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Bout Time Come Saturday: Sovereignty V. Journalism In Oaklawn H.

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Maybe a touch earlier than expected, the rematch that the horse racing world pined for has arrived as reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) will once again square off against the 2025 GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) in the GII Oaklawn Handicap on Saturday.

Both colts will be making their much-anticipated 4-year-old debuts in Hot Springs.

Sovereignty turned in a spectacular season last year when he won the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Belmont Stakes and GI DK Travers Stakes.

The Bill Mott trainee came down with a temperature at Del Mar and unfortunately had to miss the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, but the Godolphin homebred garnered 201 out of a possible 220 first-place Eclipse votes to take home Horse of the Year honors.

“The thing is we were fit and ready to run in November, the same as Journalism,” Mott told Robert Yates on Wednesday morning. “He ran; we didn’t. But we were still a fit horse at that time. It’s not like we had been idle since August.”

Mott, who was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1986 and won the Oaklawn Handicap in 1995 with future two-time Horse of the Year Cigar and again in 1996 with Geri, said that the Hot Springs race fit with Sovereignty’s schedule.

“I suppose the timing made this the right spot for his comeback,” said Mott. “We felt like we had enough works in him. It was a mile and an eighth. We could have waited two weeks and run in the [GII] Alysheba [at Churchill Downs May 1]. It’s a mile and a sixteenth. Godolphin has another one they want to run in the Alysheba and we just kind of worked it out. We announced early that we thought we would run here, but it didn’t scare anybody off.”

Mott, who was voted Outstanding Trainer for the fifth time last year, added that Sovereignty hasn’t necessarily changed physically since his the Travers win.

“He was looking pretty damn good then,” Mott said. “He was pretty well filled out at that point. He’s probably come a ways, but it’s difficult for me to see it because I see him every day. To me he looks great, but I thought he went into the Travers looking great. Actually, we went into the Travers and Breeders’ Cup looking like he was gaining weight. He looked like he had a belly on him because he’s such a good doer. He eats really good and keeps himself in good fettle.”

According to Mott, the Oaklawn Handicap field–a race in which Sovereignty carries the highest weight at 123–makes for an intriguing race because it lacks a speed horse.

“Looking at that race, we can talk about the way it looks on paper,” the Hall of Fame conditioner said. “There’s no horse in there that has ‘1, 1, 1, 1’ beside his name. I don’t think there’s, like, any really, really fast early horse in there. Somebody’s going to see that and they’re going to do it.”

Journalism in the early stages before his Haskell Stakes rally | Sarah Andrew

Ready to do battle with his foe once more, Journalism has drilled for trainer Michael McCarthy at his Santa Anita base since late February.

Last year, the colt was the only horse to race in every leg of the Triple Crown. The results were a Preakness win and a pair of runner-up finishes to Sovereignty in the Derby and the Belmont.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood, Don Alberto, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling grad captured the GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth, was the runner-up in the GI Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar in late August and finished fourth in the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic over the same surface in November.

The Oaklawn Handicap isn’t a two-horse race by any means. Breeders’ Cup Classic and GI Pegasus World Cup winner White Abarrio (Race Day) comes to town for C2 Racing, Gary Barber and La Milagrosa. Trained by Saffie Joseph and out of a sire who won the Oaklawn Handicap in 2015, the 7-year-old was the runner-up to stablemate Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) in the Pegasus Jan. 24.

“We’re not scared of competition,” White Abarrio’s co-owner, Mark Cornett, said Wednesday morning. “This is what this sport needs. When’s the last time you saw three good horses like this match up? It’s been a while. I can’t remember the last time. It’s good to see. Oaklawn does a heck of a job and with a $1.25 million purse, you’re going to attract horses like this, you would think.”

Representing owners Gus King and the Estate of Brereton C. Jones is GISP Publisher (American Pharoah). After finally breaking his maiden over the local strip Feb. 15, the Steve Asmussen trainee has show steady improvement by delivering wins in an allowance race Mar. 7 and in the restricted American Pharoah Overnight Stakes Mar. 28.

Rounding out the field are a pair by the late, great Arrogate–Liberal Arts and Duke of Duval.

KEENELAND & SANTA ANITA

At Keeneland on Saturday, a pair of graded races make the card.

Juddmonte homebred and Mott trainee Batten Down (Tapit) will look to make it two stakes wins in a row when he heads to the post in the GIII Ben Ali Stakes. A pair of Kentucky Derby alums in Burnham Square (Liam’s Map) and Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) plan to contest 12 furlongs over the grass in the GII VisitLEX Elkhorn Stakes.

Over the weekend, GISW King of Gosford (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) makes his first start of 2025 in the GIII American Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday and GSW Nafisa (Quality Road) leads a group of four others in the GIII Santa Maria Stakes at ‘The Great Race Place’ on Sunday.

