Whiting-Cella Reach for Pure Prize Colt

Hip 330, a Pure Prize colt, led the early bidding in the second session of the OBS April sale, going to trainer Lynn Whiting for $350,000. Whiting signed the ticket on behalf of owner Charles Cella. Bred by Susan Forrester, the bay colt was purchased by Talus Racing for $90,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October sale. He breezed in :10 2/5. 
“He’s a big, sound-looking two-turn horse,” said Whiting. “I liked everything about him. He’s got a good mind, he’s got a good eye and a great walk. He’s a high-quality horse. I think his future will be next year as a 3-year-old. I’m expecting him to be stakes quality.” 
   Consignor Niall Brennan, who is a part of the pinhooking partnership which purchased the colt in October, was high on the colt from the start. 
    “The first time we saw him, we loved him,” he commented. “His presence, his movements, he just looked like an athlete. He was very smooth and professional. To me, he just stood out. The next time we looked at him we thought, ‘We just got to have this horse.’” 
    Brennan continued, “We got him for $90,000, which seemed like a good price at the time in that market. In fact, I was at the airport jumping on a flight and my partner Mike Ryan was on the phone when he was bidding on him and we said, ‘Look, we just have to have him, so thank God it worked out, but he’s always been a beautiful colt. He’s always been a smooth, professional athlete. He’s not a now horse–he’s a real two-turn horse. I have a lot of confidence that he’ll be a great horse down the road because he has all the tools to be a really good horse. He doesn’t have that flashy pedigree right now, but he has everything else and he trains like a really good horse, and I hope he is for the buyers. He was really popular and the people really liked him and they wanted to stretch for him because he was really that nice here on the grounds.” 
    The consignor was pleased with the price the colt fetched and with the market overall. “[Monday] was solid, and it always seems that it gains momentum the second and third days,” Brennan remarked. “It does seem like there are a lot of nice horses on the grounds, and there’s a lot of people shopping, there are a lot of buyers here and, so far, I’ve found it very fair and very solid.”