By Jessica Martini
The under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale continued Thursday in Central Florida with a colt by Dominus turning in the week's fastest furlong work. John Brocklebank's TIP Thoroughbred Investment Possibilities sent out hip 706 to work in :9 3/5. The bay is out of Super Seller (Came Home), a half-sister to graded stakes winner T.D. Vance (Rahy). He was a $45,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase and came with the prescient name of Speedy Justice.
“We didn't name him, but boy they sure hit it on the head, didn't they?” Brocklebank said after the bullet breeze.
Brocklebank purchased the colt as a yearling on behalf of Freehold Farms.
“I had heard a couple of friends of mine talk favorably about Dominus,” Brocklebank said of the colt's appeal last fall. “I ususally don't care [about pedigrees], but I had my eye open a little bit more for one of them and it didn't take much imagination on this horse. He presented himself and we fell in love with him. We followed him up and we were fortunate to take him home.”
The colt's bullet work was not a complete surprise to Brocklebank.
“We were expecting him to go fast,” he said. “Maybe not a :9 3/5, but we kind of had him earmarked for a :9 4/5. And he just doesn't tire. It's like somebody put a cold-fusion tank in him or something. He just does it so easy and gets along with himself so well, so we expected him to work fast.”
Of Freehold Farms, Brocklebank said, “They are in their first year in the pinhooking business and they asked if we could pick them up a few horses. That was a big, 'Of course, we can.' They have six of them [to pinhook]. The Lakerville filly (hip 1168) is part of that group that is here from California. And the Lookin at Lucky colt (hip 397) is also part of that group. And they have a half-dozen at home that are Cal-breds going to the sale with Fasig-Tipton in June.”
Brocklebank has a 16-horse consignment at the April sale and the group shipped into Florida from his Utah base nearly a month ago.
“They all just came out here about three weeks ago with Luis Mendez, who trains our horses for us,” Brocklebank said. “He's been a partner of mine for years. He's been with me since he was 13 and I think he's 35 now–we're kind of joined at the hip. Luis gets all of our horses ready and he also has his trainer's license and he's done quite well.”
Brocklebank said his April contingent took a few days to acclimate to the humid Florida weather, but he has been pleased with how the group has performed on the track so far this week.
“We have kind of a dry heat at home and it's taken the horses a bit to adjust to it, but they seem to have all fit right in now,” he said.
In addition to the bullet worker, he has had a pair of juveniles work in :10 flat–a colt by Quality Road (hip 424, :10) and a filly by Cairo Prince (hip 271, :10).
“The Quality Road is a neat horse and the Cairo Prince filly is a bit of a star, so I've been really happy with the consignment so far,” Brocklebank said.
A colt by Daddy Long Legs (hip 647) turned in Thursday's quickest quarter-mile drill, covering the distance in :20 3/5. Consigned by Jesse Hoppel's Coastal Equine, LLC, the chestnut is out of Snow Fashion (Old Fashioned), who is a daughter of multiple stakes winner Snow Lass (Stormy Atlantic).
With inclement weather forcing the cancellation of Friday and Saturday's sessions of the under-tack preview, action resumes Sunday at OBS with hips 913 through 1221 scheduled to breeze beginning at 8 a.m. The April sale begins Tuesday at noon, with subsequent sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m.
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