The post Bout Time Come Saturday: Sovereignty V. Journalism In Oaklawn H. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

History at OBS: $10.5-Million Flightline Colt Leads Record-Smashing OBS April Sale

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by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm

OCALA, Fl – Following its third of four sessions Thursday, the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training needed just north of $14 million to secure its highest-ever gross. That amount was almost entirely secured Friday through the sale of one horse when Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, went to all-time high $10.5 million to acquire a colt by champion Flightline from the Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbred consignment. By the close of business Friday, the Spring sale had set records for gross, average, and median, as well as recording both its highest-ever priced filly and colt.

Through four sessions, 632 juveniles grossed $113,393,000 for an average of $179,419 and a median of $80,000. The auction’s previous record gross of $92,129,000 was set in 2022, while the April average has set records the previous three years, most recently landing at $139,343 a year ago. The previous record median of $70,000 was set in 2024.

“I think at the top, and we saw it in March as well, there were multiple players at the top end and that is healthy for what we do,” OBS President Tom Ventura said. “Day one in March when we sold three horses for a million and none of them were heading to [Bob] Baffert, that was a sign the top is pretty strong. And that repeated itself here in April.”

OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski saw strength even beyond the traditionally strong top of the market.

“I do think you saw some depth to the market here in April,” Wojciechowski said. “The top typically takes care of itself, but there was plenty of money on that second and third tier all through the week.”

Wojciechowski continued, “It was impressive all week, not just the domestic buyers, but the increased interest we saw from all the regions of the world–a deeper buying bench from Japan, more Middle East buyers coming in and European buyers coming in. It just continues to grow. It’s a function of the horses that the consignors bring and what they are doing on the racetrack.”

The 2026 average was up 28.8% from last year’s figure and the median of $80,000 was up 23.1%. A total of 637 horses sold through the ring at last year’s Spring sale for a gross of $139,343 and a median of $65,000.

From a catalogue of 1,224 juveniles, 775 went through the ring with 143 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 18.5%. It was 16.7% a year ago.

Longtime OBS consignors Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo had already had a big week–led by a daughter of Jackie’s Warrior who became the sales company’s new highest-priced filly when selling for $2.3 million Wednesday–when they led a strapping son of Flightline to the ring Friday for his historic $10.5-million sale.

“Dean and Randy were really the first true believers in the April sale,” Ventura said. “People were totally committed to the select sales and April was an open sale and Silver Charm was the first horse to put them on the map. And they also put us on the map.”

Hartley/DeRenzo sold the future GI Kentucky Derby winner for $100,000 at the 1996 OBS Spring sale.

“They also sold the first million-dollar horse here,” Ventura continued. “They’ve been doing it a long time here. And they aren’t doing it with 50 horses a year. They are doing it with a relatively small group of horses. Kudos to them for keeping the horses. You have to have the quality to start with, but they obviously know what they are doing.”

During the four-day Spring sale, seven horses sold for seven figures, down from nine a year ago. Forty-three horses sold for $500,000 or over in 2026 and that figure was up from 32 a year ago.

Buyers and sellers alike continued to see polarization in the marketplace.

“[The market’s been] strong, very strong,” said Joe Moran of MyRacehorse, which partnered to purchase three juveniles at the sale. “It’s been this way for a few years now, but the obvious ones always stand out. They’re going to get the attention. It comes down to who’s willing to pay the most.”

Consignor Jesse Hoppel said, “It depends on the horse you lead up there. Some horses, the market takes care of them. You need to know your marketplace and where you’re at and how to navigate it.”

‘Ready to Go to What Was Necessary’: Zedan Makes OBS Record $10.5-Million Bid for Flightline Colt

When the colt by Flightline (hip 1056)–perhaps the most-hyped horse in OBS history–made the short stroll from the Hartley/DeRenzo barn to the back walking ring, he came with an entourage that one onlooker likened to the Derby walkover. And when the strapping colt strode into the sales ring, it was standing-room only in the pavilion. Jane Lyon, whose Summer Wind Farm bred Flightline, sat front and center in the pavilion watching the bidding on the colt as Bill Farish of Lane’s End and Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds–her partners on the champion during his racing career–were out back. Amo Racing’s Kia Joorabchian, alongside agent Ben McElroy, stood bidding by the back wall of the pavilion, while bloodstock agent Justin Casse, standing nearby relayed the action into his phone.

