Gus King pays $975,000 . . .
As the final moments of the 2025 OBS June Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale wound down, consignor Randy Miles couldn’t stop moving, darting from inside the pavilion to the back ring and back again, accepting all means of congratulatory wishes along the way.
By the time Miles paused to take his whirlwind of a 15 minutes in, history had once again been made as one of the more productive juvenile sale seasons in OBS history came to a triumphant close.
With both the OBS March and April auctions rewriting chapters in the sales company’s record books this year, the OBS June Sale wasn’t to be left out when it came to adding to the annals. In the last hour of the two-day exercise, Hip 850, a chestnut filly by Curlin consigned by Caliente Thoroughbreds, established a record price for the June sale when she sold for $975,000 to Miles on behalf of owner Gus King while the overall average and median also established new marks for the final 2-year-old sale of the year.
Minutes after signing that lofty ticket, Miles was hustling to be part of more fireworks as he consigned Hip 857, a gray or roan filly by Gun Runner that brought the sale’s second highest price when she went for $525,000 to representatives of My RaceHorse.
“It was a very busy 15 minutes,” Miles said.
The lone offspring by Curlin selling during the June auction, the chestnut filly is out of the graded stakes winning Tapit mare Mufajaah, who is a daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Carolyn’s Cat. During her star turn in the ring, she bested the previous all-time June mark set in 2019 for $900,000.
The new high mark also continued a trend of market strength during this juvenile sale season. The OBS March sale posted year-to-year gains in gross and average while the April exercise produced year-over-year gains in gross and a record average. The OBS March auction also sold a sale-record seven horses for $1 million or more, including a son of Gun Runner – now named Brant – who hammered for a record $3 million.
When the dust settled on June, the average of $51,172 had bested the previous sale record of $43,433 set in 2021 and the median of $25,000 topped the prior record of $23,500 established in 2022. This year’s sale was held over two days compared to last year’s three-day exercise.
“We certainly saw the same pattern that we saw in the 2-year-old market all year and I’m glad that it held all the way to June,” said Tod Wojciechowski, Director of Sales for OBS. “This time of year, you worry about buyer fatigue but a lot of that was just worry. The market proved its resiliency again. Lots of records this year, it was an excellent season. We’re grateful to the buyers that came, grateful to the consignors who bring the quality horses they bring.”
Bidding on behalf of King, a client of his for a handful of years now, Miles stayed diligent in his pursuit of the Curlin filly as the bidding opened at $25,000 and steadily jumped up from there. Though he stretched beyond the limits of past June sales, Miles said King was determined to do what was needed in order to own the youngster, who had breezed in :10 flat during the under-tack show.
“Gus really just wants top quality,” said Miles, who added the filly was headed to the barn of Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. “He had Publisher in the (Kentucky) Derby this year and really wants to continue that line with really top-quality horses, and we felt the Curlin was the best horse in the sale.
“We thought the horse could be bought for a little bit less, but we were not going to stop. We wanted to give it our all to get that horse bought. We didn’t want to spend that much money but to get that kind of horse, you have to spend that money. And Gus was very willing.”
Saul Marquez of Caliente Thoroughbreds, no stranger to selling high-quality prospects with multiple Grade 1 winner and OBS grad Chancer McPatrick among those on his honor roll, happily found himself at a loss as he tried to describe his latest commercial success.
“The first time we saw this filly we fell in love with her. She’s always done everything right,” Marquez said. “She’s been smart, loves what she does, she’s just a racehorse. We brought her in April but my whole idea was pointing her here in June. I was confident in her. But…right now I don’t even have words.”
Miles had to find adjectives for both of the top horses in the sale as his Gun Runner filly out of Grade 1 winner Restless Rider gained her share of attention when she hit the ring moments later. When she breezed in :10 flat during the under tack show, Miles knew the stage would be set for her to have her own wave of suitors.
“She was just amazing. She came in here really light on training and what she did on her breeze show was remarkable to me,” Miles said of the Gun Runner filly. “We came into Ocala thinking we may gallop her because she was so far behind. What she did had nothing to do with anything we did. She did all of it. It was a real shock; it was a pleasant shock.
“My RaceHorse bought her and it’s going to be a fun road to watch. I love watching my babies go on and do well.”
After Hip 104, a dark bay or brown colt by Grade 1 winner and OBS June grad Yaupon, topped the first day of the June sale when he sold to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. for $300,000 from the consignment of Julie Davies, a total of seven horses sold for $300,000 or more during Wednesday’s session.
