Midway into Day 1 of the Ocala Breeders' Sales June 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale June 16, a colt (Hip 168) by freshman sire Early Voting commanded $410,000 from trainer Greg Compton, agent for MAG Racing Stables.
"He's a good-looking individual, he had a great breeze, and the stud is off to a great start," Compton said. "It's pretty simple. He looks like he has a bright future. I stable at Delaware Park, so he'll go up there, and we'll figure out. We actually race at Oaklawn in the winter, so he might get a little break for 30 days and then get him back going again."
Compton said they had to stretch to secure the colt.
"It was a little more than we thought. But he's a really nice individual. It's been competitive. If you want a nice horse, you're going to have to pay for it."
The athletic colt turned heads during last week's under-tack show, breezing a furlong in :10 to share the fastest time among colts in the first session for consignor Julie Davies.
"Bought him (at) Fasig Tipton. Just very athletic. He has a great walk," Davies said. "I have been a fan of Early Voting since the yearling sales. You can ask anyone who knows me; I've been harping on about Early Voting. I'm sure that helped, but this is a nice horse. Obviously, he's fast; he's pretty.
"He was (targeted for this sale). I think this sale, if you bring the right horse here, if you bring a good horse here, then there are plenty of buyers. I sold Adare Manor out of this sale, and Solitude Dude came from here."
Hip 168 was bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation out of the War Front mare Cara Dura. He hails from the immediate family of multiple graded stakes winner and influential sire Exchange Rate (Danzig). He was purchased by Mood Swings for $52,000 at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale.
The colt will race for newcomer Mag Racing Stables, a multiple stakes-winning ownership. Their most accomplished runner to date is G W's Girl, a Florida-bred filly by Munnings that Compton scouted at the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale for $130,000. The multiple stakes-winning filly defeated eventual Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) and 2025 Eclipse Award champion female sprinter Shisospicy in her first stakes victory last year in the Mockingbird Stakes at Oaklawn Park. It was also Compton's first career stakes victory at the Arkansas track.
Hip 93 was the top-priced filly of the day. The daughter of Mo Donegal brought $370,000 from Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of Frank Fletcher Racing Operations. She was one of four fillies to breeze a co-fastest furlong in :09 4/5 during Day 1 of the under-tack show.
"Bought her for Frank Fletcher. Great guy. He's very enthusiastic; we need more people like him in the business," Lanni said. "We wanted to buy a filly. He and Bob (Baffert) are really good friends; they have a huge amount of respect for each other, so he wants to send this one to Bob. I think Bob is running at Churchill and Oaklawn, and Frank is an Oaklawn guy, and he likes Churchill. We're going to look at running her there."
The filly was purchased for $200,000 by Colt Necks Stables at the OBS March sale after breezing a furlong in :10.
"I like them (the Mo Donegals). She looks very fast," Lanni said. Yeah (saw her in March). She's changed a lot. She's gotten bigger, stronger.
"We love June. Every horse has a story here; that's why they're here. And you just have to find out the real story. A lot of the horses were given the time to come here for whatever reason. But I do like this sale; it's a fun sale."
Morplay Racing went to $330,000 for a daughter (Hip 239) of Practical Joke , who also breezed a furlong in :09 4/5 for Caliente Thoroughbreds.
The Practical Joke filly was bred in Kentucky by Mike Olszewsky out of the Munnings mare Danceformunny. She failed to meet her reserve as a yearling, attracting a final bid of $45,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
A pair of Uncle Mo fillies each brought $300,000 apiece—Hip 192 and Hip 220, both consigned by Tom McCrocklin.
Hip 192 was purchased by Greenwell Thoroughbreds. The filly breezed a quarter-mile in :21. She is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner and sire Airoforce.
Hip 220 worked the co-fastest quarter-mile of the sale, going in :20 2/5. She was purchased by Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt.
At the end of the day of trade, 163 horses had changed hands for gross receipts of $9,066,000, including private sales. The average price was $55,620, with a median of $30,000. Seventy-six horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 31.8%.
Last year's first session, which offered more horses because of its two-day format—compared to three days this year—saw 243 horses sell for a total of $10,461,000, with an average price of $43,049. The median was $25,000.
Day 2 of the sale begins June 17 at 10:30 a.m. ET with hips 351-652 set to head to the ring. As of Monday evening, OBS had reported 62 outs for the second session.