The hype was real and history has been made!
He was all that and more. Hip 1056, a colt by @LanesEndFarms stallion and champion Flightline sells for an OBS record $10.5M to @ZedanRacing from the ⁦@HartleyDeRenzo⁩ consignment at #OBSApril. No words. pic.twitter.com/30KGPgbJsh

— OBSSales (@OBSSales) April 17, 2026

Bidding settled into a staccato ricocheting from out back and into the press box, where bloodstock agent Donato Lanni was camped out, and back again through several million-dollar increments with Lanni, bidding on behalf of Amr Zedan, ultimately prevailing with an OBS record bid of $10.5 million. It was the second most ever paid for a 2-year-old at auction, surpassed only by The Green Monkey, who sold from the same Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds consignment for $16 million at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton February sale.

“I’m a little numb,” Lanni admitted after signing the ticket on the record colt. “Amr is tough. He is an emotional guy who is great for the sport. He loves the racing. His enthusiasm is unbelievable. I didn’t know he was going to do that, but Amr was riding me pretty hard. Everybody had different numbers on what he could bring, he could bring six, he could bring seven, I never thought [he could bring that], honestly. But that’s why there is a horse auction. You never know what they are going to bring.”

Zedan already owned the OBS record price after purchasing Brant (Gun Runner) for $3 million at the 2025 March sale, but the Saudi businessman said he had no intention of letting this colt go.

“One needs to respect the amount, it’s a lot of money, but this is what it takes to buy quality,” Zedan said. “This is the game. So I was ready to go to what was necessary to buy the horse, as much as necessary and as low as possible.”

Zedan continued, “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I hate losing as much as I love winning. And I have been losing a lot lately, so I figured, why not just go?”

There was already plenty of chatter about the bay colt by Flightline earlier this spring, but the hype went into overdrive when he blitzed through a bullet furlong in :9 3/5 during last week’s under-tack preview.

“[Trainer] Bob [Baffert] said the only other horse that he reminded him of was Unbridled’s Song,” Lanni said. “He said this horse reminded him of him a lot. Bob loved him the first time he saw him.”

Zedan acquired future Grade I winner Taiba (Gun Runner) from the Hartley/DeRenzo consignment for $1.7 million at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Florida sale.

“I have a great relationship with Hartley/DeRenzo,” Zedan said. “We have a gentlemen’s agreement, we sort of have a conversation and, man to man, just let us know he’s a good one. And then when you have someone like Bob Baffert in your corner, and he absolutely says that he hasn’t seen a horse like that in the longest time at OBS, you’ve got to take note. And that’s what we did.”

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, acting on behalf of Tom Durant, purchased the colt for $575,000 as a weanling at the 2024 Keeneland November sale. He is out of stakes winner and graded-placed Lucrezia (Into Mischief), whose daughter Lyudmila (Gun Runner) sold for $1 million at the 2024 Keeneland September sale. The colt had originally been slated to head to that auction as well.

“Originally, he was in September with Marshall [Taylor],” Hartley said. “They were getting him as a yearling, but he got on the fence and cut his hind ankle and had to get stitches two weeks before the sale. We were upset about it because we felt he was the best Flightline yearling going to a yearling sale. But we moved forward, you put your pants on, now we are going in this direction.”

Hartley continued, “I thank Tom Durant so much and the guy who runs his ranch out in Texas, Jack Bruner, believing that we could do this with this quality of horses because it’s a big investment and a lot can happen. I promise you that it was probably one of the hardest thing for Tom to sell the horse. But he knows that this is what we do for a living. He wants to support our farm and our team.”

Of the record-setting colt, Hartley said, “He is just an amazing horse. We very rarely see these kind of horses come through the 2-year-old sales. He never missed a beat with nothing. When you’re around him five seconds, you can see he breathes different air than other horses.”

Hartley also acknowledged the underbidders on the colt.

“I thank the Farishes and Ms. Lyon for coming in to support their stallion,” he said. “If you are going to buy one, you would want to get the one that everyone wants. I know they are disappointed they didn’t get him, but at the same time, I am sure they must be happy for the stallion.”

Bidding on behalf of a group that included West Point Thoroughbreds and Lane’s End Farm, David Ingordo was the direct underbidder, going to $10 million for the partnership.

“He was a lovely horse and he made a lovely price,” said Ingordo, boarding a plane to leave Ocala. “I don’t even know what to say about a sale like that. Obviously, we love the stallion. That was what our interest in him was.”

Ingordo, of course, put together the partnership who bought Flightline at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, which included Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing, and Summer Wind Farm, who stayed in for a share.

The result put an exclamation mark on the week for Hartley and DeRenzo, who consigned the highest-priced filly to sell at OBS Wednesday when a daughter of Jackie’s Warrior sold for $2.3 million.

“We had the first $1-million horse here when they still had pay phones,” Hartley said with a laugh. “And you always want to be the best. That’s what we strive for and you always want it. When that filly became the highest-priced filly, we really wanted to have both [the highest-priced colt and filly].” @JessMartiniTDN

Lows Put A Finishing Touch On OBS April ’26 With Girvin Filly

Keeping the momentum going all the way to the very end, the second to last horse through the ring Friday, a filly by Girvin (hip 1221), brought the house down with Robert and Lawana Low striking the $1.6-million final bid.

