THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2011 For information about TDN, call 732-747-8060. TALE OF TWO SESSIONS AT OBS MARCH After a protracted bidding duel, Shah=s $925,000 After a tame opening day, the OBS March Sale liv- offer went unanswered by Moynihan, and Baffert ened up considerably yesterday during a second and quickly joined his client up front, greeting him with final session that helped the sale hold steady from a mock surprise--AKaleem! That was me bidding in back; I year ago. When the dust settled, OBS had sold its was the underbidder!@ highest-priced horse since Garifine (Belong to Me) went Shah was not, of course, bidding against himself, and for $1.8 million in 2006, found Moynihan a more than worthy adversary. AYeah, and looked to have made it=s a lot of money,@ Shah said when asked if he hesi- the right move eliminating tated during bidding. ABut Bob liked the horse a lot.@ its February sale. The star The colt, bred by Berkshire Stud, is the fourth foal of the show was hip 265, from the 10-year-old mare Silence Please. His year-older a colt by Flatter--Silence half-brother Sky Music (Sky Mesa) won a restricted Please (Quiet American) stakes at Aqueduct last year, and most recently ran who elicited a bid of second in the Undaunted Mettle S. at the Big A $925,000 from Kaleem Feb. 18. Hip 265 - Flatter colt Shah. Eisaman Equine Baffert explained the Flatter colt=s appeal. Eisaman Equine photo consigned the stylish AHe has the pedigree to go long,@ he said. AHe=s fast, and he looks very, very sound. Empire-bred, who was When you=re at the sales, and acquired by Gary and Betty Biszantz=s Cobra Farm for one of them jumps out like $90,000 at last year=s Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale that, you need to buy them. in Saratoga. AWe thought he was the best horse of the Those are the horses that get sale, now let=s see what he does,@ said Shah, whose you to the big races. You=ve runners have included MGSW Concord Point (Tapit). got to go with your gut feel- Shah Strongest for Flatter Colt... ing, and our gut feeling was Bob Baffert & Kaleem Shah The Flatter sales topper, hip 265, stamped himself as that he is a big-time horse. We Lucas Marquardt a must-have prospect for several operations after an loved him, but you had to love eye-catching quarter-mile breeze at Saturday=s under- him at that price. I=m very excited for Kaleem, who has tack show, when he sped the distance in a sale-bullet given the Bob Baffert barn a nice bullet to carry on.@ :20 3/5 (video). Bidding for the colt ultimately boiled Shah piped in at that point, AHopefully, he=s a torpedo.@ down to two parties. John Moynihan, representing Jess Jackson=s Stonestreet Stable, was positioned out back, while Stonestreet=s primary trainer Steve Asmussen sat in the sale pavilion. Ten rows up from the conditioner was the competition: Kaleem Shah, alone but on a cell phone with trainer Bob Baffert, who followed the action from well back in the rear walking ring. OBS MARCH SELECTED 2YOs - MAR. 16, 2011 CUMULATIVE 2011 2010 Catalogued 490 340 No. Offered 321 237 No. Sold 244 167 RNAs 77 70 % RNA 23.9% 29.5% No. $400K+ 5 4 High Price $925,000 $525,000 Gross $25,563,000 $17,766,000 Average (% change) $104,766 (-1.5%) $106,383 Median (% change) $70,000 (-6.6%) $75,000 www.obssales.com Wednesday=s toppers, p3 Page 1 of 20 TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 3/17/11 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Hip 265 Tops OBS March cont. It was Shah=s first juvenile purchase of the year, but hee said he might make another play Afor the right horse@ during the remainder of the sales season. Shah is the founder and president of Calnet, a company in- volved in technology and intel analysis. Eisamans Strike Again; Big Score for Cobra... Dr. Barry and Shari Eisaman=s Eisaman Equine is a perennial force at the OBS March Sale. The Williston, Florida-based operation led all consignors by gross the last two years, and sold the salestopper three times since 2005. Included were GSP Testimony (Yes It=s True), sold for $900,000 in >05; Forest Echoes (Forest Wildcat), sold for $900,000 in >07; and MSW & GSP El Kingdom (El Prado {Ire}), sold for $450,000 in >09. The latest notch in the Eisaman Equine belt--courtesy of yesterday=s sales-topping Flatter--Silence Please colt --represents a new highwater mark for the husband- and-wife team. The $925,000 price tag is their best- ever score. AHe was the best horse in the sale,@ asserted Shari Eisaman. AThe way he moved over the track, the way he handled the track and handled himself showing... he=s so smart. He never got upset about anything, never threw a jockey off. He=s just all class.