By Jessica Martini
A pair of colts from the first crop of McKinzie and a filly by Munnings shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 during the first session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Wednesday in Central Florida.
Consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, the daughter of Munnings (hip 26) was the first to set the bullet mark some 15 minutes into the under-tack show. The bay is out of the unraced Ansaam (Bernardini), a half-sister to Grade I winner Denman's Call (Northern Afleet) and from the family of multiple Grade I winner Evening Jewel. She was a $95,000 purchase at last year's Keeneland September sale.
The very next horse to work Wednesday, hip 17, a colt by McKinzie consigned by Raul Reyes's Kings Equine, also worked in :9 4/5.
“He did it the way I expected him to,” Reyes said of the work. “He was superior up at the farm. He showed a lot of talent there and he stepped up to the plate today. He is just a big, strong-looking horse. He looks like the real thing.”
The dark bay is out of multiple stakes winner Altamura (Artie Schiller). He was purchased by Scott and Evan Dilworth for $135,000 as a weanling at the 2022 Keeneland November sale before RNA'ing for $125,000 back at Keeneland last September.
“Scott bought him as a weanling and he didn't sell him as a yearling,” Reyes said. “They got lucky they didn't sell him because he really showed up today.”
Asked how the colt had changed over the winter, Reyes said, “He just got more tucked up and muscled. I thought he was a good-looking horse when I got him, quite honestly.”
An hour into Wednesday's session, hip 89, another son of Gainesway's McKinzie, worked the furlong in :9 4/5. Out of Breech Inlet (Holy Bull), the colt is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed Merveilleux (Paynter). Breech Inlet is a half-sister to graded winner Bauble Queen (Arch), dam of multiple graded winner Blitzkrieg.
The Ontario-bred was purchased by Ron Fein's Superfine Farm for $205,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. He is consigned by Wavertree Stables.
A four-time Grade I winner on the racetrack, McKinzie stands at Gainesway for $30,000.
Reyes said he is a fan of the stallion based on the progeny he has seen so far.
“I love them,” Reyes said. “They have a lot of talent. And they have a good mind. The two that I have experience with so far also have very nice bodies.”
A filly by Bee Jersey (hip 130) turned in Wednesday's fastest quarter-mile when zipping the distance in :20 4/5 for consignor Tom McCrocklin. The juvenile is out of Christmas Cove (More Than Ready), a half-sister to graded winner Coal Play (Mineshaft), as well as to the dam of GI Travers S. winner Keen Ice.
McCrocklin purchased the filly on behalf of Michael Sucher's Champion Equine for $110,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearlings Sale in Saratoga last August.
The dispersal of the Lothenbach Stables of the late Bob Lothenbach, which produced a pair of million-dollar mares at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in February, will continue at the OBS March sale. Fourteen juveniles from the dispersal galloped during the under-tack show Wednesday from the consignments of Brennan and McCrocklin, as well as deMeric Sales and Ocala Stud. An additional 26 juveniles from the dispersal will be on the track during the remaining three sessions of the under-tack show.
The under-tack show began at 8 a.m. Wednesday with temperatures in the upper 60's and, with an increasing headwind as the day wore on, concluded just after 3 p.m. with temperatures near 80 degrees.
“The track was great,” Reyes said. “The only thing was the headwind was brutal. It changed later in the day, we experienced a very strong headwind, I would say.”
The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The March sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday with bidding beginning each day at 11 a.m.
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