Into Mischief Filly Tops Third OBS Session

For the second day in a row, a telephone bid secured the topper at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s June 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing age sale, when John Fort of Peachtree Stable went to $250,000 to buy an Into Mischief   filly from the Eisaman Equine, agent, consignment, during a session that saw numbers continue to spiral downward.

The filly, Hip 866, is out of the Consolidator mare Simple Symphony, a half sister to stakes winners My Lady Avie and Doc Calls Her Kate. Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, the filly was bought by Gainesway for $230,000 from the Select Sales offerings at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale.

Barry Eisaman said Fort is a client who saw the filly earlier in the year at his farm and that he thought she would sell well, even in the challenging June market.

“She’s a wonderful filly," Eisaman said. "She would have been a standout in any of the earlier (2-year-olds in training) sales.”

Eisaman said the filly will be trained by Bob Baffert.

The cumulative gross of $12,707,900 for the 462 horses sold is down 34.1% from $18,191,400 for 465 sold at the same point in 2015. The cumulative average price of $27,506 represents a decline of 29.7% from the three-session average of $39,121 a year ago. With 43 horses not sold, the RNA rate was 20.7%.

The numbers for the penultimate session mirrored those of the previous two days, with OBS reporting 164 horses sold for $4,096,700, an average price of $24,980, and a $12,000 median. The average represented a 33.3% decline from a year ago, when 156 head averaged $42,965 on gross receipts of $6,702,500, with a median of $18,000.

Sales director Tod Wojciechowski said the numbers reflect the overall sales trends of good horses being in greater demand.

“I know it sounds like a broken record, but there are still some nice horses to be sold tomorrow,” he said.

Wojciechowski said the low session RNA rate indicated consignors have an “understanding of what is in front of them and are making decisions to sell.”

Three juveniles shared the co-second highest price of $190,000.

Agent Gary Young went to that level for a son of Bellamy Road   from the consignment of Eddie Woods, agent. Bought on behalf of a client Young declined to name, the colt is a full brother to grade II winner Position Limit with a lot of black-type in his extended family. Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, the colt was bought by Arlington Racing for $60,000 from the Select Sales consignment at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

Young declined to name the buyer, but said the colt would go to California.

“The horse handled himself really well in the back walking ring, which I put a lot of emphasis on that,” Young said. “He is a big, strong, raw-boned horse. I thought he was a gorgeous horse."

Young said was surprised at what he had to give for the colt.

“He went higher than I thought he would,” he said. “I don’t think you could have foreseen that one coming there, but when they lead a good one through the ring, there is money for them. A lot of the bigger players aren’t here, but when they lead a good one through the ring, there is money for them.”

Also in a phone bid, Mercedes Stables purchased Hip 840, a daughter of Hard Spun   out of stakes winner Shedoesrock, a daughter of Storm Boot who has produced multiple stakes winner Amaranth. Consigned by Bobby Dodd, the filly bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall and H. Allen Poindexter was bought for $130,000 from the Keeneland September yearling sale.

Susan Moulton was listed as the buyer of a son of Tapit   out of grade I winner River’s Prayer (by Devon Lane). Consigned as Hip 761 by de Meric Sales, the colt was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings and sold to Safari Bloodstock for $240,000 at the Keeneland September sale as part of the Summerfield, agent for Stonestreet Bred and Raised, consignment.

It is obvious from the results of the sale going into the final session that there is a paucity of buyers for the number of horses being led through the ring.

“I’m worried about the market,” Dodd said, adding that believes the presidential election and declining oil prices could be factors in the market malaise. “There are more horses than there are buyers and people are breeding these cheap mares to cheap stallions and they are going to have to give it up. I don’t know the answer to that.”

Dodd said the state of the market will affect how many yearlings he and other pinhookers buy.

“I’m not going to buy as many horses,” Dodd said. “My average is normally about $95,000 and I am going to try to get it down to about $70,000. I think the yearling market for the high-end horses will be good. It always is. But I think prices for horses pinookers buy are going to be a lot less and I think a lot of pinhookers are not going to be there at all.”