Taiba Filly Tops ‘Strong’ OBS January Winter Mixed Sale

[Wandering Eyes]

A yearling filly from the first crop of multiple Grade I winner Taiba (hip 80) attracted the highest price of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's January Winter Mixed Sale Tuesday when selling for $150,000 to Marc Gunderson. The filly was one of three on the day–and two from Beth Bayer's consignment–to sell for six figures during an auction which produced increases over its 2025 renewal.

By the close of business Tuesday, 183 horses sold at the Winter Mixed sale for a gross of $3,476,100. The average of $18,995 rose 30.2% from the 2025 auction, while the median was up 60.0% to $12,000. Of the 307 catalogued lots, 257 head went through the ring and, with 74 reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 28.8%.

“The market is strong. It's very strong,” Bayer said. In addition to competitive bidding at the top, Bayer observed, “there were end-users across the board to get the other ones sold.”

During last year's Winter Mixed sale, 212 horses sold through the ring for a gross of $3,098,700, an average of $14,617, and a median of $7,500. The buy-back rate was 21.5%.

The sale-topping filly, both bred and consigned by Bayer, is out of Tranquil Song (Unbridled's Song) and is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner and multiple graded-placed Isolate (Mark Valeski).

Bayer purchased Tranquil Song as an 11-year-old for $2,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale. The mare's now 2-year-old colt by Cyberknife sold for $125,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. In addition to her six-figure yearlings, Tranquil Song has also had a pair of foals sell for $90,000 at the OBS October sale in 2022 and 2024.

“She's been a really good mare for me,” Bayer said of Tranquil Song, who was bred and campaigned by John Sykes of Woodford Thoroughbreds. “I was working for Woodford–the first year I worked for them–and Mr. Sykes was selling some mares. Isolate was a foal at that time and he went through the ring a book or two ahead and sold for $70,000 and his momma came through empty and I bought her through the ring because I had seen him and he was so pretty. And of course, he's gone on and done all of the wonderful things he has done for the catalogue page and became such a great racehorse. And she's an Unbridled's Song mare, so I felt like I couldn't go wrong doing that.”

Of Tuesday's sale topper, Bayer said, “I have loved this filly since she was born. She was all class and a sweet, level-headed filly. She's done everything right the last four days at the sale. I kind of thought she would fall [in that price range]. I knew she had some value to her. You never know what's going to happen until it does, but I was very pleased when it did.”

Gunderson, a prolific buyer during the 2025 yearling sales season, continued to be active at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale two weeks ago where his purchases included an $800,000 short yearling colt by Gun Runner (hip 114) and the broodmare Way to be Marie (Not This Time) (hip 502), acquired for $750,000.

Bayer also consigned the auction's second-highest offering, a yearling colt by Nashville (hip 22) who sold for $140,000 to Always Dreaming. Out of Rapid Racer (Forest Wildcat), the colt had been purchased by Racing Point for $37,000 at the Keeneland November sale two months ago.

“He was a client's horse,” Bayer said of the colt. “I was very pleased when I saw him when he came to the sales grounds. He was very well-received. He was just a big, strong colt and was very eye-appealing.”

Rounding out the trio of six-figure yearlings at the one-session auction was a colt by Simplification (hip 191) who sold for $100,000 to Rising Dividends Racing from the consignment of Danielle Loya's Silver Oaks Farm.

The post Taiba Filly Tops ‘Strong’ OBS January Winter Mixed Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article