Day 2 at OBSAPR improves vs. 2009; 'my' 22 on the day go for big money, and small, some not at all

The second day of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. April sale of 2-year-olds in training was a big success compared to Day 2 a year ago, with encouraging increases across the board -- gross revenues (28.2 percent), average price (29.4 percent) and median price (33.3 percent).

Top seller of the day was a Pico Central filly who brought $200,000 for the sellers, for whom Eddie Woods served as agent. Steve Shahinian bought the filly as agent for Harvey Clark. The girl worked three furlongs in 33 flat and is out of the unraced Cherokee Run mare Strawberrydaiquiri, a half-sister to 2004 Louisiana Derby-G2 winner Wimbledon. The Blood-Horse reports that she was only a $9,00 yearling when purchased at OBS last August by Quarter Pole, from Summerfield, agent for the sale.

Even the buy-back rate improved on Day 2 of 2010 vs. 2009, with only 16.7 percent of offerings not meeting their reserve prices, while 19.8 percent went unsold on the second day of the sale last year. Gross revenues for the 209 to sell totaled $6,441,000 Tuesday, accounting for an average of $30,818 and a median of $20,000. Though a $260,000 Pleasantly Perfect colt sold Monday remains the sale-topper thus far, Tuesday's average and median prices were upgrades over the Day 1 results, as well. On Monday, the average horse to sell out of 196 purchased brought $23,363, and the median price was $18,000 -- which still was up vs. 2009.

Now for the 22 Hips I singled out from the second day, one of which was withdrawn. (Wait, can you "single out" 22 of something?)

Hip 307: Chestnut colt by Songandaprayer-Queen of Money, by Corporate Report. Have to admit, I thought the first Hip of the day would bring more; maybe a lot more. Pretty decent stallion and the dam was a G3 winner and G1-placed. Colt half to a pair of stakes winners, a stakes-placer, and a fourth sibling who is a stakes-producer. Breeze was a gusty 10-flat. ... $28,000 to David Rowbotham.

Hip 312: Bay filly by Eye of the Tiger-Rajas Secret, by Storm Bird. Filly brought a bid commensurate with her unproven sire (who was a fine racehorse) from an unfashionable 21st century bloodline (Cure the Blues), rather than one befitting her female family, with a dam who has 13-for-13 to race with 10 winners and a pair of stakes winners by a different son of Cure the Blues, Take Me Out, in Louisiana Derby-G2 winner KIMBERLITE PIPE and MARASCA. Breezed 22-flat for the quarter and looked pretty doing it, on video, at least. A filly I'd be glad to own, but nobody else was very interested. ... $6,000 Not Sold.

Hip 316: Chestnut colt by Storm Boot-Raria, by Rahy. Speed sells, and a 10-flat eighth helped get attention for this colt. Doesn't hurt that he has two full brothers who have earned almost $234,000 between them. Late sire gets a very high percentage of starters (81 percent) and winners (65 percent). Not surprised at the price, despite a relative lack of blacktype on the page. ... $48,000 to GZS Stables LLC.

Hip 331: Reprized Halo, bay colt by Halo's Image-Reprized Angel, by Reprized. First foal out of a five-race-winning dam who is a full sister to G3 winner VALID REPRIZED and half to G2 winner CONVEYOR'S ANGEL. Seems like a great deal on a colt from that kind of female family who breezed 21.2 for a quarter. ... $23,000 to Roger Urbina.

Hip 349: Chestnut filly by Trippi-Romantic Dinner, by Who's for Dinner. Filly worked a 22-second quarter and is half to stakes winners SEA OF GREEN and LADY GIN. A half-sister's son by Trippi sold for $40,000 in the first session after working 21.3. This one worked only slightly slower, but sold for a whole lot less. ... $26,000 to Vina Del Mar Thoroughbreds.

Hip 388: Dark bay or brown filly by Vindication-Scapegoat, by Forty Niner. Withdrawn.

Hip 433: Dark bay or brown colt by Hennessy-Shuffle Again, by Wild Again. I sort of gave a thumbs-halfway-up for this one, whose dam has a stakes-winning half-sister by this sire (GOODNESS, $99K). The mare has produced six to win of eight foals of racing age, but most haven't done much. Buyers concurred, bringing the gavel down at just a shade below the day's average price. ... $30,000 to Wendell N. Kangaloo.

