by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm
OCALA, FL – The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale had its first million-dollar juvenile when bloodstock agent Justin Casse bid $1.95-million for a colt by Epicenter late in the day and Tuesday's first session of the four-day auction concluded with an average price well ahead of last year's record-setting figure.
During the session, 159 horses sold for a gross of $24,578,000. The session average of $154,579 was up 20.6% from last year's opening session figure and 10.9% ahead of the auction's 2025 record average of $139,343. The session's median of $80,000, up 33.3% from last year's opening session, was also well ahead of last year's cumulative figure of $65,000.
From 306 catalogued juveniles, 206 horses went through the ring Tuesday with 47 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 22.8%. That figure was 23.1% during last year's opening session and 16.7% for the entire sale.
Casse's $1.95-million bid was the fourth highest ever at an OBS Spring sale and the auction's highest price since a colt by Gun Runner sold for $2.2 million in 2023.
Casse's father Norman was a founding member of the sales company and the bloodstock agent found the moment emotional.
“I am happy for OBS,” he said. “My dad started the place and all that we've been able to accomplish here is very exciting. And I am very proud for the sales company to get a horse of that caliber and to fetch a price like that.”
The session topper, purchased by Casse on behalf of Amo Racing and undislosed partners, was consigned by Wavertree Stables, which was the session's leading consignor with three sold for $2.455 million.
The OBS Spring sale continues through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10:30 a.m.
'He's Beautiful': $1.95-Million Epicenter Colt to Amo, Partners
Bloodstock agent Justin Casse, standing out back alongside Amo Racing's Kia Joorabchian, signed the ticket at $1.95 million to acquire a colt from the first crop of GI Travers Stakes winner Epicenter (hip 289) late in the first session of the OBS Spring sale Tuesday. Consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables, the bay worked a furlong in :9 4/5 during last week's under-tack preview.
“His performance was exceptional,” Casse said. “We could look back through the years of being here and you'd say, 'Remember when that Epicenter breezed?' It was that kind of a move.”
Casse confirmed the purchase was on behalf of Amo Racing and undisclosed partners.
The juvenile is out of Spanx Legacy (Animal Kingdom), a full-sister to multiple graded-placed Delta's Kingdom. He was bred by Wynnstay and H. Allen Poindexter and was purchased by a pinhooking partnership for $275,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.
“I have great respect for Ciaran Dunne and he has been very fond of this horse since January when I was first on his farm,” Casse said. “He's beautiful. He was beautiful in Saratoga when Ciaran bought him. He was right there next to the ring at Wynnstay.”
The colt looked to be a handful, rearing several times in the back walking ring, and he continued his antics in the sales ring.
“I'd say he is a playful colt,” Casse said. “But you know, in fairness, when these horses train every day and they have to show for six days, it's asking a lot.”
Hip 289 was the first seven-figure sale for Coolmore's Epicenter, who won the 2022 Travers and was second in that year's GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness Stakes. The stallion was trained by Steve Asmussen on behalf of WInchell Thoroughbreds and Asmussen was one of many lined up at the rear of the pavilion watching the colt go through the ring.
“He's been good to me personally as a breeder and I am hearing good things,” Casse said of Epicenter.
As for a trainer for the colt, Casse said, “I don't know. I will talk to the partners and we will see.” @JessMartiniTDN
Omaha Beach Filly Goes to Spendthrift Farm
A filly (hip 74) by the Spendthrift Farm-based stallion Omaha Beach will return to her father's base after the farm's general manager Ned Toffey went to $900,000 to secure her from the Tom McCrocklin consignment at OBS Tuesday after she worked a quarter-mile in :20 4/5 last week. After partnering for a six-figure Curlin colt earlier in the session, Toffey confirmed this filly was purchased solely for the Lexington, Kentucky operation.
Tuesday's top filly, by Omaha Beach | OBS VidHorse
“We generally don't partner on fillies so she's just for us,” Toffey said. “She's a really nice filly. We've had good luck buying off of Tom [McCrocklin] and she did things the right way. Really nothing not to like about her. Excited to have her.”
