Soldat busts out of the gate at OBS sale

The select session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. August yearling sale served as a fine coming-out party for Soldat, whose first offering of yearlings helped propel him to the upper echelon of Tuesday’s sire lists.

The young stallion had five foals from his debut crop go through the ring during the opening session, with three selling for a combined $275,000. He finished atop the list of first-crop stallions by gross for the day and third overall behind Gemologist (six sold for $484,500) and Uncle Mo (two sold for $300,000).

Soldat also topped the select session’s overall sire list by average sale price for those with three or more sold at $91,667.

Leading the way was a filly out of the Grade 3-placed stakes-winning Doneraile Court mare Baldomera who sold to Rigney Racing for $155,000, making her the session’s fourth-most-expensive offering. The Florida-bred is a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Big John B and Grade 3 winner Circle Unbroken and comes from the family of champion Landaluce. Woodford Thoroughbreds consigned the filly as agent.

Soldat, an 8-year-old son of War Front, stands at Woodford Thoroughbreds in Reddick, Fla., for an advertised fee of $5,000.

His first crop consists of 86 foals, of which 13 have sold as yearlings for an average price of $42,577. The $155,000 filly out of Baldomera was his most expensive auction yearling to date.

On the racetrack, Soldat won four of 12 starts for earnings of $622,760, highlighted by wins in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes and Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes. He also finished second in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes.