Not This Time Filly Tops OBS July Second Session

The July 15 session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales July 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Race Age Sale saw a precipitous decline in total sales as the market continues to feel the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBS reported Wednesday that 155 horses were sold from 213 offered for receipts of $3,869,800. The average price for the session was $24,966 and the median was $13,000. The 58 that went unsold represented an RNA rate of 27.2%. During last year's session, held during the auction's original June spot on the sales calendar, OBS reported 225 horses sold for gross receipts of $7,719,700 at an average of $34,310 and median of $17,000.

"People think that the market is depressed, and at the lower end, it is in trouble," said Mike Mulligan of Emerald Sales, who purchased Wednesday's session-topper for $270,000. "It's tough to have horses that don't check all the boxes. But the horses that do, those horses are well received and in demand. I think maybe there are 40 horses here in the upper market, maybe another 100 in the $100,000 to $150,000 range, and there are plenty of people trying to buy those horses at whatever level they're at."

Sitting at the top of the results for the day was Hip 640, a filly by freshman stallion Not This Time  consigned by de Meric Sales, agent. One of only two juveniles to breeze an eighth-mile in :09 4/5 during the under tack show, she was purchased by Emerald Sales, agent for Tobey Morton. 

"My team and I thoroughly watch horses during the breeze show, and we felt like she was one of the top fillies in the sale, for sure," said Mulligan, who added that the filly will join the barn of trainer John Kimmel. "It's a huge bonus that she is a New York-bred, but she doesn't necessarily need that. It's a nice option for her. She is a real quality filly. She galloped out really well and got my best score on the track. 

"We loved her on the end of the shank, and she jumped through all the hoops. She's a special filly and she's going to one of the best trainers. I can't be more pleased for the owners. They trust us to find them the right horses, and we do our best. We're just really, really happy to get this filly."

Bred in New York by Sequel Stallions NY and Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Hip 640 is from the first crop of Taylor Made Stallions' Not This Time and is out of the A.P. Indy mare Exotic Design. The filly's second dam is the Rahy mare Exotic Wood, whose 11 wins in 17 starts included three grade 1 stakes. Sequel New York bought Exotic Design for $17,000 from Four Star Sales at the 2018 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale while carrying the Not This Time filly in utero.

De Meric consigned the filly to the OBS July Sale on behalf of Silvestre Avila, one of the consignor's exercise riders. 

"She was well received, and I'm happy for Silvestre and his family because no one deserves it more," Tristan de Meric said. "It's been a struggle for a lot of people, and I'm so happy that it worked out for him. For him to have one horse this year and that be the one, it's outstanding."

"Not This time, he's probably one of the most exciting first-crop sires there has been lately," Mulligan said. "But it all really comes down to a horse's performance on the breeze show. How they work, how they gallop out, everything that makes a racehorse a racehorse happens in the breeze show. If they work well and they're a physical horse at the end of the shank, you can look at the pedigree and figure out how much more you'll have to pay, but, regardless, the top performers at the breeze show will be expensive."

Mulligan purchased two other horses for Morton during the OBS sale beginning with Hip 199, an $85,000 Anchor Down  filly from the consignment of Woodside Ranch, agent. Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds and Marylou Whitney Stables, the filly is out of the Tale of the Cat  mare Storied Tale and worked an eighth-mile in :10. 

Rounding out the buys for Morton was Hip 582, a $70,000 Uncaptured colt consigned by Gene Recio, agent. Bred in Florida by Tracy Pinchin and Kenneth D'Oyen out of the Wildcat Heir mare Defying Gravity, the colt breezed an eighth-mile in :10 1/5. 

"We're ready to put this one in the books and move on to 2021," said de Meric, who ended the day as the leading consignor with 12 horses sold for receipts of $588,500. "All things considered, overall this year has been a good year for us. We've had a good group. We're happy we're able to keep moving forward and fight another year. 

"We'll have to handicap (our yearling budget) going in. We'll have to adjust some things. But I think there will be a lot of opportunities out there, and we're ready to go look at yearlings."