Arctic Blast Could Impact Jan. 27 OBS Winter Mixed Sale

While much of the equine world is facing the effects of devastating winter storms, Ocala Breeders' Sales is gearing up for its first live auction of the new year under blue skies. The one-day Winter Mixed Sale will begin Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. ET. OBS has cataloged 307 hips, including supplements, short yearlings, broodmares, and broodmare prospects. 

The sale will be held in conjunction with the OBSOnline January Horses of Racing Age and 2-Year-Olds Sale, which runs through Jan. 30.

Tod Wojciechowski, director of sales at OBS, said the impact of the winter storm across the United States may affect the travel for many buyers planning to attend the sale.

"Hopefully, the buyers that come in from out of town can maintain their travel connections, and it doesn't disrupt the sale," Wojciechowski said. "We do get a lot of buyers, from not just locally, but from all over."

Colin Brennan, who brings a draft of nine under the banner Colin Brennan Bloodstock at Highlander Training Center, said while he thinks the market will continue its upward trajectory, the sale will be impacted by the storm.

"Regardless of what happens, I don't think (the results) will be a fair testament to OBS in terms of what is going on with the rest of the market because it's one thing to be willing to travel, but then a lot of people are going to have families and farms to be concerned about from wherever they're traveling from," Brennan said. 

"In terms of the general market, it's been a record-setting year, particularly the weanling market. I've noticed a lot more end-users buying earlier and spending a little bit more, knowing that if you buy them now, it's almost like 'spend money to save money' mind frame. I'm still hopeful that even the local people who are here will be out and shopping."

Amy Bunt of Baldwin Bloodstock was upbeat about the upcoming sale. 

"Even though the storm hit Kentucky, it seems like a lot of people got out of town a bit sooner to get to the better weather," she said. "We were steady showing the past two days. The weanling prices have been high this year, so I'm optimistic that trickles down to the last few sales, since there aren't many opportunities left to buy short-yearlings."

Bunt brings a group of seven to the sale.

"We have some standout pedigrees and sires, all of the horses have been going over very well," Bunt said. "The most popular has been the Jackie's Warrior colt (Hip 36), he's a first foal with a huge page."

Hip 36 is out of the Into Mischief   mare Saucy Secret, who is a daughter of the grade 1-winning millionaire Tiz Miz Sue. 

Another colt garnering attention is Hip 113, a colt by Essential Quality  .

"The Essential Quality colt is also a first foal, and out of a graded stakes-placed mare," Bunt said about Hip 113. The colt is out of the young Nyquist   mare Asawer, who was third in the 2023 U.A.E Oaks (G3). 

"We have a great group of horses, and they're all very well-made," she said.

Wojciechowski was optimistic about the strong group of short-yearlings on the grounds, by top sires such as Arcangelo  , Cyberknife  , Dr. Schivel  , Drain the Clock  , Gunite  , Jackie's Warrior  , Leinster  , Mitole  , and Yaupon  , among others.

"There's a good quality group of horses on the grounds, particularly the short-yearlings," Wojciechowski said. "I'm pleased with what I saw yesterday. We're going to have to contend with a little bit of cold weather tomorrow, but not near what the rest of the country has had to deal with."

Also shining bright in Florida is the success of two OBS graduates over the weekend: Skippylongstocking  and White Abarrio , the top two finishers in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 24.

"It was an OBS exacta with Skippylongstocking and White Abarrio. So, there's a March graduate running second, and an April graduate winning," Wojciechowski said. "Both of them worked an eighth in :10 2/5, both of them are 7 years old, both of those horses display everything that is good about the 2-year-old sales.

"Plus, we had a lot of success on the undercard on the day, so it was a great day for OBS," he added.

White Abarrio went through the ring twice at OBS, once as a short-yearling, and again as a 2-year-old. The colt sold for $7,500 to Jose Ordonez at the 2020 Winter Mixed Sale from the Summerfield consignment, and came back as a 2-year-old in 2021 to sell at the March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale for $40,000 to Carlos Perez from the Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds consignment.

Skippinglongstocking sold for $37,000 to Daniel Alonso at the 2021 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, from the Top Line Sales consignment.

Wojciechowski said the start of OBSOnline January Sale, which opened Jan. 26, has given him a lot of confidence that the momentum will continue through the end of the digital sale. 

"We were just looking at the number of views we're getting on horses that are online. It's an impressive number in such a short period of time," he said. "It's a segment of the market we hope to grow." 

Last year's winter mixed sale saw 212 horses change hands for an aggregate of $3,093,700, including private sales. The average price was $14,593, with a median of $7,500. Fifty-eight horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 21.5%. 

Last Leaf, a racing or broodmare prospect by Not This Time  , topped the 2025 sale at $140,000, selling to Senor's Senoritas. The entity's single purchase put them atop the buyers for the sale. Abbie Road Farm led the consignors, selling 25 from its draft for a total of $528,200.

As of Monday evening, OBS had reported 39 outs.