OBS sale prices take steep plunge

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s June juvenile and racing-age sale produced a pair of six-figure horses but suffered declines in gross and average at its opening session Tuesday in Ocala, Fla.

The two-day auction opened with 146 horses sold for $2,132,100, a drop of 47 percent from last year's total of $4,003,200 for 192 horses. The session's average price of $14,603 was 30 percent lower than last year's $20,850. The $9,000 median was down 31 percent from last year's $13,000 for the equivalent session.

Buy-backs jumped from 16 percent in 2008 to 30 percent.

The session topper, and one of two six-figure horses sold Tuesday, was a $130,000 Maria's Mon filly that Shim Racing bought. Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables, agent, consigned the gray or roan filly. She is a daughter of the stakes-winning Silver Hawk mare Merit Wings and a half-sister to three winners.

The filly went through the ring as Hip No. 40 and was one of the under-tack show's co-fastest workers, topping the June 13 eighth-mile workout list with a time of 10.20 seconds.

The session's other six-figure horse was Hip No. 260, a Fusaichi Pegasus-Wandel filly that Eamon Cleary bought from Harris Training Center, agent. Christina Jelm represented Cleary in making the purchase. She is a half-sister to U.S. Grade 1 winner and Argentine champion filly Salt Champ. She had worked an eighth in 10.60 seconds. Her dam, Wandel, is by Fitzcarraldo.