Juvenile Sales Season Kicks Off in Ocala
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018 THE TDN DERBY TOP 12 JUVENILE SALES SEASON By T.D. Thornton KICKS OFF IN OCALA It doesn=t really matter which side you take on this past weekend=s GII San Felipe S. disqualification. The undeniable fact is that the controversy has sparked some much-needed interest in the GI Kentucky Derby chase by providing a bona fide rivalry at the top end of the division, and a close finish between two very talented colts only whets the appetite for what is to come further down the pipeline. Deeper down the list, we have a cluster of capable sophomores who might be one race away from muscling into top-tier contention, and the bottom end of this week=s Top 12 features several surprising new shooters emerging as fresh threats. Cont. p10 (click here) IN TDN EUROPE TODAY Photos by Z JOHNNY WEATHERBY TALKS WITH EMMA BERRY by Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato Weatherby bred Presenting Percy (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}), the red- Juvenile sales season gets underway Tuesday with the first hot favourite for tomorrow's G1 RSA Novices' Chase, and is session of the OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale owner-breeder of Red Indian (GB), who lines up for the G3 Coral Cup. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. beginning at 10:30 a.m. A catalog of 573 head have been assembled for the two-day auction. As of midday Monday, there were 123 outs. Breeze shows were held Mar. 8, 9 and 10 with windier weather yielding slower times on day one. A total of 19 horses stopped the clock in :9 4/5 for a furlong, while one colt worked the fastest quarter of :20 1/5. AThe first day [of the breeze show] was a bit of a challenge--the winds certainly kicked up--but the second two days were very good,@ said OBS President Tom Ventura. AUltimately, the horses had a good opportunity to show their stuff. Just walking around right now [Sunday] morning, there's a lot of activity here. We're looking forward to the sale.@ Consignor Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables also noted the difference in weather conditions between the showcase days, but didn=t think it would have much of an impact on prices. AThe first day was very tough,@ Dunne said while keeping a close eye on Sunday=s Arsenal vs. Watford contest. AObviously, nobody has any control over the wind--I think a headwind is the toughest thing that we deal with when it comes to breeze shows.@ Cont. p3 Fastest 2 YO colt by the fastest 2 YO of his crop... in a quarter century... 102 Beyer – 3 6 Ragozin Champion FASTER THAN: War Pass - 113 Beyer VIOLENCE GOLDENCENTS SHANGHAI BOBBY & MANY MORE War Pass - Runup the Colors, WinStarFarm.com by A.P. Indy | Fee: $5,000 S&N (859) 873-1717 The Breeders’ Farm PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Tuesday, March 13, 2018 Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN News and Features Editor Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN Assistant Editor Bobby Klatt ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Michelle Benson Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew Old Man Winter’s not done yet. While central Kentucky digs out from a snowstorm [email protected] that ended Monday morning, mares and foals enjoy the winter wonderland at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles. | Alys Emson Social Media Strategist Justina Severni Director of Customer Service MOURINHO INJURED IN WORKOUT, EUTHANIZED 17 Vicki Forbes [email protected] ‘TDN Rising Star’ and GI Kentucky Derby hopeful Mourinho (Super Saver) fractured his right sesamoid in a workout at Marketing Manager Santa Anita Monday morning and had to subsequently be Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen euthanized. Director of Information Technology Ray Villa [email protected] UNIQUE BELLA OUT OF SANTA MARGARITA Bookkeeper 18 Terry May Champion and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Unique Bella (Tapit) [email protected] came down with a cough last week and will not make her expected start in Saturday’s GI Santa Margarita S. WORLDWIDE INFORMATION International Editor Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 19 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • MARCH 13, 2018 OBSMAR Preview cont. from p1 popularity each and every year. If the market continues to hold ABut the guys who do this professionally are very good at what up, I think it's going to be a hell of a sale. There's still going to be they do,@ Dunne continued. AThe horses have been some polarization and it will be tough sledding for some, but if well-received even if they weren't :10 flats or :9 4/5. They've you have what they want it's going to be gangbusters." given them a little bit of leeway for the conditions. The last two The aforementioned bullet quarter mile breeze belonged to days we couldn't have asked for better conditions and the hip 567, a Goldencents colt who stopped the clock in :20 1/5. horses really got a chance to show themselves." The Feb. 16 foal was a $115,000 Keeneland September yearling A major storyline at virtually every sale in recent years has buy by consignor Hoby Kight for Beryl ASonny@ Stokes Jr. been the strength at the top of the market but relative AHe's been training well all winter,@ said Kight after walking hip spottiness in the middle and lower segments. Dunne is hopeful 567 himself for some potential buyers. AI hauled him over here for a solid 2-year-old market overall in 2018. and worked him a couple of times and he did everything right. I AI think we=re all optimistic,@ he said. AThe under-tack shows was expecting him to go fast, but you never know they're gonna were really well attended and we=ve been very busy here--they go :20 1/5.@ started looking as soon as the first day=s breezers were done. It Gross receipts at the immediate conclusion of last year=s sale seems that there=s not only top-end buyers here. There=s also a were $56,627,000, good for a record average of $188,757 and core of guys you would expect to be in the middle. If they follow median of $100,000. The RNA rate was 27.5% before OBS added through, it could be a great season.@ in post-sale transactions to its final statistics. David O=Farrell of Ocala Stud is also looking forward to a strong Last year=s sale topper was a $1.7-million Congrats filly March sale, but acknowledged the feast-or-famine environment consigned by McKathan Bros., Agent III and purchased by Kerri could still exist. Radcliffe on behalf of Phoenix Thoroughbreds. Eventually AI think it's going to be really strong.@ said O=Farrell. AThe named Diamondsandpearls and turned over to Bob Baffert, she yearling sales were very good, the breeding stock sales were romped first out to be named a >TDN Rising Star= and finished great, the stock market's still good. The 2-year-old sales have fourth in the GII Sorrento S. before being sidelined. produced a lot of top-class runners and I think they're gaining in Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 19 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • MARCH 13, 2018 Other noteworthy graduates of last year=s March sale include: - Instilled Regard (Arch), the fourth-priciest lot at $1.05 million and winner of the GIII Lecomte S. for Larry Best=s OXO Equine. - Four-time stakes winner Take Charge Paula (Take Charge Indy), scooped up for just $50,000 and most recently second in the GII Davona Dale S. after making the grade in the ARON WELLMAN TALKS 2YO SALES GIII Forward Gal S. following a private purchase. by Steve Sherack - Speedy turfer and >Rising Star= Analyze It (Point of Entry), a Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners frontman Aron Wellman sat $190,000 pick-up by Pete Bradley for Bill Lawrence who was last down for a Q&A session with TDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack seen dominating Del Mar=s GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. ahead of this week=s OBS March 2yo Sale. Wellman talks about - Michael Lombardi=s Lombo (Graydar), who only cost $75,000 his process at the breeze-up sales, freshman sires to keep an eye but ran away with Santa Anita=s GIII Robert B. Lewis S. on and his favorite places to head to after a long day at the sales - Pure Silver (Mission Impazible), $125,000, who took her first in Ocala. Two of Eclipse=s GISWs--Capo Bastone and Illuminant-- three starts including Saratoga=s GII Adirondack S. for Twin are graduates of the OBS March Sale. Creeks Racing Stables. - Engage (Into Mischief), who cost $550,000 and annexed Belmont=s GIII Futurity S. in October for Woodford Racing. Q: Take us through your process (shortlisting, watching breeze - Carolyn=s Wilson=s The Tablulator (Dialed In), who went for videos, etc.) while shopping the 2-year-old sales.