Barretts Spring Sale Wednesday

[Chief Stipe]

DEL MAR, Ca – The Barretts Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, an amalgamation of the company’s traditional two juvenile auctions, will be held Wednesday at Del Mar with bidding scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. PT.

Last year’s March select sale attracted a catalogue of 135 head–of whom 68 went through the ring and 45 sold–while the May sale catalogue included 95 juveniles, 70 of whom went through the ring and 46 sold. This year’s combined sale has a catalogue of 170. There were 43 outs listed as of Tuesday afternoon.

“I wanted to get a larger catalogue put together,” Barretts General Manager Kim Lloyd explained about the shift. “It was too difficult to make them both big enough. It turns out we got the same horses from both sales in this one sale, so it has worked out well. I was worried that the later sales horses and the regional people who get those horses ready might be hard-pressed for an earlier sale. But now that we are in April, it makes more sense.”

Consignors seemed pleased with the scheduling change, as well.

“It was necessary and I’m glad they moved it a couple weeks to help some of these local guys have the time to prepare,” said Andy Havens of the locally based Havens Bloodstock Agency. “But I think it’s a good idea. We were having trouble scheduling that second sale, so it works out better this way.”

Raul Reyes’s Kings Equine was one of only a few Ocala-based operations to make the return trip to Southern California for the May sale last year. Reyes, who agreed eliminating the double travel was a plus, is expecting a good market Wednesday.

“I think combining the sales was a great idea and it is working out well,” Reyes said. “There is so much need for horses in California and there will be buyers for all markets. It looks that way–I can already feel it that way. It helps to have buyers from all levels.”

Kings Equine, which sold subsequent GII San Vicente S. winner Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) at last year’s March sale, sent out 22 juveniles to work during Monday’s under-tack preview.

“They had twice as many people watching the horses breeze as they did last year, so that’s a good sign,” Reyes said. “The activity has been great. It’s still early in the morning and a lot of serious buyers are here already. They are all here. And they look like they are looking for horses.”

Among Havens Bloodstock’s 15 workers Monday was a Smiling Tiger colt (hip 63) who shared the fastest furlong breeze of :10 flat.

“I had a good preview and I was very happy with how it went,” Havens said. “You always want everything to go faster, but it was pretty even. They liked the track, the track here is fantastic. It made the whole thing a lot easier. I think, even if it was a little slower, they looked good going over it. We had a good preview and a good return the next day.”

Indications from the activity at the breeze show, to the barn area and to the sales office point to a wide-range of buyers looking for horses, according to Havens.

“I heard the grandstand was pretty full,” he said. “And we’ve been busy here [at the barns] since eight this morning. I’ve got a lot of Cal-breds who performed well and I think these guys are going to respond well to them. So far, I’ve heard the credit requests are including guys that are coming to look for mid-range horses. The question will be, will they show up? But I think they well.”

The trio of bullet furlong workers also included: hip 58, a filly by Mineshaft (:10 flat); and hip 167, a colt by Into Mischief (:10 flat). The fastest quarter-mile work of :21 flat was turned in by hip 121, a colt by Graydar.

In addition to Kanthaka, graduates of last year’s Barretts juvenile sales include graded winner and Grade I placed Run Away (Run Away And Hide) and stakes winner Surrender Now (Morning Line).

“Barretts has always produced runners,” Lloyd said. “In order to do well in California, you’ve got to be able to run. The horses who sell here can run here, they can run anywhere.”

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