OBS holds its own, as sales hum to life

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's spring sale of 2-year-olds in training was watched with held breath by the bloodstock industry, as it was the first live, public Thoroughbred auction held in North America in two months, after the coronavirus pandemic wiped the auction calendar clean. The sale did finish with declines as it closed on Friday evening -- however, it had been fighting an uphill battle against last year's record renewal even before other external factors.

Led by a $1.35 million filly by Not This Time, who had a breakout sale, a $1.25 million colt by Quality Road, and a $1.1 million colt by Speightster, OBS reported a total of 635 juveniles sold for gross receipts of $58,905,000 during the four-day auction, which was postponed from its original April dates. This sale effectively re-started the juvenile auction market in North America; only one other sale has been held in that category this year, the OBS March sale, which also posted declines.

The OBS spring sale, which falls in the middle of the Florida company's 2-year-old sale season, is considered something of a bellwether for the larger market, as it offers a large catalog to a wide cross-section of buyers. Last year's renewal of this sale finished with 674 juveniles sold, led by three seven-figure horses, for a record gross of $72,945,000. Not only was this year's sale chasing that lofty mark -- it was fighting the restraint the market often shows in times of economic uncertainty, certainly the case this spring as the global pandemic caused the stock market to plummet and sent unemployment rates soaring.

The cumulative average price for this week's sale finished at $92,764, a decline of 14 percent from the record $108,227 last year. The median finished at $50,000, checking in 17 percent down from last year's high-water mark of $60,000. The buyback rate improved slightly thanks to a strong final session, finishing at 18 percent compared to 20 percent last year.

Not This Time is leading the freshman sire earnings list early, with two winners from four starters, and he parlayed that fast start into an outstanding sale this week. His seven-figure sale-leading filly was purchased during the Tuesday session by Gary Young from the consignment of Top Line Sales, as agent. The filly had worked a quarter-mile in 20 1/5 seconds on the Ocala Training Center's Safetrack surface during the prior 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.

Not This Time, who stands at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., won the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes by eight lengths as a 2-year-old, then was beaten a neck by divisional champion Classic Empire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before a soft-tissue injury ended his career.

Not This Time is a half-brother to Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam's Map, who was fourth on last year's freshman sire earnings list with a pair of Grade 1 winners in his first crop. While those runners were hitting the track, Not This Time averaged $63,746 from 68 yearlings sold at public auction last year, more than four times their conception stud fee of $15,000. In addition to his seven-figure sale-topper at OBS spring, he was represented by a $700,000 colt sold to Donato Lanni, as agent for Michael Lund Petersen, to top Thursday's session, and by a $575,000 colt sold to Marc Tacher during Friday's session to also rank among the top prices.

Quality Road, who has risen to be among the nation's elite sires, made a splash in Friday's closing session. A colt by the Lane's End stallion sold for $1.25 million to Arman Shah, via bloodstock agent Ben McElroy, to lead the day and to become the sale's second highest-priced horse overall. The colt, consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables as agent, had breezed a quarter-mile in 20 3/5 seconds.

The colt is out of the winning A.P. Indy mare False Impression, whose five winners from six starters are led by Grade 1-placed stakes winner Standard Deviation, as well as stakes-placed Dr Schultz. False Impression is a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Classic Elegance, dam of Grade 3-placed Divine Elegance and stakes-placed Unbridled Endeavor. Classic Elegance is a half-sister to El Fasto, dam of Kentucky Oaks winner and stakes producer Believe You Can.

Late in the closing session, a colt by Speightster, also a freshman sire, sold for $1.1 million to Larry Best's OXO Equine. Speightster, a Grade 3 winner, stands at WinStar Farm.

The colt, already named Fortunate Son, was consigned by Tom McCrocklin, as agent, and had breezed a quarter in 20 4/5 seconds during the under-tack preview show. He is out of the stakes-placed Indian Charlie mare Auspicious, dam of three winners from four starters. Auspicious is a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Flatter Than Me, and Grade 3 winner Scott's Scoundrel appears on the catalog page.

In addition to Not This Time's three high-ticket horses and Quality Road and Speightster's seven-figure colts, the others to sell for prices beyond $500,000 included an $800,000 Candy Ride colt from the immediate family of Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Tapizar, sold for D.J. Stable; a $750,000 Ghostzapper colt purchased by McElroy for Arman Shah; a $725,000 colt from the first crop of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome purchased by West Bloodstock, as agent for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable; a $700,000 New York-bred Distorted Humor filly purchased by Lanni as agent for Baoma Corp; a $700,000 Empire Maker colt purchased by agent Mike Shannon on behalf of Russell Welch; a $700,000 Liam's Map filly purchased by Rigney Racing; a $550,000 Shackleford half-brother to Eclipse Award champion Monomoy Girl, purchased by agent Justin Casse; a $500,000 Kantharos colt purchased by Frank Fletcher Racing; and a $500,000 Malibu Moon filly purchased by Summer Wind Equine.

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