Ocala sale has $380,000 filly

They saved the best for last at Friday's final session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s spring 2-year-old auction in Ocala, Fla. A $380,000 Double Honor filly that sold Friday brought by far the auction's highest bid as of 5:30 p.m., outstripping the auction-leading price of $175,000 for a Larrupin' filly who sold Wednesday.

The $380,000 Double Honor filly, a daughter of the Fortunate Prospect mare T. G. for Wanda, sold to William Condren. Farnsworth Farms, agent, consigned the filly. The filly had put up the under-tack show's fastest work for three-eighths of a mile, covering the distance in 33.60 seconds.

At Thursday's session, the auction sold 172 lots for $3,337,700, down 15 percent from last year's third session, when 161 horses sold. The average price fell 20 percent, from $24,324 last year to $19,405, and the median plummeted 21 percent, from $14,500 to $11,500 this year. Buy-backs rose, climbing from 28 percent last year to 30 percent in 2003.

Thursday's session-topper was Hip No. 809, a $160,000 Foxtrail colt out of the Personal Flag mare Prospector's Bliss. Eugene Melnyk bought the colt from Halcyon Hammock Farm, agent.