A colt from the second crop of Uncle Mo proved the standout during the first of two sessions of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday, garnering a winning bid of $1.3 million from Mike Repole and Coolmore.
A total of 160 juveniles changed hands for gross receipts of $25,718,500. The average was $160,741, down 11.5% from the corresponding figure from the first session of the 2015 March sale. The median also sunk slightly from $120,000 12 months ago to $115,000–a 4.2% drop. The RNA rate for the session was 28.9%. Because OBS updates sales results after the auction date to include additional private transactions, year-to-year buy-back comparisons are difficult.
“It was a good, solid day–comparable to last year,” offered OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “It's kind of hard to read too much and compare sessions year-to-year, but all-in-all I thought it was a pretty solid day. There are still a lot of good horses left [Wednesday], and we're looking forward to that. There's still a lot of activity back at the barns.”
The session-topping Uncle Mo colt was consigned to the sale by Cary Frommer, Agent II as hip 245
Eddie Woods led all consignors, selling 15 horses for $3,797,000.
The recent trend of partnership groups joining forces at the top end of the market continued, with four of the top five lots selling to multiple entities.
“That was something that was a little different–we saw some of these larger buyers partnering on some horses,” noted Wojciechowski. “It did seem a little more so than in the past.”
OBS March concludes with its second session Wednesday, beginning at 11:00 a.m. For complete results and more, visit obssales.com.
Repole, Coolmore Come Back for 'Mo'…
Already partners on 2015's record-shattering freshman sire Uncle Mo, Mike Repole and Coolmore partnered to pick up Tuesday's session-topping son of the 'TDN Rising Star' and 2010 champion juvenile for $1.3 million. The :10 1/5 breezer was offered by Cary Frommer, Agent II as hip 245.
“They liked the horse, we liked the horse. We both own the sire together, so it just made a lot of sense for us to do it together,” said Repole, whose lightly raced Outwork (Uncle Mo) finished a solid second in the GII Tampa Bay Derby over the weekend.
A May 17 foal, hip 245 is out of Setareh (Sky Classic), a two-time stakes winner at 8 1/2 panels who finished third in the 2001 GI Vanity H.
“He looks like Uncle Mo as a 2-year-old,” Repole said when asked what it was about this particular Uncle Mo that stood out. “Uncle Mo seems to be stamping a lot of his horses, and the horses that he stamps are usually the horses that can run. I haven't been in the sire business as long as Coolmore, but they've never had a sire like this, and it's easy for me to say I've never had a sire like this either.”
Repole and Coolmore are also partners on Stay Thirsty, whose first progeny are juveniles this year. Coolmore teamed up with Stonestreet Stables to secure a $1-million Uncle Mo colt–also offered by Cary Frommer–at Fasig-Tipton Florida earlier this month.
Todd Pletcher, who was flanked front and center in the sales pavilion by Repole to his left and Coolmore's Charlie O'Connor to his right during the bidding process, will train the colt.
“He breezed phenomenally, and is a beautiful horse on the shank,” Pletcher said of hip 245's appeal. “He showed himself really well. He has a tremendous disposition like most of the Uncle Mos. We're extremely, extremely, extremely high on Uncle Mo–like the rest of the world is.”
Pletcher was at the helm for Uncle Mo's career on the track, which included victories in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and GI Champagne S. at two, and GII Kelso H. at three. In addition to Outwork, other Uncle Mo progeny he trains include Repole-owned stakes winners Clipthecouponannie and Lost Raven and Michael Tabor's MGSP Thrilled.
“In every Derby prep, there are two, three, four Uncle Mos–it's just phenomenal for a first-crop sire to be doing what he's doing,” Pletcher added. “When they perform like this one did on the racetrack, and are conformed the way he is, it's just the whole package.”
Pletcher did not yet know what would be next for Outwork, but said the homebred exited Saturday's effort in good order.
“I thought he ran super for only his second start of the year and first time around two turns–it was a huge effort,” he offered. –@BDiDonatoTDN
Frommer Ready for Mo…
After selling a $1-million son of Uncle Mo (Hip 5) at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale earlier this month, it was deja vu all over again for consignor Cary Frommer in Ocala Tuesday afternoon.
Along with regular partner Barry Berkelhammer, as well as owner Rich Averill, the group acquired the $1.3-million OBS March topper by last year's leading freshman sire for $150,000 as a KEESEP yearling.
“It's just amazing,” Frommer commented back at her barn. “It's been an amazing year so far and he's done nothing wrong from the minute we bought him. We're thrilled to have had him, and look at him, he's just gorgeous. Real placid, gentle and kind, too. He's a May [17] foal–he's going to develop into just a phenomenal athlete.”
