Liam's Map Colt Tops OBS October Selected Sale

Florida horseman Nick de Meric went on a shopping spree during the Oct. 8 opening session of the selected portion of the Ocala Breeders' Sales October Yearlings Sale, with his four purchases on the day including the two top-priced yearlings.

From 225 cataloged for the selected session, OBS reported 121 yearlings grossed $5,605,200, compared with the $5,658,000 total for 138 a year ago. Both average and median prices spiked, from $41,000 to $46,324 in average and to $35,000 from $28,000 for the median. The RNA rate was 34.9%.

According to BloodHorse MarketWatch, five individuals were sold for prices in excess of $125,000, compared with seven in 2018.

The greatest strength in Tuesday's market came in the $100,000-$149,999 price range, with 13 this year, compared with four a year ago.

Topping de Meric's purchases, which totaled $562,000, was Hip 224, a colt from the second crop of red-hot stallion Liam's Map  bought from Select Sales, agent, for $230,000.

Bred in Kentucky by Rich Scelfo, Paul Morgano, and Serendipity Farm, the colt was acquired by Machmer Hall for $37,000 at last year's Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Sent through the ring at the recent Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the colt was bought back on a final bid of $100,000.

As a final effort to get the colt sold this year, he was added to the OBS sale as a supplemental entry and was the second-to-last horse cataloged for Tuesday's session.

The colt is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Dad'ssilverpitcher, a half sister to stakes winner Melodic, and his sire, who stands at Lane's End, has already been represented by two grade 1 winners from his first crop to race.

"We were lucky enough to land a couple that we wanted," de Meric said. "The Liam's Map is a lovely, fluid moving colt, the epitome of a 2-year-old dirt prospect. He's obviously by a sire who's off to a good start, but most importantly he is an individual with as much eye appeal as anything in the sale."

For $190,000, de Meric purchased an Empire Maker  colt (Hip 185) consigned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck's Summerfield, agent. Bred in Kentucky by Whisper Hill Farm, the colt is out of the unraced Smart Strike mare Sweetest Sound and is from the extended female family of champion Sweet Catomine and $1.8 million earner Life Is Sweet.

"The Empire Maker colt was a late foal (May 23, 2018) and had some maturing to do," de Meric said. "He is a very smooth, balanced individual and a horse that is on the improve and you probably won't recognize him in 90-120 days."

De Meric's other acquisitions Tuesday were Hip 216 (Stuart Morris, agent), a Paynter —Passeporta, by Rockport Harbor, colt for which he paid $100,000, and Hip 134 (Summerfield, agent), a colt by Uncaptured —My Novena, by Wildcat Heir, for $42,000.



The OBS auction concludes Oct. 9 with an open session that begins at 10:30 a.m.