The tail end of the 2-year-olds in training sales season is traditionally a tougher market for consignors and buyers with unpredictable quality from year to year but the three-day Ocala Breeders’ June 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale that ended June 14 produced solid results compared to the 2023 edition.
A total of 582 2-year-olds sold for a gross $21,386,800, which was down 11% from a year ago but the number of horses sold was down 9.1%. The average dropped 2.2% to $36,747 and median held steady at $20,000. Including the horses of racing age, the sale sold 596 horses for $21,730,300, producing an overall average of $36,460. A total of 144 horses did not meet their reserves and gave the sale an overall buy-back rate of 19.5%.
“I thought it was solid with results almost comparable to last year,” said Tod Wojciechowski, OBS’ director of sales. “I thought it was a good 2-year-old market overall. I think the demand is similar to what we’ve seen. We are in an election year and sometimes that affects things, but the bottom line is that quality horses sell well.”
Two juveniles did shine particularly bright during the final session, bringing the second- and third-highest prices for the sale overall (two horses sold previously for $400,000 each).
Julie Davies as agent sold the June 14 session topper, a colt (Hip 1021) by Uncle Mo out of the Will Take Charge stakes winner Kim K . Davies sold the colt, who galloped during the under tack show, for $375,000 to Marc Tacher. Kim K was a $335,000 2-year-old in training purchase in 2018 during the Barretts Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, bought by Rockingham Ranch out of the Sequel Bloodstock consignment. She went on to win the Debutante Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course and banked $213,700 for her career.
The Uncle Mo colt, bred by Rockingham Ranch, is her first foal.
Perfect timing also bolstered interest in the sale’s third-highest-priced juvenile, a $330,000 filly (Hip 1017) by freshman sire Vekoma out of the stakes winner Grace’s Treasure . Hidden Brook consigned the filly that it acquired for $160,000 during the 2023 Fasig-Tipton New York-Breds Yearling Sale at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., out of the Turning Point Bloodstock consignment.
“I expected her to sell well. Her breeze was good but her gallop out was as good as anything all day,” said Mark Roberts, a partner with Hidden Brook. “The thing about her is at the end of a shank, she’s beautiful.”
The Vekoma filly consigned as Hip 1017 at the OBS June Sale
Also helping generate buzz ahead of her walk into the auction ring were two first-out winners by Vekoma at Churchill Downs.
Spendthrift Farm’s freshman sire was represented in race 2 by Louisiana Jess , who won his racing debut by half a length for trainer Bret Calhoun and owner Mansfield Racing. Two races later, CJ Stable’s Viggiedal , a OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale graduate, won her debut by five lengths for trainer Steve Asmussen. The filly was purchased in March for $350,000 by her current connections from the Wavertree Stables consignment. A third Vekoma starter in race 6, Praying , almost made it a hat trick on Churchill’s card for Vekoma but lost the lead in deep stretch to finish second for owner Jeff Prunzik and trainer Robert Medina.
“As soon as that second one crossed the finish line, I was at the OBS update office to make sure they had it. It was a good day,” said Roberts.
Vekoma’s first crop has made a blazing start, with six debut winners and one second-place finisher out of eight starters to date.
The top three finishers in race 6 at Churchill were actually all OBS graduates. The winner, Dreamgirl who is a filly by Mo Town , sold for $65,000 to DKW Racing out of the Grassroots Training and Sales consignment at this year’s OBS Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. She is owned by Three Diamonds Farm and trained by Mike Maker. Finishing second was Praying, who sold for $410,000 during the Spring Sale to Stone Bridge Farm from Mayberry Farm, and in third was Troubler , a daughter of Instagrand who sold for $250,000 during the OBS March Sale to Robert Masterson out of Eddie Woods’ consignment.
“There is more of that to come. These consignors do a heckuva job in not only selecting these horses but preparing them for the races. It gets proven time and time again in the racing results,” said Wojciechowski.
While Hidden Brook was fortunate to sell one near the top, Roberts said the June sale—like the juvenile sale season overall—was a “tough market.”
“June is always tough sledding because it’s at the end of the season and most of your buyers have spent their money. You talk to agents that might have an order for one horse versus earlier sales when they have orders for four or five horses. There is just less money to go around,” he said.
“Breeze day is like Derby day; you get one shot at it. So you’ll get horses that might have stubbed their toe at an earlier sale. It doesn’t mean they are bad horses, they just had a bad day. There were some nice horses here this week.”
As for the 2-year-olds season overall, Roberts said it was a tough year, especially for horses in the middle and lower end of the market.
“Some had a few top horses and the rest got by. During my years in the horse business, I don’t remember an election year being a good year for anybody. No matter what side of the aisle you’re on,” he said.
Roberts expects this pattern to carry over into the yearling sales.
“I think the yearling market will see the same kind of adjustment. The top will do well and the middle and bottom will struggle. I think the pinhookers will be more cautious, and rightly so,” he said.
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