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| Sumita Pawar |
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The Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2YOs in Training has set new records for both average and median prices, culminating on 19th April. The sale included a US$1.9 million sale topper, which was a first-crop filly sired by Tiz the Law.
The OBS 2YOs in training sale concluded on 19th April with an US$850,000 Nyquist daughter selling to Donato Lanni, acting as agent for Charles and Susan Chu's Baoma Corp., topping the final session.
This filly is set to be trained by Bob Baffert and comes from the family of Fasliyev, a group One winner and European champion. She was bred in Kentucky by Bobby Flay Thoroughbreds and was a US$200,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 2020. During the under tack preview, she breezed a furlong in :09 4/5.
The session-topping daughter of Nyquist was Hip 915, sold on 19th April at the OBS Spring Sale. However, topping the entire sale was Hip 365, a first-crop daughter of Tiz the Law, which was sold for US$1.9 million on 17th April to Lanni, acting as an agent for Michael Lund Petersen.
The filly was acquired by Tom McCrocklin for US$170,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 2020 and was consigned by McCrocklin. She is out of the Sky Mesa mare Moonlight Sky and was bred in Kentucky by CHC. She is set to be trained by Baffert and is a half-sister to Abel Tasman, the 2017 champion 3YO filly, and a full sister to Sky Girl, a graded stakes winner.
"Once in a blue moon we get blessed with a special horse like her," shared McCrocklin. "She has everything I want in a horse. She has the physical conformation, pedigree, ability, and is a natural athlete. She stuck out here. It was hard for her to go unnoticed. Obviously, they found her."
After a somewhat slow third session on 18th April, where 114 horses out of 302 cataloged were sold, the final session picked up significantly on 19th April. A total of 141 horses were sold, bringing in a gross revenue of US$19,701,500, with an average sale price of US$139,727 and a median of US$65,000. 37 horses were unable to meet their reserves, while the number of outs exceeded 100 again on Friday.
The sale of 633 juveniles in its entirety garnered a total of US$82,086,500, compared to last year's amount of US$90,405,000. The average price of US$129,679 set a new record for the Spring Sale, surpassing the previous 2022 record of US$129,577 and last year's average price of US$129,335. Furthermore, this year's median price of US$70,000 also set a new Spring Sale record, exceeding 2023's median price of US$65,000. Finally, 149 horses remained unsold, resulting in a buy-back rate of 19%.
Tod Wojciechowski, director of sales for OBS, said of the record results, "We felt like it really picked up here at the end of the four-day stretch. It felt good. Certainly, disappointed in the (number of) outs. There were certainly a lot of outs over the four days. Something we'll address in the future, but all in all it was a good sale. We were bumping up against a record gross, so we were within striking distance of it."
In addressing the large number of outs, Wojciechowski said, "There are multiple factors that go into that decision from sellers. Sometimes, they feel like they don't have any action or whatever, but sometimes there is just a disconnect."
After the final session ended, Niall Brennan, the consignor, shared his thoughts on the market this week.
"I think the stats speak for themselves," Brennan said. "It's been very hit and miss. Same old story, really. It's been a tough market. You have to have the real goods, and they have to be very fast on the racetrack. There is a lot of controversy about this right now. But the reality is that the buyers buy what goes really fast. So, it's a boot camp.
"There are a lot less people around," Brennan added. "For OBS April (Spring Sale), this is usually a smorgasbord. It's always very well-attended and there are usually buyers all across the board. The reality is there are fewer people buying 2YOs. And listen, it's an election year, and people slow down on spending, historically, in an election year. That's probably a small factor, but we just don't have these conversations in the September sales or the yearling sales because there are people from all over the place buying horses. It just seems like the buying bench has narrowed.
"Then again, the horses that don't show up, in fairness, the buyers don't want them. They don't look like athletes if they don't breeze well. This week, the horses that people liked sold very well. There is a market for them and we're seeing that. It was a bit soft yesterday, but it was a little better today. Overall, the market has been a bit soft."
Agents John Kimmel and Nick Sallusto, who signed for a US$725,000 McKinzie colt in Friday's session, offered their takes on the market during the Spring Sale.
"Spotty," Kimmel noted. "But it did seem like the ones we were interested in didn't have any trouble finding buyers."
Sallusto added of the market, "The quality was pursued heavily. And anything not perceived as top quality struggled. It's more of the same, maybe a little bit more than usual."
De Meric Sales emerged as the top consignor for the Spring Sale, having sold 45 horses for a total of US$8,950,000. Wavertree Stables came in second, selling 36 horses for US$6,359,500.
Looking ahead, the next event on the OBS calendar is the June 2YOs in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale, which is scheduled to take place from June 11-13. The under tack previews for this sale are set to happen from June 3-8.