Trio of Million-Dollar Babies Set OBS April Alight

Going into the third session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's April Sale of 2-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale, the auction had produced a total of two million-dollar sales in its entire history. That number was doubled within minutes Thursday as a filly by More Than Ready (hip 778) brought an even $1 million from Alessandro Marconi on behalf of a Middle Eastern client and, before the buzz had died down in the sales pavilion, a colt by Tiznow (hip 793) sold for an all-time OBS record $2.45 million to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. Both youngsters shared the under-tack show's furlong bullet time of :9 3/5. A Union Rags colt (hip 899) provided the exclamation point on the day when selling for $1 million as the fifth-last horse through the ring.

“Certainly the day exceeded our expectations,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “There was obviously a lot of talk on the grounds about the Tiznow colt, but he went beyond, probably the consignor's expectations, and ours as well. It was an exciting day, with not just him, but two million-dollar horses along with him.”

The previous OBS record was set at April in 2015 when a filly by Tapit brought $1.9 million. A colt by Broken Vow became the auction's second seven-figure sale when bringing $1.2 million in 2016.

The million-dollar sales are a continuation of the evolution of the April market, which has seen its average and gross explode over much of the last decade.

“As someone told me today, this isn't your father's April sale anymore,” Wojciechowski said. “We've seen this evolution of the April sale where consignors are comfortable bringing any type of horse here and buyers are comfortable buying those type of horses here. We have the high-end buyers, we have the mid-range buyers. There is a comfort level there knowing that stock like that is here. Each year, it just keeps building on itself.”

Through three of four sessions of the April sale, 521 head have grossed $47,382,700. The cumulative average is $90,946–up 18.2% from a year ago, while the median is up 4.4% to $47,000. With 108 horses reported not sold, the cumulative buy-back rate is 17.3%.

For the session, OBS sold 171 horses for $17,397,500. The average jumped 19.3% to $101,740 and the median rose 3.1% to $50,000. Thursday's buy-back rate was a sparkling 13.2%.

In addition to the strength at the top of the market, this week's April sale has also featured a robust middle market, something which has been lethargic at recent auctions. The strength of the middle market was a trend Wojciechowski saw developing during OBS's record-setting March sale.

“I think there were signs of that in March,” he commented. “I think that gets lost a little bit. There actually was some strength for middle-market horses and it's just carried through to April.”

Brad Grady, who sold the record-setting Tiznow colt through the Bobby Dodd consignment, agreed there was strength throughout the market.

“I think the top end of the market hasn't softened any,” said Grady. “If anything, I think it's gotten stouter with more competition. I've seen more of a middle market for these horses than we've seen in years past, last year especially. Those top-end horses are always going to command the most because the wealthy play in that wheel house.”

Bloodstock agent Mike Recio saw plenty of positive trends in the market.

“I think there is depth to the market,” Recio said. “I think if you're a middle-market guy you should come. There is so much variety, there is 1200 horses. There are still a lot of good horses left. We're still pounding the pavement.”

The OBS April sale concludes Friday with a session beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Grady Over the 'Moon' After Record-Breaking Sale

Texas businessman and pinhooker Brad Grady of Grand Oaks set a new OBS record and new personal best when selling a son of Tiznow for $2.45 million halfway through Thursday's session of the April sale. After a lengthy round of bidding, it was John Moynihan who came out on top on behalf of Coolmore's M.V. Magnier for hip 793, who breezed in a bullet :9 3/5.

“He is a beautiful horse and moved beautifully as well,” said Moynihan, who did his bidding on the phone from the OBS office. “He's a great big horse. Any horse that looks like that and can move that fast, we have to take a chance on. I don't want to have to run against him. He's that good I think. We just hope he materializes into what we think he can be.”

Grady was still all smiles outside of consignor and Grand Oaks farm manager Bobby Dodd's Barn 10 shortly after the sale.

“We were expecting that he would bring quite a bit of money, but it's hard to expect anything like that,” the 37-year-old remarked.

