With standout performances from several juveniles during the under-tack show, the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, held March 10-12, begins with a blend of anticipation and apprehension among consignors.
"The first 2-year-old sale of the year is here. You always worry a little bit until everybody kind of shakes those jitters off, but I think it'll be solid," said consignor Nick Sallusto of Thorostock.
Over four days of the under-tack shows March 4-7, six juveniles breezed a furlong in :09 3/5.
Top Line Sales had two of those six, both by first-crop sires—Hip 508, a filly by Drain the Clock and Hip 598, a colt by Golden Pal .
"Everybody is focused on quality right now," said Jimbo Gladwell of Top Line Sales. "I think the top percent you'll see them way outsell themselves because that's where the big races are won at is the top tier. I think it's going to be a very strong market. All of these horses went in with a pretty high pinhook average, but that's what it takes to get to that top tier."
Drain the Clock, whose progeny have shown their speed over the last week, had the only two juveniles to work a quarter-mile in :20 1/5, tying the OBS track record for a quarter mile. Hip 284 is a filly out of the Street Boss mare Queen of Aces, consigned by Hoppel, agent. Hip 748 is consigned by Doble J Equine Sales, agent. The colt is the third foal out of the mare Exsqueeze Me, who is a half sister to 2015 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winner Wavell Avenue.
The road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) often begins at OBS, where springtime dreams take flight—most recently exemplified by John Oxley's Southwest Stakes (G3) winner Silent Tactic. Justin Casse purchased the son of Tacitus as a juvenile for $500,000 from Thorostock at last year's OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
Thorostock will have two juveniles on offer on Day 1 in Hip 40, a colt by Drain the Clock and Hip 57, a colt by Army Mule . The colts breezed a furlong in :10, and :09 4/5, respectively.
"The Drain the Clock is a beautiful horse," Sallusto said. "He is very correct, and he's trained extraordinarily all winter, and he came over and performed the way he trained."
John Kimmel and Sallusto purchased the New York-bred colt for $50,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale.
Kimmel, a veterinarian and trainer for more than four decades, recently announced his retirement from the training world to focus on bloodstock. Sallusto said they will be active in purchasing horses together.
"Thorostock is really and truly an equine management company. We operate in multiple capacities," Sallusto said. "John came on board to be part of the bloodstock team and allows me to grow the business in different directions."
Sallusto and Kimmel have shared plenty of success in a short time. They purchased two-time grade 1 winner Chancer McPatrick in 2024 for Flanagan Racing. Most recently, the duo is represented by the success of Silent Tactic. They purchased the colt as a yearling for $60,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2024 Kentucky October Yearling Sale, and saw a big return the following spring when selling for $500,000.
Silent Tactic is currently tied for third with four other contenders with 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.
"He had that stretchy, athletic build that we look for in a classic horse," Sallusto said. "Great movement about him, good-minded, really well-balanced. The more he trained, the stronger he got. He just trained up into a beautiful horse."
Having a legitimate contender on the Derby trail is something Sallusto takes a lot of pride in.
"It's a great accomplishment for Thorostock, John, and myself. If we're lucky enough to land one in a Derby, it would definitely be a big feather in our cap. We're super excited about it.
"There's good synergy between us. We come pretty close to agreeing on things even before we discuss the horses."
Also offered on Day 1 of the sale by Thorostock is Hip 57, a colt by Army Mule who breezed a furlong in :09 4/5.
"He's as straightforward of an individual that I've ever had. He's great-minded and incredibly athletic," Sallusto said.
"I think Army Mule is a sire that we're really starting to understand more about, and how to breed to him. He's a stallion on the rise."
Sallusto said he is optimistic the strong market will continue through the juvenile sales season.
"The market has been so resilient," he said. "There's a strong demand for horses right now. It's been very polarized where the top is supported to a very high level. The middle is tolerant, and the lower end continues to suffer."
During last year's three-day sale, 432 of the 524 horses offered changed hands for gross receipts of $65,660,500, including private sales. The average price was $151,992, with a median of $70,000. The sale-topper was Brant, who sold for an OBS record of $3 million to Donato Lanni, agent for Zedan Racing. The Gun Runner colt was consigned by Eddie Woods.
Top Line Sales led all consignors, selling 22 from its draft for a total of $6,954,000. Lanni's single purchase landed him first among all buyers by gross sales.
David Scanlon of Scanlon Training & Sales, who acquired Woods' former training facility last year, brings forth a lot of enthusiasm for the first 2-year-old sale of the season.
"I'm feeling pretty strong. I think we're going to find this sale in March to be pretty solid," Scanlon said. "The upper end is always really good. It has been in all the sales; it's been a bit polarized everywhere.
"But I do feel like with the traffic here, I think we're going to see a little bit better across the middle market. We got really lucky with good weather. The track played really fast. I think we're going to see a pretty good clearance at this March Sale."
The OBS March Sale has been well represented by its graduates, most recently highlighted by Del Mar Futurity (G1) winner and Eclipse Award finalist Brant, 2025 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner and Eclipse Award finalist Bentornato, and 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and 2025 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) winner White Abarrio.
The action kicks off Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET with hips 1-272. As of Monday evening, OBS had reported 179 outs.
