The pace picks up April 20 at the Ocala Breeders Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training, with the sale maintaining momentum throughout the day as two horses soar past the seven-figure mark and the cumulative amount continues to increase.
Halfway through the four-day auction, OBS reported 348 horses sold from 431 offered for an average of $139,121 compared with $102,647 last year, an average of $75,000 (in 2021). was $50,000) and grossed $48,414,000 versus $40,032,400. The RNA rate of the 83 unsold horses in the last two days was 19.3%, compared with the 12.7% RNA rate for the 53 unsold horses in 2021.
One Medaglia d’Oro colt (Hip 401) topped the action of the day with $1.75 million, with either Tim Cohen of Red Baron’s Barn or Rancho Temescal winning mid-day. The next highest rated young player is the son of a first-year male Mendelssohn (Hip 490) was sold to trainer Mitsu Nakauchida, who bid from the latter round and raised $1.3 million to secure the pony for Japan. Nakauchida also selected the third highest priced individual of the day, $825,000 colt by the leading male Into Mischief (Hip 466), became the top buyer on Wednesday’s second session with a total of $2,125,000 for his duo.
OBS reported 178 horses for sale on Wednesday out of a total of 219 horses on offer, with total sales of $25,855,000, up 19% from 2021. A median price of $78,500 was reached. gain and the average of $145,253 is established. There were 41 horses that failed to meet their reserves, exhibiting an RNA ratio of 18.7%. Numbers reported on Wednesday are subject to change due to after-sales reporting.
At this time last year, 196 horses had changed hands with 222 suggested horses for a total of $21,614,500, with an average price of $45,000 and a median of $110,278. The 11.7% RNA fraction represents 27 horses that failed to meet their stockpile. These figures include the after-sale price.
Bloodstock agent Oliver St Lawrence, who made the trip across the pond to shop for trainer Fawzi Nass from the UAE, commented on the market: “It was tough; we watched a few people in the martial arts. radio, Into Mischief before that, and he’s made more of a trail than we hoped he would. We’ll keep looking and see what else.”
Chad Schumer, who will be wearing both hats during the OBS Spring sale, both buyers and sellers, also noted that the market has been like that.
“I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the market,” Schumer commented. “There isn’t a horse I’ve received that hasn’t been a few bids against reserve. I’ll be selling tomorrow, so I might feel differently, but I think it’s a good market and there’s demand. There is a huge demand for these horses, horses from all over the world.
Bloodstock agent David Ingordo agreed with that assessment.
“I find the market very challenging, quite frankly,” he said. “There are a lot of very, very nice horses, and they’re selling for very, very good prices. We came here to buy, and we had mixed success because of the price. We were disciplined, we weren’t. not cheap buyers, but we set limits and some of these are getting blown away I think the market is doing well If you lead a nice horse you will get a good price. And there’s also some value.”
A total of eight juveniles crossed the $500,000 mark on the second day of sale, with two breaking the seven-figure ceiling.
“Every day, the latter part of the day seems to really grab the attention,” noted blood consumption worker Ben McElroy. “The market is a bit tougher than I thought. From a seller’s perspective, I think there could be a lot of backsliding, but I’m not sure that’s the case. It seems a bit of a failure, but you really hit the mark. when you do.”
At the end of Wednesday’s action, de Meric Sales was the top shipper of the day with 11 horses sold for a total of $4,983,000 with an average price of $453,000.
Nick de Meric at OBS Spring Sale
Nick de Meric said: “I think the takeaway from the first two days is that it’s amazing that you bring a good horse here, a beautiful horse. “There’s all sorts of demand for that. We don’t see as much activity in the backround as we sometimes see in April, but the good horses are selling well.”
Selling continues Thursday with Hips 617-924 expected to drop, starting at 10:30 a.m. ET.
