A DAUGHTER of Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway), consigned by Top Line Sales, sold to Gary Young for $1,350,000 to top the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2020 Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The sale was conducted over four days. The sale-topper, whose quarter in 20.2 seconds was the sale’s fastest at the distance, is out of the graded stakes winner Sheza Smoke Show (Wilko), herself a daughter of stakes winner Avery Hall (A P Jet). Her price was exactly 10 times her yearling purchase price at Keeneland.

Not This Time only raced at two, winning the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes before running second to Classic Empire in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He is represented by his first crop in 2020 and his first two runners are winners.

Irishman Ben McElroy acted as agent for Arman Shah when purchasing a colt by Quality Road (Elusive Quality) from the consignment of Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables for $1,250,000, and in the process topped the final session of the sale. The colt had breezed a quarter in 20.3 seconds. This was a nice profit on his $240,000 yearling price at Fasig-Tipton in October.

Fast times

Recording fast times represented money in the ring and the third millionaire breezer was Fortunate Son, a son of Speightster (Speightstown) consigned by Tom McCrocklin and purchased by OXO Equine LLC for $1,100,000, another to return 10 times his yearling value. The colt breezed a quarter in 20.8 and is out of the stakes-placed Auspicious (Indian Charlie). A son of leading sire Candy Ride (Ride The Rails) from de Meric Sales sold to D. J. Stable LLC for $800,000.

Ben McElroy, acting for Arman Shah, struck for the top lot at the opening session, paying $750,000 for a colt by Ghostzapper (Awesome Again) consigned by Sequel Bloodstock. The colt was purchased as a yearling for $250,000.. Another man to bring up a double at the top end of the market was Ciaran Dunne from Wavertree Stables as he sold a son of the now Japanese-based California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) to West Bloodstock for Repole Stable Inc and St. Elias Stable for $725,000. The colt was unsold at $65,000 last September.

Lots sold for $700,000

A number of lots sold for $700,000. They were a son of Empire Maker (Unbridled), a daughter of Distorted Humor (Forty Niner), a daughter of Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song) and another son of Not This Time.

For the entire sale, 635 horses sold for a total of $58,905,000 compared with 674 horses bringing a sale record $72,945,000 in 2019. The average price was $92,764, compared with 2019’s sale record $108,227. The median was $50,000 compared with last year’s record $60,000. The buyback rate was 18%; it was 20% a year ago.