Not This Time filly tops second day of OBS sale at $1.35 million

A bullet-working filly by early leading freshman sire Not This Time sold for a lofty $1.35 million to provide a highlight on the day as the second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's spring sale of 2-year-olds in training posted some declines in figures.

OBS reported 143 horses sold during Wednesday's session, the second in the sale's four-day run, for gross receipts of $15,209,000. In 2019's comparable second session, 183 horses sold for $22,902,500. One reason for the decline in number sold and gross was an increased buyback rate that finished at 27 percent, compared to an outstanding 16 percent last year.

The session's average price was $106,357, a drop of 15 percent from $125,150 in 2019. The median fell 24 percent to $57,000 from $75,000.

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When including the opening session's average price - which ticked downward only 1 percent from the 2019 opener - the OBS spring sale's cumulative average currently sits at $97,582. That tracks downward 11 percent compared to $109,595 at this point last year.

The 2019 sale finished with an average of $108,227, establishing records for gross, average, and median - meaning this sale is fighting an uphill battle to improve on those figures, even without the market uncertainty caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.

The session-topping filly, who was purchased by Gary Young from the consignment of Top Line Sales, as agent, is a major feather in the cap of her young sire. Not This Time, who stands at Taylor Made Farm, is off the mark with two winners from his first four starters to lead the freshman class.

The Giant's Causeway horse, a Grade 3 winner as a juvenile, is a half-brother to Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam's Map, who sired two Grade 1 winners from his own freshman crop last year.

Not This Time's sale-leading filly worked a quarter-mile in 20 1/5 seconds on the Ocala Training Center's Safetrack surface during last week's under-tack preview, the sole fastest time at that distance. The work helped make her a successful pinhook, as she was a $135,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by bloodstock agent Mark Marino last fall.

The filly is out of Sheza Smoke Show, winner of the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes and dam of one winner from two starters to date. The Wilko mare's first two dams are stakes winners.

Four other juveniles topped a half-million dollars during Wednesday's session: An $800,000 Candy Ride colt from the immediate family of Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Tapizar, sold to D.J. Stable; a $750,000 Ghostzapper colt was purchased by Arman Shah, through agent by Ben McElroy; a $700,000 Distorted Humor filly went to Baomo Corp, via agent Donato Lanni; and a $700,000 Empire Maker half-brother to Grade 2 winner Rocketry, was purchased by Mike Shannon, as agent for Russell Welch.

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