$850,000 Gun Runner colt tops first session of Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. spring sale

A colt from the first crop of Horse of the Year Gun Runner sold for $850,000 as the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s flagship spring sale opened its four-day run with positive figures Tuesday.

OBS reported 181 horses sold during Tuesday's opener for $17,829,500. The opening session of the 2020 spring sale, pushed from its April dates to June due to the coronavirus pandemic, finished with 154 horses sold for $13,209,500.

Tuesday's average price was $98,506, up 15 percent compared to $85,776 in 2020. The median price was $50,000, up 9 percent compared with $46,000 a year ago. The buyback percentage in a selective marketplace was unchanged at 20 percent.

The session-topping Gun Runner colt was purchased by bloodstock agent Donato Lanni on behalf of Michael Lund Petersen, who has his horses with trainer Bob Baffert. The colt, consigned by Eisaman Equine, as agent, had breezed a furlong in 10 seconds flat during last week's under-tack preview show on the Ocala Training Center's all-weather Safetrack surface.

The colt is out of Grade 2-placed stakes winner Salamera, by Successful Appeal. The broodmare is a half-sister to Puerto Rican champion Vivaldi Girl and to stakes-placed Adore You. The latter is the dam of Grade 1-placed stakes winners Piedi Bianchi and Outadore, as well as stakes winner Mind Reader.

For hip-by-hip results, click here. The OBS spring sale continues with its second through fourth sessions on Wednesday through Friday. The figures from Wednesday's session will be particularly noteworthy, as last year's comparable second session produced the most expensive juvenile sold in North America last season, $1.35 million Princess Noor.