$825K for Richter Scale colt

A colt by Richter Scale who was purchased for $825,000 was the highest-priced horse sold during the first hour on Tuesday at the Barretts March sale of 2-year-olds in training in Pomona, Calif.

John Sadler, a Southern California-based trainer, said he purchased the colt for "undisclosed clients," but it was believed that Sadler was acting on behalf of a partnership that included the Searing family's CRK Stables.

The colt was consigned by B.C.3 Thoroughbreds as agent for Timberline. He is out of the Bold Ruckus mare Ada Ruckus. A full sister to this colt, Quite a Ruckus, is a stakes winner in Canada of more than $175,000.

Interest in the Richter Scale colt was piqued by a swift quarter-mile workout in 20.80 seconds at Fairplex Park on March 5. Assisting Sadler in the sale was Gary Young, a private clocker in Southern California.

The colt was purchased at the Keeneland September yearling sale for $85,000 by bloodstock agent John Brocklebank, one of the principals in B.C.3 Thoroughbreds with Shane Chipman. That partnership sold Brother Derek, the current favorite for the Kentucky Derby, at last year's Barretts sale.

The sale, held in the Ralph M. Hinds pavilion adjacent to Fairplex, was scheduled to last late into the evening.

Last year's sale produced a number of top runners. In addition to Brother Derek, others who went through the ring a year ago were Henny Hughes and Wild Fit, the respective second-place finishers in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.