Robert and Lawana Low | Keeneland

A $165,000 Keeneland September grad for CMT Rentals (Carlo Vaccarezza, Martha Gladwell and Torie Gladwell) and consigned Friday by Jimbo and Torie Gladwell’s Top Line Sales, this filly blitzed a furlong in :9 3/5.

“For the quality, the money is always here,” Gladwell said. “That filly, Torie and my dad and Carlo [Vaccarezza] had to have her at the Keeneland sale and she’s just done better every day we’ve had her. And she showed up here in a big way and brought the house down here at the end. We’re very happy. [We] wish Jacob West and the Lows the best of luck with her.”

Jacob West’s West Bloodstock handled the bidding duties on the phone for the Lows.

“Girvin‘s known for getting some pretty high-class fillies,” Low said. “He’s a very good stallion and out of a Curlin mare, and it’s a young mare. It’s a deep family and she was an absolutely beautiful filly. We bought her from people that are known for getting horses to run really fast, and then go run really fast in graded stakes.”

Of Girvin‘s three ‘TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard’, two have been fillies: GISW Faiza and Ornellaia.

First dam Soma, though unplaced herself, as a $8,000 pick up for West Bloodstock at the 2022 Keeneland January Sale. She’s produced one foal who won earlier this year at Santa Anita for Michael McCarthy. The mare is a half-sister to GSW Celestial City (Uncle Mo) and from the family of GISW Hymn Book (Arch).

West could find nothing to criticize on the filly, including her under-tack preview in the sale’s co-fastest time. He also confirmed that the seven-figure filly would head to top trainer Todd Pletcher.

“There’s nothing you can pick apart on her breeze,” West said. “She went incredibly fast down the lane and galloped out really well. This is what happens when at these sales when you’re good looking and you go fast, you get a lot of money!” @SGrimmTDN

Lanni Warms Up With Early Voting Filly For Three Amigos

Mere minutes before signing a record-breaking ticket, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni got warmed, signing the $850,000 ticket on behalf of the Three Amigos for a daughter of first-crop sire Early Voting (hip 1037).

Jesse Hoppel, also the filly’s consignor through his Hoppel LLC, purchased her as a yearling for just $45,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. It was the second successful pinhook in a matter of minutes for Hoppel who also purchased and consigned a son of Essential Quality (hip 1027) for $775,000 after getting him as a $80,000 yearling.

“They were inexpensive at the time,” Hoppel remembered. “But I think we’ve reevaluated them today. We’re buying a lot of horses [as yearlings]. Horses that are young, horses that were immature and could develop in the right way. And some of those horses do come the right way. And then some other horses need more time or didn’t come the right way. Fortunately, with these two, they turned out all right. [Their prices] exceeded what we were expecting. We try to keep our expectations tempered and that keeps us down to earth. When you have horses like that, that go up there and exceed expectations, they make up for the ones that maybe don’t quite live up to them.”

This is the second purchase of the week for Three Amigos who also picked up a colt by Honor A.P. (hip 133) early in the sale.

“We’re glad to get her,” Lanni said of hip 1037. “She’s beautiful. Did everything right. She’s a warrior. She did everything right all week. Bob loved her. [She’ll go to] Three Amigos. She was one that we really wanted. I’m glad we got her.”

This daughter of GI Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting impressed Lanni with her under-tack preview when she put up a sales co-fastest quarter-mile of :20 2/5 last week.

“Her work was phenomenal,” Lanni said. “She was running against a head wind too. Galloped out good. She was serious out there. We all like her. The team liked her. She’ll go to Bob.” @SGrimmTDN

‘Positive Vibes All Around’ As MyRacehorse, MorPlay and Marquee Team Up On Essential Quality Colt

Marquee Bloodstock, along with partners MyRacehorse and MorPlay Racing, doubled-down on Essential Quality, purchasing a colt (hip 1027) for $775,000 Friday.

One year ago, Marquee’s Ramiro Restrepo signed the ticket from the colt’s first crop, picking up The Puma, a colt who is now well on his way on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. After partnering with one another two at a time, the trio decided to pull the trigger here on this colt who the group deemed a “game changer”.

“This is a three-team combination, MyRacehorse, MorPlay Racing and Marquee Bloodstock,” said Restrepo. “We all came together. We’ve been partnering on a few horses separately. We have a really nice filly together, Reputation, was a stakes-winning, graded-stakes filly. We’ve gotten together and purchased some horses at OBS March. So we’ve been chatting about all coming together and this was the colt we landed on.”

Consigned by Hoppel LLC, the colt impressed in a quarter-mile breeze of :20 2/5.

