As consignor Jesse Hoppel sees it, the Ocala Breeders' Sales June 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale may not have horses with the most fashionable pedigrees and likely some conformation flaws, but the buyers will find plenty of talented racehorses.
"They're still useful horses," he said. "People find an excuse, and they pass on those horses, but those horses, a lot of them go on to become really good racehorses."
The Florida juvenile sale season concludes with the OBS June sale, being held June 16-18. With more than 1,000 horses cataloged, OBS conducts the last auction offering summer-ready prospects set to go to the racetrack.
Last week, the June offerings set the track ablaze during a five-day under-tack show, highlighted by two juveniles that breezed a quarter-mile in a co-fastest time of :20 2/5—Hip 220, a filly by Uncle Mo consigned by Tom McCrocklin, and Hip 876, a filly by Vekoma , consigned by Hoppel.
"It's not hard to sell a good horse," Hoppel said. "So, I assume all our good horses will stand out, and everyone else's good horses will stand out, and they'll sell just fine. We won't have to worry about those. Everybody gravitates to the same ones, so it's the horses in the middle (where it is tougher).
Hoppel brings 22 juveniles to the sale, boasting several under-tack standouts alongside Hip 876. Hoppel, who is known for his tremendous ability to scout a fast horse, sent out three horses to breeze a quarter-mile in :20 4/5, and four head to breeze a furlong in :10.
Hoppel sold his first seven-figure horse at the OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, when he sold a Mo Town colt now named Motga for $1.05 million. He purchased the colt as a weanling for $40,000 at the 2024 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
Among the standout graduates of the OBS June sale is Pat Day Mile (G2) winner Crude Velocity, who tied the OBS track record for a quarter-mile at last year's under-tack show going in :20 1/5. Bill Childs went to $250,000 for the son of Beau Liam , whom he purchased from the consignment of Omar Ramirez, who offers in the June sale a half sister to the graded stakes winner as Hip 925, a filly by Highly Motivated .
"I think (the sale) is going to be strong," Ramirez said. "The good ones are going to sell no matter what. The middle market will be a little tough, but I think it's going to be good. As long as they're good and sound, there are going to be people here to buy them."
Hip 925 received another update when Crude Velocity recently finished second to the highly-regarded Englishman in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) June 6 on the Belmont Stakes (G1) undercard.
A total of 17 horses blazed a furlong in :09 4/5 during the under-tack show, including a filly by Rogueish (Hip 418), consigned by 22-year-old newcomer Isabella Rodrigues of Rodrigues Thoroughbreds. She will offer four horses in the sale.
READ: Newcomer Rodrigues Makes Waves at OBS Under-Tack Show
"We have a quality group of horses in this consignment," Rodrigues said. "I rode each one of these horses while in training, and I am proud of all of them. Each horse gave their best during the under-tack show, but one that stands out to us, and we are very proud of, is our filly by Rogueish.
"Not only did she perform phenomenally, but she is our homebred, so this was a very big win for the whole team at Rodrigues Thoroughbreds."
Rodrigues said she likes the timing of the OBS June Sale, because it gives the consignors a chance to take their time on horses who may not be as precocious as the horses entered earlier in the year at the OBS March and OBS Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training sale in April.
"I always want to do right by each and every horse that comes through my barn, so having the opportunity to send horses to a later sale to be able to represent them as best as possible is huge," she said.
After selling a colt by Girvin for $250,000 at her first sale on her own at the OBS Spring sale, Rodrigues is optimistic the market will continue to be strong.
"The energy on the sales grounds is great," she said. "There are still a lot of quality horses at this sale, so that's not a surprise. I think the sale should be good because the market was so strong in April and March that a lot of buyers got shut out and they're coming to this sale to find what they're looking for."
The March and April sales saw record numbers, including the top-priced filly and colt to ever sell at OBS when Hartley and DeRenzo Thoroughbreds sold a filly by Jackie's Warrior for $2.3 million, and a colt by 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline for $10.5 million at the OBS Spring sale.
Last year's June sale broke records when a filly (Hip 850) by Curlin topped the sale at $975,000, when selling to Gus King out of the Caliente Thoroughbreds consignment. The sale also produced a record average and median.
A total of 507 horses changed hands for gross receipts of $25,473,000, including private sales. The average was $50,243, with a median of $25,000.
The leading buyer was King with his sole purchase totaling $975,000, and the leading consignor was De Meric Sales, which sold 14 head at a 100% clearance rate for $1,494,000.
The sale begins June 16 at 10:30 a.m. ET with Hips 1-327 set to head to the ring. As of Monday evening, OBS had reported 74 outs for the first day.
