The auction is being held in conjunction with the OBSOnline January Horses of Racing Age and 2-Year-Olds Sale, which runs through January 30.
Tod Wojciechowski, director of sales at OBS, said the impact of the winter storm in the United States could impact the travel of many buyers planning to attend the sale.
“Hopefully the out-of-town buyers will be able to maintain their travel connections and sales won’t be disrupted,” Wojciechowski said. “We get a lot of buyers, not just from locally, but from all over.”
Colin Brennan, who runs a draft of nine under the Highlander Training Center banner Colin Brennan Bloodstock, said while he thinks the market will continue its upward trajectory, sales will be affected by the storm.
“Regardless of what happens, I don’t think the results are going to be a fair testament to OBS in terms of what’s going on with the rest of the market, because it’s one thing to be willing to travel, but then a lot of people are going to have families and farms to worry about no matter where they come from,” Brennan said.
“In terms of the general market, it’s been a record year, especially in the young animal market. I’ve noticed a lot more end users buying sooner and spending a little more, knowing that if you buy them now, it’s almost like ‘spending money to save money’. I’m still hopeful that even the locals who are here will go shopping.”
Amy Bunt of Baldwin Bloodstock was optimistic about the upcoming sale.
“Although the storm hit Kentucky, it appears many people left town a little early for the better weather,” she said. “We’ve been steady for the last two days. Weaner prices have been high this year, so I’m optimistic this will trickle down to the last few sales as there aren’t many opportunities left to buy small yearlings.”
Bunt brings a group of seven to the sale.
“We have some notable pedigrees and sires, all the horses have done really well,” Bunt said. “The most popular is the Jackie’s Warrior colt (hip 36), he is a first foal with a huge page.”
The Jackie’s Warrior colt, consigned as Hip 36 by Baldwin Bloodstock, agent
Hip 36 is out of the In mischief mare Saucy Secret, a daughter of Grade 1-winning millionaire Tiz Miz Sue.
Another colt that attracts attention is Hip 113, a colt from Essential quality .
“The Essential Quality foal is also a first foal and is out of a stakes-placed mare,” Bunt said of Hip 113. The colt is out of the young Nyquist mare Asawer, who finished third in the 2023 UAE Oaks (G3).
“We have a great group of horses, and they are all very well made,” she said.
Wojciechowski was optimistic about the strong group of small yearlings on the site, including top sires Archangel , Cyber knife , Dr. Schivel , Run out the clock , Gunite , Jackie’s warrior , Leinster , Clothes And Jaap among others.
“There is a group of good quality horses on the property, especially the small yearlings,” Wojciechowski said. “I’m happy with what I saw yesterday. We’ll see some cold weather tomorrow, but nothing close to what the rest of the country has been dealing with.”
The success of two OBS graduates also shines in Florida this weekend: Skippy longstocking And White Abarrio the top two finishers in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park January 24.
“It was an OBS exacta with Skippylongstocking and White Abarrio. So there’s a March graduate who comes in second and an April graduate who wins,” Wojciechowski said. “They both rode an eighth in :10 2/5, they are both 7 years old, those horses both show everything that is good about 2-year-old sales.
“Plus, we had a lot of success on the undercard that day, so it was a great day for OBS,” he added.
White Abarrio was presented twice at OBS, once as a small yearling, and again as a heifer. The colt sold for $7,500 to Jose Ordonez at the 2020 Winter Mixed Sale out of the Summerfield consignment, and returned in 2021 as a 2-year-old to sell for $40,000 in the March 2-year-olds in training sale to Carlos Perez from the Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds consignment.
Skippinglangstocking sold for $37,000 to Daniel Alonso during the 2021 Spring Sale of 2 Year Olds in Training, from the Top Line Sales consignment.
Wojciechowski said the start of the OBSOnline January sale, which kicked off on January 26, has given him a lot of confidence that the momentum will continue until the end of the digital sale.
“We just looked at the number of views we get from horses that are online. It’s an impressive number in such a short time,” he said. “It’s a segment of the market we hope to grow.”
During last year’s mixed winter sale, 212 horses changed hands for a total of $3,093,700, including private sales. The average price was $14,593, with a median of $7,500. Fifty-eight horses did not meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA percentage of 21.5%.
Last Leaf, a racing or broodmare prospect of Not this time topped the 2025 sales with $140,000 and sold to Senor’s Senoritas. The single purchase of the entity put them at the top of the buyers for the sale. Abbie Road Farm led the consignors, selling 25 of the design for a total of $528,200.
As of Monday evening, OBS had reported 39 zeros.
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