Bred by WinStar Farm, which stands top sire Tiznow, hip 793 is out of Moonbow (Distorted Humor), a daughter of MSW Storm Beauty (Storm Cat). Brady, who pinhooks about 30 to 40 horses a year, purchased the hulking bay colt for just $125,000 at Keeneland September last term.

“He's a nice horse, big hip, pretty horse,” Grady remarked. “He had a lot of leg and looked like he would cover a lot of ground. We didn't know how fast he would be. We knew he would work good and gallop out good, but with that two-turn pedigree, it is hard to get them to go that fast. I've never seen one [built] like that go :9 3/5. I guess everyone [was surprised] and that is why he brought the money he did. When they are built like that, they aren't supposed to go that fast.”

Dodd, who signed the ticket on Grady's behalf at Keeneland, echoed similar sentiments.

“He was just a pretty, strong horse and he had pedigree. We just liked him,” the horseman offered. “I think the :9 3/5 was good, but the gallop-out was unbelievable. His fractions were off the charts. I had several people told me he is like the next Arrogate (Unbridled's Song). We'll see how that goes.”

Grady scored his first pinhooking success five years ago with Stonestreet's MSW Kauai Katie (Malibu Moon), a $90,000 KEESEP buy turned $490,000 Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-year-old. The Grand Oaks team also had a big score at OBS March this year, selling a Union Rags colt they purchased for $135,000 at Keeneland September to Dennis O'Neill for $950,000 after a :10 flat breeze.

Grady also campaigns GII Louisiana Derby hero and GI Kentucky Derby contender Girvin (Tale of Ekati), a $130,000 FTKOCT buy that Grady kept after he missed the 2-year-old sales. Trainer Joe Sharp moved Girvin to Lexington to swim him due to a quarter crack.

“He is swimming, but he is fine,” Grady said. “He has had a quarter crack since [winning] the [GII] Risen Star [S. Feb. 25], but he is doing great and is still on track [for the Derby].” —@CDeBernardis

More Than Ready Filly Heads to Europe

Bloodstock agent Alessandro Marconi was extended to an even $1 million to secure a daughter of More Than Ready on behalf of a Middle Eastern client.

“She is quality all over, she was the only horse in the sale you could say,” Marconi said after signing the ticket out back. “She was perfect all over. We couldn't see another horse after watching her. She is so light on the ground. She is really quality all over.”

The filly, catalogued as hip 778, is out of 2002 GII Schuylerville runner-up Miss Mary Apples (Clever Trick) and is a half to graded stakes placed Dr. Diamonds Prize (Pure Prize) and multiple stakes winner Miss Red Delicious (Empire Maker).

Shortly after the juvenile went through the sales ring at OBS, Miss Red Delicious' 2-year-old filly Nootka Sound (Lonhro {Aus}) romped to a debut win at Keeneland.

The More Than Ready filly was one of two juveniles to work a furlong in :9 3/5 during Thursday's session of the under-tack preview.

“When we saw her breeze, we were looking at each other like this is something,” Marconi said. “We've been here for the whole week, so we've been checking all the horses and all the breezes, but since we saw her out of the box and out on the track, we were sure she was the real deal.”

Of the filly's new owner, Marconi said, “It was for a Middle East client who is also a breeder and trainer. She is the top of the top, so we were expecting to pay that.” The filly will head to Europe before a final decision on her future will be made.

“She'll go to England first and then we'll make a plan,” Marconi said of plans for the dark bay filly. “I think she can go everywhere because she's so light going over the ground. And she breezed that quickly and so easily and after the breeze, she didn't even look like she had done anything. She was so easy on the ground and so ready for that.”

The filly was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables on behalf of Joe Minor's JSM Equine, which purchased her for $390,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Dunne was quick to praise Minor for the astute pinhooking score.

“All the credit has to go to Joe Minor,” Dunne said. “He came to Keeneland and he asked Justin [Casse] and I what was left for the day. When she walked in the back walking ring, he said he wasn't leaving without her. Justin and I would never have paid that for her, but Joe was bound and determined to get her.”

Dunne continued, “Olin Gentry's group came in and took a piece with him. It's their first time pinhooking, so it's very exciting for them.”

