OBS Spring Sale Returns Tuesday

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, which was delayed until June in 2020 due to the pandemic, returns to its traditional spot on the calendar when it begins its four-day run in Central Florida Tuesday.

“It feels good to have April back in its normal slot,” agreed OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski.

OBS opened the 2021 juvenile sales season with a competitive renewal of its March sale last month which featured frenetic bidding through a wide swath of the market.

“We certainly would like to capitalize on the momentum from the March sale,” Wojciechowski said. “There were a lot of people on the grounds and a lot of people hungry for horses in March. We hope that trend continues. And there seems to be a good feel on the grounds so far.”

The March sale included a strong middle market. If that trend is to continue at the Spring sale, it will have to do so with the ongoing absence of Korean buyers, who have helped drive the middle market in recent years. South Korea currently has an embargo on importing foreign racehorses as a way to counteract the economic impact of the pandemic on the country's breeding industry.

“I see promise [for the middle market],” Wojciechowski said. “If the demand that we saw in March continues, that will certainly help things. We are going to miss the Korean buyers, but I think we have the capability to pick up that slack.”

OBS hosted a rain-shortened six-session under-tack show last week. The company was forced to cancel the first day of the show due to stormy weather, but added horses each day of the remaining days to compensate. The start of Saturday's final session was delayed over an hour by rain.

“It's April and it sometimes rains in April in Florida, as we all know,” Wojciechowski said. “But fortunately, we had built in a little extra time. The initial plan was to breeze over seven days, but we had that opportunity that if we were presented with a situation like we had on Sunday we could adjust and overcome it. And we got very lucky Saturday, there was rain all around us and rain early in the morning, but we were able to pull it off.”

During the under-tack show, a pair of fillies by first-crop sires earned the quarter-mile bullet of :20 2/5; a daughter of Classic Empire (hip 317, video) and a daughter of Cupid (hip 576, video). Twenty juveniles shared the week's fastest furlong time of :9 4/5.

With 1,217 horses catalogued for the four-day auction, buyers were spread out over the entire OBS backstretch during a busy day of showing around the raindrops Sunday.

“We are dealing with some rain, but in between the rain you see a lot of horses out around the barns and a lot of people looking,” Wojciechowski said. “We have 1200 horses on the grounds and there are horses in all 29 barns. The horses aren't as concentrated in one area, so sometimes it may not look like there are that many people. But there sure are a lot of people out here looking.”

A Top Line Sales-consigned filly by Not This Time topped the 2020 Spring sale when selling for $1.35 million to bloodstock agent Gary Young on behalf of Zedan Racing. Named Princess Noor, she won last year's GI Del Mar Debutante S. The filly was one of two to bring seven figures at the auction. In all, 634 head sold for $57,715,000 for an average of $91,033 and a median of $50,000.

The OBS Spring sale will be held Tuesday through Friday, with bidding beginning each day at 10:30 a.m.

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Zedan Lands Gun Runner Colt at Fasig

Agent Gary Young, acting on behalf of Zedan Racing Stables, went all the way to $1.7 million late in Wednesday's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale to land a colt from the first crop of Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, agent as hip 181, the son of young Ohio-bred MSW Needmore Flattery (Flatter) was $140,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling. He breezed in :10 1/5. Amr Zedan has made a big splash in the racing world in a short amount of time–he campaigned last year's $1.35-million OBSAPR topper and subsequent GISW Princess Noor (Not This Time), and will be represented in Saturday's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby by $35,000 OBSJUN value buy Medina Spirit (Protonico).

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Protonico Colt Keeps Finding for Baffert in Bob Lewis

MEDINA SPIRIT (c, 3, Protonico–Mongolian Changa, by Brilliant Speed) looked to be in deep water throughout the stretch of Santa Anita's GIII Robert B. Lewis S. Saturday, but somehow the pacesetter held off two challengers to get his head down on the line. Roman Centurian (Empire Maker) and Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) were second and third, respectively. The final time was 1:46.26. Favored at even money, Medina Spirit was last seen finishing second to his highly regarded stablemate Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in the GIII Sham S. here Jan. 2. He broke his maiden first out in a Los Al sprint Dec. 11. This was trainer Bob Baffert's record ninth Lewis win, and the first black-type win for young sire Protonico (Giant's Causeway). Sales history: $1,000 ylg '19 OBSWIN; $35,000 2yo '20 OBSOPN. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0.
O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc. B-Gail Rice (FL). T-Bob Baffert.

