Mo Donegal’s filly was consigned as Hip 177 in the ring at the OBS October Sale. (OBS/VidHorse photo)
OBS October Yearling Sale
By Ben Baugh
A filly named Expectations by Mo Donegal did her best to top the Ocala Breeders’ Sales October Yearling Sale, selling for $240,000 in the first session of the two-day sale that began Oct. 7, 2025.
Commissioned by Richard Kent’s Kaizen Sales, the filly bred by Peter Blum, Expectations was purchased by Christophe Nouvellet for Dream With Me Florida, LLC.
“She exceeded our expectations,” Kent said. “She basically acted like a star from the moment we got her. It was almost unique because my daughter, who works for Brookdale Sales, had sold the mare carrying the baby to Mr. Repole. We all fell in love with her here, and she just emphasized what a classy filly she was.”
Expectations has a black type under her second and third dams, Gift List as producer, and stakes winner Private Gift, who was a half-sister to Grade One-winning millionaire Secret Status, and Grade Three winner Alumni Hall, and the producer of multiple graded stakes winners Private Mission and Secret Nobody.
“You’ve got that incredibly good filly Dubar Road (whose mother is Gift List) that Chad Brown had, who was just classy,” Kent said. “I remember seeing her at Saratoga, and she was just hitting in the paddock. Spendthrift called me and said this is the most expensive Mo Donegal. We as consignors are always a bit overrated. It wasn’t the consignor; it was all about the horse. It’s pretty hard to hide a really good horse.”
Beth Bayer donated the horse tied for fetching the second highest price at auction, a colt by multiple Grade One winner Jack Christopher. Hip No. 251 was purchased by DiBello Racing Stables, LLC for $200,000.
“It was a nice colt, from a very nice first-year stallion,” said Bayer. “We were looking forward to taking it to the ring. We are happy for the buyer.”
2-year-old consignor Paul Sharp was part of the partnership that owned the Jack Christopher yearling. Jack Christopher never ended up without money during his career. He won five races from six starts and finished third once on his way to a bankroll of $1,216,400. Jack Christopher was conditioned by Chad Brown, five-time Trainer of the Year.
“He was part of our pinhooking partnership, which transitioned into a yearling pinhooking partnership,” Sharp said. “He’s a beautiful horse, well balanced, athletic and checked all the boxes, and I thought he would be a standout at OBS. We bought him again at Keeneland, I think we misplaced him, and he sold early on book 3, day 2. I thought he would stand out here, and that’s where we put him.”
The sale started exceptionally with a Bucchero filly, hip no. 1 sold for $100,000, to Thorostock’s Nick Salusto, agent, who signed the ticket. The chestnut filly, whose fourth dam was Group Three winner Borodislew, who produced Group Three winners Seeking Slew and Canadian Frontier. Richard Kent’s Kaizen Sales has surrendered the Bucchero filly.
“When I got off the plane, people said, ‘You have to go see Hip no. one,’” says Harlan Malter, managing partner of Iron Horse Racing and Iron Horse Stallions, who has managed every aspect of Bucchero’s career, first as a racehorse and now as a stallion. “Obviously pedigrees are always a factor, but as far as the physical goes, people across the board told me she might be the best filly on the market, and that she was bought by a very good operation. I’m sure she’ll return to training as a two-year-old, and maybe impress the people there, and OBS will get another bite at the apple.”
The three best-selling horses were sold during the opening session on October 7. Kaizen Sales was the top consignor, with 34 horses selling for $1,133,000. West Coast Equine was the largest buyer, purchasing 13 horses for $287,000.
The 2025 sale saw increases across the board in all categories. 309 horses were sold this year, compared to 297 in 2024; the gross amount of $7,267,700 was up from $5,724,600 from the previous year; there was an increase in the average price of $4,245, from $19,275 in 2024 to $23,520 in 2025 and the average price which had been $10,000 in 2024 was $15,000 at this year’s sale.
Stallion success
Bucchero continues to enjoy success as a stallion after moving from Florida to the Empire State. He has proven to be the number one stallion in New York in every respect.
“We moved him to New York and had a good first season, breeding him to 112 mares,” said Harlan Malter, managing partner of Iron Horse Stallions. “Really, even before (Book ’em) Danno had his big summer, people got really excited. I think we lost the earning title by $17,000 to Central Banker, and he had all the New York runners, and we had none, and then Danno had a great year. We bred 192 mares this year.”
Bucchero, a son of Kantharos, who was trained by Tim Glyshaw, has made a seamless transition from his time in Florida to his new environment in Schuylerville, NY
“We were very well received early on in Florida, it’s like he’s having a second coming out party. The people of New York have seen him,” Malter said. “He has an uncanny ability to make horses that try. That’s what owners want. That’s what trainers want. That’s what racing needs.”
Bucchero, the sire of Iron Horse Stallions, won 11 times, including seven stakes races, and recorded back-to-back wins at ages five and six in the Woodford Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (Gr. 2) at Keeneland in 2017 and 2018.
“We are nearing the end of his first five-year-old crop. We have horses heading into their six-year-old year,” Malter said. “We have a horse named Beauty of the Sea. She looks like she’s going to have a great year as a six-year-old. We’ve given her some time off, and when we see horses like this running this late in her career, that’s what racing needs. It’s completely crazy to think that he (Bucchero) won some stakes in October of his six-year-old year that would produce runners who are coming late in their careers.”
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