“He was just an exceptional athlete,” said MyRacehorse’s Joe Moran. “We wanted a game-changer colt and I think it’s as simple as that, this was the game-changing colt that we found. He breezed exceptionally. I think Mr. Hoppel had a great breeze show, as he always does. The way this colt moved on the track, he seems like the two-turn dirt colt that we’re looking for. [His] trainer will be determined.”

After winning a bidding battle at $775,000, Moran was in no way caught off guard by the final number, saying, “We were not surprised [by the price] by any means. Of course, we’re always trying to find value where we can. But seeing, in comparison, the other colts in the sale, we knew we were going to have to be prepared to be around this number.”

Purchased by Jesse Hoppel as a yearling at Keeneland for $80,000 last year, this colt is out of a half-sister to MSW/GSP and sire King for a Day (Uncle Mo) and to the dam of MGISW Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) and GISP Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft).

“He’s got a lovely family, King for a Day, that Red Oak family, very classy horses,” said Restrepo. “I got lucky with Essential Quality last year and hopefully this is the sequel. It’s a pleasure to have guys like MorPlay Racing and MyRacehorse involved. They’ve been so successful on the track. When you come together with a good group, it’s just positive vibes all around.” @SGrimmTDN

The post History at OBS: $10.5-Million Flightline Colt Leads Record-Smashing OBS April Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Bout Time Come Saturday: Sovereignty V. Journalism In Oaklawn H.

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Maybe a touch earlier than expected, the rematch that the horse racing world pined for has arrived as reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) will once again square off against the 2025 GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) in the GII Oaklawn Handicap on Saturday.

Both colts will be making their much-anticipated 4-year-old debuts in Hot Springs.

Sovereignty turned in a spectacular season last year when he won the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Belmont Stakes and GI DK Travers Stakes.

The Bill Mott trainee came down with a temperature at Del Mar and unfortunately had to miss the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, but the Godolphin homebred garnered 201 out of a possible 220 first-place Eclipse votes to take home Horse of the Year honors.

“The thing is we were fit and ready to run in November, the same as Journalism,” Mott told Robert Yates on Wednesday morning. “He ran; we didn’t. But we were still a fit horse at that time. It’s not like we had been idle since August.”

Mott, who was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1986 and won the Oaklawn Handicap in 1995 with future two-time Horse of the Year Cigar and again in 1996 with Geri, said that the Hot Springs race fit with Sovereignty’s schedule.

“I suppose the timing made this the right spot for his comeback,” said Mott. “We felt like we had enough works in him. It was a mile and an eighth. We could have waited two weeks and run in the [GII] Alysheba [at Churchill Downs May 1]. It’s a mile and a sixteenth. Godolphin has another one they want to run in the Alysheba and we just kind of worked it out. We announced early that we thought we would run here, but it didn’t scare anybody off.”

Mott, who was voted Outstanding Trainer for the fifth time last year, added that Sovereignty hasn’t necessarily changed physically since his the Travers win.

“He was looking pretty damn good then,” Mott said. “He was pretty well filled out at that point. He’s probably come a ways, but it’s difficult for me to see it because I see him every day. To me he looks great, but I thought he went into the Travers looking great. Actually, we went into the Travers and Breeders’ Cup looking like he was gaining weight. He looked like he had a belly on him because he’s such a good doer. He eats really good and keeps himself in good fettle.”

According to Mott, the Oaklawn Handicap field–a race in which Sovereignty carries the highest weight at 123–makes for an intriguing race because it lacks a speed horse.

“Looking at that race, we can talk about the way it looks on paper,” the Hall of Fame conditioner said. “There’s no horse in there that has ‘1, 1, 1, 1’ beside his name. I don’t think there’s, like, any really, really fast early horse in there. Somebody’s going to see that and they’re going to do it.”

Journalism in the early stages before his Haskell Stakes rally | Sarah Andrew

Ready to do battle with his foe once more, Journalism has drilled for trainer Michael McCarthy at his Santa Anita base since late February.

Last year, the colt was the only horse to race in every leg of the Triple Crown. The results were a Preakness win and a pair of runner-up finishes to Sovereignty in the Derby and the Belmont.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood, Don Alberto, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling grad captured the GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth, was the runner-up in the GI Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar in late August and finished fourth in the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic over the same surface in November.

The Oaklawn Handicap isn’t a two-horse race by any means. Breeders’ Cup Classic and GI Pegasus World Cup winner White Abarrio (Race Day) comes to town for C2 Racing, Gary Barber and La Milagrosa. Trained by Saffie Joseph and out of a sire who won the Oaklawn Handicap in 2015, the 7-year-old was the runner-up to stablemate Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) in the Pegasus Jan. 24.