McCrocklin purchased the filly as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's October Yearling Sale last fall for $400,000. She's the second foal out of a mare who is herself a half-sister to the dam of recent GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes winner Percy's Bar (Upstart). That filly spent must of 2025 trading blows with the Spendthrift-owned Tommy Jo (Into Mischief). Toffey also acknowledged some connection to another Spendthrift-owned daughter of Omaha Beach in MGISW Kopion.
Spendthrift's prior success with McCrocklin-consigned horses includes GI Stephen Foster Stakes winner Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) and MGSW Ruby Nell (Bolt d'Oro).
“I can't say she looks like Kopion but I did keep thinking about Kopion when we were looking at her,” Toffey said. “She's got a little bit more of that More Than Ready hind leg on her. She's a big, impressive filly. I thought the way she breezed, she did it pretty effortlessly and handled everything really well. Good mind on her and a big, strong, classy filly. We've had our share of run-ins with Percy's Bar. It's a wonderful pedigree and she'll be a nice addition to the broodmare band no matter what she does.” @SGrimmTDN
'Focused on the Derby': Spendthrift Partners on Curlin Colt
Spendthrift Farm, solidly on this year's Road to the Kentucky Derby with 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' and GI Toyota Blue Grass winner Further Ado (Gun Runner), struck early just four hips into Tuesday's opening session, partnering with the newly-formed Delta Squad Racing (Josh Isner) on an $850,000 son of Curlin (hip 11) who they hope is a Derby contender in one year's time.
Curlin
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Hip 11, by Curlin, brought $850,000 on Tuesday |
OBS VidHorse
“It was a partnership that we put together,” said bloodstock agent Liz Crow who handled ticket duties on behalf of the pair. “We signed the ticket [on behalf of] Spendthrift and Delta Squad. Spendthrift liked him individually, and then we liked him, and so we decided to partner up. Delta Squad is Josh Isner. He's kind of a newer owner, but he's excited about the game.”
Isner has been active in the last year at major sales, partnering on a yearling colt by leading sire Not This Time for $1.2-million at Keeneland September and picking up four yearlings for a combined $665,000 at this year's Keeneland January Sale. Spendthrift has had plenty of success with sons of Curlin as the farm currently stands both Eclipse-winning older dirt male Vino Rosso and GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Known Agenda.
Purchased as a yearling at Keeneland September for $200,000 last year, the colt, who worked a furlong in :10 1/5, is a half-brother to the Spendthrift-co-owned Saratoga maiden special weight winner Tapit's Legacy (Tapit) who brought $550,000 as an OBS March grad in 2025.
“[He's focused on] the [Kentucky] Derby,” Crow said of Delta Squad Racing. “He wants two-turn dirt colts. And this colt obviously had that profile and pedigree. Spendthrift has his half-brother [Tapit's Legacy] and they like him quite a bit. And I thought his breeze was very good. He moved well and galloped out well. We just thought he had the profile of that two-turn dirt colt that everyone's looking for. We'll decide [a trainer] a little bit down the road, in a couple of weeks or so.”
Consigned by Top Line Sales on behalf of Lugamo Racing, the colt is out of a winning Violence half-sister to GISW Her Smile (Include), a mare who became a graded-stakes producer with MGSW Pink Sands (Tapit) and stakes-placed 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Wharton (Candy Ride {Arg}).
“This is a breeze show, so we're obviously looking a lot at the breeze and how he did it, his gallop out and the way he moved,” Crow said. “That was what really got us on him. He's a big, leggy colt. He has the look of a two-turn horse.” @SGrimmTDN
Honor A. P. Colt a Career High for Ford
Bryan Ford, who has been consigning horses for five years, enjoyed his biggest sale to date when a colt by Honor A. P. (hip 133) sold to Three Amigos for $725,000 Tuesday in Ocala.
Hip 133, a colt by Honor A. P. | OBS VidHorse
“He just been special horse from day one,” Ford said of the colt. “He hasn't turned a hair. He's a very straightforward horse with a lot of class. Those kind of horses, you don't train. You just stay out of their way.”