On a day when consignor Ciaran Dunne was at Royal Ascot to witness OBS and Wavertree graduate Crimson Advocate score by 1 ¾ lengths in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, an effort that came after fellow OBS and Wavertree grad Lennilu finished a game third in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, his program notched another triumph when Hip 572, a bay colt by Bolt d’Oro sold to Gary Young, agent for $425,000.
Though Lennliu, who is owned by a partnership that includes Amy Dunne and Caitlin Dunne, came up just short in her Royal Ascot try, the Bolt d’Oro colt provided a boost by justifying the patience and faith shown to him by his connections. Bred by Gil Masters, the colt is out of the Smart Strike mare Missile Belle, who is from the female family of graded stakes winner Fugitive Angel, and was earmarked for the June sale when it became evident his strong bodied frame would benefit from added time.
“It’s the age-old story, you can’t hide a good one and he exceeded expectations,” Dunne said by phone from England. “But the way he performed; we weren’t surprised. He was a bit big and backwards early on. We had initially targeted April, but it was coming a little too soon, so we decided he was worth waiting a little bit longer for to give him the time to show himself at his best.”
The colt first rewarded that patience during the under-tack show when he breezed in :9 4/5, catching Young’s eye with the way he was able to gather himself and finish up down the lane.
“In his preview, he left the pole on his left lead, and he took about 7 or 8 strides to figure things out,” said Young, who purchased the colt on behalf of an undisclosed client. “But once he got into his stride and got over to his right lead, I thought he was a machine. We figured that there would be people on him, and we figured right about that (price) range is where we would have to go.”
The day’s fourth highest price came when trainer George Weaver went to $375,000 for Hip 471, a son of OBS grad Into Mischief from Steven Venosa’s S G V Thoroughbred consignment who breezed in :10 flat. The appeal of six-time leading sire Into Mischief needs no justification as the Spendthrift Farm stallion continues to dominate both in the commercial arena and with his offspring on the track.
“You see an Into Mischief that you like, and they look athletic and have a good look to them, you can’t go wrong,” Weaver said from Saratoga. “He’s a homerun type sire and has been for several years now. We’ll be glad to (have the colt) in the barn.”
Out of the multiple stakes winning Kafwain mare Kadira and a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Paola Queen, the Into Mischief colt added to an already standout year for Venosa, who sold the two highest priced horses at the OBS April sale.
“He’s a horse we held back specifically for this sale. He’s a late May foal so we gave him the time that he needed,” Venosa said of the Into Mischief colt. “And he did everything right here and on the farm. The horse was slated for an earlier sale, but we felt like it wasn’t his time. To me the most important thing is to do right by the horse.”
Other top prices included:
Hip 563, a bay colt by Practical Joke consigned by de Meric Sales who sold for $350,000 to Donato Lanni, agent on behalf of Frank Fletcher. The colt, who breezed in :9 4/5, is out of the Drosselmeyer mare Midnight Girl, a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Midnight Lucky, who is out of a full sister to Grade 1 winner and producer Hookedonthefeelin.
Hip 654, a bay filly by Bolt d’Oro consigned by Woodside Ranch who sold for $325,000 to Legion Bloodstock, Agent. The filly, who breezed in :9 4/5, is out of the winning Elusive Quality mare Platonic Love and is from the female family of Grade 1 winner and producer Toussaud.
Hip 734, a bay colt by Maclean’s Music consigned by de Meric Sales, who sold for $310,000 to Jeff Kresnak. The colt, who breezed in :10 flat, is out of the winning Mineshaft mare Sengekontacket, who is a full sister to stakes winner and OBS grad Wolf Man Rocket.
Hip 512, a bay colt by Modernist consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock who sold for $300,000 to Bill Childs. The colt, who breezed in :9 4/5, is out of the winning Sidney’s Candy mare Lila Ruth and is from the female family of multiple Grade 1 winner Win.
Total gross receipts for the June sale saw $25,688,500 generated from 502 head sold, up from last year when up from last year when 592 2-year-olds sold for $21,702,300. The average soared past the $36,659 established in 2024 while the median also bested the $20,000 put up a year ago.
The leading consignor by gross was de Meric Sales who sold 14 horses for $1,494,000 while King’s purchase of the Curlin filly made him the leading buyer.
“This ended up being a really good sale,” Miles said. “We’re looking forward to next year and the yearling owners are happy to see this was a vibrant market because it will carry over. We just need to keep it going.”
A total of 101 horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 16.8% compared to 18.5% a year ago.
The next sale on the OBS calendar is the October Yearling Sale taking place Oct. 7-8. Entries for the October sale close Aug. 5.