www.facebook.com/thefloridahorse FLORIDA’S DAILY SALES DIGEST • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013 SALE HEADLINES Published by Florida Equine Publications Inc. WWW.FTBOA.COM Optimism Abound For OBS Fall Mixed Sale OBS Fall mixed sale as youngsters include such who didn’t arrive until Monday more time to in- By WhileCynthia the OcalaMcFarland Breeders’ Sales Company’s stakes horses as Comma to the Top, Flat Out, Cur- spect horses. Wednesday’s Open session of hip Fall mixed sale gives buyers an opportunity to rency Swap, Giant Ryan, Great Attack, Holiday numbers 175 through 386 starts at 10:30 a.m. purchase breeding stock, in the end, it still Magic, Merit Man, Sunny Desert, CC’s Pal, Another The total of 386 horses cataloged for the comes down to racing. Buyers may contemplate Romance, Rolling Fog, Wildcat Lily, and more. sale is a slight decrease from the 420 head con- pedigree—particularly when thinking of the fu- This year’s sale takes place today and to- signed last October, but OBS officials and con- ture foal a mare is carrying—but ultimately, it’s morrow. Today’s Preferred session, featuring signors alike, buoyed by results at 2013 sales all about performance on the racetrack. hip numbers 1 through 174, begins at 1 p.m. thus far, are optimistic that the upward trend Recent stakes winners that came through the The later start time is designed to allow buyers will continue. “Given the results of the yearling sale, this should bode well for the weanling market,” notes Tod Wojciechowski, OBS director of sales. “It seems like everything is on an uptick within our industry, which should bode well for both weanlings and mares.” “I just returned from the New York mixed sale and if that’s any indication, I think it’s going to be a very good sale here, especially for wean- lings. I also think there’s light at the end of the tunnel for broodmares,” says Richard Kent of Kaizen Sales, the leading consignor at last year’s OBS Fall mixed sale. Last October, Kaizen Sales, agent, sold 29 horses for a total of $310,100. The top-priced horse from Kent’s consignment was a $50,000 weanling filly by Majestic Warrior out of Royal Confection. “Weanlings are going to be very strong. They were strong in New York and all the people I talked to in New York are heading this way,” OBS Graduate Comma to the Top See on page 2 COGLIANESE PHOTO OBS October www.facebook.com/thefloridahorse WWW.FTBOA.COM • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013 • 2 “The market is really strong now. You lead in a pretty, athletic horse and people are lined up to buy him, but that’s not new. Good horses are like pretty women; they get all the action. Even in a bad economy, nice horses were sell- ing,” observes Jones, who has broadened his horizons and consigned in the juvenile market for the first time this past spring at OBS April. “I think the bad economy actually helped us because it shrank the inventory,” he notes. “The strike zone has gotten bigger because we have fewer horses to compete for. Now you have more opportunity (as a seller) because there are fewer horses available and more people need- ing them.” During last year’s preferred session, 123 horses sold for a total of $1,740,900, bringing an average of $14,154. In the open session, 164 OBS Graduate Flat Out horses sold for 1,212,500, averaging $7,393. COGLIANESE PHOTO The top-selling broodmare at the 2012 fall OBS October from page 1 purchased by agent Tom McCrocklin. sale was “Decisive,” a 2008 daughter of Pulpit, Jones is upbeat about the market and has who sold in foal to Kitten’s Joy. Sold by Ram- adds Kent, who has 26 horses consigned to two client horses in this year’s sale, a Put It sey Farm, Agent, for $50,000, she was pur- the OBS Fall sale. Back weanling and a Cool Coal Man yearling. chased by Jose Uzcategui. “The market has rejuvenated itself. I think it all starts at the 2-year-old market, which trans- OBS 2013 STAKES WINNERS / OBS GRADUATES lates into the yearling market. The yearling mar- Date Horse Stake Track Sale ket pushes down to the weanling market and 6/8 CAPITALISM AT RISK . .U CAN DO IT HANDICAP . .CRC . .OBSOCT07 finally, finally, it comes down to the broodmares where all these horses come from. If the 2-year- 3/2 COMMA TO THE TOP . .TOM FOOL HANDICAP (G3) . .AQU . .OBSOCT08 old people have had a good year, they’ll reinvest 5/4 COMMA TO THE TOP . .COOL FRENCHY STAKES . .HOL . .OBSOCT08 in the yearling market. When the yearling people 5/27 COMMA TO THE TOP . .LOS ANGELES HANDICAP (G3) . .HOL . .OBSOCT08 have a