Saturday, Santa Anita
ROBERT B. LEWIS S.-GIII, $100,500, Santa Anita, 1-30, 3yo,
1 1/16m, 1:46.26, gd.
1–MEDINA SPIRIT, 120, c, 3, by Protonico
                1st Dam: Mongolian Changa, by Brilliant Speed
                2nd Dam: Bridled, by Unbridled
                3rd Dam: Holy Niner, by Holy Bull
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($1,000 Ylg
'19 OBSWIN; $35,000 2yo '20 OBSOPN). O-Zedan Racing
Stables Inc; B-Gail Rice (FL); T-Bob Baffert; J-Abel Cedillo.
$60,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $105,200. Werk Nick
   Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Roman Centurian, 120, c, 3, Empire Maker–Spare Change, by
Bernardini. ($550,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Don Alberto Stable
and Qatar Racing Limited; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY);
T-Simon Callaghan. $20,000.
3–Hot Rod Charlie, 120, c, 3, Oxbow–Indian Miss, by Indian
Charlie. ($17,000 Ylg '19 FTKFEB; $110,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT).
O-Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, LLC and Strauss, William;
B-Edward A. Cox (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $12,000.
Margins: NK, NO, 11. Odds: 1.00, 11.20, 2.50.
Also Ran: Spielberg, Parnelli, Wipe the Slate. Scratched: Rombauer, Waspirant. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Princess Noor Lights ‘Em Up in Chandelier

The GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies will go through unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Princess Noor (Not This Time) following a third straight tour-de-force victory in Saturday’s GII Chandelier S. at Santa Anita.

Making her two-turn debut following an eye-catching debut win at Del Mar Aug. 22 and runaway score in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 6, the $1.35-million OBS Spring topper wasn’t the quickest away from her rail draw beneath Victor Espinoza.

She rode the rail into the first turn, but was no better than third. Princess Noor did not appear completely at ease being stuck down inside, but she jumped into the bridle when taken out into the three path, quickly making progress to sit second into the final turn.

She easily claimed the front-runner with about five-sixteenths of a mile to race and was not asked for her best in strolling through the final 100 yards en route to an 8 1/4-length victory. Stablemate Varda (Distorted Humor) was second.

Princess Noor provided Hall of Famer Bob Baffert with his record 12th Chandelier victory.

“When you are in the one hole, they usually don’t break as well, but I think Victor rode her with a lot of confidence,” Baffert said. “He’s been on enough good horses and he knows. This filly is just incredible and very talented. I don’t train her as hard and I run her into shape. You never know if they can go two turns until they do and it looks like that’s not going to be a problem.”

Princess Noor drew high praise from her rider as well.

“She reminds me of other great horses I used to ride like American Pharoah and California Chrome,” Espinoza said. “The talent is there, we just have to let them be happy around the racetrack. I’ve been riding amazing horses, but as a filly, she’s the best one I’ve ever ridden.”

Pedigree Notes:

It’s a contentious race between the top three freshman sires of 2020, with each sporting two black-type winners to date and their earnings all within range of each other. Not This Time, a son of Giant’s Causeway, leads the list by individual winners with 11 and has two undefeated stakes winners in Princess Noor and Dirty Dangle, who won last week’s Woodbine Cares S., plus the Grade III-placed Hopeful Princess.

Princess Noor made headlines before she even ran as Not This Time’s most expensive sales horse to date when she brought $1.35 million at OBS this spring (:20 1/5), but Not This Time hasn’t done badly in this curtailed yearling sales season either, with 32 sold this year in North America for an average of $135,504 on a $15,000 stud fee. Princess Noor was previously a $135,000 KEESEP yearling.

Princess Noor is out of the 2014 GIII Senorita S. winner Sheza Smoke Show, who has a yearling colt named Protonic Power (Protonico) and delivered a filly by Tapwrit this year. She was bred back to Protonico for 2021. International Equities Holding purchased Sheza Smoke Show, carrying Princess Noor, for $185,000 at the 2017 KEENOV sale.

For a recent profile on breeder Oussama Aboughazale’s International Equities Holding’s operation from Jessica Martini, click here.

Saturday, Santa Anita
CHANDELIER S.-GII, $200,000, Santa Anita, 9-26, 2yo, f,
1 1/16m, 1:45.59, ft.
1–PRINCESS NOOR, 122, f, 2, by Not This Time
                1st Dam: Sheza Smoke Show (GSW, $150,644), by Wilko
                2nd Dam: Avery Hall, by A. P Jet
                3rd Dam: Royal Form, by Dynaformer
TDN Rising Star($135,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $1,350,000 2yo
’20 OBSAPR). O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-International
Equities Holding, Inc. (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Victor Espinoza.
$120,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $303,000. Werk Nick
Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Varda, 122, f, 2, Distorted Humor–She’ll Be Right, by Sky
Mesa. ($100,000 Ylg ’19 SARAUG; $700,000 2yo ’20 OBSAPR).
O-Baoma Corporation; B-Masters 2013 LLC & Distorted Humor
Syndicate (NY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.
3–Miss Costa Rica, 122, f, 2, Hit It a Bomb–Five Star Daydream,
by Five Star Day. ($95,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo ’20
OBSMAR). O-Carroll Boys Racing, Sayjay Racing LLC, Jerry
McClanahan & Richard Baltas; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY);
T-Richard Baltas. $24,000.
Margins: 8 1/4, 9 1/4, NK. Odds: 0.20, 6.20, 9.30.
Also Ran: Illumination, Make Mischief. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

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