Estradas Aiming to Make Their Mark

Shoppers at Sunday's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Winter Mixed Sale will see a familiar name at the barn, but Becky Merkel's 12-horse consignment will be directed for the first time by Merkel's daughter Sarah Estrada-Brok and son-in-law Carlos Estrada.

“This will be our first time really taking over the consignment,” Estrada-Brok confirmed. “For this sale, we decided to just stick with my mother's name to consign under, but we would like to change it, possibly in October.”

Merkel and husband Glenn Brok own and operate Diamond B Farm in Mohrsville, Pennsylvania, and their daughter laughs, “I may as well have been born in the barn.”

In addition to helping out at Diamond B “forever,” Estrada-Brok gained experience working for trainers Todd Beattie and Kellyn Gorder and has been working for Patti Miller at EQB for the last five years.

While her husband of three years wasn't born into a racing family, Carlos Estrada has more than made up for lost time.

“He is from Mexico originally and they had a couple riding horses down there, nothing like the Thoroughbred industry,” Estrada-Brok commented. “But his older brother [Javier] is also involved in the Thoroughbreds. He has a 2-year-old consignment in Ocala. Carlos started out working for him and he learned a lot from his brother. Then he moved on and started working for Four Star Sales and he's worked his way up there and he's basically their head showman and they love him there. They are pretty upset that he'll be slowing down on doing the sales for them and going into his own business, but at the same time they are happy for him.”

Asked why the couple has decided the time is right to branch out on their own, Estrada-Brok has a ready answer.

“I had a baby,” she smiled. “He's almost nine months now. It kind of changes everything. My time schedule doesn't match up with Patti's anymore, so I can't be at her beck and call. We kind of have to start making money for us and start spending more time with the baby.”

The couple's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic consignment includes horses for various clients and includes 10 yearlings. Among the group, Estrada-Brok singles out hip 123, a daughter of Munnings out of She's Flattering (Flatter).

“She is a really nice filly,” Estrada-Brok said of the dark bay yearling. “She's got plenty of leg and she has a solid body.”

Also in the consignment is hip 172, a filly by Mission Impazible out of Go on Babe (Stormy Atlantic).

“I love the Mission Impazible filly,” the consignor admitted. “She looks super fast and has a walk and an attitude to back it up.”

Looking forward, Estrada-Brok explained, “We'd like to keep doing the Maryland sales and possibly be able to venture up to Saratoga if we have a good New York-bred to sell up there. And we'd like to do the Fasig-Tipton July sale. We'd like to expand, but not go crazy.”

The couple was active in the weanling and short yearling market, with an eye towards pinhooking horses in Timonium.

“We went to the November sale and bought a couple of babies out of there and we went to the January sale at Keeneland and bought a couple of babies out of there,” Estrada-Brok said. “That's our plan, pinhook a couple of babies, raise them here on the farm and then prep them here [in Mohrsville] and hopefully have more of the Kentucky sires that will draw people into our consignment and make some money at the same time.”

As for what type of weanlings they targeted, Estrada-Brok said, “We tried to go for real racy bodies and sires that are still hot and still good. We didn't get any Uncle Mos, of course, you can't touch them. But we got a couple of good horses, like a Gemologist, a Liaison, a Yes It's True–just trying to bring in some Kentucky sires, everybody always goes for them.”

Asked if there was any trepidation about starting a new business venture, Estrada-Brok doesn't hesitate.

“Always,” she said. “But if you're not nervous, then you're not careful. And if you're not careful, then you mess up. That's something I learned when I was galloping. My boss Todd Beattie always asked me if I was nervous and I always said, 'Yep,' and he said, 'Good that will keep you on your toes.'”

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Winter Mixed Sale begins 11 a.m. Sunday in Timonium.