Second Session of OBS March Under Tack Show Plays Fast

The March 12 second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale showcased another day of speedy juvenile talent with seven horses sharing the fastest eighth-mile time of :09 4/5 and two horses breezing the fastest quarter-mile in :20 2/5. 

Progeny of Spendthrift Farm stallion Into Mischief   continued to perform consistent on the Central Florida track into the second day of works with two juvenile fillies by the sire achieving the top time of :09 4/5. 

Among that pair was Hip 224, a bay filly out of Sly Warrior, by First Samurai. Bred in Kentucky by Breeze Easy, the filly is from the family of graded stakes winners Good Samaritan  , Brave Nation , and Bernstein . She is consigned by Gene Recio, agent, and was purchased as a yearling by Lynnwood Stable for $130,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment to the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

"The track seems to be rapid fast this week so far," said Recio. "That filly has trained like that all winter long, and she seems to be progressing right at the right time. She's gotten better and better in the time I've had her. It was hard to say we expected that, but we expected a good performance from her. She's very honest just like her sire is. I think she galloped out extremely well—I was told in :32 4/5. It boosts our confidence headed into the sale, and I think she came back clean, so we're very excited." 

The other Into Mischief filly to hit the top time was Hip 291. Out of the grade 1-placed stakes-winning Discreet Cat mare Topic , the filly's female family includes Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Afleet Alex. Consigned by King's Equine, agent, Hip 291 was bred in Kentucky by Spendthrift Farm and was an $85,000 RNA at the Keeneland September Sale. 

Top Line Sales saw another strong day with two fillies achieving an eighth-mile in :09 4/5. The first to do so for the consignment was Hip 220, a filly by Darley stallion Nyquist   out of Silk Purse (by Elusive Quality). Bred by Buck Pond Farm and Rob Auerbach in Kentucky, the filly was a $67,000 RNA at the Keeneland September sale. 

Despite being the first filly out on the track on Friday, Top Line's Torie Gladwell said Hip 220 almost made a speedy getaway.  

"The Nyquist filly was the first horse on the track, and she did what she was supposed to do," said Gladwell. "Jimbo (Gladwell) actually had to catch her on the backside on the pony because the breeze rider came by yelling, 'Catch me! Catch me! I can't stop her!' I think she impressed a lot of people." 

Top Line also sent out Hip 311, a bay filly by Ashford Stud stallion Practical Joke  , whose first crop are 2-year-olds of 2021. Bred in Kentucky by Teneri Farm out of Valiant Emilia  (Pegasus Wind), the filly's extended family includes Helium , recent winner of the Lamholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) at Tampa Bay Downs. Helium currently sits at No. 4 on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) leaderboard. 

"The Practical Joke filly, she's been very classy all year," said Gladwell. "I didn't know if she would go :09 4/5; I thought she might go in :10 flat, but she really did everything right. She jumped up and showed her class." 

With the buzz surrounding the progeny of Practical Joke reaching a frenzy, Gladwell said she's been impressed with their ability to take direction during training and holds high hopes for their future racing careers. So far, three juveniles by the stallion have breezed in :09 4/5 during the first two session of the under tack show. 

"I think I've seen two or three Practical Jokes go in :09 4/5 here," said Gladwell. "They're very trainable horses. Our filly does what you ask her to do. If I had wanted her to go in :10 2/5, she would have gone in :10 2/5. She's that type of horse that you can take a hold of and let her go cruising, or she'll give it her all. I like that about them." 

While Hip 270, a filly by Claiborne Farm stallion War Front  , was clocked in :10 for her eighth-mile on Friday, Gladwell said she considers the filly another potential standout with plenty of early talent to explore. 

"We also had a War Front filly that went in :10 flat, and usually War Fronts are sprinter-type horses, but she's a really, really nice filly," said Gladwell. "I was proud of her for doing that today. I've liked her all year. She has a typical War Front attitude, but I was happy with the way she worked. I think she's a real racehorse." 

Additional horses that breezed in :09 4/5 on Friday are as follows: 

• Hip 196: A colt by Chitu  out of Satan's Mistress (Songandaprayer). Consigned by Silvestre Chavez Thoroughbreds, agent, the colt is named Hope in Him and was bred in Florida by Michael Frank.
• Hip 206: A filly by Nyquist out of stakes winner She's All Ready (Girolamo). A Kentucky-bred from Spendthrift Farm, she is consigned by J R Racing Stables. 
• Hip 309: A colt by Practical Joke consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales, agent. Bred in Kentucky by Erv Woolsey and Ralph Kinder, the bay is out of stakes-placed Untraveled (Canadian Frontier).  

Two horses worked the fastest quarter-mile time of :20 2/5 on Friday. Among those was Hip 357, a colt by Hill 'n' Dale Farms stallion Kantharos   out of Ari the Adventurer (Pioneerof the Nile), who has also produced stakes winner Adventurous Lady. Consigned by Woodford Thoroughbreds, agent, the colt was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings and was purchased by Woodford for $220,000 from the Summerfield consignment to the Keeneland September sale. 

"The Kantharos breezed very nice and galloped out like a man," said Beth Bayer of Woodford Thoroughbreds. "He's a big, strong colt that looks the part. John Gleason our trainer has really liked him all along and thought he was a really nice horse. He showed up today. 

"We had all five horses to breeze today and as the day goes on, the temperature gets hotter, and that could have affected some of the circumstances for the day, but for the most part, we were really happy. I went up to look in the stands and it looks like the right people are here. I think people are looking forward to buying horses and want to get back to normality, so I think this will be a good sale." 

Also breezing in :20 2/5 was Hip 304, a filly by Nyquist out of Undercover Justice (Lawyer Ron). Bred by Bill Justice in Kentucky, the filly is from the extended family of Darley Alcibiades (G1) winner Negligee and is consigned by Wavertree Stables, agent. She was purchased from the Keeneland September sale for $200,00 by Lehigh Bloodstock from the consignment of Paramount Sales. 

The final session of the under tack show begins March 13 at 8 a.m. EST. As of the conclusion of Friday's show, 106 horses had been pulled from the catalog.