Second Paddock Sale at Del Mar set for Sunday evening

The second Paddock Sale at Del Mar on Sunday evening will offer 28 horses of racing age, a smaller catalog than the 2012 sale and one that includes a variety of 2-year-olds, claiming stock and a few stakes runners.

Two horses certain to attract attention are the unraced 2-year-old Eternal Flame and the 3-year-old stakes-winning filly Oscar Party.

Eternal Flame, who sells as Hip No. 25, is a full brother to Gervinho, the winner of the first division of the Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds on Wednesday’s opening card at Del Mar. By Unusual Heat, Eternal Flame is out of Foreverinthegame, by Out of Place, and was bred by Marie Goda, Madeline Auerbach and Barry Abrams in California. His second dam is Grade 1-placed Fondly Remembered.

Oscar Party, third in the Grade 3 Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 15, was shipped to California on Thursday and sells as Hip No. 27. Owned by James Covello, Oscar Party has won two of seven starts and earned $103,777. She won the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Stakes last fall and finished fourth by a neck in the Grade 3 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland. The filly is by Dixie Union and is out of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Dream Lady, by Old Trieste. She is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Major Gain.

For this year’s Paddock Sale, a joint venture between Barretts Sales and Racing and Del Mar, Barretts executives have opted for a catalog geared toward horses that can make an impact at California tracks in coming months.

“Last year, it was the first year,” said Barretts general manager Kim Lloyd said. “We had a dozen horses from Texas. There were a few that didn’t compete well here. We tried to concentrate on horses that can be competitive in California.”

The inaugural sale in 2012 had a catalog of 45 horses. Of the 36 horses that went through the ring, 25 sold for gross receipts of $933,000 and an average of $37,320. The sale topper was Fighting Mean Mad, a 2-year-old filly by Lifestyle who was purchased for $200,000 by Mersad Metanovic Bloodstock.

Fighting Mean Mad, who races for Jerry Durant and trainer Jeff Bonde, was third in the Phil Shepherd Stakes at Fairplex Park last fall and won an allowance race at Pleasanton on June 30. Fighting Mean Mad was entered in Saturday’s California State Fair Sprint Handicap at Sacramento.

Sunday’s sale includes 12 horses that have started in California, including the 2-year-old E Z Warrior colt Echo Zulu, who was second in the Everett Nevin Futurity at Pleasanton on July 7. Echo Zulu sells as Hip No. 17. Aside from Eternal Flame, there are five unraced 2-year-olds in the sale.

Lloyd said the sale provides existing and prospective owners with an opportunity for a quick return on investment during the Del Mar race meeting.

“It’s an opportunity bring new horses into the game,” he said.

To access an online catalog, click here.