Not This Time Filly Zips Fastest Quarter at OBS

A filly by Not This Time, mirroring the quick start of her freshman sire's progeny on the racetrack, claimed the fastest quarter-mile breeze time of the week so far when covering the distance in :20 1/5 during Monday's second under-tack preview ahead of next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Consigned by Top Line Sales, hip 1254 is out of graded stakes winner Sheza Smoke Show (Wilko).

“When we led her up there, we knew she would go fast, but we had no idea she would go :20 1/5,” said Top Line's Torie Gladwell. “She had prepped really fast, so we were thinking maybe a :20 3/5 if everything went right and we got lucky, or a :20 4/5 would be fantastic. But when they said :20 1/5, I was like, 'Did that just happen?'”

The bay filly was originally catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, but was rerouted to the Spring sale when the South Florida auction was canceled.

“She has been sitting on go since the Gulfstream sale,” Gladwell said. “We backed off of her a little bit just to give her a rest. So we skipped a couple of breezes, took it easy with her, but she never went out of training.”

Gladwell is such a fan of the filly, she was already shopping for more of the family Monday.

“She is beautiful to boot. She's not a little pocket rocket,” Gladwell said. “She's a big, strong filly. She has some scope and some length to her. And she's really smart with a big eye and a beautiful head. I was actually trying to find where the yearling and the baby were today, trying to track down the family to see if anything would be for sale. I like her that much.”

Mark Marino signed the ticket to acquire the filly as part of a pinhooking partnership for $135,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. She was bred by International Equities Holding, which purchased Sheza Smoke Show with the filly in utero for $185,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale.

“Mark Marino is a really good friend of ours and we sign his name every now and then on horses that are going to be more exclusive on,” Gladwell said. “It's a group of four people in the partnership and they are all excited. A couple of them are in a different time zone, so they were waking up at 6:30 to watch her breeze.”

Not This Time became the first North American freshman sire in the winner's circle this year when Hopeful Princess won at Churchill Downs May 21. He followed up the next day when Swaggy George won at Gulfstream Park.

“For sure that will help us,” Gladwell said of Not This Time's early success. “That's just luck right there. Obviously his horses are going to be precocious and early. They are going to have a lot of speed and talent. This filly is the same way.”

Speightster is the only other member of the freshman sire class of 2020 to have a winner following Queen Arella's triumph at Gulfstream May 29. Top Line Sales will offer three juveniles by the graded stakes winner: hip 515, hip 790, and hip 912.

“They are more Speightstown body types,” Gladwell said of Speightster's offspring. “They are a little bit smaller, quicker sprinter type horses. I think the Not This Times are going to be bigger and stretchier and get more of a two-turn type horse. But I like both stallions-they are both my top picks. Speightster, Not This Time, and I like the Air Force Blues. There are some good freshman sires this year.”

Three juveniles tied the fastest furlong of the week so far when working in :9 4/5 Monday.

A filly by Street Boss (hip 286) worked in :9 4/5 for Grassroots Training and Sales LLC, which purchased the chestnut for $37,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale. The 2-year-old is out of the unraced Pride of Place (A.P. Indy), a full-sister to multiple Grade I winner Flashing. She was bred by Calumet Farm, which purchased Pride of Place with the filly in utero for $55,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale.

A colt by Ghostzapper (hip 1250) shared the furlong bullet time of :9 4/5. Consigned by Sequel Bloodstock, the bay colt is out of Roberta Turner (Smart Strike), a half-sister to multiple graded placed Foxy Danseur (Mr. Greeley). Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbreds, he was purchased by Joey Platts for $250,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

During Monday's third and final set of breezes, a filly by Munnings (hip 318) also completed her furlong work in :9 4/5. Consigned by Randy Miles, the bay juvenile is out of the unraced Quick Click (Tiznow). Her second dam is Click Your Heels (Pulpit), a full-sister to Tapit. Bred by Eric Antonio, she was purchased by Daniela Boyd for $37,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Monday's three :9 4/5 works tied Sunday's mark set by a filly by Into Mischief. Five horses Monday equaled Sunday's quarter-mile bullet mark of :20 4/5 and a pair of juveniles worked the quarter-mile in :20 3/5; a colt by Into Mischief (hip 208) and a filly by Bayern (hip 248).

“The track was a little faster today,” Gladwell said. “We had a lot of rain the past couple of days, but last night I don't think it rained hardly at all. So I think the track tightened up a little bit from yesterday to today because we didn't have all of that water on it. And then the cloud cover kept it cooler-it's probably 10 degrees cooler today and that really helps keep the track tight throughout the day. There was a :9 4/5 in the last set, so nobody can say that the track doesn't play semi-fair throughout the whole day.”

The breeze show has attracted a good-sized crowd and Gladwell hopes that translates into a competitive marketplace next week.

“There are a lot of people in the stands watching the tack show and if you don't see somebody and you talk to someone about them, they say they are coming later and they are having others do work for them,” Gladwell said. “So I think it's going to end up a pretty busy sale as far as traffic goes. Now whether they are coming to spend money, I don't know. But I have heard a lot of people say they have orders to fill, so that always gives us hope.”

The breeze show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 7:30 a.m. The Spring sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday with bidding beginning each day at 10 a.m.