Jesse Hoppel

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL - For the third straight day, the team of Bob Baffert and Donato Lanni, acting on behalf of Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, made the highest bid of the session, this time going to $2.2 million--top price of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training sale so far--to acquire a colt by Gun Runner from the de Meric Sales consignment as the Spring sale continued to produce figures largely in line with its record-setting 2022 renewal. Through three of four...

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company will open its 2023 schedule with the Winter Mixed Sale and Horses of Racing Age which begins its two-day run Tuesday morning in Central Florida. The auction begins at noon with a consignor preferred mixed session of 143 catalogued head, followed immediately by an offering of 148 horses of racing age. Wednesday's open mixed session, which also begins at noon, includes 253 catalogued offerings. "We are excited to be kicking off the year with a good sale," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "I...

An Ontario-bred filly from the first crop of Grade I winner Collected (hip 317) turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of Tuesday's second session of the under-tack show for next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds when covering the distance in :20 4/5. The juvenile is consigned by Jesse Hoppel's Coastal Equine and represents a pinhooking partnership group which has already enjoyed success with a bullet-working daughter of the GI Pacific Classic winner. Hoppel sent a filly by Collected out to work a bullet quarter-mile at the...

TIMONIUM, MD - The three-day under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale began shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday morning under cloudless blue skies and temperatures hovering around 60 degrees and by the conclusion of the day's seventh and final set shortly before 3 p.m., with temperatures approaching 80 degrees, five horses had turned in the co-fastest furlong time of :10 flat. A filly by Collected had the day's fastest quarter-mile work of :21 1/5. A filly by Nyquist (hip 150) was the first to hit the :10...

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training kicks off a four-day run Tuesday with sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m. daily. The sale comes on the back of a very strong OBS March Sale where 378 juveniles summoned $49.941 million, including four seven-figure sellers. "The March Sale was very good," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "There was a lot of activity at all levels in March and we anticipate that strength to carry over into April." There was a high level of activity on the...

David McKathan's Grassroots Training & Sales had their fourth bullet worker so far when a Jimmy Creed filly (Hip 939) was one of five juveniles to breeze in :9 4/5 Friday during the sixth session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale under-tack show. Hip 939 is one of three :9 4/5 workers for Grassroots this week with the others being a Tapiture filly (Hip 87) (video) and a Macho Uno colt (Hip 674) (video). McKathan also had a :9 3/5 breezer in Hip 346, a daughter of Street...

Five juveniles shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 Wednesday during the fourth session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale breeze show and three others worked a quarter in a bullet :20 3/5. The quartet of :9 4/5 workers were an Uncle Mo filly from Clary Bloodstock (Hip 537) (video); a Goldencents colt consigned by Eddie Woods (Hip 546) (video); a filly by Street Sense from the Lucan Bloodstock shedrow (Hip 611) (video); a Macho Uno colt consigned by Grassroots Training and Sales (Hip 674) (video); and...

A colt from the first crop of Grade I winner Cupid (Hip 3391) topped Wednesday's trade when selling for $200,000 to bloodstock agent Larry Zap, who was acting on behalf of Michael Mellen. The topper and the day's third-highest purchase, a son of fellow first-season sire American Freedom (Hip 3196), were both sold by Shawhan Place, who was the session's leading consignor by average. "Both of them are big, strong colts, especially the Cupid," said Shawhan's Matt Koch. "He is a good walking colt. We foaled and raised him at...

A reshuffled and rearranged juvenile sales season like no other came to a conclusion with the final session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale Thursday and, with a market left shaken by the fallout of the ongoing global pandemic, numbers were predictably down at the three-day auction. "Certainly the numbers were off comparatively, but it's hard to compare this to other years with so much that has gone on," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said. "There were some bright spots...

A colt by Laoban work the co-fastest furlong of the week Sunday during the sixth and final session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale under-tack show. The session, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed a day after lightning damaged the track's timing equipment. From the first crop of GII Jim Dandy S. winner Laoban (Uncle Mo), hip 983 was the second juvenile to work the furlong in :9 4/5 during the under-tack show. Out of One Look (Henny Hughes), the bay is...

The six-session under-tack show for next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale began Monday and, with temperatures quickly rising into the upper 80's, the day's last of three sets was twice delayed as fierce rainstorms swept through the area. A filly by Shackleford (hip 15), working early in the day's first set, turned in the session's fastest quarter-mile time of :20 4/5. Consigned by Jesse Hoppel's Coastal Equine, the bay filly is out of Peace Queen (Indian Charlie), a half-sister to multiple graded...