“We’re not scared of competition,” White Abarrio’s co-owner, Mark Cornett, said Wednesday morning. “This is what this sport needs. When’s the last time you saw three good horses like this match up? It’s been a while. I can’t remember the last time. It’s good to see. Oaklawn does a heck of a job and with a $1.25 million purse, you’re going to attract horses like this, you would think.”

Representing owners Gus King and the Estate of Brereton C. Jones is GISP Publisher (American Pharoah). After finally breaking his maiden over the local strip Feb. 15, the Steve Asmussen trainee has show steady improvement by delivering wins in an allowance race Mar. 7 and in the restricted American Pharoah Overnight Stakes Mar. 28.

Rounding out the field are a pair by the late, great Arrogate–Liberal Arts and Duke of Duval.

KEENELAND & SANTA ANITA

At Keeneland on Saturday, a pair of graded races make the card.

Juddmonte homebred and Mott trainee Batten Down (Tapit) will look to make it two stakes wins in a row when he heads to the post in the GIII Ben Ali Stakes. A pair of Kentucky Derby alums in Burnham Square (Liam’s Map) and Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) plan to contest 12 furlongs over the grass in the GII VisitLEX Elkhorn Stakes.

Over the weekend, GISW King of Gosford (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) makes his first start of 2025 in the GIII American Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday and GSW Nafisa (Quality Road) leads a group of four others in the GIII Santa Maria Stakes at ‘The Great Race Place’ on Sunday.

The post Bout Time Come Saturday: Sovereignty V. Journalism In Oaklawn H. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

History at OBS: $10.5-Million Flightline Colt Leads Record-Smashing OBS April Sale

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by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm

OCALA, Fl – Following its third of four sessions Thursday, the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training needed just north of $14 million to secure its highest-ever gross. That amount was almost entirely secured Friday through the sale of one horse when Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, went to all-time high $10.5 million to acquire a colt by champion Flightline from the Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbred consignment. By the close of business Friday, the Spring sale had set records for gross, average, and median, as well as recording both its highest-ever priced filly and colt.

Through four sessions, 632 juveniles grossed $113,393,000 for an average of $179,419 and a median of $80,000. The auction’s previous record gross of $92,129,000 was set in 2022, while the April average has set records the previous three years, most recently landing at $139,343 a year ago. The previous record median of $70,000 was set in 2024.

“I think at the top, and we saw it in March as well, there were multiple players at the top end and that is healthy for what we do,” OBS President Tom Ventura said. “Day one in March when we sold three horses for a million and none of them were heading to [Bob] Baffert, that was a sign the top is pretty strong. And that repeated itself here in April.”

OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski saw strength even beyond the traditionally strong top of the market.

“I do think you saw some depth to the market here in April,” Wojciechowski said. “The top typically takes care of itself, but there was plenty of money on that second and third tier all through the week.”

Wojciechowski continued, “It was impressive all week, not just the domestic buyers, but the increased interest we saw from all the regions of the world–a deeper buying bench from Japan, more Middle East buyers coming in and European buyers coming in. It just continues to grow. It’s a function of the horses that the consignors bring and what they are doing on the racetrack.”

The 2026 average was up 28.8% from last year’s figure and the median of $80,000 was up 23.1%. A total of 637 horses sold through the ring at last year’s Spring sale for a gross of $139,343 and a median of $65,000.

From a catalogue of 1,224 juveniles, 775 went through the ring with 143 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 18.5%. It was 16.7% a year ago.

Longtime OBS consignors Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo had already had a big week–led by a daughter of Jackie’s Warrior who became the sales company’s new highest-priced filly when selling for $2.3 million Wednesday–when they led a strapping son of Flightline to the ring Friday for his historic $10.5-million sale.

“Dean and Randy were really the first true believers in the April sale,” Ventura said. “People were totally committed to the select sales and April was an open sale and Silver Charm was the first horse to put them on the map. And they also put us on the map.”

Hartley/DeRenzo sold the future GI Kentucky Derby winner for $100,000 at the 1996 OBS Spring sale.

“They also sold the first million-dollar horse here,” Ventura continued. “They’ve been doing it a long time here. And they aren’t doing it with 50 horses a year. They are doing it with a relatively small group of horses. Kudos to them for keeping the horses. You have to have the quality to start with, but they obviously know what they are doing.”

During the four-day Spring sale, seven horses sold for seven figures, down from nine a year ago. Forty-three horses sold for $500,000 or over in 2026 and that figure was up from 32 a year ago.

Buyers and sellers alike continued to see polarization in the marketplace.

“[The market’s been] strong, very strong,” said Joe Moran of MyRacehorse, which partnered to purchase three juveniles at the sale. “It’s been this way for a few years now, but the obvious ones always stand out. They’re going to get the attention. It comes down to who’s willing to pay the most.”

