Champali mare in foal to Flower Alley leads Heritage Place Thoroughbred auction

A Champali mare believed to be in foal to Flower Alley brought $9,500 on Saturday to top the first straight Thoroughbred auction Heritage Place in Oklahoma City has put on in more than 20 years. The sale featured breeding and racing prospects.

Heritage Place, a 34-year-old auction house that specializes in Quarter Horses, reported 116 horses sold Saturday for total receipts of $227,300. The average was $1,959. There were 22 horses that were repurchased, for a 16 percent buyback rate, said Spence Kidney, director of operations for Heritage Place. He said the figure does not include horses that did not bring a bid; there were 29 of those. The minimum bid allowed was $500.

“I’m encouraged by the sale,” Kidney said. “It’s like any auction, there’s some peaks and valleys. All in all it was a good sale.

“We had a good crowd on hand. We had a good presence from several states, including Kentucky.”

The Champali mare, a 5-year-old bay named Pretty Champ, was purchased by Ronald Blalock of Oklahoma. She was consigned by Ellen Caines, agent for Pam Davis. Pretty Champ, a four-time winner who earned $58,751, is out of the stakes-placed Distinctive Pro mare Miss Pretty Keane and is from the family of Grade 2 winner Solar Halo and stakes winners Solar Deputy, Personal Pro, and Pretty Suzi.

Thomas D. Lepic of Iowa accounted for the second highest-seller on Saturday, when he paid $8,300 for the winning 10-year-old Anet mare Bid On a Dancer. She is believed to be in foal to Courageous Cat. Bid On a Dancer is from the female family of America America, a multiple stakes winner of over $400,000. Caines was the consignor, as agent for Davis.

Spence said plans are to make the auction an annual event at Heritage Place.