By Brian DiDonato
The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's two-day Winter Mixed Sale begins Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in Florida with a consignor preferred session of mares and short yearlings (hips 1-254) followed immediately by horses of racing age (hips 255 – 366, including supplements). The auction will conclude on Thursday with an open session of breeding stock.
“I think it's a good catalog,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “We've got a great selection of yearlings as well as mares in foal to some nice sires.”
An under-tack show was held Monday, with unraced 3-year-old colt Ready to Dance (Take Charge Indy) covering three furlongs in a fastest :32 flat. The son of stakes-placed Readybdancing (More Than Ready) and grandson of MSW Silent Serenade (Blare of Trumpets) will be offered by Brent and Crystal Fernung's Journeyman Bloodstock Services, Inc. as hip 318.
“The breeze show went great,” Wojciechowski said. “All the horses were very professional and I thought it went as smoothly as it could go.”
This marks the second year of an adjusted sales schedule at OBS. The sales company cancelled its 2016 October Mixed Sale while renovating its sales pavilion, and subsequently consolidated its two mixed sales into one, the Winter Mixed sale. It also shifted its yearling sale from August to October starting in 2017. OBS had moved its “Day of Champions” to coincide with the winter sale, but has postponed those races this year with a potential date in the fall under consideration.
“The feedback has been positive,” said Wojciechowski when asked about the sales schedule changes. “The January mixed sale kind of supplanted the October sale and took it over, and it seems as though it's a great opportunity for guys to come down from up North–there are plenty of people who have horses being broke here in town, so they get to see horses they already have and attend the sale. We've seen a lot of people from up North on the grounds [Monday] and [Tuesday].”
Last year's sale topper was a Shanghai Bobby short yearling filly (hip 10) consigned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck's Summerfield and purchased by Bill Heiligbrodt's East Hickman Bloodstock for $110,000. East Hickman also picked up the second topper, a $90,000 Into Mischief filly (hip 115) offered by Select Sales, Agent XVIII.
For more information and to livestream this year's sale, visit www.obssales.com.
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