OBS Yearling Sale

[EventerAJ]

https://www.obssales.com/octpreview/2022/

The OBS yearling sale is a week away, and we have two entered. I will be very sad to say goodbye to My Last Lee, our orphan colt who was raised on an Igloo cooler as a foal (his photo/story went viral on facebook last spring). Lee is hip 151, bay colt by St. Patrick’s Day out of Humorlee. I am crossing my fingers that he is purchased by a partnership and we may be able to buy into a few shares of the syndicate. I want to keep tabs on him, and DEFINITELY want him back when his racing career is over! Lee is in the midst of a massive growth spurt right now, super butt-high, so I hope buyers won’t overlook him. He’s also too chubby for my liking, but there was only so much we could do. Lee’s half brother Holding Fast (by Hold Me Back) just won last week, and now has earnings over $120k.

My Last Lee hip 151 walk video

Our other colt is hip 398, chestnut by Texas Red out of Ultimate Class. “Red” also has a great update, as his black-type half brother Bad Beat Brian won a competitive AOC at Kentucky Downs and increased his earnings to over $415k. This colt is not physically impressive…he’s smaller, a bit long backed, but he has a solid engine and nice topline. He also has a super work ethic-- he relishes his daily handwalks, with a very professional and businesslike attitude. Also just a bit of an a-hole, that probably means he will have a little “edge” when needed. His sire will hurt him…Texas Red is way down the sire list rankings, and basically nobody wants one, but Ultimate Class has two other TR’s who have shown some promise at the races so Red may not be a total flop. We have reasonable expectations what this colt may bring, and the reserve will reflect that. (I don’t want to bring this one home. Lee, on the other hand…)

Hip 398 Texas Red - Ultimate Class walk video

Also of interest to me is hip 554, a colt by Valiant Minister out of Her Special Way. We bought the mare Her Special Way in January this year, also in foal to Valiant Minister. I’m curious to see what this yearling brings, as we intend to sell ours at OBS in January. Our weanling colt is a bit plain, gawky, and coarse, but he is big-framed and may grow up to fill out nicely. Special’s two year old filly (by Tunwoo) brought an amazing $140k at OBS June, and just finished a game second in her first start yesterday in a MSW one mile on turf at Santa Anita. We bought Special to breed for eventers (she’s in foal to Saketini now), but my husband is beginning to have second thoughts.

[jherold]

Good luck!

[LaurieB]

Best of luck with both of them!

[mommy_peanut]

Bloodhorse just posted an article on Lee

Orphan Foal My Last Lee Blossoms Into Strapping Colt

Best of luck at the sale.

[EventerAJ]

Thanks for sharing the article! I was just coming here to post it, but you beat me to it. Lee and Red are showing very well and seem to be getting respectable views.

Sale starts at noon tomorrow. Fingers crossed for Lee.

[ASB_Stars]

@EventerAJ

Thanks for sharing the article! I was just coming here to post it, but you beat me to it. Lee and Red are showing very well and seem to be getting respectable views.

Sale starts at noon tomorrow. Fingers crossed for Lee.

Thanks so much for not naming him Son of Igloo!

[EventerAJ]

The sale was disappointing today. Prices seemed respectable at ringside, but much of it was not real money and there were many RNAs. Ours was one of them. Lee had very little attention in the back ring, and at 22k we decided to bring him home. We will start him under saddle, and evaluate if he is a 2yo sale candidate or form a partnership to race him ourselves.

I’m not sure why none of the St Patrick’s Day colts were bought. They were all pretty nice, good looking horses who presented well. But no one was interested…minimal interest in the back ring asking for reports. Some horses by hot sires predictably sold well, but others did not. The buyback rate is definitely more than I expected.

[ASB_Stars]

He’s wonderful and he’s meant to be with you, methinks! That’s tough news when you breed for the market but that’s my opinion. He’s absolutely adorable and he’s yours!

[Meany]

Humorlee was a class filly and one of the first race mares I put hands on at the track that I really adored. My husband galloped her a bit and we have followed her career as a broodmare for years.

When she was in the OBS sale we tried to go see her. Even though she was an early hip number, she was not yet on the grounds the evening before and we assumed she would be far too expensive — we really weren’t shopping for a broodmare anyway. It was troubling to see she went through the ring for $1k and have waited to see when she would resurface.

Im so sad that she’s gone. We saw the name of her foal in the catalog and feared it meant she had passed. I’m glad that she went to people who loved and cared for her at the end. Not every inexpensive broodmare is so fortunate.

Good luck with the yearling. If he got even a little of his mother’s class and style he’ll be a lucky horse.

[EventerAJ]

@Meany

Humorlee was a class filly and one of the first race mares I put hands on at the track that I really adored. My husband galloped her a bit and we have followed her career as a broodmare for years.

When she was in the OBS sale we tried to go see her. Even though she was an early hip number, she was not yet on the grounds the evening before and we assumed she would be far too expensive — we really weren’t shopping for a broodmare anyway. It was troubling to see she went through the ring for $1k and have waited to see when she would resurface.

Im so sad that she’s gone. We saw the name of her foal in the catalog and feared it meant she had passed. I’m glad that she went to people who loved and cared for her at the end. Not every inexpensive broodmare is so fortunate.

Good luck with the yearling. If he got even a little of his mother’s class and style he’ll be a lucky horse

Thank you for sharing about Humorlee. I didn’t actually know her before 2020, but I used to work for Eaton and I remember selling her yearlings in September. She was so impressive when we saw her (dragging her person up to the ring, lol), bright and shiny, we also thought she’d be 10-20k at least. When no one bid on her, my husband looked at me, I nodded yes, and she was ours for 1,000. We were shocked…not even really expecting to buy, but there we were. We thought St Patrick’s Day was the best option for us standing in FL, and it made sense to use a first year sire for her. She was our “big” mare, my husband’s pride and joy…and she was a red-headed diva all the way. She was bossy, arrogant, and the kind of mare who always deserved to get what she wanted. We had signed a contract to Bernardini in 2021 for her, and my husband was just over the moon to have a mare of that quality that would be accepted into his limited book.

She foaled a nice colt in 2021, but she seemed a bit off a dew hours later…laying down and too quiet. We tried supportive care on the farm, but unfortunately she had ruptured and could not be saved. I was in tears all night long, watching her brace against the wall standing up so her colt could nurse. She was so brave and devoted to her foal until the very end. If Lee was a filly, we wouldnt have considered selling him; but with her page we felt he was marketable, and as a commercial enterprise it made sense to sell. Selfishly I’m glad he is back home, but we now need to decide if we should sell as a 2yo or explore a partnership idea to afford to race him ourselves. Lee is not as “dignified” as his mama, but the rest of his family could run, and I’m sure he will, too.

[EventerAJ]

Sale results were abysmal today. We took our Texas Red colt home, too. Watched a City Of Light filly with clean xrays sell for $12k…those yearlings were averaging $130k this year. The two year old pinhookers and investors were less active than usual; speculation is that rising costs, day rates, hay/feed, and labor shortage is making it prohibitively expensive to flip yearlings as 2yos. One owner said it used to cost $65-80/day for breaking and training; now it’s up to $120/day. Another trainer says he used to shop for 16-20 yearlings a year; this year he capped his list at 6, because he simply doesn’t have the farm help to manage more.

Fortunately I can break our horses myself, get some basic fitness on them and trailer them next door to an excellent training center when it’s time to gallop. Then spend the last 30 days with our neighbor the 2yo consignor.

[Texarkana]

I’m so sorry it didn’t go your way but I’m glad Lee is home! You’re very lucky to have your situation for starting and prepping them for the 2yo sale.