Did Frommer think that he could bring that kind of money?
“Yeah, we actually did,” she replied. “You never think in terms of those prices, but we knew he was going to be sought after.”
Along with Berkelhammer, Frommer typically buys about 20 yearlings each year to pinhook the following year as 2-year-olds. They both bring in other partners to join in later.
“I would like to think that I'm that smart, but he was already starting to do all the right things [by last fall], so I was determined to get some Uncle Mos,” she said when asked about specifically shopping for Uncle Mo's progeny last fall. “Then, of course, he just kept going on to do great things and I really lucked out.”
The topper, bred in Kentucky by Sierra Farm, is out of the MSW & GISP Sky Classic mare Setareh. –@SteveSherackTDN
Powerful Partners Team Up for 'Twirling' Colt…
With a last-minute deal in place, Al Shaqab Racing, WinStar Farm and China Horse Club teamed up Tuesday to take home an $850,000 Twirling Candy colt at OBS March. Consigned by Eisaman Equine as hip 222, the bay covered a furlong in :10 1/5 last week.
“It all came together in the back ring,” explained Bradley Weisbord, U.S. advisor to Sheikh Joaan Al Thani's Al Shaqab Racing, which will be the majority partner on the colt. “He seemed like he was going to be an expensive horse, so I rang up Khalifa Alattiya, General Manager of Al Shaqab Racing, and suggested we take on partners for the horse.”
The bay is a half-brother to stakes winner Highway Boss (Street Boss). His dam is a half to a pair of graded stakes-placed runners. This is the extended female family of GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Blushing K. D. and Hong Kong Horse of the Year Electronic Unicorn.
“He was the best horse for our team today,” Weisbord, who noted that Todd Pletcher would train the colt, continued. “That was the one horse that I told the team we wanted to walk away with… He's got the credentials that we want to buy in America. He's got a two-turn pedigree, a breeze that was special. He's an athlete, and hopefully he's a Saturday afternoon horse between January and May of next year. He's also forward enough to go on to [Pletcher] very shortly, so there are a lot of angles to win here. There's the 2-year-old year and the 3-year-old year. We thought he was special and we were happy to get him.”
Al Shaqab will be represented in the G1 Dubai World Cup with the Pletcher-trained GI Donn H. hero Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro) later this month.
WinStar and China Horse Club also purchased hip 27, a $435,000 Bodemeister colt from the Hoppel's Horse & Cattle Co. consignment; and hip 210, a $180,000 Crupi's New Castle Farm-consigned Into Mischief colt, earlier in Tuesday's session.
Sweet Results for the Eisamans…
Purchased by Eisaman Equine for just $70,000 out of the Romans Racing and Sales consignment at last year's KEESEP Yearling Sale, hip 222 was in much higher demand at the OBS March opener Tuesday, bringing $850,000 from a group headed by Al Shaqab Racing.
“He turned out to be a wonderful young horse,” consignor Dr. Barry Eisaman, sporting his regular University of Florida cap, said out back. “He's everything everyone looks for in young athletes. The sire is hot. The horse is sound, correct, had great veterinary work, and is a great mover with a lot of speed. It all just came together for him.”
The son of Twirling Candy out of an unraced Henny Hughes mare was bred in Kentucky by Ernest C. Frohboese. The young Lane's End sire was recently flattered by 'TDN Rising Star's Danzing Candy's impressive win in Saturday's GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita.
“We thought he would sell well,” Eisaman continued. “Everyone that's here liked him. He was looked at probably more than any horse we've ever brought to a 2-year-old sale. It's a pleasant surprise, but not a total surprise.”
The Eisamans also sold a Curlin colt (Hip 293), a $110,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, for $550,000 to Casse & Casse, agent. “He's the standout colt of our group,” Eisaman said of the bay earlier this week. –@SteveSherackTDN
War Front Colt Heading to Ireland…
A well-bred son of War Front is headed to Ireland after being purchased for $675,000 during Tuesday's OBS March session. No, he won't be stabled where you think. Agent Jason Litt came out on top for the Eddie Woods-consigned son of 2007 champion female sprinter Maryfield (Elusive Quality).
“We're going to take him over to Ireland, give him to [trainer] Jim Bolger and hope that we have a pretty special horse overseas,” Litt said of hip 101, who breezed a quarter mile in
during the first of three under-tack previews last Wednesday.
