Steady Opener to OBS April Sale

OCALA, FL – The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's April 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale opened Tuesday with a steady session and figures largely in line with last year's opening day of the auction. A colt by Hard Spun (hip 207) attracted the day's highest price when selling for $430,000 to trainer Timothy Hills, bidding on behalf of owner Patrick Welsh. In all, 148 horses sold Tuesday for a total of $14,243,500. The average of $96,240 ticked up 1.7% from the 2018 figure of $94,667 and the median rose 12.5% to $58,500. With 63 horses failing to sell, the buy-back rate, before the addition of post-sale transactions, stood at 29%. It was 28.1% at the same time in 2018.

“The numbers are very similar to last year,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “I think it was a good, solid start. We still have three good days left with a lot of horses left to sell.”

Tuesday's topper was one of three to bring $400,000 or over on the day. The top price at last year's opening session was $800,000 and there were five over $400,000. Twelve juveniles sold for $250,000 or more Tuesday, compared to 13 a year ago.

The April sale has again attracted its typical broad buying bench with plenty of international participation.

“I think [the results] demonstrated the international importance of the sale,” Wojciechowski said. “You see buyers from all over, Korea, Japan, the Middle East, as well as domestic buyers. I have been impressed with the wide variety of buyers from all over the world.”

The first session of last week's under-tack preview of the April sale got off to a slow start as the horses battled a heavy headwind. The auction itself got off to a similarly tepid beginning. Ciaran Dunne, whose Wavertree Stables consigned Tuesday's top-priced colt, saw a correlation.

“Whether people want to admit it or not, it's all about time,” Dunne said. “Maybe at the end of the day, if you go fast and don't move good, they are not going to buy you. But if you go slow and move good, they sure aren't going to buy you. It's understandable, if you're an agent or a trainer and you're trying to sell a horse to someone, it's hard to explain to them why you want to buy one that went in :21 4/5 when there is one down the shedrow who went in :20 1/5. So I would say, those horses [who worked Monday] were at a huge disadvantage.”

The sale picked up steam throughout the day and Dunne is expecting that trend to continue throughout the week.

“Today was about like we expected,” he said. “Unfortunately for those horses who sold earlier, they had to deal with that headwind on the first day. And with the change in the schedule, I think people got a little behind. People who came in late, almost bypassed the day, with a combination of the times the horses worked and the time they had to do their work. I think the sale is just going to get stronger as it goes. Obviously, we're seeing a little bit of it now with the horses who breezed the second day and worked quicker. They are starting to sell quicker. So the day was about as expected.”

The April sale continues through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10:30 a.m.

Hard Spun Colt Headed for the Jersey Shore

A colt by Hard Spun will be heading to Monmouth Park after trainer Timothy Hills purchased the youngster for $430,000 at OBS Tuesday on behalf of longtime client Patrick Welsh.

“Patrick Welsh is expanding his stable,” Hills said after signing the ticket on hip 207. “He said, 'Go buy me some horses and I don't want to finish second in the bidding.' I was slowing down, but my wife kept elbowing me to bid one more.”

Asked if the advertised high purses at the upcoming Monmouth meet helped him continue bidding, Hills said, “Absolutely. It sure does. Maybe we can justify what we're paying here.”

The juvenile is out of stakes winner Katerbug (Pulpit), a half-sister to stakes winner Outplay (Bernardini) and to Raconteur (A.P. Indy) and from the family of Clear Mandate. He worked a quarter-mile during the second session of the under-tack preview in :21 flat.

“He's very athletic, with a great walk and a great attitude,” Hills said of the youngster's appeal.

Also Tuesday on behalf of Welsh, Hills purchased a colt by Girolamo (hip 135) for $130,000. At the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, he purchased a colt by Flatter (hip 102) for $350,000.

“I've trained for him for 20 years and he's a wonderful guy,” Hills said of Welsh. “He bought one at Miami for $350,000 and he said, 'Let's go get some more. I'm going to bump up what I can spend. How can I do that?' I told him don't worry, just make the phone call.”

Hip 207 was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables and was purchased by Dunne's Red Wings pinhooking partnership for $105,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“He worked great and he's a beautiful horse,” Dunne said. “But we didn't see that [result] coming. It was one of those pleasant surprises for a change.” @JessMartiniTDN

Uncle Mo Colt Headed to Japan

A colt by Uncle Mo proved to be one of the most popular on day one of the OBS April Sale, selling for $425,000 to Emmanuel de Seroux, who was acting on behalf of Japan's Katsumi Yoshida.

“We liked everything,” said de Seroux, who did his bidding out back, standing along Riki Takahashi. “He was a beautiful horse and a great mover. He has class coming out of his head, he has good bone and has a lot of potential. He is also very good in his mind. We have high hopes for him.”

Consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, Hip 169 breezed in :21 4/5 during a breeze show that was affected by a strong head wind. When asked if he thought the slower times brought on by the wind affected prices, de Seroux said, “Yes, which is good for us. We were there and saw it, so we can take it into consideration.”

Bred by Flaxman Holdings and Airlie Stud, Hip 169 is out of SP Isobel Baillie (GB) (Lomitas {GB}), who is also the dam of MGSW Isabella Sings (Eskendereya), SW & GSP Alaura Michele (Arch) and SW Tobacco Road (Quality Road). The bay colt RNA'd for $275,000 at Keeneland September. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Red Oak & Newtown Anner Partner on Tiznow Colt

The Brunetti family's Red Oak Stable went to $420,000 to secure a well-related son of Tiznow and the colt's breeder, Newtown Anner Stud, decided to stay in as a partner.