Hip 133 is out of the unraced Seeking Mo Jewel (Nyquist), a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Deterministic (Liam's Map). He worked a furlong during last week's under-tack preview in :9 4/5.
The colt was bred by Stoneview Farm and was catalogued with Ford's consignment at the Texas Thoroughbred Association's 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale earlier this month, but was withdrawn.
“He was [catalogued for the Texas sale], but once we realized how special he was, we knew he needed a bigger audience.”
Of expectations heading into the ring Tuesday, Ford said, “We didn't have any expectations. We were just going to let the market decide what he was worth. And we are happy with that.”
Based in Oklahoma, Ford started out working with Western horses before transitioning to Thoroughbreds.
Asked what it was like to watch the colt sell, Ford said simply, “Wonderful.”
Bryan Ford Training Stable will offer two more horses during Wednesday's second session of the April sale.
“I don't know if we can top it, but we have two more nice horses to come,” Ford said. @JessMartiniTDN
'I'm Going to Prove Them Wrong': Patel's New Pinhooking Business Going Strong at OBS
Last October, Sandeep Patel purchased a well-bred Into Mischief colt (hip 139) for what he thought then was a steal, bringing the son of GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Shared Account home for just $80,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale. The colt, a half-brother to Breeders' Cup heroine Sharing (Speightstown), was one of two Patel purchased as his first pinhooking experience and that venture was rewarded Tuesday when the Kings Equine consignee sold for $250,000 to Case Clay Thoroughbred Management. Patel indicated that this was just the beginning of looks to be a busy year of buying and selling for his Texas-based Naukabena Farms.
“I didn't expect to get the horse for what I paid at the Fasig-Tipton sale,” Patel said. “I bought him for less than the stud fee and I was able to sell him for $250,000. I made money and that's encouraging because I'm trying to make money from the pinhooking business because racing can be tough. I started [pinhooking] last year and this year I have 28 horses. I've sold 12. I have six more in this sale. Then six in the [Fasig-Tipton Timonium] sale and three in the OBS June sale.”
Founded in 2024, Naukabena Farms currently advertises no fewer than 83 horses on its site ranging from yearlings to race horses to broodmares and stallions. That kind of variety is what Patel say will help him be successful in a game where a profit can be hard to come by.
“When I got into the horse racing business, [I came] to buy a horse and realize that all these people that are selling, they're not [me],” Patel said. “They don't race. They buy a horse, let him grow a little bit, give him some exercise, help him build his body up, and that's the play. I'm an engineer and the [math] tells me that, if I can buy a horse for X and then sell him for 3X, I will make good money. So I got into it. I spent a lot of money of horses. I'm learning, and you do make mistakes. I'm doing a little bit of everything. I'm breeding, I'm racing, I'm pinhooking yearlings to 2-year-olds and weanlings to yearlings. Every horse that I buy for pinhooking [versus racing], I have trainers that help me. They look for certain things on the horse. They'll ask me whether I want a pinhook or I want a race horse. And if you say you want a race horse, they're a little more forgiving on things like the conformation. But if I want a pinhook, they want to make sure that the horse is correct.”
Patel, who listed several trainers such as Jose D'Angelo and Mindy Willis helping him through his process, jumped into the 2-year-old ring at this year's OBS March Sale, purchasing three juveniles for a cumulative $112,000. And after feeling like he missed the boat last year on some of the bigger names in this year's first-crop sire race, Patel is determined not to repeat that mistake this time around.
“This year, I'm looking at the freshman crop,” Patel said. “There are a lot of good ones. Domestic Product is a good one. I heard that the weanlings are absolutely fantastic. My trainer told me about Drain the Clock. He was there in the [Keeneland] November sale and he said every Drain the Clock is beautiful, and I should have bought them all. Because they were cheap then and look what they're doing now. So what I did is I bought five very good mares and I bred them to Drain the Clock. So I can pinhook those mares in the November Sale.”
