The Ocala Breeder’s Sales Company will kick off its 2023 schedule with a Winter Mix and Race Horse Sale starting over two days Tuesday morning in Central Florida. The auction kicked off at noon with a shipper-preferred mix of 143 cataloged horses, followed shortly after by an offering of 148 race-age horses. The mixed session opens on Wednesday, also starting at noon, featuring 253 cataloged services.
Tod Wojciechowski, Sales Director of OBS said: “We are delighted to start the year off with a good sale. “I think we have a good short-term crop. We had an interesting show on Monday and had a number of horses on the track – there were some untrained 3-year-olds ready to go.”
According to Wojciechowski, the January sale benefited from out-of-town buyers coming to take advantage of both the horses on offer as well as the warm weather.
“We see a lot of people coming from Kentucky – I think they’re looking for a reason to come down here to escape the cold and have a good opportunity to buy one-year-old saplings,” he said. “And then we have a number of coaches coming in from all over the country for the racing age section, who are getting ready to add their barns for spring and summer.”
The 270 cataloged juveniles represent a diverse group of males, including: listenBolt d’Oro, heroCaravaggio, Cruiser Catalina, City of light, Classic Empire, attractive, fire, blur, girvin, KantharosKhozan, The Joy of Kittens, Music by MacleanThe Moon Malibu, The Mischief of Maximus, transit personMitole, More than Willingness, Omaha Beach, Realistic jokes, Sharp Aztecasolomini, faucet, rag alliance, startVinoRosso, Violence and Troubled World.
First-season boars for sale include complicated, Gift box, Global campaignGunnevera, cannot, Instagram, instilled care, McKinzieShancelot, spin to runA thousand words and Vekoma.
The sale also includes ponies for stallions such as: Awesome Slew, Bolt d’Oro, Link, Called in, girvinGunnevera, cannot, Independence Hall, transit personMitole, tacitusUncle Chuck, Vekoma and Violence.
During Monday’s challenge show, a pair of unranked 3-year-old gelding dogs shared a three-mile bullet time of :33 1/5: hip 210an unnamed gelding by Called in Deposited by Coastal Equine (videotapes); and Honor you swear (Broken Vow) (hip 215) deposited by Kaizen Sales (videotapes).
A 3-year-old child who has not been cared for by Micromanage (hip 309) worked half a mile in :47 flat and that bullet time is balanced by the unbridled 3-year-old pony D’Composer (Mendelssohn) (hip 348, videotapes), who was consigned by Purebred CM, Agent I.
Wojciechowski said: “We were very involved in the imprecise performance. “We saw a lot of activity in warehouses starting Sunday and continuing today. We are excited to start the new year off right.”
A yearling filly by gunman topped the 2022 winter mixed sale when it went on sale for $275,000 for the Breeze Easy. The pony was one of eight six-figure ponies at last year’s auction.
