$3-Million Gun Runner Colt Sets OBS Record as March Sale Ends with a Bang

[Wandering Eyes]

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis

OCALA, FL- For the third straight year, Saudi businessman Amr Zedan made the highest bid at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, going to an OBS record $3 million to acquire a colt by Gun Runner during a vibrant final session of the auction Thursday. The sale-topping colt brought the number of horses to sell for seven figures during the three-day auction to seven, up from four a year ago, and a record for the March sale.

“I thought it was a great sale. A fun three days,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “From the day after the under-tack show, there has been a ton of activity on the grounds. You could really feel the juice in the air. It felt like it was going to be a good sale. And it certainly came to pass that way.”

A total of 432 juveniles sold during the March sale for a gross of $65,815,500. The average was $152,351–up 2.3% from the end-of-session figures at the 2024 sale–and the median was $70,000, a decline of 6.7% from a year ago.

From a catalogue of 814 head, 524 horses went through the ring and 93 failed to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 17.7%. At the end of last year's sale, that figure was 25.3%.

The finalized 2024 figures for last year's March sale–which include post-sale transactions–saw 454 head gross $65,239,100 for an average of $143,698 and a median of $72,000.

“There was strength all the way through the sale,” Wojciechowski said. “A number of the gallop-only horses sold well. We were very happy with the international trade. And with what we've seen in the stock market the last few days, the ups and downs, didn't really seem to effect the market very much. It felt like it was strong throughout the whole three days.”

Donato Lanni and Eddie Woods | OBS

Longtime Ocala horseman Eddie Woods, who is expected to offer just one more OBS consignment next month, sent the record $3-million colt through the ring Thursday.

“Eddie has been a big part of OBS for a number of years now,” Wojciechowski said. “Not only is he one of our top consignors, but he is also a member of our board. And he's been instrumental in the growth and the evolution of the 2-year-olds in training sales. That was very gratifying to see–you'd like to see anybody have a $3-million horse, but it was kind of special to see him go out like that.”

The previous record for a horse sold at OBS was the $2.45 million paid by agent John Moynihan on behalf of Coolmore for a Tiznow colt at the April sale in 2017.

Top Line Sales, with 22 head sold for $6,954,000, was the auction's leading consignor, while bloodstock agent Donato Lanni's lone purchase for Amr Zedan made him the leading buyer.

Zedan Spends OBS Record $3 Million for Gun Runner Colt

Amr Zedan, who purchased the sale topper at the last two editions of the OBS March sale, had been ominously quiet at this year's renewal of the auction, but made plenty of noise when it counted most, going to an OBS record $3 million to acquire a colt by Gun Runner (hip 654) Thursday. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, with Zedan on the phone, made the winning bid on the gray colt, who was consigned by Eddie Woods.

Asked later if was tempted to stop bidding at any point, Zedan said, “No. These horses are difficult to come by. He ticked all the boxes. He was a very precocious Gun Runner with a great pedigree. And more importantly, if you have someone like Mr. [Bob] Baffert in your corner, that gives you the courage and the guts to just go after quality. And you'll know they are in the best hands to turn them into champions. This one is for the team: Donato and obviously Bob and his ability to turn them into champions. So if you have the great team, the great training, the rest is easy. Was he pricey? Yes. But quality dictates price. So I never hesitated.”

Hip 654 | OBS

Hip 654 is out of Tynan (Liam's Map), a half-sister to graded winner and multiple Grade I-placed Pappacap (Gun Runner). He worked a furlong during last week's under-tack preview in a bullet :9 3/5. He was purchased for $200,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Lanni acknowledged the colt with the flashy work in his pocket was no secret when he walked into the OBS sales ring Thursday.

“We come here to look for nice horses and he was a nice horse,” Lanni said. “We are very happy and lucky to get him.

This is what the boss [Baffert] wanted and what Amr wanted. Gun Runner is a tremendous stallion and he worked really good and galloped out good. He did everything you want one to do.”

Zedan said the team was impressed by the bullet work from a veteran consignor.

“Eddie Woods is a great horseman,” Zedan said. “The fact that he was in Eddie Woods's care and managed to go this fast this early made us believe that hopefully he will be a horse who will carry this campaigning forward for us. The stars were aligned and, by the grace of God, we were able to find a good horse and had the stamina to pursue the purchase.”

Woods admitted the colt's $3-million price tag surpassed his expectations.

“I knew he'd sell big,” Woods said. “But I'm not going to stand here and tell you he was going to bring $3 million–that's stupid. [Wednesday] I said that I thought it might be $2 million if we got really, really lucky. And then you're wrong by a million.”

Woods, who plans on ending his storied consignment following next month's April sale, added of the record result, “It feels amazing. It is such a unique feeling. It's like winning the Olympics.” @JessMartiniTDN

Nyquist Colt for Epic Horses

Shannon Potter made his first purchase on behalf of the fledgling Epic Horses racing stable when he went to $1.35 million to secure a full-brother to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) at Keeneland last September, and he added a second seven-figure colt to the operation's roster Thursday at OBS when he went to $1 million to acquire a son of Nyquist (hip 725) from the Scanlon Training and Sales consignment.