Consignor Jesse Hoppel said, “It depends on the horse you lead up there. Some horses, the market takes care of them. You need to know your marketplace and where you’re at and how to navigate it.”

‘Ready to Go to What Was Necessary’: Zedan Makes OBS Record $10.5-Million Bid for Flightline Colt

When the colt by Flightline (hip 1056)–perhaps the most-hyped horse in OBS history–made the short stroll from the Hartley/DeRenzo barn to the back walking ring, he came with an entourage that one onlooker likened to the Derby walkover. And when the strapping colt strode into the sales ring, it was standing-room only in the pavilion. Jane Lyon, whose Summer Wind Farm bred Flightline, sat front and center in the pavilion watching the bidding on the colt as Bill Farish of Lane’s End and Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds–her partners on the champion during his racing career–were out back. Amo Racing’s Kia Joorabchian, alongside agent Ben McElroy, stood bidding by the back wall of the pavilion, while bloodstock agent Justin Casse, standing nearby relayed the action into his phone.

The hype was real and history has been made!
He was all that and more. Hip 1056, a colt by @LanesEndFarms stallion and champion Flightline sells for an OBS record $10.5M to @ZedanRacing from the ⁦@HartleyDeRenzo⁩ consignment at #OBSApril. No words. pic.twitter.com/30KGPgbJsh

— OBSSales (@OBSSales) April 17, 2026

Bidding settled into a staccato ricocheting from out back and into the press box, where bloodstock agent Donato Lanni was camped out, and back again through several million-dollar increments with Lanni, bidding on behalf of Amr Zedan, ultimately prevailing with an OBS record bid of $10.5 million. It was the second most ever paid for a 2-year-old at auction, surpassed only by The Green Monkey, who sold from the same Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds consignment for $16 million at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton February sale.

“I’m a little numb,” Lanni admitted after signing the ticket on the record colt. “Amr is tough. He is an emotional guy who is great for the sport. He loves the racing. His enthusiasm is unbelievable. I didn’t know he was going to do that, but Amr was riding me pretty hard. Everybody had different numbers on what he could bring, he could bring six, he could bring seven, I never thought [he could bring that], honestly. But that’s why there is a horse auction. You never know what they are going to bring.”

Zedan already owned the OBS record price after purchasing Brant (Gun Runner) for $3 million at the 2025 March sale, but the Saudi businessman said he had no intention of letting this colt go.

“One needs to respect the amount, it’s a lot of money, but this is what it takes to buy quality,” Zedan said. “This is the game. So I was ready to go to what was necessary to buy the horse, as much as necessary and as low as possible.”

Zedan continued, “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I hate losing as much as I love winning. And I have been losing a lot lately, so I figured, why not just go?”

There was already plenty of chatter about the bay colt by Flightline earlier this spring, but the hype went into overdrive when he blitzed through a bullet furlong in :9 3/5 during last week’s under-tack preview.

“[Trainer] Bob [Baffert] said the only other horse that he reminded him of was Unbridled’s Song,” Lanni said. “He said this horse reminded him of him a lot. Bob loved him the first time he saw him.”

Zedan acquired future Grade I winner Taiba (Gun Runner) from the Hartley/DeRenzo consignment for $1.7 million at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Florida sale.

“I have a great relationship with Hartley/DeRenzo,” Zedan said. “We have a gentlemen’s agreement, we sort of have a conversation and, man to man, just let us know he’s a good one. And then when you have someone like Bob Baffert in your corner, and he absolutely says that he hasn’t seen a horse like that in the longest time at OBS, you’ve got to take note. And that’s what we did.”

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, acting on behalf of Tom Durant, purchased the colt for $575,000 as a weanling at the 2024 Keeneland November sale. He is out of stakes winner and graded-placed Lucrezia (Into Mischief), whose daughter Lyudmila (Gun Runner) sold for $1 million at the 2024 Keeneland September sale. The colt had originally been slated to head to that auction as well.

“Originally, he was in September with Marshall [Taylor],” Hartley said. “They were getting him as a yearling, but he got on the fence and cut his hind ankle and had to get stitches two weeks before the sale. We were upset about it because we felt he was the best Flightline yearling going to a yearling sale. But we moved forward, you put your pants on, now we are going in this direction.”

Hartley continued, “I thank Tom Durant so much and the guy who runs his ranch out in Texas, Jack Bruner, believing that we could do this with this quality of horses because it’s a big investment and a lot can happen. I promise you that it was probably one of the hardest thing for Tom to sell the horse. But he knows that this is what we do for a living. He wants to support our farm and our team.”

Of the record-setting colt, Hartley said, “He is just an amazing horse. We very rarely see these kind of horses come through the 2-year-old sales. He never missed a beat with nothing. When you’re around him five seconds, you can see he breathes different air than other horses.”

Hartley also acknowledged the underbidders on the colt.

