Tops OBS first session . . .
A bay colt by freshman sire Maxfield consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables, Inc. Agent was the first to break the seven-figure barrier at the 2025 OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale when he elicited a final bid of $1 million to top the opening session March 11.
Out of OBS graduate and multiple stakes-winning and graded stakes placed mare Eyeinthesky, by Sky Mesa, Hip 119 sold to Japan-based trainer Mitsu Nakauchida. The youngster flaunted his ability when he overcame a strong headwind to breeze an eighth in :9 4/5 during the first under-tack session – tying for the fastest time of the day at the distance - and he continued to put every foot right during his outings before potential buyers.
“He worked sensational on a day when horses were struggling to work and he showed himself well all week,” Dunne said. “It’s not rocket science. He jumped through all the hoops and as cliché as it is, he vetted well, and he worked great. When they do that, it’s easy.”
Nakauchida said the plan was to take the colt to Japan where he will race.
“He breezed really good. Physically he looks really strong,” said Nakauchida, who trained Liberty Island, winner of the Japanese filly Triple Crown. “His movement was really smooth and nice, and I just liked everything about him. Hopefully we get lucky with him.”
The second highest price of the session came when Hip 81, a dark bay or brown colt by Army Mule, sold for $950,000 to St. Elias Stable. Consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, the colt breezed an eighth in :10 flat during the first under-tack session and is the out of the Violence mare Diplomatic Miss, who is out of multiple graded stakes winner Miraculous Miss.
“He’s a lovely colt, beautiful horse, and we love Army Mule,” said Monique Delk, who signed the ticket on behalf of St. Elias Stable, which owned and campaigned Army Mule. “To be able to support this stallion and to buy a horse that we love, we’re very honored. He’ll get some time off from here, he’ll go to the farm for a bit and regroup and then we’ll make decisions (on who will train him) from there.
“It was pricey, but I think he’s a quality horse and we were willing to go that extra for him to make sure we obtained him.”
Tristan de Meric of de Meric Sales said the colt had been one of the most popular members of their consignment and cited his strong mind among his top attributes.
“We knew he would probably do very well, everyone on the grounds wanted him I believe,” de Meric said. “He was just one of those horses that is really fun to lead up there because you really don’t have a clue how much he was going to bring; you just knew he was going to do well. He did everything right all year, we were just lucky to have him in the barn. You can’t teach the mind that he has. And he has all the angles, he has the leg, he had all the parts to be a really nice horse. Everyone here saw it, and he showed it on the track.”
Hip 212, a chestnut son of Not This Time that is full brother to OBS graduate and Grade 1 winner Cogburn, brought the day’s third highest price when he sold to Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm in Japan for $650,000. Consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds LLC, Agent, the colt is out of the stakes-winning Saintly Look mare In a Jif and breezed a quarter in :21 1/5 during the under tack show.
“The way he worked was very nice and when we inspected him, the way he walked was very nice. So, we really liked him,” said Shingo Hashimoto, manager of internal affairs for Northern Farm. “We’re going to take him back to Japan and hopefully he’ll do well. He looked pretty fast – like his brother.”
Added consignor Randy Hartley, “He’s a beautiful horse who did everything he was supposed to do. He’s the dream horse to train. He’s so light on his feet.”
In addition to selling the Maxfield colt, Dunne also consigned the session’s highest priced filly in Hip 65, a bay daughter of Vekoma out of the graded stakes winning Wildcat Heir mare Daring Kathy. The filly sold to Leland Ackerley for $425,000 after breezing an eighth in :10 1/5.
A total of four horses sold for $400,000 during Tuesday’s session:
Hip 4, a bay colt by OBS March graduate Into Mischief out of the Candy Ride (ARG) mare Candy Drawer. The colt was purchased by Terry Stephens Racing from the Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.
Hip 40, a bay filly by Charlatan out of the War Front mare Confidently, who is a half-sister to champion Uncle Mo and a full sister to Group 1 placed Could It Be Love. The filly sold to Ackerley out of the White Lilac (Katie Miranda) consignment after breezing in :10 2/5.
Hip 131, a bay filly by Constitution consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, Agent who breezed in :10 2/5. The filly was purchased by Marquee Bloodstock, Agent and is out of the winning Uncle Mo mare Fashion Mo, who is out of Group 3 winner and Grade/Group 1 placed Theyskens’ Theory.
Hip 133, a dark bay or brown filly by Uncle Mo out of the stakes winning mare Feel That Fire, by Lightnin N Thunder, who breezed a quarter in :21 2/5. Consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent, the filly was purchased by Terry Stephens Racing and is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Mind Control.
Three horses sold for $375,000:
Hip 134, a bay filly by Tiz the Law consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent who was purchased by Donato Lanni, Agent for Frank Fletcher Racing Operation. The filly, who breezed in :21 3/5, is out of the Lion Heart mare Feline Flatline and is a half sister to stakes winner Mihos.
Hip 170, a bay filly by Upstart consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent and purchased by Katsumi Yoshida. The filly, who breezed in :10 flat, is out of the Harlan’s Holiday mare Great Family and is a half-sister to stakes winner Backtohisroots.
Hip 176, a bay colt by Charlatan, out of the winning stakes-placed Tapizar mare Hang a Star. Consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, the colt is from the family of champion Rushing Fall and was purchased by JWS Racing after breezing in :9 3/5.
Tuesday’s session generated total gross receipts of $15,902,000 from 117 head sold, down from the $21,859,000 generated by 167 sold during the opening session in 2024. The average of $135,915 was up compared to $130,892 last year while the median also saw a healthy boost, jumping from $60,000 in 2024 to $85,000 this year.
"We're pleased to see that the average and median were up,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “The good news is we still have two days of some really nice horses to sell. It's kind of hard to compare session to session, year to year. But it was a good start, and we look forward to more good horses tomorrow and the next day.”
The leading consignor by gross for the session was de Meric Sales with nine sold for $1,920,000. Leland Ackerley topped all buyers with four purchased for a total of $1,175,000.
A total of 53 horses failed to meet their reserve for an RNA rate of 31.2. Last year’s RNA rate was19.4% adjusting for post sales results.