Well-Related Juveniles Highlight OBS March Sale

With the arrival of spring comes the highly anticipated start of the juvenile sale season, and the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training March 20-22 boasts a strong catalog that features precocious youngsters that possess a family history of success on the racetrack.

For many buyers, the pedigree of a future racehorse plays a crucial factor in the decision-making process. The presence of siblings that have achieved success at the highest levels can significantly increase a young horse's value, as well as hint at its potential for future success. Among the many promising prospects sure to garner attention from prospective buyers at various levels in the coming days are the following juveniles with graded stakes-winning siblings.

Hip 86 is a chestnut colt from the second crop of Airdrie Stud's Collected   consigned by de Meric Sales, agent. The colt is produced from the winning Street Cry mare Street Minstrel  and is a half brother to grade 1 winner Street Band . That daughter of Istan  banked more than $1.1 million and annexed the 2019 Cotillion Stakes (G1) as well as that year's Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) and Indiana Oaks (G3) for trainer Larry Jones.

Bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones, the colt was sold by his breeder to Sand Hill Bloodstock for $100,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale. The colt breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 during the under tack show. His stakes-placed sister by Summer Front  , Trobairitz , added another win and increased her earnings to $171,411 Feb. 11.

"He is a strong, balanced, and early-looking colt," noted Tristan de Meric. "He is a horse that we like a lot. He is typical of his grandsire City Zip. He has been very straightforward for us. We think whoever gets him will be able to go right on with him. He is a solid horse."

Hip 136 is a daughter of Hill 'n' Dale Farms' stalwart stallion Curlin   consigned by Raul Reyes' Kings Equine, agent. The gray or roan filly is out of the winning Cee's Tizzy mare Tiz o'Gold and is a half sister to graded stakes winner and classic-placed Bravazo  . She was bred by Calumet Farm in Kentucky and purchased during the Keeneland September Sale last year for $180,000 by Scott and Evan Dilworth.

A son of Awesome Again, Bravazo won the 2018 Risen Star Stakes (G2) and was runner-up in the Preakness Stakes (G1), the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), the Breeders' Futurity (G1), and the Clark Handicap (G1). Additionally, he finished third in the Travers Stakes (G1) in 2018 and was third in that year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) en route to amassing career earnings in excess of $2 million.

"She's been great," Reyes said of the Curlin filly who drilled an eighth in a swift :10 flat during the under tack preview. "Some of the Curlins can be hot-tempered, strong horses, and she has a little bit of that but not in a bad way. She loves to run, and she acts like a racehorse."

Hip 238 is a chestnut colt from the first crop of Darby Dan Farm's Copper Bullet   consigned by SGV Thoroughbreds (Steven Venosa), agent. The colt breezed an eighth in :10 2/5 at the under tack preview and is out of the unraced Bernardini mare Amazement , making him a half brother to three-time grade 1 winner Colonel Liam  .

Retired earlier this year and currently standing his initial season at stud at Ocala Stud, Colonel Liam was a seven-time winner in 11 career starts in a sensational racing career for trainer Todd Pletcher. A $1.2 million graduate of the OBS Spring Sale in 2019, where he was purchased by Robert and Lawana Low after breezing a quarter in an eye-catching :20 4/5, Colonel Liam was a back-to-back winner of the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) at Gulfstream Park.

He also captured the Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) at Churchill Downs, the Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2T) at Fair Grounds, and the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream en route to earning more than $1.8 million. He was retired this season while preparing to defend his Pegasus World Cup Turf crown.

Bred in Kentucky by Phillips Racing Partnership, the Copper Bullet colt, whose second dam is multiple grade 1 winner Wonder Again, was acquired by Venosa for $160,000 out of the Darby Dan Farm consignment at last year's Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearlings Sale.

"We really liked him as a yearling," said Venosa. "He looked athletic. He is also a very balanced horse, light on his feet. He has a great mind on him, and he trained well all winter. He is very sound. We felt he was an athlete. All the parts fit, and he is the type of horse we look for.

"When I go and look at horses, I look at the individual first," Venosa added. "If I like them, then I will look them up in the catalog because I don't want to be swayed. I like the stallion (Copper Bullet). I have another one by him that is coming to the April Sale. The two that I have in my barn have trained forwardly for us and are both good-minded horses. They seem like they can take everything that you throw at them."

Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales, agent, consigns the bay filly by Spendthrift Farm's perennial leading sire Into Mischief   as Hip 723. Produced from the stakes-placed Speightstown   mare Nefertiti , the filly is a full sister to multiple graded stakes winner Engage  . Bred in Kentucky by Woods Edge Farm, the filly was purchased from her breeder for $250,000 by Elusive Thoroughbreds at last year's Keeneland September Sale. The filly breezed a furlong in :10 flat at the under-tack preview.

"She is a rocket ship," Jimbo said.

The filly's sister Engage, a $550,000 acquisition for Woodford Racing out of the 2017 OBS March Sale, racked up earnings of more than $800,000 in her five-year race career. Numbered among her five lifetime scores for trainer Steve Asmussen were wins in the 2019 Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland and the 2017 Futurity Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park at 2.

"She's a lovely filly," Torie said of Hip 723. "She loves to do her job every day and always wants to do more. You kind of have to reel her in. She's that type of filly. She is going to be quick and early."