By Jessica Martini
The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's April Sale of 2-Year-Olds, which has seen record growth in each of its last three renewals, begins its four-day run Tuesday in Ocala with the first of 1,216 catalogued juveniles scheduled to go through the ring at 10:30 a.m.
“There are a lot of quality horses on the grounds,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “The consignors have done a great job of continually upping the quality of what they have to offer and we are excited to see what is going to happen this week.”
The 2015 April sale saw 676 horses sell for a gross of $53,711,400. The average was a sale record $79,455 and the median was a record-tying $45,000. The auction was topped by a $1.9-million daughter of Tapit–the sale's first-ever seven-figure result. Now named Inheritance, the LNJ Foxwoods runner was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' with a maiden-breaking score at Belmont Park last October.
After selective buying at the season's previous sales, consignors are looking for a broader base of buyers in Ocala this week.
“We had a very good breeze show at the [OBS] March sale,” commented Matt Lyons, vice president and general manager of Woodford Thoroughbreds, which consigned last year's April topper. “We had a lot of traffic, but it seemed like it was very picky to me. People were picky on vetting. We had a lot of vetting on some horses. A lot of people seemed to land on the same horses and there were ones that didn't have many people at all.”
“I am hoping the April sale is more of the true market,” Lyons continued. “The select sales, you don't get a lot of the middle market. This April sale to me is kind of the equivalent of Keeneland September. Everyone is going to be there that is trying to buy horses from all different levels. At least in the past, it has been a really healthy, healthy market.”
Wojciechowski agreed the April catalogue should offer something for everyone.
“I think the buying bench takes care of itself in April,” he said. “It certainly has evolved into the sale for everyone. I think buyers have a very high degree of confidence that, regardless of what price-level they may be shopping in, there are a lot of good options and a lot of good horses here for them. I think that's just become the appeal of April.”
With a sale average that has exploded from just $27,918 in 2010 to its record level a year ago, the April sale has become a must-attend for horsemen from around the world, according to Wojciechowski, who used 'TDN Rising Star' Polar River (Congrats) as an example of the sale's international appeal. The filly sold to Irish bloodstock agent Tony Watkins for $40,000 at last year's April sale and has gone on to win the G3 UAE Oaks and was second in the G2 UAE Derby while racing for Valentin Bukhtoyarov and Evgeny Kappushev.
“We see people from all parts of the world,” Wojciechowski said. “The Koreans are well represented, the Japanese interests are well represented, as well as the Europeans. It really has become the 2-year-old source for the world.”
OBS hosted a six-session under-tack preview ahead of the April sale. A trio of juveniles shared the preview's quarter-mile bullet time of :20 2/5: hip 790, a colt by Shackleford from the Wavertree Stables consignment; hip 1127, a filly by Ghostzapper consigned by Off the Hook, LLC; and hip 1214, a filly by Quality Road consigned by Q Bar J Thoroughbreds. Twenty-five juveniles shared the bullet furlong time of :9 4/5.
“It went really well,” Wojciechowski said of the preview. “The weather was very kind to us. As everyone knows, it can get a little hot in April, but it stayed relatively tepid. We didn't have any extreme heat and with the weather helping us, the quality horses showed up and it was a very good breeze show.”
The April sale runs Tuesday through Friday, with sessions beginning daily at 10:30 a.m.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