Hip 444: Include Me Sir, chestnut filly by Include-Sir Harriett, by Sir Harry Lewis. This one went 3f instead of an eighth or a quarter, and did it in a very nice 34-flat. Filly is by an underrated younger sire and out of a dam who has seven winners from eight foals, including two stakes horses of more than $270K, OVERPASS (Slavic) and SIR FIVE STAR (Five Star Day). This KY-bred filly is inbred 4x4x4 to the 2-year-old champ of 1970, Hoist the Flag, and I'm thinking she has what it takes. So do her sellers, Walnut Hill Stable LLC, who bought her back today because she didn't meet reserve. ... $37,000 Not Sold.

Hip 465: Bay colt by Omega Code-Southern Alert, by Southern Halo. Sire was a 6-furlong track record-setter at 2, and the dam set her own track record going super short (4.5 furlongs) at Prairie Meadows. Colt breezed 10.1 and looked the part. Brought more than I thought he would considering the page (which isn't devoid of blacktype), but I can't say that I blame the buyer. The colt seems like the right type. ... $35,000 to Glenn Mendez.

Hip 473: Bay colt by Montbrook-Special Report, by Notebook. Somebody call the Florida Bureau of Investigation, because this colt just got stolen. I don't know how he vetted, and maybe something like that held down the price, but he's by a sire who gets 20 percent juvenile winners, out of a mare who won at first asking at 2 and collected two stakes wins at 3, and the dam has three -- count 'em, three -- stakes-placed half-siblings who've earned a combined $300,000 and are by this very stallion. And he wasn't slow by any means; 21.4 through a quarter. I'm not sure you could find a much better Florida-bred prospect, which is why the price surprised me. ... $23,000 to Carlos Oyola.

Hip 476: Fleeting Joy, dark bay or brown colt by Kitten's Joy-Speedy Sunrise, by Cherokee Run. A $15K RNA as a yearling, he's by a pretty good sophomore sire, out of a $102K-earning dam, breezed a respectable 10.2, and still didn't bring any money. ... $7,500 to K.R.A. (KOID).

Hip 482: Bestcasescenario, bay colt by Indian Ocean-Stacie's Halo, by Halo. One of the sale's fastest at 9 4/5 for an eighth, he's out of a mare who won five times, is 7-for-7 winners from racing-age foals, and he's half to G2-winner WORSTCASESCENARIO (f. by Forbidden Apple). Darn-closely inbred 3x2 to Halo (dam-sire of Indian Ocean), but if a G2 winner is the "Worstcasescenario," you'd have to feel pretty good about owning this one. Which is a feeling Bridlewood Farm gets to keep on having for a while longer. ... $47,000 Not Sold.

Hip 517: Bay filly by Harlan's Holiday-Summertime Blues, by Chimes Band. A nice Illinois-bred who worked 10.1 and is half-sister to a Hawthorne stakes-placer of $146K (Chillin Villain, by Good and Tough) and a Pleasant Tap runner, Jitterbug Blues, who has earned $97K. Sellers Wavertree Stables (Ciaran Dunne), agent, get to keep her, too. ... $37,000 Not Sold.

Hip 518: Dark bay or brown filly by Tale of the Cat-Summertown, by Diesis. A KY-bred full sister to stakes-placed Mr. Goodkat ($155K) and half to G2-placed Solar Fire (Stravisnky), this one didn't burn up the track at 10.3, but comes from very good family that also includes several-times English and Irish champions EL GRAN SENOR and TRY MY BEST, and U.K. G1 winner BAHAMIAN PIRATE. If her new connections don't send her straight to the turf course, I might have to hunt them down and throw clumps of grass at them. ... $45,000 to James & Ilene Roper.

Hip 521: Obummer, bay filly by Wildcat Heir-Supah Jen, by Major Moran. Exhilarating 20.3 quarter, stakes-winning and G2-placed dam who was half to a G2 winner (SUPAH GEM, by Gold Meridian) and one of the best sophomore sires on the planet as measured by winning 2-year-olds of 2009 added up to a price double the day's average. ... $67,000 to Big Red Farm.