Shannon Potter | OBS

“He was a great mover on the track,” Potter said. “We really liked him physically. He was just what they were looking for as far as trying to buy a few decent colts. He will go to Todd [Pletcher].”

The colt is out of the unraced Alottalute (Midnight Lute) and is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Street Lute (Street Magician). He was purchased by Scanlon Training and Sales for $150,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale.

Potter purchased five yearlings for $3.22 million on behalf of Epic Horses at last year's September sale. And the operation, which Potter said was owned by a couple from Las Vegas, made three purchases at OBS this week.

“We bought a partnership horse with Spendthrift yesterday,” Potter said. “And we bought a filly earlier in the sale. We came here just to buy colts and ended up buying one filly.”  @JessMartiniTDN

$1.25M Maxfield Filly Caps Memorable OBS March for Machmer Hall

On the opening day of the OBS March sale, a colt by Army Mule (Hip 81) drew a $950,000 final bid from Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stable, giving Machmer Hall and de Meric Sales something to celebrate. With the March sale already beginning its denouement Thursday, the duo returned to sell Hip 721, a filly by hot sire Maxfield, for $1.25 million to Marquee Bloodstock.

“Going in here, I knew we had two special horses with Valerie and Tristan [de Meric], the Army Mule and her,” said Machmer Hall's Carrie Brogden. “They both showed up, jumped through all the hoops and they had classy personalities.”

Ramiro Restrepo (left) | OBS

Marquee Bloodstock's Ramiro Restrepo concurred with that assessment on the filly, who breezed an eighth in :9 4/5 during Saturday's breeze show.

“He had the all the superlatives you hear every time someone buys an expensive horse,” said Restrepo. “The work was outstanding, not just in the time, but in the way she did it. It was very obvious she was a very talented filly. She was just showing herself with a lot of presence and class.”

Of the purchase price, he added, “Obviously, there were a lot of people on her. It was just a big battle. In this day and age where there are so many horses in here who are being pinhooked by a certain group of guys that are so good at what they do, you really have to go through with a fine tooth comb to find that special horse.”

A $165,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase by Machmer Hall, the bay filly found no takers when RNAing for $210,000 at Keeneland last September.

“I was in love with her. She was absolutely spectacular,” recalled Brogden of the operation's weanling purchase. “At the time, I wanted to target weanlings with some pedigree because if something went wrong, they could join the broodmare band. We wanted pedigree, physical and sire power and she had all of that.”

In regard to her disappointing yearling sojourn to Keeneland, Brogden admitted, “Honestly, I was perplexed as to why she didn't sell in September. I thought we were being very conservative, but she was 10 hips in on day 1 of Book 2. But it was fine, we had a great [Fasig-Tipton] Saratoga and [Keeneland] Book 1 and Book 2. It all worked out.”

Out of the Quiet American mare All In With Aces, the Apr. 2 foal is a half-sister to Grade I winner Hard Aces (Hard Spun) and MSW and GSP Astrollinthepark (Divine Park). The juvenile was bred by the partnership of Taylor Made Stallions, Louis Brooks Ranch, Baysore Stables and Spence Houlihan, Brian Kahn, Hugh Owen and Pollock Farms.

Enjoying a banner sale, Darley stallion Maxfield also had a juvenile colt out of Eyeinthesky sell for $1 million on Day 1 of the sale. The freshman sire stands for $40,000 in 2025.

“Maxfield is a very exciting horse. He is by Street Sense out of Bernardini stallion,” added Restrepo. “There has been a lot of buzz about him. She was just a beautiful horse who reminded me a little bit about ['TDN Rising Star' and $1.3-million OBSMAR purchase by Restrepo] Ferocious [Flatter], just a little more feminine.”

Marquee also purchased a filly by Constitution (Hip 131) for $400,000 during Tuesday's session.

Carrie Brogdan | OBS

Machmer Hall, alone or in partnership, was represented by eight juveniles at OBS March.

“Two of them were very affected by the headwinds on the first day [of the breezes], unfortunately. They were scratched and pushed back to a later sale.”

“When the Army Mule colt came in the back ring, I felt it two steps in, all class. Same with her, she was so classy. One is a homebred and one was a pinhook, I just pinch myself. And we are going to Dubai with [GSW] Steal Sunshine [Constitution] [G1 Godolphin Mile Apr. 5], who is horse we bred and now an earner of over $700,000. What a dream life.”–CBoss

AMO Comes Out Firing for $1.05M Quality Road Filly

Midway through Thursday's final session, Hip 636, a filly by Quality Road, lit up the board as the first seven-figure juvenile of the day when securing a $1.05-million final bid from AMO Racing. Standing alongside AMO's Kia Joorabchian, agent Ben McElroy handled the signing duties from the back ring.

“AMO is looking for some high-end fillies that can go two turns on the dirt and be a Classic filly and this filly fit the mold. She breezed very well and is by a top sire of fillies. [Ch. 3-year-old Filly and Classic winner] Abel Tasman and [MGISW] Bellafina–he's just been strong over the years,” said McElroy, who notably advised on the purchase of Bellafina for $800,000 at the Fasig-Tipton 2-year-old sale in 2018. “She was that type of physical. She has been our on our hit-list right from the get-go.”