When asked for more about the ownership group involved, Litt said, “It's a handful of good clients who race with us. Hey, a War Front, out of a champion that breezed beautifully; Eddie's loved him from the beginning. You can't do any better than that… Everyone's happy. It's one of those where you're pumped all the way around.”
Litt and partner Alex Solis II also purchased a $110,000 Into Mischief filly (hip 43) earlier in the session.
Maryfield, winner of the GI Ballerina S. and first running of the Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint in 2007, was purchased by Mike Moreno's Southern Equine Stables at that year's Fasig-Tipton November sale for $1.25-million. Southern Equine bred hip 101 in Kentucky. His year-older half-sister Not Now Carolyn (Tapit) was a sharp maiden winner at Santa Anita Dec. 28 before competing in the GIII Santa Ysabel S. earlier this month.
A partnership group led by Eddie Woods picked up hip 101 for $150,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale.
“He's a really nice horse and he deserved it,” Woods said of the sale. “He's by one of the top sires in the world, so he's supposed to do well. He worked great, he looked fabulous. He's out of a really good mare and he's gone to a great spot. Hopefully he goes on from there.”
Woods was the day's leading consignor, with 15 head selling for a combined $3,797,000.
“Today's been a great day,” Woods confirmed Tuesday afternoon. “For us, the market's been very good. I thought the market was good in Miami [at Fasig-Tipton Florida], and I think it transferred through to here for the nice horses. Fortunately, we had several nice horses. It's not going to happen for the cheaper horses here, unfortunately, that's just the way it is. But it's not just the top end anymore. There's money all over the place for the decent horses.” –@BDiDonatoTDN
Big Day for Bradley…
Few people, if any, had a better day than Pete Bradley through the first hundred or so hips of Tuesday's OBS March session. With the help of consignor Eddie Woods, Bradley offered five juveniles as part of his well-established and highly profitable pinhook venture, and each realized a solid return on investment:
Hip 31, a son of Quality Road, was a $140,000 Fasig-Tipton July yearling. He breezed a quarter in :20 4/5, and went to trainer Bob Baffert for $435,000.
Hip 92, a Super Saver colt, was an $80,000 FTKJUL acquisition. He garnered a winning bid of $300,000 from Ralph M. Evans after a :20 3/5 move.
Hip 87, a son of Ghostzapper, also went to Baffert for $285,000. He was an $80,000 KEESEP yearling and worked in :20 4/5.
Hip 63, a Mineshaft colt out of a half-sister to Quality Road himself, was scooped up by agent Barry Berkelhammer for $280,000. The $110,000 Keeneland September yearling stopped the clock in :21 1/5.
Hip 97, a daughter of Pioneerof the Nile, went to Global Thoroughbred for $270,000 after a :20 4/5 breeze. He was a $150,000 Keeneland September yearling.
From an initial investment of $560,000, Tuesday's sellers brought a combined $1.57 million.
“It's as good a group as we've ever brought to auction, and we've brought some good horses,” Bradley said. “They performed well, they were sound, they were the right body types–athletic horses. We'd hoped we'd be in the $1-million to
$1.2-million range for the whole group, so that's exceptional. Nice horses make you look good.”
Of hip 31, Bradley offered, “He was a man amongst boys. He started out a little immature, but he just kept getting better. Every time Eddie asked him to do a little something more, he did it and kept moving forward. It's the kind of progression you like to see with any horse–whether it's a weanling to a yearling, yearling to 2-year-old, or a racehorse. Those horses that give you what you ask for every time are special types.”
A total of 26 entities are involved in this year's Bradley Thoroughbreds pinhook venture. The group will offer
12 juveniles this year–hip 428, a son of Astrology who cost $140,000 at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga and breezed in :10 1/5, sells Wednesday. The remaining horses will be offered at OBS April and the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale in May.
Past graduates of the venture include last year's GIII Sunland Derby winner and GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line (Line of David)l; unbeaten turf superstar filly Lady Eli (Divine Park); 2014 GI Travers S. upsetter V. E. Day (English Channel); Japanese Group 1 winner Moanin (Henny Hughes), etc.
Bradley also played the role of buyer Tuesday, scooping up a $100,000 Lookin at Lucky filly (hip 38) offered by Justin Casse's Casse Sales, agent for Kinsman Farm.
“I think it's very good–obviously we had the right kind of horses, and you're never going to think it's bad when you have very good horses,” Bradley said when asked about the market Tuesday. “I haven't really studied it closely, but it has been a little softer in spots than I thought it would be. That's the nature of the 2-year-old game–it's a chicken and feathers game and it's always polarized. Last year, I had my hat handed to me–the horses just didn't end up being what they needed to be. This year, we had horses that people want. It feels good.”