good year, they reinvest in the weanling 4/27 FLAT OUT . .WESTCHESTER STAKES (G3) . .BEL . .OBSOCT06 market and then it comes back to the brood- 7/6 FLAT OUT . .SUBURBAN HANDICAP (G2) . .BEL . .OBSOCT06 mare market,” says Kent. 1/5 GREAT ATTACK . .TURF DASH STAKES . .TAM . .OBSOCT08 “I’m expecting the broodmare market to be 9/14 HOLIDAY MAGIC . .BRAVE RAJ STAKES . .CRC . .OBSOCT12 a whole lot more enjoyable than it has been the 1/6 SUNNY DESERT . .CAT CAY STAKES . .AQU . .OBSOCT09 last few years. The breeders who have had a 3/30 SUNNY DESERT . .BROADWAY STAKES . .AQU . .OBSOCT09 rough time the last four or five years will, hope- 4/14 SUNNY DESERT . .SHOT BERRY STAKES . .AQU . .OBSOCT09 fully, be enjoying the benefits.” Last year’s sale topper, a $55,000 Scat 6/8 WILDCAT LILY . .LEAVE ME ALONE STAKES . .CRC . .OBSOCT10 Daddy weanling colt out of Placerita, was con- 7/6 WILDCAT LILY . .AZALEA STAKES (G3) . .CRC . .OBSOCT10 signed by Bobby Jones Equine LLC, agent, and Bold denotes Florida-bred www.facebook.com/thefloridahorse WWW.FTBOA.COM • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013 • 3 Game On Dude Heads ‘Fab Four’ Velazquez Sets In Breeders’ Cup Classic Record for Career Earnings Two of four make up Fab Florida-breds ELMONT, N.Y. – Hall of Fame jockey John Game On Dude, Fort Larned, and Florida- beat,” said private clocker Gary Young, whose Velazquez became North America’s all-time breds Mucho Macho Man and Ron the Greek. opinion is both forthright and widely respected. leading money-earning jockey on Sunday at Meet the Breeders’ Cup Classic’s Fab Four. “Fort Larned ran a strange race (winning the Belmont Park, breaking Pat Day’s record and Game On Dude has won six straight stakes Homecoming Classic Stakes at Churchill reaching $297,922,320 in career purses. and is the early favorite for the $5 million, mile- Downs Sept. 28). He looked like he was going According to figures provided by and-a-quarter Classic Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, to win by 10, and then he kind of just won (by Equibase, Velazquez, 41, entered the after- where the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a length-and-a-half). noon’s card $26,519 shy of Day’s mark of will be presented that Saturday and the preced- “He picked his game up when he won here $297,914,839, which the retired Hall of Famer ing Friday, Nov. 1. last year, but he’ll have to pick it up this year, held since 2005. With four mounts, Velazquez Fort Larned is the defending Classic champ; off of that race. finished third in the first race, fourth in the Mucho Macho Man was an impressive winner of “Ron the Greek was impressive. Just when third race and third in the fifth race to come the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Sept. it looked like he might be fading back into nor- within $7,919 of the record before breaking it 28; and Ron the Greek, the 2012 Santa Anita mal race horse land, he comes up with a per- with $15,400 earned for a second-place fin- formance like that. Obviously, ish in race 9. he likes this race track after “It’s something that winning the Big Cap last year. happened to happen, “Mucho Macho Man likes and I’m glad it hap- this track, too, but he’ll be run- pened,” said Velazquez. ning against a different Born in Carolina, [stronger] group [than he met Puerto Rico, Velazquez in the Awesome Again]. began riding in the “Of those four, Game On mainland United States Dude would be my top choice, in 1990. Velazquez won although that’s not ‘scooping’ the Eclipse Award for COGLIANESE PHOTO the world. Fort Larned would Outstanding Jockey in 2004 and 2005 and in be my fourth choice and the 2009 was honored by his fellow riders with the other two would be tied for George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. second.” Velazquez, who won the Kentucky Derby in ALCOSSER PHOTO Ron the Greek was bred 2011 with Animal Kingdom, is a two-time win- Florida-bred Ron the Greek in Florida by Jack T. Ham- ner of the Belmont Stakes, having taken the Handicap winner, showed his best form in a 21- mer of Miami Beach, Fla., while Mucho Macho race in 2007 with the filly Rags to Riches and 1 upset in The Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Man was bred by John D. and Carole Rio of in 2012 with Union Rags. He has captured 11 Sept. 28. Each horse has won its last start. Ocala, Fla. Breeders’ Cup races, most recently the 2012 You bets your money and you takes your Both Fort Larned and Ron the Greek re- Mile with reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan.