Ten Sovereigns' sister bound for Britain after starring at OBS Spring Sale

There is only one way to describe Wednesday afternoon at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training: action-packed.

From 193 horses offered at the second session, 142 sold for gross receipts of $15,044,000 (£11,861,590/€13,226,005).

The average price for the session was $105,944 (£83,530/€93,140) and the median was $57,000. The 51 horses that did not sell represented an RNA rate of 23.4 per cent. During the same session in 2019, 183 horses were sold for receipts of $22,902,500 at an average price of $125,150 and median of $75,000.

"It was even keel today," OBS director of sales Tod Wojciechowski said. "The good horses were up, and it's just a matter of what the number will be. They always stand out. It was great to see the end there. We had quite a nice sale and cracked seven figures. It was a step in the right direction for day two.

"We keep saying things are good, all things considered, compared to last year, but you can't really compare the two. I think we seem to be moving in the right direction. The RNA rate from day one has already dropped down. … Things are normalizing now."

View full OBS Spring Sale results and stats

Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales ended the day as the top consignor with just two horses sold for a total of $1.7 million. The current sales-topper, which originated from the couple's consignment, represented an especially poignant transaction for the pair. A speedy daughter of Not This Time offered as Hip 1,254 was the first horse for the couple's consignment to hit, and then surpass, the coveted million-dollar mark.

After a prolonged bidding war, bloodstock agent Gary Young emerged the victor on the filly, purchasing her for $1.35m (£1.06m/€1.18m) on behalf of an undisclosed client.

"Obviously with her work time and everything else, she was unbelievable and she looked good in the barn," Young said. "My client, I had him on the phone, and originally we were going to $1 million and he said, 'Keep going, keep going.' There were a couple of times that I thought we were on our last bid, but he bid again.

"I liked her a lot. The sire showed a lot of nice horses, but this one stood out. We will see what happens."

Bred in Kentucky by International Equities, the filly is out of the Wilko mare Sheza Smoke Show, the winner of the Senorita Stakes. The filly's second dam is stakes winner Avery Hall, and her third dam, Royal Form, was also a stakes winner.

Hip 1,254 was purchased for $135,000 by Mark Marino from Taylor Made Sales Agency's consignment to the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The filly made an immediate impression during the OBS under tack show when she breezed a quarter-mile in :20 1/5.

"I'm still shaking a bit," Torie Gladwell said. "She had so many vets, and everyone was asking what she would bring and what she would cost. They asked every question they could ask. She took it all in stride and we took it all in stride, and it really worked out."

A Grade 3-winning son of Giant's Causeway, Not This Time is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner and sire Liam's Map. He stands at Taylor Made Stallions near Nicholasville, Kentucky, for a 2020 fee of $12,500.

Top Line's only other horse to sell on Wednesday was Hip 421, a No Nay Never filly out of the Exceed And Excel mare Seeking Solace. David Meah signed the winning $350,000 ticket for the filly in the name of Meah/Lloyd Bloodstock, agent for Promenade Bloodstock.

Bred in Ireland by Camas Park, Lynch Bages, and Summerhill, the filly is a full-sister to Group 1 winner Ten Sovereigns, who won the 2018 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes and the 2019 Darley July Cup. The filly had been purchased from Camas Park Stud for 320,000gns by Magnolia Bloodstock from the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

"First of all, we love the sire and the pedigree," said Meah, whose partner, Jamie Lloyd, serves as the bloodstock and racing manager for Qatar-based Promenade Bloodstock. "I know she came from a sale in England, but she will be going back to England."

Gladwell said the session-topping filly helped to soften the blow of selling only two of the horses from their consignment.

"We actually have RNA'd everything today except for the No Nay Never, which did not have a reserve, and Hip 1,254," Gladwell said. "So I definitely feel a little bit better. We're very happy that it happened, but we still want to get our other horses sold.

"This sale is really tough. I feel like if you don't have one of the top horses here, it's really difficult to get them sold. Even with vet work, if they're not perfect, it's hard to get them sold."

With two more days of the auction left to go, Wojciechowski said he's pleased with the turnout and hopes to see momentum build through the end of the sale on June 12.

"You don't get the feeling that people are looking to leave quickly," he said. "I think they appreciate the sale going on. I think we will continue to see what we've seen the last two days and keep progressing forward in the right way."

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