OBS April

6th-SAR, $100k, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 3:55 p.m. ET A pair of promising-looking juvenile fillies will make their respective debuts while breaking next door to each other in this Thursday turf dash. EMPRESS TIGRESS (Classic Empire) made a big splash at OBS April when breezing a quarter-mile in an eye-popping :20 2/5, one of only two horses at the entire sale to hit that mark, and landed with Augustin Stable after the hammer dropped for $410,000. Trained by Jonathan Thomas, she's out of a half-sister to GSW/MGISP turfer Stays...

7th-Del Mar, $71,500, Msw, 7-24, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.44, ft, 4 3/4 lengths. DANCE TO THE MUSIC (f, 2, Maclean's Music--Beautified, by Congrats), apparently chilly-on-the-tote at 6-1, caught a flyer out of the gate and never gave her rivals a chance, streaking to a comfortable debut success Saturday at Del Mar. The scopey chestnut jumped right into the bridle and took them along at a good clip, covering the first couple of furlongs in a sharp :22.19. Galloping along on her own courage on the turn, Dance to the...

GI Belmont S.-winning conditioner Brad Cox grabbed one more stakes win for the road Sunday as unbeaten Australasia rallied past rivals to earn a first black-type victory out of Louisiana-bred company. An 8 1/4-length MSW winner at Fair Grounds last November, the dark bay reeled off a pair of dominant stakes scores at Delta Downs before annexing the two-turn Crescent City Oaks back in NOLA Mar. 20. She picked up another big check when shortening up for a GI Kentucky Oaks day allowance at Churchill Apr. 30, but was facing...

Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training concluded its record-setting renewal with a frenetic day of bidding in Central Florida Friday. The four-day auction produced its highest-ever gross when 723 horses sold for $73,907,900. The average was $102,224 and the median was $50,000--both figures just off the records set in 2019 of $108,903 and $60,000. "We went into the sale with high hopes and certainly the sale didn't let us down," OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said. "The buyers showed...

OCALA, FL--There's been a palpable good feeling all week at OBS for the auction house's marquee Spring 2-Year-Old Sale, and you need look no further than the full parking lot to explain why. Business is booming, but perhaps equally responsible for the positive vibes is the easing of coronavirus restrictions as the country rapidly becomes vaccinated, which means old friends seeing and hugging each other for the first time in a long time. Wednesday morning, Joe Bianca and Jon Green talked about that and much more with four consignors and...

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Nakayama Racecourse. The weekend's other meetings take place at Hanshin, which on Sunday stages the G1 Osaka Hai, featuring a mouth-watering clash between Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Imact {Jpn}) and Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who...

In the fall of 2018, Torie and Jimbo Gladwell, owners of the Ocala-based Top Line Sales, welcomed into their training program a colt by Curlin out of the stakes-winning Marion Ravenwood (A.P. Indy). Some 2 1/2 years later, the bay colt--now named Idol--is a Grade I winner, having flown home down the center of the track to take out the prestigious Santa Anita H. Mar. 6. The victory was the second leg of a unique triple for Top Line graduates over the last few weeks. Idol was bred by Len...

Robert and Lawana Low's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf hero Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) breezed a half-mile in :48.40 for trainer Todd Pletcher at Palm Beach Downs Feb. 20 and is penciled in for his next start in the GII Muniz Memorial S. going nine furlongs over the Stall-Wilson turf course at the Fair Grounds Mar. 20, the Lowses bloodstock advisor and racing manager Jacob West said Monday. The $50,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $1.2-million OBS April breezer got about three weeks off following his neck defeat of stablemate Largent...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency HALF TO LEA DEBUTS AT THE SPA 1st-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:10 p.m. Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider homebred FOLIAGE (Speightstown), a half-brother to Grade I winner Lea (First Samurai), makes his career bow in this spot for Al Stall. In addition to his top-level victory on the dirt, Lea was GISP on turf and earned over $2.35-million before retiring to Claiborne's stud barn. Their MSP dam Greenery (Galileo {Ire}) is also the dam of SW Acre (Blame) and GSP Heath (Pulpit)....

Sent off the 35-100 favorite in Sunday's 1000-meter Chairmen's Day Plate at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse, Chancheng Prince (Carpe Diem) made light work of four other rivals to score by 3 1/4 convincing lengths (video). The event was restricted to so-called griffins, Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds and Northern Hemisphere 3-year-olds that are unraced prior to their arrival in Hong Kong. With second-leading rider Joao Moreira taking the reins for the first time, the gray colt hopped slightly at the start, then raced prominently on the stands' rail. Sent into the...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency WELL-BRED CURLIN FILLY DEBUTS AT OAKLAWN 5th-OP, $60K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 3:41p.m. Steve Asmussen unveils a blue-blooded filly in Hill 'n' Dale and Stretch Run homebred CASUAL (Curlin). Out of MGISW and millionaire Lady Tak (Mutakddim), the chestnut is a half-sister to SW & GSP Japanese runner and millionaire A Shin Spartan (Zensational and SW Melody Lady (Unbridled's Song), who is the dam of SW & GSP Buy Sell Hold (Violence). TJCIS PPs   PLETCHER UNVEILS EXPENSIVE LIAM'S MAP 8th-GP, $45K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1mT,...

While the coronavirus pandemic's most notable interruption to the world of horse racing has been the lack of, well, horses racing, many of the gears normally turning behind the scenes of the sport have been slowed or halted altogether as well. That includes the sales circuit, which has gone dark for several months as stay-at-home orders and bans on mass gatherings have, in some cases belatedly, trickled in to nearly all of the 50 states. As timing would have it, that shutdown basically covers all of 2-year-old sale season aside...