the fine-tuning process with their sales horses. In the weeks leading up to the OBS March Sale, which starts March 15, we will release a series of video features covering the topics everyone is talking about as the sales season approaches: Who might be this year's top freshman sire? Which freshman sires could be flying under the radar? What horses are these consignors most looking forward to presenting to the market? And speaking of the market, what are consignors' thoughts on the overall health of the 2-year-old market in 2022?

In this first episode, we spoke with Eddie Woods, Nick de Meric and Susan Montanye about the freshman sires whose 2-year-olds have impressed them most throughout the breaking and training process, and we asked them to show us a few of those sires' most promising progeny that we will see at the sales in the coming weeks.

EDDIE WOODS

This year's freshman sires are a good group overall, probably better than average.

The Justifys are way more precocious than I thought they would be. We have a Justify colt out of Runway Doll (Majestic Warrior) who is a lovely colt going to OBS March [Hip 89]. He's all quality and is built like a tank

The Good Magics are very nice horses. They're laid-back, kind of Curlin-y type horses. We have a Good Magic colt out of Jane Says (Tale of Ekati) going to OBS March [Hip 520]. He's a beautiful-looking horse and we're really happy with him. We have several other Good Magic 2-year-olds who are going to the races that are quite nice.

The City of Lights are beautiful, big, strong, strapping horses. We have a City of Light colt out of Forest Gamble (Forest Wildcat) that is going to OBS March [Hip 439] and is a magnificent-looking horse, so we are looking forward to offering him.

The Mendelssohns also have a lot of quality. They look like they might just take a little bit of time. The Accelerates are looking good as well.

NICK DE MERIC

We have a reasonable cross-section of first-year sires this year. I'd say the ones that have impressed me at this point in the game would include Good Magic, for sure, Bolt d'Oro and West Coast. We have a couple of really nice West Coasts. Mendelssohn is another that has really got my attention. I only have one Justify, but she's a lovely filly and I'm hearing good things from other people about the Justifys, so he would definitely be on the list as well. Some of the horses we have by these first-year sires are going to sales and some of them are going straight to the races.

I have two Good Magic colts and they're kind of different types physically. One is a big, husky individual and the other is a little on the smaller, more nimble side, but they're both taking a little bit of added pressure really well. They're eating the bottom out of their feed tubs, they're light on their feet and everything that we've done with them they've done well within themselves with plenty in reserve. We haven't really squeezed on them yet, but we're just getting to a point where we're asking a little bit more from them and they seem to be handling everything so easily.

I've got a Bolt d'Oro filly out of Scorpio Queen (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}) who has been breezing really well. She's another one that is doing, if anything, a little more than she's being asked for. She's going to OBS April. She's a big, rugged filly. She seemed to be all head and no body when she first arrived here, but as she's grown and filled out and her musculature has improved, she's starting to look really balanced and I really like the way she's been breezing. She's looking like she could be a good one. We've had several others Bolt d'Oros as yearlings and we've been noting at the sales that he's consistently getting good individuals, so that's also a good indicator.

Susan Montanye and her OBS March-bound Bolt d'Oro colt out of Queen of May | Katie Petrunyak

SUSAN MONTANYE: SBM Training and Sales

I've been really impressed so far with the Bolt d'Oros. I actually have several of them, one going to the OBS March Sale, one going to the Miami sale, one possibly going to the OBS April Sale and a couple that are going to the races. They've all been light on their feet, very precocious and they love to train. I think it's going to be a big year for Bolt.

My Bolt d'Oro colt going to the OBS March Sale is out of Queen of May (Bernardini) [Hip 51]. If I were rich, he wouldn't be for sale. I just absolutely love him. He is all business. He looks like he'll be fast and want to stretch. There really isn't anything to knock on him. I can't wait to see who ends up getting him and then root him on in his career because I think he's going to be special.

The other colt out of Platinum Song (My Golden Song) is actually a May foal, but he's a big boy. We are taking him down to the Miami sale [Hip 44]. He's a little bit different that the Queen of May colt. I think he's going to be maybe just a tad bit of a later bloomer than Queen of May, but he's going to be a phenomenal individual on the racetrack.

I also have a couple City of Lights. I have a filly out of Edith Court (Pomeroy) going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 405]. She's super fun and classy. I think she's going to be really fast early, more of a sprinter type.

The post Thoughts from Ocala Part 1: Freshman Sires appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post