Brok Steps Up Big for Son of Curlin…
Acting on behalf of MMG Stables LLC, Glenn Brok of Pennsylvania's Diamond B Farm went all the way to $625,000 to acquire hip 182, a Curlin colt consigned by Thoroughbred Champions Training Center LLC.
“He's a nice horse. We looked at a couple, but he was our favorite, so we decided to go,” said Brok, who admitted that that was the biggest ticket he had ever signed.
Brok declined to reveal the principles of MMG Stables, but noted that the group owns the solid Midlantic-based sophomore Never Gone South (Munnings). A $90,000 pick-up at OBS April last year, the Cathal Lynch trainee annexed Delaware's Strike Your Colors S. last August, and romped in Laurel's Frank Whiteley Jr. S. Jan. 16. He most recently finished third in Laurel's Miracle Wood S. Feb. 15.
“They were looking for a nice colt who could maybe go on and be a stallion, and we bought him,” Brok added of hip 182. “He's a very sound horse, very well-balanced, had a good breeze, good pedigree–all the right things. All the things we were looking for.”
A $110,000 KEESEP yearling, hip 182 leveled off nicely in a :21 flat breeze. His dam Polly Alexander (Ire) (Foxhound) was stakes-placed in Italy, and is a half to GII Del Mar Derby winner and MGISP Medici Code (GB) (Medicean {GB}).
“He's an excellent horse,” consignor Jaime De Jesus Mejia Espinosa said. “Over more distance, he'll be even better.”
'Wheeling' and Dealing…
Longtime former Hobeau Farm manager Craig L. Wheeler had a pretty good reason to still be smiling back at Barn 3 shortly into Tuesday's first day of trade at the OBS March Sale.
Consigned by himself as Hip 20, his homebred Gone Astray–Honour Isabel (Honour and Glory) colt brought $375,000 from Mersad Metanovic Bloodstock.
The bay glided through a :9 4/5 bullet during the under-tack show.
“It's nice when it all comes together,” Wheeler commented. “We loved him as a foal, and from the day he was born, he was gorgeous. Then when we put him into training, he lived up to expectations. He just kept moving forward and everything kept coming together at the right time. All my crew works so hard. They really put their heart and soul into it. This really means a lot.”
Hip 20 was one of just three juveniles consigned by Wheeler at the OBS March Sale.
He continued, “During the peak season, we'll have about 100 horses–50 of my own and 50 for clients. We're a small, hands- on operation and have 20 mares of our own. We mostly hold on to the 2-year-olds just for this reason. There could be such an upswing if they show their talent on the racetrack. And, of course, we live right in the mecca of 2-year-old training.”
Wheeler's involvement with the Gone Astray colt's family traces back to his second dam Port Isabel (Time to Explode), a maiden of seven career starts. She is a half-sister to GISW Cara Rafaela (Quiet American), who, of course, went on to produce 2006 champion 3-year-old colt Bernardini (A.P. Indy).
“The funny part about it is, I was sitting at the [2005] Keeneland [November Sale] and Port Isabel was going through the ring, carrying Honour Isabel,” he explained. “For Hobeau, I bred Put It Back and had a lot of luck with Honour and Glory. At the time, she was just a half-sister to Cara Rafaela–she hadn't produced Bernardini yet. I threw in one bid at $12,000 and I got her, and lo and behold, she produces Bernardini. It has just been a good-luck story all along.”
Honour Isabel won four races for Wheeler, mostly in Maryland, after RNA'ing for $45,000 as an OBSAUG yearling in 2007. She is heading back for another date with second-crop sire Gone Astray this spring.
Wheeler began working at Hobeau at the age of 24 after graduating from the Irish National Stud program. He served as Hobeau's manager for approximately 30 years. Grade I stakes winners Miss Shop (Deputy Minister) and Swap Fliparoo (Exchange Rate), as well as graded stakes winners Delightful Kiss (Kissin Kris), Delightful Mary (Limehouse), Kelly Kip (Kipper Kelly), Put It Back (Honour and Glory) and Trappe Shot (Tapit) were all bred by the legendary outfit during Wheeler's tenure there.
“Hobeau was my home and [the late] Jack Dreyfus was the best owner you could ever work for,” Wheeler said. “And, of course, Allen Jerkens, too. I was surrounded by these icons. I managed Hobeau Farm for a lot of years and went out on my own after they dispersed.”
Wheeler's well-rounded operation has enjoyed some nice pinhooks through the years as well, including a pair of weanling-to-yearling scores.
