OBS Spring: Medaglia d'Oro colt sells for $850,000 to lead second session

The second day of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s spring 2-year-olds in training sale Wednesday kept up the positive energy set in Tuesday’s opening session, with comparative gains in gross and average, and a Medaglia d’Oro colt assuming the sale’s new top price at $850,000.

Wednesday’s session finished with 158 horses sold for revenues of $13,917,500, up 13 percent from last year’s second day of trade when 165 horses sold for $12,323,500.

The average sale price rose 18 percent to $88,085 from $74,688, while the median dipped 9 percent to $41,000 from $45,000. The buyback rate for Wednesday’s session finished at 26 percent, down slightly from 28 percent during last year’s comparable session.

Five horses sold for $500,000 or more on Wednesday, bettering the two to reach that mark during last year’s second session. The 14 horses that sold for $250,000 outpaced the eight sold last year, but the 39 horses to change hands for six figures was a slight recession from 43 last year.

The session-topper, also the new overall sale-topper, came during the twilight of Wednesday’s trade when the all-star group of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partnership, Bridlewood Farm, Robert LaPenta, and Twin Creeks Racing bought a Medaglia d’Oro colt for $850,000.

Eclipse, Bridlewood, and LaPenta are partners on Grade 2 winner and Kentucky Derby hopeful Tapwrit, whom they teamed up to buy for $1.4 million at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale.

:: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales

The bay session-topping colt is out of the multiple Grade 2-winning A.P. Indy mare Indian Vale, who is the dam of three winners from four foals to race. His second dam is the Grade 1 winner Marley Vale, and his extended page includes Grade 2 winner Glenville Gardens.

Bred in Kentucky by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, the colt was sold for $300,000 at last year's Keeneland September yearling sale. Pope added Indian Vale to her high-profile broodmare band at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale, dropping the hammer for $725,000.

The colt breezed an eighth of a mile in 10.20 seconds during the pre-sale under-tack show over the Ocala Training Center's all-weather Safetrack surface. He was consigned at the OBS spring sale by Paul Sharp, as agent.

Sharp was the session’s leading consignor, with four horses sold for revenues of $1,177,000. The partnership that purchased the sale-topper was the day’s leading buyer based on the strength of that lone purchase.

At the sale’s halfway point, a total of 335 horses changed hands for $29,660,700, up 14 percent from last year’s two-day gross of $24,011,000 from 330 sold. The average sale price was up 22 percent to $88,539 from $72,761 and the median was ahead 11 percent to $50,000 from $45,000.

The OBS spring sale continues through Friday, beginning each day at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

To view the full results from Wednesday’s session, click here.