Barretts spring 2-year-olds in training sale combines two auctions into one

The 2018 Barretts spring 2-year-olds in training sale on Wednesday has a new look comprising familiar parts.

In previous years, the California-based auction company hosted a pair of juvenile-focused auctions – a select sale in early March featuring national-level stock, and an open sale in May geared toward local buyers. This year, Barretts combined those two sales into a single event in the middle of the 2-year-old season, and it drew horses that fit the profiles of both former sales.

“We’ll have horses in all ranges, so we’re going to test the market from the top to the bottom,” Barretts general manager Kim Lloyd said. “The economy is great, so we expect it to go very well. It’ll be interesting to see how the overall picture is with the sale, but we’re going in already knowing that the top end is going to be lights out.”

The auction will take place at Del Mar Racetrack, beginning at 2 p.m. Pacific. The pre-sale under-tack show will be held 10 a.m. Monday.

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The spring sale catalog comprises 170 entries, making it larger than any juvenile sale hosted by the auction house this decade.

“I think they’re going to do extremely well,” bloodstock agent Mersad Metanovic said. “I know Kim Lloyd’s done a good job of recruiting. He went to Japan and got them to show up with more buyers. I believe the quality’s better. He’s done a great job of putting it together, and expectations are extremely high for them.

“I have a sense that the local buyers there, once they get back from their destinations all over the country, you’ll have the Bafferts, the O’Neills, the Peter Millers and John Sadlers of the world. . . . They’ll be competing for some high-quality horses.”

While the catalog attracted national-level horses and consignors, Lloyd said he was pleased with the support the catalog received from California-based sellers, who might have normally waited until May to sell their horses.

“What we were concerned about going in was how our local people would step up,” Lloyd said. “When you combine a select sale with an open sale, you’ve got to step up to compete. Watching these horses train right now, the locals have done great. The horses look good, they’re ready to go, which I figured they would be.”

With the new format, defining success for the auction will not be as simple as comparing the returns with last year’s figures. However, Lloyd said the mileposts won’t be too different from the broader measures of any other sale.

“Trying to get a number sold that’s reasonable,” he said. “We want everybody to sell horses so they can continue to move their business forward. I’d like to gross what we grossed combined last year, a little over $8 million. We have some numerical goals that we have in mind, but the main thing is for our customers to get their horses sold.”

Last year’s March select sale posted gains in gross and average, while the median went unchanged. The sale-topper was a Malibu Moon colt who sold to West Point Thoroughbreds and Spendthrift Farm for $675,000. The colt was named Flying the Flag, and he is unraced.

The May sale saw a lower gross, but healthy gains in average and median. D.P. Racing bought the sale-topper, a $245,000 Animal Kingdom colt later named Continental Divide. Placed in the barn of trainer James Cassidy, the colt won his maiden in his second start, winning the Graduation Stakes at Del Mar, and he most recently finished third in the California Cup Derby on Feb. 19 at Santa Anita.

Other notable graduates from last year’s Barretts juvenile sales include Grade 2 winner and Kentucky Derby trail contender Kanthaka, and Grade 2 winner Run Away.