Ocala

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company launched an action-packed week of under-tack shows ahead of its Spring 2-year-olds in Training Sale, which will run from Apr. 16 through Apr. 19. A total of eight juveniles--half fillies and half colts--led the way Sunday morning with joint :9 4/5 moves. WinStar's freshman sire Improbable was the only sire to be represented by a pair of session-topping workers--Hip 131, a colt out of I Know That Mom (Distorted Humor) (S G V Thoroughbreds LLC), and Hip 133, a colt out of MSW and MGSP...

"It's a really difficult thing, to let go of something that you've spent your whole life building," acknowledges Nick de Meric. "I don't know if 'letting go' is quite the right way to put it. But to actually cut that umbilical cord, it's a leap of faith." The Ocala horseman, who reflected on a colorful past in yesterday's TDN, now turns his attention to the future. For the evolution of a successor program, parallel to his own, makes the de Meric family a particularly pertinent case study for our series...

The island is still there, nearly 50 years later, which would have surprised Nick de Meric at the time. He'd have assumed that there could be nothing left by now. "Because they were basically mining it off the map," he recalls. "It was made of iron ore. So they had these massive Euclid trucks, wheels high as a building. And all these men on shift work, living in long huts. Not quite a prison environment, but it was all-male, tropical heat, nothing to do but drink beer and play cards....

ARCADIA, CA - As the unbeaten Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) looks to emulate her legendary dam Beholder (Henny Hughes) with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the duo have something else in common that you won't be able to find in Friday's program at Santa Anita. Before heading out to join Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in Southern California, they were both broken and trained on behalf of Spendthrift Farm at Raul and Martha Reyes's King's Equine in Ocala, Florida. Like mother, like daughter? "Actually, Tamara was...

The North American breeze-up calendar is a busy one, typically offering around 2,500 juveniles for sale over the course of the spring. And while all eyes will be on Ocala this week, American two-year-old buyers in recent years have been rewarded by adding another sale to their calendar: the Arqana Breeze Up. Held this year on May 13, with breeze shows on the 11th and 12th, the catalogue offers 43 two-year-olds by North American stallions, including Accelerate, American Pharoah, Blame, Candy Ride (Arg), Catholic Boy, Curlin, Into Mischief, Justify, Medaglia...

Every morning at 8:30 sharp, 'The Wonder Wheel Show' takes over Casse Training Center in Ocala. Just after the break, the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies champion and newly crowned Eclipse Award winner takes to a freshly groomed track and flies through her paces solo before regular training resumes. "She gets her own set," trainer Mark Casse said with a grin. "She's special." Casse's smile grew even wider Monday morning as he watched Wonder Wheel in action. After a day off on Sunday, the daughter of Into Mischief was enthusiastic...

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's October Yearling Sale kicks off Tuesday with a selected yearlings session, which will be followed by an open yearlings session Wednesday. Tuesday's session gets underway at noon with Hips 1-185 and is followed by the supplements, which are Hips 186-209. Wednesday's session begins at 10 a.m. with Hips 251-660 and followed by a section of supplements, which are Hips 661-684. "We are certainly excited seeing what has transpired in the yearling market so far this year," said OBS's Tod Wojciechowski. "The graduates of this sale...

OCALA, FL - With a significantly larger catalogue this year, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds always figured to eclipse the record gross it set last year, but the three-day auction ended Thursday with, not just that new highwater mark, but also with a sale record median figure. "A lot of horses got sold at a lot of different levels," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said. "That's always a good thing, particularly for the last sale of the year." A total of 653 juveniles sold...

OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds opened with a workmanlike session Tuesday as four horses sold for over $200,000, led by a filly by Bolt d'Oro who attracted a final bid of $290,000 from bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, acting on behalf of Greg and Caroline Bentley. In all, 184 sold Tuesday for a gross of $7,107,500. The average of $38,628 slipped 2.4% from last year's opening session, but the median of $25,500 was up 27.5% from the 2021 sales record-tying figure of $20,000. With...

The supplemental catalog for the upcoming OBS June Sale of 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age, featuring an additional 51 lots, is now available in printed form at the OBS sales grounds and online at obssales.com. One horse of racing age and 50 juveniles have been supplemented to the three-day auction and will sell as hips 1061-1100 (2-year-olds) and 1167 (HORA). Six under-tack sessions have been scheduled for the June Sale. Hips 1-187 will work Monday, May 30, hips 188-374 take to the track Tuesday May 31, hips 375-561 will...

Fabrice Chappet trainee and 185,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling and $535,000 Ocala April breeze-up graduate Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}--Onshore {GB}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) attained 'TDN Rising Star' status with a dominant performance going one mile at Chantilly in September, but had floundered in two subsequent outings before lining up as a 12-1 chance for Sunday's G2 Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud. Second contesting an Oct. 21 Deauville conditions heat in his only other juvenile start, he opened his sophomore campaign with a close-up eighth in ParisLongchamp's Apr. 18...

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis OCALA, FL - With a pair of seven-figure colts leading the way, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds produced a day of strong bidding Wednesday in Florida. During the session, 177 juveniles grossed $25,829,000 for an average of $145,927 and a median of $80,000. Through two sessions, 347 horses have sold for $48,388,000. The two-day average of $139,447 jumped 36% from last year's corresponding figure, while the median of $75,000 soared up 50%. The cumulative buy-back rate is 19.5%. With the...