Hip 538: Dark bay or brown colt by Vindication-Tables Turned, by Petionville. Colt breezed a credible 10.2, but more important, his dam has a 2-year-old winner from her first foal and is full sister to G1 winner ISLAND FASHION ($2.037 million), plus a stakes-placer and a stakes-producer. I would not have been surprised if the price had gone even higher. ... $49,000 to Steven Dwoskin.

Hip 546: Bay colt by Gibson County-Tanja, by Allen's Prospect. Florida-bred is a 9.4 blazer who looked awesome doing it, from a multiple stakes-winning dam of $241K who has managed six winners of eight older foals and is half to five other stakes horses. Close female family of multiple G2-winner BUDDY'S SAINT. Though half his winning siblings haven't topped $50K in earnings, I think this price is fair. ... $30,000 to Pete Miller.

Hip 595: Dark bay or brown colt by Tiznow-Trickle of Gold, by Formal Gold. First foal out of a G3 winner who won half of her 20 lifetime starts, five of them stakes. Good 10.2 breeze. Dam sold for $40K last November in foal to Henny Hughes. About as cheap as you can imagine getting a Tiznow, especially from a dam who could run. ... $20,000 to K.R.A. (KOID).

Hip 597: Tricky Break, bay colt by Sunday Break-Tricky Move, by Tricky Creek. Dam a two-time Michigan stakes winner who has produced two stakes winners among NY-breds. Colt was almost close to slow at 10.4, but an eighth-mile breeze never won a race, which is something five of his six older half-siblings have done, including SNEAKIN UP ($116K) and MULTIPLICATION ($102K). I knew he'd be cheap; now he gets to earn that back right quickly among New York-breds. ... $6,500 to Robert Smith Racing and Sales.

Hip 601: Bay filly by Greatness-Triple Top, by Topsider. Non-stakes sire and unraced dam, but this filly is half to 13 winners out of 15 foals from her dam and Greatness thus far has actually managed to upgrade his modest mares. That's good news, because a couple of this girl's older half-siblings are blacktype-placed -- Way to the Top, 14 wins, G3-placed, $426K, and Triple Great, 19 wins, $229K -- and others have earned $174K, $105K, etc. Seller Secure Investments, agent, will hold onto that investment a little longer. ... $18,000 Not Sold.

Hip 602: Samurai Treasure, bay colt by First Samurai-Triple Treasure, by Gone West. Auctioneer had to beg someone to take him, and they finally did. Colt from a stamina-laden female family is half to a pair of G3-placers (Les GRand Trois, by Officer, $195K, and Wannawinemall, by Royal Anthem, $78K) and has a third half-sibling who has earned $95,000. But he loped his way through a 12-flat eighth and was already an RNA as a weanling ($12,000) and yearling ($3,200) and there was no way he was gonna bring any money. Watch him go on to win the Breeders' Cup Marathon in 2013 or something. ... $1,200 to Angel Rubio Sanchez.

Hip 608: High Test, chestnut colt by Wildcat Heir-Twisted Truth, by Distorted Humor. This one, on the other hand, was fast, 20.4 over the quarter. Dam won at 2, has a pair of 2-year-old winners by Repent, and sophomore stallion Wildcat Heir has already proven he can get 2-year-old winners just about as well as anybody. I'm shocked by the price due to lack of blacktype on the page (dam half to G3 winner LIES OF OMISSION, second dam half to G2 winner LOTTERY WINNER, but not much else), but he was fast and from the auction ring live video it would be hard for one to look much better on the hoof. ... $160,000 to Blinkers On Racing Stable.

Thus, on Day 2, my 22 selections resulted in one "out" and five RNAs, for 16 actually purchased, the same number of picks I had bought on Monday. The 16 brought $599,200, a little less than the $618,700 of my Monday choices, for a declining average of $37,450 (vs. $38,669), despite the $160,000 whopper late in the day. (Thank the $1,200 First Samurai and a couple of other cheapies.)

Tomorrow's sale, commencing at 10:30 a.m., will cover Hip Nos. 613-916. See you again on Wednesday, same Bat-time, same batty blog.