Into Mischief Colt Sells for $1.3M on Day 4 at OBS

Top consignors Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo switched to the buyers' side of the auction ring during the final day of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale April 28 and went to $1.3 million to acquire an Into Mischief   colt for new player and music producer Rich Mendez, who buys under the name More Play. The bay colt comes from the grade 3-placed stakes winner Singing Kitty  by Ministers Wild Cat.

During last week's under tack show, the juvenile sped an eighth-mile in :09 3/5, which was the co-fastest time of the entire preview. 

"We're helping these guys do a couple of different things; it's a group of guys, Rich Mendez is the head of it," Hartley commented. "This horse looks like if he hits a graded stakes, he could make it as a stallion; he went in :09 3/5, unbelievably. He's super fast and really good-looking, he's a little shin tender, and he still went out there and put it down on the line. We like that in a horse when they can be big and strong. Ciaran (Dunne) has talked about this horse all year. I've talked to everybody on the farm that works with this horse, everybody loves him, and we all felt like this was the horse."

Consigned as Hip 967 by Dunne's Wavertree Stables as agent, the colt was bought by Dunne's and Paul Reddam's Red Wings pinhooking partnership during last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $300,000.

More Play picked up a Good Magic   colt (Hip 323) on the first day of the sale for $450,000 from the S G V Thoroughbreds draft. The colt, who is half sibling to grade 2 winner Sarah Sis , breezed an eighth-mile in :10 last week during the under tack show.

"We went to $1.8 million on the Gun Runner   colt (Hip 782); I loved that horse, he is a beautiful horse, but I wanted this horse (Hip 967) more," Hartley said. "To me :09 3/5 is a lot faster than :10 1/5, and this horse will be more brilliant. I promise you, first time out, they will not catch this horse; we're hoping for good things."

The immediate plans for these horses are still being determined, but Hartley had a strong feeling they would head west to trainer Bob Baffert.

"My guy loves Baffert; whenever he flies to L.A., he first goes to Bob's barn," commented Hartley.

While new to the industry, Mendez is getting involved in a big way and his More Play partnership intends to be active at the yearling sales this year with a budget of around $25-30 million, according to Hartley.

"Mendez is new to racing; he has only raced one horse before but is so in love and enthusiastic about the game," he said. "He's young and involved; he loves the farm and seeing his horses."