More Than Ready Filly Led OBS Sale Briefly

For a brief moment April 27, a dark bay or brown daughter of More Than Ready   (Hip 778) was the Ocala Breeders’ Sales spring sale-topper when she sold for $1 million, only to be eclipsed a short time later by the record-priced Tiznow   colt (Hip 793) sold for $2.45 million.

Consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree as agent, the filly was purchased by Alessandro Marconi, on behalf of an unnamed Middle Eastern client.

During the April 20 under tack show workouts, the filly worked the co-fastest eighth-mile of :09 3/5.

“She is quality all over,” said Marconi, noting that she was his top selection in the sale. “We couldn’t’ see another horse after watching her.”

Marconi said his client is from the Middle East and the filly will be sent to Europe to race.

“We were expecting that,” the buyer said of the filly’s cost.

“We thought she was a superstar when we bought her and she trained like it,” Dunne said. “It was good for everyone for her to be received like that by the buyers.”

Bred in Kentucky by KatieRich Farms, the filly was produced from the Clever Trick mare Miss Mary Apples, who finished second in the 2002 Schuylerville Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course. The filly is a half sister to multiple stakes winner Miss Red Delicious and stakes winner Dr. Diamonds Prize, who was also grade 2-placed in Canada.

Dunne said the seven-figure price tag is affirmation of the decision by Joe Minor to step up and pay $390,000 for her from KatieRich’s consignment at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

Dunne said Justin Casse selected the filly out of the yearling sale and that Minor stepped up to take her home.

“We would never have paid that for her, but Joe came out to Keeneland the afternoon when she sold and decided he wasn’t going home without her,” Dunne said.

Following the purchase, a new pinhooking group put together by Olin Gentry also bought into the filly and she was pointed to one of the March juvenile sales but missed that date after developing a virus.

“We were very disappointed when she missed March, because she was one of the best horses we had on the farm," Dunne said. "The best thing for her was to give her some time, and Olin and Joe were willing to do that and were rewarded."