Hip 692, a member of New York-based freshman sire Solomini’s first crop, sold for $290,000 Thursday at the OBS April sale. Photo provided by Randy Miles.
Joe McMahon went into the Ocala Breeders Sales Co.’s April 2-year-olds in training sale filled with optimism for his family’s resident freshman stallion Solomini.
“He’s had a two 9.4 works down here, a couple 10 flats, a 10.1; the place is buzzing,” McMahon said this week, anxious to see how the members of Solomini’s first crop would fare in the ring. “We have a bunch of them and they’re promising looking. We live on hope, as you know.”
The hope turned into reality Thursday in Ocala when a colt by Solomini who turned heads with one of those 9.4 workouts commanded even more attention when he went through the ring. Hip 692, a colt out of the unraced Officer mare Miss Bonnie, landed atop the list of top-selling New York-breds on the day after a final bid of $290,000 from Jon Taisey, agent for Big Dom Racing and Big Toe Racing.
Solomini, a multiple Grade 1-placed son of Curlin, stands for $6,500 at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs. He is also the sire of a filly who sold for $100,000 during Wednesday’s session.
Randy Miles consigned Hip 692, who is a half-brother to Grade 3 winner and $305,093-earner Lookin to Strike. Bred by Laurel Least and Gabriel McDonough and foaled at Foggy Bottom Farm in Geneseo, the Solomini colt originally sold as a weanling for $6,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale. He later brought $65,000 out of the McMahon of Saratoga consignment at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale.
Hip 736, a daughter of West Coast, brought top price for a New York-bred filly Thursday on a bid of $140,000. Photo provided by Sequel Bloodstock.
Hip 692 was one of two six-figure New York-bred purchases Thursday – bringing the total to nine for the sale with one session remaining. OBS reported sales on 14 of the 20 New York-breds Thursday for a total of $917,000, an average price of $65,500. Overall, 46 of 57 New York-breds through the ring have sold for $3,572,000, an average price of $77,652.
Hip 736, a filly by West Coast out of the winning Midnight Lute mare Napier, sold through a private sale for $140,000 to Thorostock, agent for Winning Move Stable.
Bred by Gentry Stable, foaled at Blue Chip Farms in Wallkill and consigned by Sequel Bloodstock, agent, the filly breezed a quarter-mile in :21.2 during presale workouts. The filly is the first foal out of Napier, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner $1,380,5940-earner Obligatory.
The OBS April sale concludes with the final session at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