The More Than Ready filly became the third million-dollar sale in the history of the April sale, but Dunne admitted he had some anxious moments prior to the sale.

“We were very confident a week ago, and we might have been three days ago, but we were fairly nervous today,” he said. “It's a new face that bought her. We weren't sure that the people that were on her were the people that you would normally expect to buy a $1-million filly. But I guess that's a testament to the market more than anything else that she was able to come up here and do that without the usual faces.”

The filly had originally been targeted for the OBS March sale, but an illness in February caused connections to delay her ring appearance.

“We wanted to come to March,” Dunne said. “But it doesn't matter where you take one like her, they are going to find her. Bobby [Dodd]'s [$2.45 million] colt was the same thing. The really good horses, you can sell them in the middle of 75 and they'd find them.” @JessMartiniTDN

Million-Dollar Union Rags Another 'Sharp' Pinhook

In an April sale dotted with big pinhooking scores, a colt by Union Rags (hip 899), purchased by Liz Crow and Paul Sharp for $60,000 as a KEESEP yearling, became the latest home run when selling to trainer Jeff Mullins for $1 million late in Thursday's session. Mullins was bidding on behalf of Red Barons Barn and Rancho Temescal.

“He's just a big, nice colt,” offered Mullins, who teamed up with Red Barons Barn to win Keeneland's GII Dixiana Elkhorn S. last Saturday with Itsinthepost (Fr) (American Post {GB}). “He looks like the kind that might get you to the first weekend in May. He breezed nice [:10.1] and was just a nice individual.”

Bred in Kentucky by Greg Goodman's Mt. Brilliant Farm, the bay colt is out of the A.P. Indy mare Poco Mas and is a half-brother to Argentinian Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Carinosa (Tiznow). His second dam is SW and GISP Adel (Strawberry Road {Aus}), who produced Canadian champion Interpol (English Channel).

An ecstatic Crow and Sharp, who consigned the colt, were the first to congratulate Mullins after the hammer fell.

“Paul and I purchased him from Lane's End out of Book 3 at Keeneland September,” Crow said. “He was a May foal and had a lot of class to him. He was a really intelligent horse. We thought he would fill into his frame.”

GI Belmont S. winner Union Rags' first foals are 3-year-olds this year, including GI Kentucky Derby contender Patch and early GI Kentucky Oaks favorite Paradise Woods, both 'TDN Rising Stars.' The Lane's End stallion was second on the 2016 leading freshman sires list by earnings and first by Grade I winners thanks to the exploits of Grade I-winning fillies Dancing Rags and Union Strike, the latter of which was purchased for $375,000 at last year's OBS April sale. Hip 899 marked the first seven-figure sale for the young sire, who currently stands for $50,000.

“Union Rags was another factor,” commented Crow. “We really believed in Union Rags as a sire and thought he would pop, but sometimes people are hesitant to buy from the second crop of a sire like that. Between the Union Rags and the May foal, we thought he would fill out and grow up.”

The bloodstock agent continued, “I thought at the time that $60,000 was about what we wanted to pay for the horse. I actually wrote in my catalogue $60,000 was what I wanted to go to and that's exactly what he fell to. He was just classy and intelligent from the start. He was well-conformed and a beautiful colt.”

The Union Rags colt was part of a new pinhooking partnership put together by Crow and Sharp.

“Paul and I started a pinhooking venture last year,” Crow explained. “We have 11 guys in on the venture and we bought nine horses. We sold two for a profit in March. This was our third horse through the ring. We spent $600,000 total on all of them. So we're ahead of the game right now and we're thrilled about it. We have six more to sell. One sells tomorrow, a Dialed In colt (hip 1145) with Paul, and then we have three in [Fasig-Tiptn] Maryland and two in [OBS] June.” —@CDeBernardis

Colonel John an Early Highlight

A filly by Colonel John led early returns at the OBS April sale Thursday when selling for $425,000 to Gatewood Bell's Cromwell Bloodstock. Bell had already left town, so Mark Recio handled the bidding.

