No Nay Never Fillies On Offer At OBS

The American breeze-up sector squeezed in its OBS March sale before much of the world came to a standstill due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the 2-year-old sales are back in business in the U.S. this week with the rescheduled OBS Spring Sale in Ocala, Florida. The sale boasts an international flair with two daughters of No Nay Never set to go under the hammer, both consigned by Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales.

Set to sell on day two as lot 421 is a filly born on Apr. 2 out of Seeking Solace (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), and therefore a full-sister to the G1 Middle Park S. and G1 July Cup winner and young Coolmore stallion Ten Sovereigns. Seeking Solace raced as a homebred for Godolphin and was listed placed in France for Andre Fabre before being scooped up by BBA Ireland from the Tattersalls July Sale in 2011 for 65,000gns. Seeking Solace has been mated exclusively to No Nay Never since producing his first-crop son Ten Sovereigns in 2016, and in addition to this 2-year-old filly she has the placed 3-year-old filly Eden Quay (Ire) and a yearling colt.

Seeking Solace's 2-year-old filly was bred by Camas Park, Lynch Bages and Summerhill and sent through the ring at Tattersalls October Book 1 last year by Camas Park, where she fetched 320,000gns from Magnolia Bloodstock. Torie Gladwell said the owner had initially planned to race the filly in the U.S., but a change of plans saw her wind up in the sale. She worked an eighth of a mile in :10.1 last Tuesday (video).

Gladwell said she was pleased with the filly's work and that she thinks she could really thrive with patience.

“She's an immature filly; she breezed real well but she's not a real big filly,” she said. “She's still coming around and I think if someone would give her some time off after this she could mature into a really nice racehorse and broodmare prospect.”

Set to go through the ring on Thursday as lot 710 is an Apr. 8-foaled filly who is the second foal out of the placed Medaglia d'Oro mare Alhania. Alhania is herself a daughter of the GI Del Mar Oaks winner Dessert (Storm Cat), and therefore a half-sister to the 2003 GI Breeders' Cup Turf dead-heater Johar (Gone West). They are out of Windsharp (Lear Fan), who was listed-placed in France before attaining two Eclipse awards while running on the turf in the U.S. with victories in the GI Beverly Hills H. and GI San Luis Rey S. Alhania's No Nay Never filly was bought by a group of Americans for €130,000 as a foal at Arqana's December Sale in 2018 with the plan to pinhook her as a yearling. Gladwell noted that she was rerouted to the 2-year-old sales after taking some time to mature, and she rewarded connections with a smart work in :10 flat last Thursday (video) and a great gallop out, according to Gladwell.

“She is a spitting image of No Nay Never and Scat Daddy,” Gladwell said. “She has a big, beautiful walk and Scat Daddy's neck, and a good top line. I think people are really going to like her on the shank.

“She was bought by a group of guys that went over there and they were hanging out and having a good time. They'd never done this large of a partnership before and they just decided to buy her and bring her back here and see what happens.”

While No Nay Never's greatest accomplishments, naturally, have thus far come in Europe, there is evidence to suggest his progeny could make plenty of noise in the U.S. He has had 22 starters Stateside for 15 winners and five stakes winners, headed by last fall's GII Mrs Revere S. winner Nay Lady Nay (Ire), whose G2 Coventry S.-winning full-brother Arizona (Ire) was a good fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf just weeks prior to that breakthrough victory. Three-year-old Vitalogy (GB) won the GIII Palm Beach S. in February, while Mae Never No (Ire) was the seven-length winner on a sloppy dirt course of the Listed Colleen S. at Monmouth Park back in 2018. Onthewaytonevrland (Ire) won the Listed Rushaway S. over the synthetic at Turfway Park last spring, while Yesterdayoncemore (Ire) was a listed winner going a mile on the grass at Del Mar.

“I think anybody that likes a sort of different pedigree for a broodmare prospect and racehorse will be interested in both these fillies,” Gladwell said. “They both move quite well on the dirt as well as the synthetic, so I think they could go on the dirt or turf. They both came out of their works well and vetted well. The guys are all very excited to have them over here and to be able to offer two fillies by that stallion, especially the Seeking Solace filly because she's a full to Ten Sovereigns, so that pedigree is going to appeal to a lot of people.”

Other European sires to watch out for at OBS include Australia (GB) (lot 973), Lope De Vega (Ire) (lot 264), Oasis Dream (GB) (lot 931) and Zoffany (Ire) (lot 934).