OBS Sale Well-Timed for Final Scat Daddy Juveniles

Sometimes timing is everything.

For consignors to the Ocala Breeders' Sales June 2-year-olds in training sale with the final horses from the last crop by the late Ashford Stud phenom Scat Daddy to be offered at auction, the sale couldn't come at a better time.

Afterall, what better publicity than to have Justify, from Scat Daddy's penultimate crop, sweep racing's coveted Triple Crown with a front-running victory in Saturday's Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) four days before the sale begins.

Even before Justify's impressive classic sweep, Scat Daddy's stock couldn't have been any hotter at this year's North American 2-year-old sales and Europe's breeze-up auctions.

According to BloodHorse MarketWatch data, 24 of the 31 Scat Daddy 2-year-olds offered this year have been sold for $11,976,015—at  an average price of $499,001 and a median of $368,159. Scat Daddy, who died in December 2015, stood for a $35,000 fee that year when the current crop of 2-year-olds were conceived.

The OBS auction in Ocala, Fla., with daily sessions beginning at 10 a.m. ET June 13-15, is the final juvenile sale of 2018 and thus represents the last opportunity to buy Scat Daddy's final foals at auction.

"I believe people get emotional about it," consignor Jimbo Gladwell of Top Line Sales said of the final Scat Daddys being offered at auction. "Everybody wanted a good Scat Daddy at last year's yearling sales and you're coming to the end of the line here. This is your last chance to acquire one."

Gladwell said he hopes the opportunity to obtain not only one of the final Scat Daddy foals on the market, but also to acquire a colt that showed athleticism with one of the fastest OBS pre-sale workouts, inspires interest in Hip 211.

"It's the last chance to get a colt by that sire and one that really performs," Gladwell said of the colt that posted the co-fastest eighth-mile breeze time of :09 4/5.

Bred in Florida by Don Ming, the colt out of the Gone West mare Satulah was offered by Dynasty Thoroughbreds at last year's Keeneland September yearling sale and was a $385,000 buy-back.

"They attempted to sell him at Keeneland. He was a fast-looking colt and they liked him and put a high reserve on him with all intentions of taking him to a 2-year-old sale if they needed to," Gladwell said. "Jacob Ming and his dad prepared the colt and they really had him ready to run (at OBS)."

Ciaran Dunne, whose Wavertree Stables consignment includes Hip 742, a Scat Daddy colt that breezed an eighth-mile in :10 1/5, co-second-fastest time of the day during Sunday's final under tack show session, said the OBS sale timing couldn't be better.

"Timing is everything so maybe we hit the timing right for a change," said Dunne. "He's a big, pretty colt who worked awful well, and the work came a day after Justify's Belmont win."

Dunne said he believes his colt could have an additional allure for buyers since this is the first time he's been offered at auction. Bred in Kentucky by Bryant Prentice's Pursuit of Success, the colt was produced from the First Defence mare Imprecation, a half sister to Prix de Diane Hermes (French Oaks, G1) winner Nebraska Tornado, group 2 winner Burning Sun, and grade 3 winner and producer Mirabilis.

"This is the first sale he's been to, so in addition to being a big, growthy colt who worked well, he is kind of fresh for everybody," Dunne said.

Dunne's consignment also includes Hip 898, a Scat Daddy colt added to the sale as a supplemental entry. Bred in Kentucky by Camas Park Stud, the colt is a half brother to grade 2 winner Alpha Kitten and is out of the Unbridled's Song mare Alpha Mama, a half sister to grade 1 winner Marylebone.

The colt was purchased by Magnolia Bloodstock for $165,000 from Paramount Sales, agent, at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale and then was bought back for $80,000 at this year's OBS April sale.

While he believes the Scat Daddy allure will attract buyers to a colt he has entered as Hip 815, consignor Tom McCrocklin said buyer enthusiasm will be tempered by practicality.

"They're not going to get foolish," McCrocklin said. "They're not going to buy a horse they didn't like and they are not going to significantly overpay for a horse they have assigned a value to just because it's a Scat Daddy.

"At the same time, I think a lot of that behavior becomes a little unconscious and they get driven to that because they're aware they are not making any more of them (Scat Daddy foals) and you're not going to be able to buy any more of them." McCrocklin added. "This business seems to be very trendy and it's a pretty good time to have a Scat Daddy. So if you truly want an opportunity, it's the last call and you had better step up."

The colt, who breezed a quarter-mile in :21 1/5, co-second-fastest at the distance during the final under tack show, was bred in Kentucky by Southern Equine Stables and is out of the grade 2-winning, grade 1-placed Unbridled's Song mare Last Song.

"I thought he looked fluid and he did it very well," McCrocklin said of the pre-sale workout. "He's a beautiful colt—well-conformed, a really good mover who is light on his feet. He's athletic and shows the potential to want to go two turns. He vets clean. To me he's what people are looking for. He is a very nice horse and he is a Scat Daddy."

Consigned by Bluewater Sales to the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase, the colt was bought by McCrocklin, agent for SBS Sales, for $140,000. McCrocklin said his interest in the colt was immediately affirmed by other buyers at the sale.

"I probably could have sold that horse five times within 30 minutes after I bought him," McCrocklin said. "They (buyers making the offers) were pretty seasoned yearling buyers and all said the same thing, 'I just thought he would bring too much.' It's very complimentary when you buy one and everybody says you made a good buy. At the time it felt like a good buy and obviously Justify hasn't hurt things."

Another Scat Daddy juvenile cataloged for OBS, Hip 318, was withdrawn from the sale.