“Gatewood loved her and obviously she was a standout,” Recio said. “She has a pretty good physical and a great work. She's got everything, so we'll see how things shake out.”

Out of stakes winner Joharmony (Johar), the bay filly (hip 616) worked a furlong in :10 1/5. Bred by Gary Chervenell, the juvenile RNA'd for $24,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. She was consigned by Stephens Thoroughbreds.

“Colonel Johns have had success on the grass, but she doesn't look like she'll be limited by anything,” Recio said of the filly's possible future. “I know it's a Johar mare, but you try the dirt first and see what happens. I'm sure Gatewood will send her to a great trainer and we'll see from there.”

Of the filly's final price tag, Recio said, “I swung personally on the Munnings filly (hip 345) yesterday that David Ingordo bought for $425,000 and I thought that was a lot, too. I just think over these last three days, we've seen that the good ones are going for a lot, more than you can imagine.” @JessMartiniTDN

Into Mischief Colt Another Score for Mejia

Jaime Mejia's Thoroughbred Champions Training Center added another impressive pinhooking score to its resume when a colt by Into Mischief sold for $400,000 to Frank Fletcher Racing Operations. Mejia purchased the youngster for $11,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

“I am very happy that the horse is in the best possible hands with Bob Baffert,” Mejia said through an interpreter after the sale.

Hip 848 is out of Oh So Nice (Smart Strike), a half-sister to stakes winner Dynamic Cat (Dynaformer), the dam of graded stakes winner Dynamic Holiday (Harlan's Holiday) and multiple graded stakes placed Appealing Cat (Successful Appeal). He worked a quarter-mile :20 3/5.

Asked what he liked about the youngster as a yearling, Mejia said, “I knew he was a champion. I thought we would have to pay a little more to get him.”

Mejia, a native of Columbia, added the April foal has matured and filled out since last fall.

“He is a big horse and he has grown up a lot,” Mejia said. “The horse didn't have the attitude, the temperament, that he has now. He was an April foal and it helped that he has had the opportunity to grow up.”

Of Thursday's final price, Mejia said, “I expected much more. I always expect more. This was the best colt that I've had since I've been here in the United States.”

Two years ago, Thoroughbred Champions Training Center equaled a then OBS June record when selling another son of Into Mischief for $575,000. That juvenile, also purchased by Frank Fletcher, was another $11,000 Keeneland September graduate.

Mejia was understandably bullish on OBS. Asked what he thought of the sales venue, he said, “I love it.” @JessMartiniTDN

Soldat Filly Out Sells Expectations

A filly from the first crop of Soldat, a son of War Front who scored graded stakes victories on both dirt and turf, surprised everyone, including her own connections, when dropping the hammer at $300,000. Trainer Chad Brown signed the winning ticket on behalf of longtime client Klaravich Stable.

“That was particularly rewarding,” said Matt Lyons, Vice President of Woodford Thoroughbreds, which bred and consigned hip 724 and stands her young sire. “That was a homebred filly. We own the stallion, so that was a huge result for us. He stands for $5,000 and his first crop are 2-year-olds, but they've come here and worked really well. Good judges are on them. That was a nice bidding duel between Mark Casse and Chad Brown.”

A :10 2/5 breezer, the Florida-bred filly is out of Lyrique (Rock Hard Ten), who John and Susan Sykes' Woodford Thoroughbreds purchased for $25,000 carrying a foal by Artie Schiller at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton February sale. They bred Lyrique back to their stallion Crown of Thorns and the resulting foal, a colt named Unlockthepotential, sold to the Brown and Klaravich team for $220,000 at last year's April sale.

“The plan all along was to come here,” Lyons commented. “Her half-brother by Crown of Thorns sold here for $220,000 last year, so we said we are going to take the sister and try to do the same thing.”

The $300,00 price tag on the May 17 foal more than doubled the previous highest price brought by an offspring of Soldat when Hip 111 sold for $120,000 during the opening session of the April sale.

“Obviously people realize how good a runner Soldat was himself on turf and dirt,” Lyons remarked. “It looks like the babies are going to be versatile too.” —@CDeBernardis