There was a lot of excitement north of Toronto on Tuesday, March 21 when hip no. 408 entered the sale ring at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Two-Year-Old in Training Sale in Ocala, FL. The strapping bay Ontario-bred colt by Mo Town – Dance Play by Malibu Moon, bred by Katie Browne and Brian Bell and sold by Browne’s mother Sue Foreman last fall at the Keeneland September sale for $50,000 was being re-sold as a juvenile by pinhooker Eddie Woods, agent.
‘Marvin’, as the colt is affectionately known, is the second foal produced for Browne and Bell by their mare Dance Play, whom the couple purchased for $3,500 at the 2020 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale in foal to Lookin at Lucky.
Browne and Bell bred Dance Play, an unraced daughter of Malibu Moon from the family of stakes winner and Group 1 placed U S Ranger, to Mo Town, a Grade 1 winning son of Uncle Mo, whose first crop did well in 2022.
On Tuesday, the colt was very popular with bidders at the Ocala sale following a sharp workout in :10 for one-eighth of a mile. The final bid of $300,000 was made by owner Vince Foglia, who races as Patricia’s Hope LLC. Foglia’s trainer is Larry Rivelli and they have the colt Two Phil’s in Saturday’s Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park.
One day after watching their homebred sell in Ocala, they were with Dance Play Wednesday night when she produced a large colt by multiple Grade 1 winner Yoshida (Heart’s Cry), whose first foals race this year. Browne and Bell have a yearling colt from Dance Play, by the Uncle Mo stallion Caracaro (second in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes) set to sell this fall.
Browne, who re-trains horses and is the proprietor of a successful outrider pony business, works at Ajax Downs during its racing season as head outrider. Bell, who breaks and trains young horses, is one of Ontario Quarter Horse racing’s all-time leading jockeys.
Champion Quarter Horse jockey in Ontario, Brian Bell, with Dance Play, a mare he bought with partner Katie Browne for $2,500 in 2020. (Courtesy Katie Browne)
***
The first crop of US Champion Sprinter Mitole was all the rage at the Ocala sale and an Ontario-bred colt by that sire from the Bold Executive mare Toula raised eyebrows with a sizzling one furlong workout in 9.80 during the gallop show. Bred by Josham Farms and sold last year at the Keeneland September sale for $77,000 to PME-53, the colt was offered as a juvenile by Dynasty Thoroughbreds. According to the results listing from OBS, the colt went unsold for $550,000 but later sold privately for $275,000 to Reeves Thoroughbreds.
Toula is the dam of multiple stakes winner Conquest Sandman.
***
A British Columbia-bred by Vino Rosso – Revealing Moment sold for $150,000 to Mike Ryan, agent. The filly, sold by Cary Frommer, was originally a $60,000 weaning and a $100,000 yearling.
SALE TOPPER: Hip No. 546, a son of Good Magic consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, was sold to Donato Lanni, Agent, for a sale record equaling $2,000,000 to top the second session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The bay colt, whose Under Tack eighth in :9 3/5 on Thursday was the sale’s co-fastest at the distance, is out of Hoppa, by Uncle Mo, from the family of graded stakes winner Wandering Star.
The price equaled the previous March record, set in 2019 for Chestertown, a stakes-winning son of Tapit.
For the entire sale, 460 horses grossed $71,110,500 in three sessions compared with 374 bringing $49,371,633 in two sessions in 2022. The average price was $154,588 compared with $132,008 last year and the median price was $75,000, unchanged from 2022. The buyback percentage was 21.4%; it was 12.2% in 2022.
Next on the OBS schedule is the Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, set for Tuesday, April 25th through Friday, April 28th. All sessions begin at 10:30 a.m.
The Under Tack Show begins Sunday, April 16th and continues through Saturday. April 22nd with all sessions starting at 8:00 a.m.
Canadian Breds at Ocala March Sale
Hip No. Price Workout time Foaling Date Sex Breeding Consignor
812 – $150,000 (BC-bred) 10.2 1/18/2021 F Vino Rosso – Revealing Moment BC Cary Frommer LLC, Agent I
18 – $95,000 10.1 2/12/2021 F Mitole – Scolara ON Halcyon Hammock Farm, Agent I $40,000 weanling KeeNov
20 – $70,000 10.1 1/1/2021 F Street Boss – Seeking the Light ON Limitless Thoroughbred 15 $28,000 yearling FasigTipOct
143 – $275,000 pS 9.4 4/21/2021 C Mitole – Toula ON Dynasty Thoroughbreds 6 – $77,000 KeeSep yearling
160 – $50,000 10.1 5/5/2021 C Forever d’Oro Two Item Maker ON Clary Bloodstock, Agent 14 $25,000 yearling FasigTipton Oct
278 – Not Sold (37,000) 10.2 3/16/2021 C Point of Entry – Awesome Magnolia ON Scenic Sales 15 $20,000 yearling
408 – $300,000 10.0 3/1/2021 C Mo Town – Dance Play ON Eddie Woods, Agent XI 11 – $50,000 KeSep yearling
413 out 4/9/2021 C Distorted Humor Dark Mission ON Clary Bloodstock, Agent 14
436 out 3/20/2021 F Lemon Drop Kid Double Latte ON Ordonez Thoroughbreds, Agent II 16
685 – $35,000 PS 10.3 3/28/2021 C Munnings – Model of Royalty (IRE) ON Gene Recio, Agent VIII 17 $47,000 Keesep yearling
More from Canadian Thoroughbred:
