OBS March Indicates
Strong Market
SERITA HULT PHOTO
BY BROCK SHERIDAN
O
fficials at Ocala Breeders’ Sales, consignors and others in the thoroughbred industry felt confident that the 2021 OBS March Sale of 2-year-olds in training would be an improvement compared to last year’s March Sale when the COVID-19 pandemic first began to take hold in Florida and throughout United States. But this year’s two day auction conducted March 16-17 exceeded expectations on several fronts. It proved the market was strong with solid gross sales of $38,265,000 from 326 head for an average of $117,377. That compared to 2020 when 295 juveniles generated $27,349,500 and an average of $92,710. But perhaps the most encouraging figures reflected in the median, which jumped 25% from $50,000 in 2020 to $62,500 this year with a 16.2% buyback compared to 38.8% in 2020. Those numbers specifically reflected a strong demand for horses representing the lower and middle segments of both horse inventory and demand. “Going into [the March Sale this year] we felt positive,” OBS president Tom Ventura said. “As we got closer to the sale, there were a lot of people on the grounds looking at horses, so we were optimistic.” Even with the large pre-sale attendance however, OBS officials remained cautious with their optimism. In recent years, OBS has attempted to market the March Sale to a more diversified group of customers. “One thing you never know, even with the people that are here, is if the market would remain to be polarized,” Ventura said. “And it turned out to be the opposite. There was a lot of depth to the market and a lot of depth to the buyers. “We’ve been working for a while to expand our offerings during the March Sale. And we saw that coming in 2018 and 2019. We were convincing that second tier of buyers that there would be horses that would fit their needs and budgets. We were seeing more and more of them participating in March in addition to the higher end buyers. The top seller came on the second day when Hip 311, a daughter of Practical Joke consigned by Top Line Sales LLC as an agent, went
to Hideyuki Mori for $750,000. The bay filly, whose eighth-mile in :9.80 was co-fastest at March 13 under tack session, is out of champion Valiant Emilia (Per), by Pegasus Wind, from the family of recent Tampa Bay Derby (Grade 2)-winner Helium. Hip 547, a daughter of American Pharoah whose quarter-mile in :20.80 was co-fastest at March 13, under tack session, was sold to Colombo Bloodstock Agency for $600,000. The bay filly, consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables, Inc., as an agent, is out of graded stakes-placed, stakes-winner Henny Jenney, by Henny Hughes, a half-sister to Grade 1 stakes-placed, stakes-winner Zeewat. Spendthrift Farm and Myracehorse.com went to $575,000 for Hip 357, a son of Kantharos consigned by Woodford Thoroughbreds as an agent. The chestnut colt, whose quarter-mile in :20.40 was the cofastest on March 13, is a full-brother to stakes-winner Adventurous Lady out of Ari the Adventurer, by Pioneerof the Nile. Hip 295, a daughter of Uncle Mo consigned by Pike Racing as an agent, was sold to Live Oak Plantation for $550,000. The bay filly, who breezed a furlong in :10.20 on March 12, is out of Town Tour, by Speightstown, a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Moonshine Memories. Sean Flanagan paid $550,000 for Hip 504, a daughter of American Pharoah consigned by Eddie Woods as an agent. The bay filly, who breezed a quarter-mile in :21.20, is out of Forgotten Miss, by Afleet Alex, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Woodlander. Hip 507, American Passport, a son of American Pharoah who breezed an eighth-mile in :10.20, went to Hideyuki Mori for $550,000. The bay colt, consigned by Jesse Hoppel’s Coastal Equine LLC as an agent, is out of French Passport, by Elusive Quality, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Smooth Air. Hip 531, a son of Gormley consigned by Eddie Woods as an agent, went to Breeze Easy LLC for $550,000. The bay colt, whose furlong on Saturday in :9.80 was the day’s co-fastest, is a half-brother to stakeswinner Little Kansas out of Green Eyed Cat, by Tale of the Cat. ■ THE FLORIDA HORSE • APRIL / MAY 2021
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