@ Eisaman said the breeze--and the flurry of inspections it set off among buyers--left her expecting a big price. AEverybody was sticking around on him, and with all the vet work--he had 12 scopes--we knew he was going to bring a lot,@ she said. AHe=s a movie star.@ The Eisamans were offering the horse on behalf of a partnership led by Cobra Farm=s Gary and Betty Biszantz, who owned a 50-percent share of the colt, as well as trainer Stanley Hough and the New York-based Don Piser, each of whom had a 25-percent piece. AIt=s very exciting,@ Biszantz, reached by phone at a golf tournament in Palm Springs, California, said yester- day. AMy wife and I picked this horse out at the Saratoga Sale. We were up there for the [Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Sale], and stayed for the New York- bred sale. We looked through all the horses, and my wife picked this horse out. She thought he was really nice, and I liked him a lot, too. We were only going to go to about $65,000 or $70,000 for him, but at the last minute I decided to bid $90,000, because I liked him so much. We had gone to Claiborne to see Flatter, and liked him a lot, and I always like the A.P. Indy line. He was a very good-looking yearling--very racy-looking-- and was sound.@ The partnership sent the colt to the Eisamans to be broken, and soon began getting positive feedback. ABarry called up Stan and said, >Did you see this horse from Cobra Farm? He=s really a good-looking horse,=@ said Biszantz. AThen he called Stan back three weeks later and said, >I=ve got riders up on all my yearlings now, and they all just love this horse. He=s doing every- thing right.=@ Cont. p3 Page 2 of 20 TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 3/17/11 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Eisaman Sells OBS March Topper cont. The rave reviews continued up to and through OBS March. AMeg Levy [from Bluewater Sales] sells horses for me --I=m very proud of her--and she called and told me there was a lot of action on the horse,@ said Biszantz. AThe buyers who were there saw that he=s an outstand- ing colt.@ Biszantz, 76, said he=s long been a buyer of yearlings, but said he=s probably only ever pinhooked three or four. AIt=s actually hard for me to sell this horse,@ he admit- ted. AI love to race, and I=ve had a horse in the [Ken- tucky] Derby--Old Trieste (A.P. Indy). I know what it=s like to have a good horse, and that=s the dream of every breeder and owner. I hate to give one up like this, but you have to do what you have to do. Stan would have loved to train him, but Barry was so high on him, we decided to put him in the sale.@ Biszantz said he was more surprised than the Eisamans about the price tag. AI thought that $500,000-600,000 would be a bril- liant price for him, and I=m surprised the price went as high as it did, but his performance was so outstanding that it just captivated the buyers,@ he said. ABut what happened is what I hoped would happen. You get three Inquiries to Kyle Wilson or four guys who get to bidding against each other.@ [email protected] Cobra Farm, which has a farm near Lexington, Ken- tucky, primarily has been a breeding operation of late, but Biszantz said he=s planning to switch gears a bit. AIn the future, what we=ll probably do is sell part of Cobra 329 filly Medaglia d’Oro User History 450,000 Farm, but keep part of it and focus on what we think ($170,000 RNA yrl ‘10 KEESEP) we=re pretty good at, which is buying and selling B-Stonewall Farm Stallions (KY) horses,@ he said. Consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent LXXXI Biszantz is the chairman of the golf club manufacturer Purchased by Mark Casse, agent Cobra Golf. He began racing in 1956 with trainer Mel 371 colt Smart Strike Aspen Tree 400,000 ($175,000 yrl ‘10 KEESEP) Stute, and since then his silks have been carried by graded winners Cobra King (Farma Way), Mayflower B-Ocala Horses (KY) Lass (Pilgrim), Old Trieste and Three Peat (Magesterial).