BY BROCK SHERIDAN
A Florida-bred colt by first crop stallion Pappacap—a Florida-bred winner of the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes and second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile—was the top seller at $140,000 during the second and final day of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales October Yearling Sale Wednesday.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. signed the ticket on the handsome bay colt, Hip 339, consigned and bred by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield. He is out of the winning Florida-bred mare Bosworthy, by Uncaptured, a half-sister to stakes-winning, stakes-producing Florida-bred It’s High Time, stakes-winning Florida-bred Let Them Watch and stakes-placed Florida-bred Wiggle An’ Wine.
“Obviously Pappacap was precocious. He won at Del Mar [the Best Pal] and was second in the Juvenile and then he carried on to run in the Florida Derby against [Joseph trainee and OBS graduate] White Abarrio, so we’re very familiar with the horse,” Joseph said. “He was a solid horse, and you feel like he’ll make a stallion. We’re banking on it because we’ve bought a lot of them. We bought them because to the eye, they fit the look that we want.
“This colt is the most expensive one I’ve bought this sale,” Joseph continued. “We liked him a lot and obviously there was competition to get him. It was deservedly so because this horse is a really nice horse, very smooth with the way he carried himself. It seems like he’s going to continue to get better.”
Francis Vanlangendonck said he was optimistic the Pappacap colt would sell well.
“We knew that people liked him but you never know what people are going to pay. Obviously, we’re very happy with what he brought,” he said. “There were a lot of people interested in him and he looked just like his mother, and she could really run. We were going to sell him as a weanling but decided to wait and put him here, hoping he would stand out and that they would like the Pappacaps.
“I did the breeding [for Pappacap]…so we were very involved with him, went to all his races with his owners. But people really like Pappacaps because they’re all really athletic. This colt brought more than we thought, which is fabulous. We’re thrilled.”
Pappacap was a homebred for George and Karen Russell’s Rustlewood Farm in Reddick, Florida.
Hip 311 dropped the gavel at $100,000 and went to Gary Barber out of the Glen Hill Farm consignment. The bay filly is by Oscar Performance out of the Aspening, by Candy Ride (Arg) and is a half-sister to stakes-winner Aspenite. Aspening is a half-sister to Grade 2-winner Diversy Harbor, multiple graded stakes-winner and graded stakes-producer Keertana and multiple graded stakes-winning, graded stakes producer Snow Top Mountain.
Pappacap was also represented by Hip 272 that garnered an $80,000 bid from NdM Bloodstock from the consignment of Potrero Stables. The bay colt is out of the Unbridled’s Song mare True Love is Yare and his second dam, All Deuces Wild, by Rahy is a full-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner and Grade 1 producer Tranquility Lake and a half-sister to Grade 2-winner Benchmark, stakes-placed runners King Crimson and Hope for Gold and graded stakes-producer Hujjab.
The average and median dropped slightly on Wednesday compared to the corresponding day last year, going from $26,491 to $24,198. The second day median went from $19,000 to $15,000. Gross sales Wednesday reached $3,049,000 on 126 yearlings sold compared to $3,947,100 from 149 head changing hands on the second day last year.
Cumulative figures reflected increases in average prices from $24,303 last year to $25,496—an improvement of 4.9%. The median advanced 16.7% to $17,500 during both days this year from $15,000 a year ago. Gross sales were $6,731,000 on the sale of 264 yearlings compared to proceeds of $7,509,700 from 309 yearlings sold last year.
Lisa McGreevy’s Abbie Road Farm based in Sparr, Florida was the leading consignor during the two day auction, having sold 42 head for $816,500 while Beth Bayer of Ocala, Florida consigned 28 hips for $661,000. Richard Kent’s Kaizen Sales located in Ocala sold 18 yearlings for $630,500.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. of Hollywood, Florida led all buyers having signed the ticket for 12 yearlings for $522,000 while Michael Sucher’s Champion Equine located in Delray Beach, Florida spent $273,000 for seven yearlings. Willow Creek Ranch purchased three yearlings for $245,000.
The next Thoroughbred auction scheduled at OBS is the 2027 Winter Mixed Sale set for January 26, 2027.
Return to the October 7 issue of Wire to Wire
