OBS March sale hips to watch
Hips to watch at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Joe NevillsMar 14, 2016
Hips to watch at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. took a bold step in 2015 when it removed the “select” modifier from its leadoff March 2-year-olds in training sale and opened up the catalog beyond its typical confines. The change was almost universally well-recieved and kicked off arguably the most successful 2-year-old season in the central Florida auction house's history, with records falling in all three of its juvenile sales.
Greg Baugh, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s director of customer service, has been hired by Barretts Sales as director of business development.
The single horses who breezed the fastest times at an eighth and a quarter of a mile Thursday gained some company Friday during the third and final session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March 2-year-olds in training presale under-tack show, with a pair of colts running a furlong in 9.60 seconds and a pair of fillies covering two furlongs in 20.40.
Following a day when a staggering 14 juveniles turned in one-furlong times of 9 4/5 seconds during the first session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March 2-year-olds in training sale, Thursday’s penultimate session saw a single colt break through with a time of 9 3/5 seconds.
The plateau time for Wednesday’s session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March 2-year-olds in training sale under-tack show was well established at 9 4/5 seconds, with 14 horses tying for the co-fastest time over an eighth-mile.
Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm resident Curlin continues to build a strong reputation as a sire of top sale horses and successful runners. His newly turned yearlings already have topped mixed sales at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. and Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic branch in 2016.
Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Farm has been a willing partner at auction to secure the right horse, joining forces with the likes of Gainesway, Spendthrift Farm, and the former Regis Farm to close bids at past auctions.
Behind the four horses who fetched seven-figure price tags at the Fasig-Tipton Florida sale Wednesday night came three other high-ticket offerings representing an exciting class of freshman sires. Union Rags had a $975,000 colt sold to Baoma Corp., Tapizar had an $800,000 filly sold to Dennis O'Neill and Erik Johnson, and Bodemeister had a colt sold to Mark Casse, as agent, for $650,000.
Pioneerof the Nile, the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, saw a surge in commercial popularity last year and has continued to ride the wave, getting the first seven-figure auction horse of his career Wednesday night.