Mori Tops OBS Purchases With $1.1M Into Mischief Colt

A striking son of Into Mischief   lit up the bid board late in the day March 15 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, when Japanese trainer Hideyuki Mori dug in and emerged victorious with a $1.1 million ticket.

Hip 257 hammers for $1,100,000! pic.twitter.com/KSX9AAZ4t2

— OBSSales (@OBSSales) March 15, 2022

The colt consigned as Hip 257 by Eddie Woods, agent was bred in Kentucky by Brookstone Farm and Lee Mauberret out of the Not For Love  mare Zapara . Quarter Pole Enterprises pinhooked the colt from St George Sales' consignment at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected sale of yearlings in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for $180,000.

"He has been a lovely horse from the get-go," Woods said. "We got him from Archie St George after he RNA'd at Saratoga. It was August and the colt was a bit small. He has grown more than I thought he would, he has turned into a massive specimen. He is a beautiful mover and he is quick. He is a top-of-the-class act, has been all the way through. He was quick the first time we worked him and he has stuck to the game."

Woods was all smiles after selling the day's top-priced youngster, commenting: "I was shocked! I knew when two Japanese outfits got on him in Mr. Mori and Emmanuel de Seroux from Narvick, we had something."

Zapara has produced the stakes-placed son of Cairo Prince   Basso , and comes from the accomplished family of Play All Day . The Steady Growth  mare produced 1998 Santa Anita Oaks (G1) winner Hedonist , Brooklyn Handicap (G2) scorer Seeking Daylight , stakes winner and Australian sire Zaha , and Gold Player, third in the Davona Dale Stakes (G2).

The fast son of Into Mischief breezed an eighth-mile in :09 4/5 March 11.

"The sire and the movement the colt showed on the track were all impressive," trainer Hideyuki Mori said, speaking through an interpreter.

He stated: "This colt is for Mr. Fujita, he just started to be an owner last year and is very excited. We hope he does well and can be a good sire for Japan in the future."

A stalwart of the American sales scene, Mori picked up a total of four juveniles on the first day of selling, with hopes of taking a few more home before the close of the sale March 16.

Taking no time in getting started, he made his first purchase at $200,000 from Gene Recio, agent, purchasing a filly by More Than Ready  . Consigned as Hip 10, the Kentucky-bred filly impressed on the track with an eighth-mile breeze in :09 4/5 on the first day of the under tack show.

Lynwood Stable picked the More Than Ready filly up from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $75,000. She is out of the winning Irish Fastnet Rock  mare Nutcracker Suite, who is also the dam of an Into Mischief 3-year-old filly named Crackin Mischief  who made her first start in February with trainer Graham Motion. Further down the page is the Storm Cat  mare Dietrich , winner of the Ballyogan Stakes (G3) and King George Stakes (G3). She is the dam of group 3 winner and Irish highweight Beauty Bright , stakes winner and group 3-placed Aloft (IRE), and group 3-placed Marquesa .

The next purchase for Mori was a $210,000 colt by Unified   out of the winning Heatseeker  mare Red Hot Tweet. Consigned by Julie Davies, agent, as Hip 61, the colt breezed an eighth-mile in :09 4/5 March 10. Bred in Kentucky by St. Simon Place and Scott Stephens, he initially went through the Keeneland September Sale consigned by Machmer Hall Sales, where he sold to Davies for $72,000. Red Hot Tweet has produced two winners from two foals to race.

Mori also landed Hip 173, a son of Violence   who is half sibling to Lady Shipman , runner-up in the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) and winner of the Royal North Stakes (G3T). The daughter of Midshipman   bankrolled just shy of $1 million during her three years on the turf. Golden Pal , her 4-year-old colt  by Uncle Mo  , won the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) this past November at Del Mar along with three other graded wins and is sitting on earnings of $1.2 million as he gears up for his 2022 debut in the Shakertown Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland.

SF Bloodstock bred the colt out of Sumthingtotalkabt in Kentucky where he was seen at The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky sale of selected yearlings, but failed to meet his reserve of $170,000.

Mori generally lands as a top buyer at this sale, securing a group of speedy juveniles to take back to Japan, and will be looking to fill more orders as the sale continues on into Wednesday.

"It all depends on the market price, but we have expectations of getting seven or eight juveniles from the sale," he said.