Hip 636 | OBS

Consigned by Wavertree Stables, the Mar. 1 foal breezed an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 during Saturday's breeze session. Purchased for $350,000 at last summer's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, she was bred in New York by 3C Stables.

“We were [surprised with the price] to be honest,” said Ciaran Dunne. “She's by a proper stallion, not to denigrate any other horses, but he's a proven commodity. He's had two Oaks winners, he's had multiple Grade I winners. She has a license to be a really good horse. She's by a mare who could really run, and she proved herself on the racetrack. If ones like that can't do it, I don't know what can.”

The bay filly is out of Toasting (Congrats), a two-time stakes winner who also finished third in the GI Frizette Stakes. The 15-year-old mare also has a yearling colt by Uncle Mo in the pipeline. This represents the extended family of English Champion juvenile filly Forest Flower.

“Kia will take her back and assess her, and then we'll make a decision about her trainer. She is not a filly that will be running super early, so we've time to make a decision. Maybe the early part of the summer.”

In addition to Thursday's top-priced filly, AMO also secured a filly by Bolt d'Oro (Hip 405) for $600,000 during Wednesday's session.–CBoss

Arroyo Bloodstock Has a Break-Out Week at OBS

Nelson and Elijah Arroyo's Arroyo Bloodstock, in just its second year of pinhooking, had an outstanding week at OBS, led by a son of Midshipman (hip 325) who sold for $650,000 Wednesday. The colt, who was consigned by Caliente Thoroughbreds, had been purchased by Arroyo Bloodstock for $140,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale and sold to Flanagan Racing following a blistering :20 2/5 work during last week's under-tack show.

“Nathan McCauley pointed him out to us,” Nelson Arroyo said of the colt's appeal last fall. “We trust Nate. He has been a great teacher to us. He said, 'You should come by and see this Midshipman. I think the world of him. Let me know what you think. I don't have that much attention on him and I really think he is a star.' We fell in love with him. We called a private client who was asking us to maybe look for something for him. We told him we were willing to go up to $200,000 on him. We sounded crazy, so thank God he sold well.”

Of the juvenile's bullet work, Elijah said, “Everything came to fruition. We thought he was a perfect blend of speed and distance. He looks like he has speed and he will go long.”

Arroyo Bloodstock sold five juveniles at this week's OBS March sale and each showed an increase on their yearling price tags. Through Navas Equine, the operation sold a filly by Yaupon (hip 356), purchased for $115,000 last summer at Saratoga, for $200,000; a son of Omaha Beach (hip 617), purchased for $100,000 last September, for $260,000; and a colt by More Than Ready (hip 757), purchased for $80,000 in September, for $280,000.

Elijah, Nelson, and Brandon Arroyo | Jessica Martini

Arroyo's March contingent was completed by a colt by Volatile (hip 713), purchased for $65,000 in September, who sold Thursday for $350,000 to Hubert Guy.

“We had high expectations for the Volatile because he's always been a good horse,” Nelson said. “I fell in love with him in September. We couldn't point out what it was that hit me, but Dean DeRenzo told us to always follow your gut and with him, it was a gut feeling that he was a good horse. He just had the presence. It wasn't just his physical, it was his attitude that got us the most.”

Asked what made the father and son decide to start pinhooking two years ago, Nelson Arroyo said, “I am an ex-jockey. I rode for 10 years and, being a jockey agent the last 10 years, I've been around horses my whole life. So, I know a racehorse. When the pandemic hit in 2020, 2021, people started calling me, asking me to find them horses. I went to the racetrack and spoke to some people and started to look. I spoke to Elijah and asked if he wanted to come to the sales. So we came to the sale in 2021. We walked around and when I came here, I saw all our friends were the agents and the buyers. So we started asking them for help. Thanks to a lot of agents–it started with David Meah, Nick Hines, Nate McCauley. And I owe a lot to Dean DeRenzo and Randy Hartley and Donato Lanni. And also Chris Baccari and Chad Summers. They have been helping us immensely. We owe thanks to them. Everything that we are doing is thanks to them. We are doing what they teach us. So we can't take much credit. This is all thanks to them and to the hard work my son has been putting in.”

The Arroyos teamed up with first-time pinhook investor Marcus Scott for their initial investments.

“We met Marcus Scott through Chris Baccari at the Maryland sale two years ago,” Nelson said. “He gave us the chance. He trusted us. And everything he made the first year, he put it back in and more. Thanks to him we are here.”

Nelson and Elijah Arroyo are also excited about their group of juveniles heading to the OBS April sale, which will includie horses by Independence Hall, Twirling Candy, and Not This Time.

Of their March results, though, Nelson said, “To tell you the truth, it hasn't hit me yet.”

But the father and son, who have relocated to Ocala, plan to be back at it in a big way at the yearling sales this coming summer and fall.

“For the yearling sales, hopefully we will be buying a lot more,” Nelson said with a laugh. “We will be working a lot harder.”  @JessMartiniTDN

 

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