Bella Rodrigues will be offering just her second consignment during next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and the 22-year-old consignor had her first bullet worker when a filly by Rogueish (hip 418) shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 during the third session of the auction's under-tack preview Thursday. The filly was one of three to hit that mark during the session.
“I started with the show jumpers and that's how I got into the horses,” Rodrigues told OBS's Alicia Hughes.
Rodrigues, originally from New Jersey, grew up in St. Augustine before finding her way to Ocala.
“I used to come to Ocala and horse show,” she explained. “I moved here when my parents said they were going to stop paying for my horses. I was like, I need to figure out what I can do to make money. That's how I got into galloping.”
“I started galloping for Ciaran Dunne at Wavertree and I worked under him for a couple of years galloping,” she continued. “I would get on my own horses after I was done with him. They were consigned with JP Thoroughbreds.”
Rodrigues offered her first consignment under her Rodrigues Thoroughbreds banner at the OBS April sale where she offered five horses.
“Everyone was very encouraging, especially Nelson from Arroyo Bloodstock and Ciaran was very encouraging on doing my own consignment because I had five for April,” Rodrigues said. “They told me I should just do my own thing instead of consigning under someone else. And Julie Reiny, who gives me her homebreds, she was very encouraging on me doing my own consignment. Everyone told me I should take the leap of faith because everyone starts somewhere.”
Rodrigues Thoroughbreds' first offerings in April included a colt by Girvin who sold for $230,000 to MorPlay Racing and Marquee Bloodstock and a Drain the Clock filly who sold for $200,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.
Rodrigues continues to gallop all her horses, which she believes is to her advantage.
“There are definitely things you can see on the ground that you can't feel, but there are definitely things you can feel that you can't see,” she said. “So, I definitely like being able to get on the horses and feel them, how they are, what their quirks are, what lights them up. This sale, I've gotten on everything and ridden everything here, except obviously the breeze show.”
Hip 418, out of Gray Nicole (Hansen), was bred in Florida by Angel Roman.
“She prepped really great and we were very excited for her breeze,” Rodrigues said of the filly. “She was very aggressive in her training all year. She actually belongs to one of my members on the team, so he was very happy. When I was riding her at the sale, I was very excited for her. We were really excited to see her hit the track. She's going to be a really good horse.”
Also working the furlong in :9 4/5 at OBS Thursday was a filly by King for a Day (hip 514) consigned by Five Star Equestrian Sales and a colt by Munnings (hip 518) consigned by GOP Racing Stable Corp.
Two juveniles shared Thursday's fastest quarter-mile time of :20 4/5: a filly by Justify (hip 428) consigned by Hoppel LLC and a colt by Jackie's Warrior (hip 433) consigned by Tom McCrocklin.
The under-tack preview continues through Saturday with sessions beginning each day at 7:30 a.m. The OBS June sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday. Bidding begins daily at 10:30 a.m.
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