Golden Notion sells for $200,000 to pace opening session of OBS winter mixed sale

Golden Notion, a colt by Goldencents, sold for $200,000 to lead his portion of the catalog during the opening session at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. winter mixed sale. Tuesday’s session was divided into two sections – the consignor-preferred designated section, which closed with a decline in gross and average, and the horses of racing age section, which finished with big gains in those two indicators to help the day finish strong.

For the horses of racing age section, OBS reported 62 horses sold for $1,204,000, soaring 37 percent from 57 sold for $880,000 in the same section of trade last year. The average price was $19,419, up 26 percent from $15,439 a year ago, while the median was $8,500, dropping slightly, 6 percent, compared to $9,000. The buyback percentage did rise significantly in a selective market, finishing at 17 percent compared to 10 percent.

Golden Notion, a 3-year-old, sold to S B M Training and Sales, as agent, from the consignment of Woodside Ranch, as agent. The colt was the only horse to work a half-mile during Monday's under-tack preview show, breezing the distance in 44 seconds flat on the all-weather surface.

Two-time Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents finished second by earnings on the 2018 freshman sire list and had the most winners by a freshman sire. Golden Notion, who is unstarted, is the first foal out of the stakes-placed Bellamy Road mare Angels Trace.

The other horse to fetch six figures during the racing age section was minor stakes winner Noble Commander, who went for $135,000 to Agave Racing Stable. Consigned by Moonshadow Farm, as agent, the 4-year-old Forestry colt had worked three furlongs in 33 seconds on Monday.

Noble Commander won the OBS Sophomore Stakes last year at Tampa and was third in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel. The colt is out of the winning Indian Charlie mare Indian Carlie, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Marley's Freedom and stakes winner Noble Charlotte. It is the family of Grade 1 winner Noble Bird.

There was a strong demand for yearlings of 2019 during the consignor-preferred section, as three colts sold for $75,000 each to lead that portion of the sale.

The consignor-preferred section finished with 104 horses sold for a total of $1,755,100, a decline of 49 percent in gross from last year's similar section, when more horses, 147, sold for $3,452,700. The average price was $16,876, down 28 percent from $23,488 a year ago. The median price was $12,250, up 23 percent from $10,000. The buyback percentage also improved, to 28 percent from 30 percent.

Colts by Distorted Humor and Bernardini sold for $75,000 to First Finds and Calumet Farm, respectively, from the consignment of Select Sales.

The Distorted Humor colt is out of the Speightstown mare Inspeight of Us, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Daddys Lil Darling, Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Mongolian Saturday, stakes winner Victoryasecret, and stakes-placed Four Song Limit.

Calumet's purchase, the Bernardini colt, is out of the Grade 3-winning Carson City mare Palanka City, already the dam of three winners from as many starters. A full sister to stakes winner Quick Action, she is from the family of Breeders' Cup Mile winner Royal Academy and of Terlingua, dam of the great sire Storm Cat.

Rounding out the trio of $75,000 yearlings was a colt from the second crop of 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Bayern, sold to Brookstone Farm from Stuart Morris, agent for Highclere. The colt is out of the stakes-winning Jeblar mare Jera, dam of multple Grade 1 winner Jeranimo. She also produced stakes placed Taperge, Wealthy Aviator, and Tizthen, the latter the dam of two stakes-placed runners.

The OBS January auction will conclude with its open session, which offers slightly more than half of the cataloged hips, on Wednesday.

For hip-by-hip results, click here.