Quality Road filly brings $1 million at OBS; sale showing impressive gains

A filly by Quality Road sold for $1 million to power the action as the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s spring sale of 2-year-olds in training reached its midway point with gains.

OBS reported 171 horses sold during Wednesday's second of four sessions for a total of $22,360,500, marking a 15 percent gain in gross compared to 191 bringing $19,478,500 at the corresponding session a year ago. The session-to-session average price soared 28 percent, to $130,763 from $101,982, while the session's median price rose 45 percent, to $80,000 from $55,000. The buyback rate was 22 percent compared to 18 percent.

To this point of the sale, 319 horses have sold for a gross of $36,604,000, resulting in an average price of $114,746. That is a 16 percent gain in average from $98,558 at this point of the sale last year. Last year's four-day auction finished with a record average price of $98,203.

The session-topping Quality Road filly was purchased by Narvick International from the consignment of de Meric Sales, as agent. The filly had breezed a furlong in 9 4/5 seconds on the Ocala Training Center's all-weather Safetrack surface last Wednesday during the under-tack preview show, making her one of several juveniles tied at the second-fastest time for the distance.

Out of the unplaced Accelerator mare Paris Rose, the filly is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Decelerator, dam of South African Group 2 winner Nafaayes. They are also half-sisters to Grade 2-placed Cool Blue Red Hot.

Paris Rose is out of Grade 1 winner Fabulous Notion, making her a half-sister to several stakes producers - most notably Paris Notion, the dam of Quality Road's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and Pegasus World Cup winner City of Light. Grade 1 winners Cacoethes and Fabulously Fast also appear on the catalog page.

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