Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March sale kicks off juvenile sale season

The 2-year-old sale season breaks from the starting gate with the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale.

There are 635 juveniles in the catalog for the sale – the first of three OBS will conduct this spring – on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both sessions begin at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

“Leading into the 2-year-old season, it is promising that the demand to purchase horses has been strong domestically and internationally,” OBS president Tom Ventura said. “The 2-year-old market in 2021 rebounded from the pandemic-impacted 2020 sale season to near-record levels. The yearling and mixed sales followed suit. The depth of the market has been impressive as the buyback rates have been low while the sale averages and medians have been rising.”

While demand for young stock across the board at the sales has been a promising lead-in to this season, it remains to be seen how the volatile situation in Eastern Europe and its effects such as rising fuel costs worldwide will impact the marketplace.

A three-session breeze show, from Thursday through Saturday, precedes the March sale, with juveniles working on the Ocala Training Center’s all-weather Safetrack surface. Through midday Friday, at roughly the midway point of the breeze show, a colt by Bayern had emerged with the fastest furlong, the traditional measuring stick for these auctions, at 9 3/5 seconds. Behind him was a logjam of 17 juveniles who had worked in 9 4/5 seconds to that point.

The Florida-bred colt, consigned by Really and Truly Thoroughbreds, as agent, is out of the unraced Pioneerof the Nile mare Sophia Mia; graded stakes-placed Amie’s Dini and Kid Kate appear on the catalog page.

The fastest quarter-mile breeze from the fewer workers at that longer distance early in the season was a colt from the first crop of Good Samaritan. The colt, consigned by Pick View LLC, as agent, worked in 20 3/5 seconds to lead the 15 who had worked that distance as of midday Friday. The colt, out of the Speightstown mare Sweat and Saddle, is from the family of graded stakes winners Economic Model, Gibberish, Well Monied, and Will’s Secret.

Dual-surface graded stakes winner Good Samaritan, by sire of sires Harlan’s Holiday, is part of this year’s freshman sire class, which is led by Triple Crown winner Justify and by breakout sales success City of Light. This class also includes Eclipse Award champions Accelerate, Good Magic, and West Coast and American classic winners Always Dreaming, Cloud Computing, and Tapwrit.

“The consignors have stepped up once again with quality horses,” Ventura said. “With over 150 sires represented and more than 600 horses, there is truly something for everyone that will meet the criteria and fit the budgets of our broad base of buyers.”