“I had a Storm Cat years ago that I bought for $250,000 and sold for $625,000,” he said. “And a Pleasant Colony for $110,000 that I got $550,000 for.”
Wheeler concluded, “We play all ends of the market, which you kind of have to. You don't know when there's going to be a soft spot in the market.” –@SteveSherackTDN
Turning Up the Heat in Ocala…
Bev Hendry and Christine Hosier's burgeoning Hot Scot Racing Stable immediately hit the ground running with its initial pinhook at the OBS March sale, realizing $300,000 for a son of Gemologist. Lane's End Bloodstock made the purchase.
Consigned as Hip 171 by Julie Davies, Agent II, the gray breezed a bullet eighth in :9 4/5. Out of Penny Marie (Sky Classic), MSW & MGSP, $351,830, he was bred in Virginia by Lazy Lane Farms. (Click here for a ThoroStride video).
“I'm originally from Scotland–I probably bet my first horse when I was seven,” Hendry, the co-head of the Americas Employee of Aberdeen Asset Management Inc., commented. “My father was very much into horse racing and I've always been a big handicapper. I came over to the States 20 years ago. In 2007, a friend of mine took me to Gulfstream. He [Jack Lally of Summerplace Farm] owned a horse called Kelly's Landing, who won the [2007 G1] Golden Shaheen. That really got me into horses and I started buying them after that.”
He continued, “We've had several winners at Tampa Bay and now we're building up into classier horses to race, I suppose, but this is our first venture into pinhooking.”
Hosier, meanwhile, has held various roles in the industry, including director of sales at Denali and as a stallion administrator at Claiborne Farm. She has also worked for The Jockey Club and Martin Collins' Polytrack.
Hot Scot went to $80,000 to acquire the aforementioned colt from the first crop of 2012 GI Wood Memorial winner at last year's FTSAUG sale. They also bought a $75,000 Big Brown colt [Hip 72], a half-brother to MGSW D' Funnybone (D'wildcat), at the same auction. The duo were acquired specifically with the purpose of re-selling as juveniles.
“This is the first year that we have brought yearlings to the 2-year-old sales [to pinhook],” Hosier said. “We normally just race, but having worked at Denali, I've always wanted to [pinhook at] the 2-year-olds sales. We saw the Gemologist at Saratoga–he was a really nice horse–and we just loved the sire.”
Hosier continued, “Julie breaks all of our babies. Our exercise rider Luis could tell right away just by looking at him as yearling that he was really fast. He was always under a tight hold while training on the farm. Luis was a big part in us picking this horse out.”
Hip 171's older half-brother by Birdstone brought $275,000 from bloodstock agent Steve Young at last year's OBSMAR sale. He is also a half-brother to Centrique (Malibu Moon), GSP, $461,995.
“We're really excited, I've been doing this for a long time and have worked for a lot of different people,” Hosier concluded. “I think he's a really good one.” –@SteveSherackTDN
Partnership Forms for Bernardini Colt…
Town and Country Racing and Spendthrift Farm joined forces for the first time to land a son of Bernardini for $575,000 at the OBS March Sale Tuesday.
Consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent XXXVIII, as Hip 155, he covered a quarter mile in :21 at the breeze show. Europa Mundo Stable acquired the dark bay for $150,000 as a KEESEP yearling.
“He basically checked all the boxes for us–really good breeze, really good gallop out–everything we wanted–and he kept on going,” said Town and Country advisor Shannon Potter after signing the ticket while seated alongside Spendthrift's Ned Toffey and B. Wayne Hughes. “He did it really easy. He's what we were looking for as far as a stallion prospect goes. Hopefully, one day, if we're lucky, he'll get there.”
Louise and Kiki Courtelis's outfit, of course, campaign last year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff heroine Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat). She continues to gear up for her 5-year-old debut at Todd Pletcher's Palm Beach Downs base.
“We both landed on the same horse, so it was pretty easy,” Potter explained of the decision to partner up with Spendthrift. “It was a really good match.”
Hip 155 was produced by the stakes-winning Street Cry (Ire) mare Onebadkitty. A trainer will be decided at a later date, per Potter.
“We stretched a little bit, but we liked the horse well enough to be able to stretch,” Potter, also sales account manager at Taylor Made Sales, revealed. “It looks like if they're a good horse, they're bringing good money.”
Spendthrift, meanwhile, struck earlier in the sale for Hip 145, a daughter of Into Mischief, for $500,000 from the Niall Brennan consignment. She was the top-priced filly of the session.
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