An entrepreneur in the construction industry, Patel says that while he understands this industry's financial difficulties, he feels he can overcome them.
“I'm a businessman and this is the sport of kings,” Patel said. “That means, unless you have unlimited money, you will die. You have to have money. But God bless I do. So I'm having fun. Most people will tell you that the fastest way to make $10-million on the horse business is to start with $20-million. I'm going to prove them wrong. I think I can make a reasonable living. I go through the data and figure out which is the best possible value [for the horse]. And then we go after them. We get them vetted, we get them checked out, and then you get to the ring and hopefully, you get one for the price point that you have. [Trainer] David Ingordo is helping me a lot. He's taking me on as a student and teaching me lots of things. He spends a lot of time and educates me on which ones to buy, which ones not to buy. That doesn't mean anything in terms of racing, but he knows what to buy.”
Now two years into racing, Patel has his eyes on the long-term prize while also recognizing the associated risks with the game he's playing.
“I want to win,” Patel said. “I just started this two years ago. I told my trainers that I want a graded stakes winner. Enough with the black-type, let's move it up. So you have to spend a little bit more money and take your risk to support that habit. I'm enjoying it. People my age, most people, they're afraid to get into the business. They shouldn't be. Yes, we're gambling, but every time I get into my car and start driving, I'm gambling. But it's so much fun. The animals are absolutely the work of God. These horses don't want anything. Just give them good grass and they'll do what you want them to do. When a horse crosses the finish line, it's all worth it. I have been blessed with a lot of people in this business. I'm really enjoying this and I'm going to continue to do this.” @SGrimmTDN
NOTHING BUT NET
Lugamo Racing Strikes Again
A year ago, Luis Gavignano's Lugamo Racing Stables enjoyed its first seven-figure result when selling a colt by Tapit for $1 million to Gayle Van Leer at the OBS Spring sale. Restocked for this year's auction, the restaurant entrepreneur got off to a quick start Tuesday in Ocala when selling a colt by Curlin (hip 11)–purchased for $200,000 at Keeneland last September–for $850,000 to Spendthrift Farm and Delta Squad Racing.
“He's a very good colt,” Gavignano said of the colt. “I used to have his brother, by Tapit, and I liked him. And I definitely liked the way this colt was working on the farm. The way he was training, we knew he was going to be a good horse.”
Following a group of outs, hip 11 was actually the fourth horse to go through the ring during the first session of the four-day auction.
“Unfortunately, he was in the first group,” Gavignano said. “And usually people wait to see what happens through the sale. I will say, in my opinion, he was one of the top horses in the sale. Sometimes you are in a better spot, sometimes you are first, sometimes you are the last one in the sale. But we are happy with that result.”
Gavignano wasted no time in getting a second score just a few hips later when selling a colt by Life is Good (hip 15) for $250,000 to Hideki Nakamizu. That youngster had been acquired for $125,000 at Keeneland last fall.
“I almost forgot about him,” Gavignano admitted with a chuckle. “I was still checking the Curlin. We are very happy with the two. It's a long process since you buy and you train and break them. This is the end of the road for us and it's the beginning for somebody else.”
Lugamo Racing also had success with a colt from the first crop of Life is Good at the OBS March sale. That juvenile, purchased for $210,000 at Keeneland September, brought $450,000 last month.
“I bought more yearlings and I bought some weanlings that I have on my farm,” Gavignano said. “So we are starting that process now with the yearlings. There are a couple that I will keep and race. I want to be involved with the whole process with the horse. Now I have a stallion in New York [Petulante] and I am in the process of breeding now that I didn't know anything about. I am getting used to that. I want to have the full process.”
Lugamo Racing's fledgling broodmare band was represented a score of its own Tuesday when a filly by Tiz the Law (hip 68) sold for $350,000 to Chad Summers. The filly is out of Ragtime Suzy (Union Rags), a mare who was claimed for $5,000 at Laurel in 2020 and concluded her racing career in Lugamo's colors.
In all the operation will offer 15 juveniles at the Spring sale. @JessMartiniTDN
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