Near the end of the March 12 second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, agents John Kimmel and Nick Sallusto went to $1.1 million on behalf of Flanagan Racing for Hip 486, a daughter of Good Magic . The bay filly consigned by Top Line Sales breezed an eighth of a mile in :09 4/5 March 7 during the second day of the under tack show.
Out of the Street Cry mare Rose Mine, Hip 486 was bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto, and sold at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $275,000 to Passion for Racing.
"She's phenomenal," Kimmel said of the filly. "She was the highest-graded filly I saw in the sale. The thing about her is that she's just got the look of a real quality filly. I've had many good fillies over the years, and this filly exudes that kind of quality."
Sallusto told BloodHorse that he and Kimmel consulted on purchasing the filly for Sean Flanagan's Flanagan Racing, and the filly came recommended by Flanagan's good friend, trainer Danny Gargan. Chad Brown will train the filly, Sallusto said.
Also for Flanagan Racing, Kimmel and Sallusto purchased Hip 325, a Midshipman colt who breezed a quarter-mile in :20 2/5, for $650,000. He is out of the Line of David mare Meetmeonline, who is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner and sire Bucchero , and hails from the immediate family of multiple grade 1 winner World of Trouble. The chestnut colt was consigned by Caliente Thoroughbreds, agent.
"We got outbid on the Maxfield colt (Hip 119) yesterday," Kimmel said. "We were the direct underbidder. That was about as far as we were going to go ($1.1 million). Those good fillies that breeze well, that have the physical, you really have to pay for them."
Jimbo Gladwell of Top Line Sales, which also sold a $660,000 Charlatan colt (Hip 343) during the second session, was elated with the result of Hip 486.
"Everybody on the sales grounds loved her," Gladwell said. "She's just a queen. She showed really well down there, we had high hopes. You never know if they're going to go over a million, but we were very happy with the price."
Day 2 Statistics
Day 2 of the OBS March Sale saw 143 horses change hands for a total of $22,998,500. That number is just below last year's second session where 156 head sold for $23,976,000. The average for the session was $160,829, with a median of $70,000. The RNA rate was 17.8% representing the 31 horses who failed to meet their reserve.
Last year's average price for the second session was $153,692 with a median of $75,000. Fifty-five horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 26.1%. The highest price of the corresponding 2024 session was $1.3 million for Ferocious, a multiple graded-placed son of Flatter.
The highest-priced colt of Day 2 was Hip 404, a colt by WinStar Farm's freshman sire Independence Hall bought by JPM Bloodstock for $1 million from the consignment of Eddie Woods.
Flanagan Racing was the leading buyer for their two purchases totaling $1.75 million. Top Line Sales led the consignors selling nine head from their draft for $4.06 million.
"It's dodgy," Woods said of the market. "I just got $1 million for a horse that I gave $165,000 for (Hip 404). It's dodgy to say the least.
"I brought some fillies up there today, one brought $300,000, I thought she'd bring $400,000-$500,000 the way it was. Another one brought $475,000, and I thought she deserved to bring a bit more. Another one sold for $75,000 that I gave $250,000 for, so it's not all roses. And to see them out there, the cheaper horses, nobody here, nobody home at all."
The sale concludes March 13 with Hips 545-814 slated to go through the ring. As of Wednesday evening, OBS had reported 50 outs.