“We just loved the colt,” said Red Oak Stable's racing and operations manager Rick Sacco. “He checked all of our boxes. He breezed great, galloped out great, scoped clean, vetted clean. He was a beautiful individual and a great-moving colt.”

“That's what we were hoping would happen,” said Nick Sallusto, an advisor to Newtown Anner Stud. “He was the kind of horse that revealed himself every step of the way. He came here and breezed the way we hoped he would breeze. He showed himself well all week. He is a really classy horse.”

He added, “The Brunetti family and Sacco family have been longtime friends of mine and we are currently involved with them, through another client, in a really nice horse named [GISW] Mind Control (Stay Thirsty). We are looking forward to campaigning the horse with them.”

Sallusto and his partner Hanzley Albina purchased Hip 208's unraced dam Kateri (Indian Charlie) for $167,000 carrying a foal by Paynter at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton February Sale. She is a half-sister to Grade I winner Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow) and undefeated Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint victor Bulletin (City Zip).

“We liked the mare,” Sacco said. “They have a Curlin behind it that is a beautiful individual. We are on a lot of horses so we decided to partner up on a few horses that we really liked, the high-end ones.”

Consigned by Brick City Thoroughbreds, Hip 208 breezed in :21 2/5. The bay colt RNA'd $275,000 at Keeneland September and $175,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October sale.

“For a big horse like himself to breeze that fast at this point in his life is a difficult thing to do and he came out with good energy,” Sallusto said. “He has a really big two-turn pedigree and that is what everyone wanted.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Twirling Candy Filly Trades One Partnership for Another

A filly by Twirling Candy, pinhooked by a group of five partners, was purchased for $335,000 by the newly formed racing partnership Belladonna Racing midway through Tuesday's first session of the OBS April sale. Bloodstock agent David Ingordo signed the ticket on the bay (hip 109) who worked a quarter-mile during the first session of the under-tack show in :21 flat. The juvenile will join the barn of trainer Cherie DeVaux.

“She was my pick of the day of the fillies,” Ingordo said. “It's a whole family we've had–my stepfather trained Mr. Commons (Artie Schiller) and I love Twirling Candy. I think he is the next Lane's End stallion who is going to go up the flagpole. And this is a beautiful filly.”

The filly is out of Henley (Corinthian), a half-sister to the John Shirreffs-trained multiple graded stakes winner Mr. Commons and to graded placed Jungle Fighter (Wild Rush).

Machmer Hall purchased Henley with this foal in utero for $31,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. Hip 109, co-bred by Machmer Hall and D + J Racing Stable, sold for $62,000 to De Meric Sales at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“[Tristan and Valerie] de Meric had 25%,” Machmer Hall's Carrie Brodgen said. “They bought her off of us as a yearling and then we partnered her out. I had 12 1/5% and my co-breeder had 12.5%. It's just split up like that.”

Brogden's partners on the filly also included Gus Schoenborn, Gus King, and Stacy and Joe Amaismeier.

“I love shepherding new people into the industry and people who are passionate,” Brogden said. “Two of the five people just started doing the yearling to 2-year-old pinhooking last year.”

Henley produced a filly by Exaggerator last year who is expected to head to this year's Keeneland September sale, according to Brogden.

The 2-year-old filly completed her quarter-mile work last Monday during a under-tack session which was hampered by significant head winds and slower times.

“It's confusing, so people are just trying to work through it,” Ingordo said of analyzing workout times from that first session of the breeze show. “We've been here a long time and I think by being here, we had a little bit of an advantage. The track was a little fairer to the sellers as time went on. The day these horses breezed wasn't fair to the sellers. The horses that breezed on that first day and showed talent, like this filly, I think you'll be hearing about them. I'd say they'll be high-quality horses.”

The filly's final price tag was just at Ingordo's limit, he said.

“It was the top end of what I was going to go to,” Ingordo said. “She's for a new partnership, basically all new people in the industry, and that was the top end of our budget. We are going to try to buy five or six like her, but I was a little worried I wasn't going to get her.” @JessMartiniTDN

Roden Hoping Fate Strikes Twice

At last year's OBS June Sale, bloodstock agent Alistair Roden purchased a colt by the late Scat Daddy for $360,000 on behalf of Canadian owner Peter Redekop. The handsome bay, now named Anothertwistafate, is twice graded placed and, while he missed out on making the GI Kentucky Derby field, he is expected to start next in the GI Preakness S. Roden was back in action at OBS Tuesday to secure Anothertwistafate's half-brother by Hard Spun for $180,000, also for Redekop.

“Obviously, the brother has been awful good to us and we have a sentimental attachment,” Roden said after signing the ticket on hip 150. “But this horse is similar to him in a lot of ways. He's a little immature the way Anothertwistafate was, but I liked what I saw and he's a good mover. He had a tremendous breeze (:21 4/5) and I think he may move even a little more fluidly than Anothertwistafate.”

The colt, out of Imprecation (First Defence), was consigned by Wavertree Stables on behalf of his breeder Pursuit of Success.

“I think we got him just about where the consignor was willing to sell him and what we were wanting to pay,” Roden said of the juvenile's final price tag.

Anothertwistafate earned an automatic berth into the Preakness with his win in the El Camino Real Derby.

“He might not get into the Derby, but we have the free berth into the Preakness, so it kind of made sense to go that way rather than divvying $50,000 for the Derby just three weeks after we ran [in the GIII Lexington S.]. So I think the Preakness made a little bit more sense.” @JessMartiniTDN