“I thank the Farishes and Ms. Lyon for coming in to support their stallion,” he said. “If you are going to buy one, you would want to get the one that everyone wants. I know they are disappointed they didn’t get him, but at the same time, I am sure they must be happy for the stallion.”

Bidding on behalf of a group that included West Point Thoroughbreds and Lane’s End Farm, David Ingordo was the direct underbidder, going to $10 million for the partnership.

“He was a lovely horse and he made a lovely price,” said Ingordo, boarding a plane to leave Ocala. “I don’t even know what to say about a sale like that. Obviously, we love the stallion. That was what our interest in him was.”

Ingordo, of course, put together the partnership who bought Flightline at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, which included Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing, and Summer Wind Farm, who stayed in for a share.

The result put an exclamation mark on the week for Hartley and DeRenzo, who consigned the highest-priced filly to sell at OBS Wednesday when a daughter of Jackie’s Warrior sold for $2.3 million.

“We had the first $1-million horse here when they still had pay phones,” Hartley said with a laugh. “And you always want to be the best. That’s what we strive for and you always want it. When that filly became the highest-priced filly, we really wanted to have both [the highest-priced colt and filly].” @JessMartiniTDN

Lows Put A Finishing Touch On OBS April ’26 With Girvin Filly

Keeping the momentum going all the way to the very end, the second to last horse through the ring Friday, a filly by Girvin (hip 1221), brought the house down with Robert and Lawana Low striking the $1.6-million final bid.

Robert and Lawana Low | Keeneland

A $165,000 Keeneland September grad for CMT Rentals (Carlo Vaccarezza, Martha Gladwell and Torie Gladwell) and consigned Friday by Jimbo and Torie Gladwell’s Top Line Sales, this filly blitzed a furlong in :9 3/5.

“For the quality, the money is always here,” Gladwell said. “That filly, Torie and my dad and Carlo [Vaccarezza] had to have her at the Keeneland sale and she’s just done better every day we’ve had her. And she showed up here in a big way and brought the house down here at the end. We’re very happy. [We] wish Jacob West and the Lows the best of luck with her.”

Jacob West’s West Bloodstock handled the bidding duties on the phone for the Lows.

“Girvin‘s known for getting some pretty high-class fillies,” Low said. “He’s a very good stallion and out of a Curlin mare, and it’s a young mare. It’s a deep family and she was an absolutely beautiful filly. We bought her from people that are known for getting horses to run really fast, and then go run really fast in graded stakes.”

Of Girvin‘s three ‘TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard’, two have been fillies: GISW Faiza and Ornellaia.

First dam Soma, though unplaced herself, as a $8,000 pick up for West Bloodstock at the 2022 Keeneland January Sale. She’s produced one foal who won earlier this year at Santa Anita for Michael McCarthy. The mare is a half-sister to GSW Celestial City (Uncle Mo) and from the family of GISW Hymn Book (Arch).

West could find nothing to criticize on the filly, including her under-tack preview in the sale’s co-fastest time. He also confirmed that the seven-figure filly would head to top trainer Todd Pletcher.

“There’s nothing you can pick apart on her breeze,” West said. “She went incredibly fast down the lane and galloped out really well. This is what happens when at these sales when you’re good looking and you go fast, you get a lot of money!” @SGrimmTDN

Lanni Warms Up With Early Voting Filly For Three Amigos

Mere minutes before signing a record-breaking ticket, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni got warmed, signing the $850,000 ticket on behalf of the Three Amigos for a daughter of first-crop sire Early Voting (hip 1037).

Jesse Hoppel, also the filly’s consignor through his Hoppel LLC, purchased her as a yearling for just $45,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. It was the second successful pinhook in a matter of minutes for Hoppel who also purchased and consigned a son of Essential Quality (hip 1027) for $775,000 after getting him as a $80,000 yearling.

“They were inexpensive at the time,” Hoppel remembered. “But I think we’ve reevaluated them today. We’re buying a lot of horses [as yearlings]. Horses that are young, horses that were immature and could develop in the right way. And some of those horses do come the right way. And then some other horses need more time or didn’t come the right way. Fortunately, with these two, they turned out all right. [Their prices] exceeded what we were expecting. We try to keep our expectations tempered and that keeps us down to earth. When you have horses like that, that go up there and exceed expectations, they make up for the ones that maybe don’t quite live up to them.”

This is the second purchase of the week for Three Amigos who also picked up a colt by Honor A.P. (hip 133) early in the sale.

“We’re glad to get her,” Lanni said of hip 1037. “She’s beautiful. Did everything right. She’s a warrior. She did everything right all week. Bob loved her. [She’ll go to] Three Amigos. She was one that we really wanted. I’m glad we got her.”

This daughter of GI Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting impressed Lanni with her under-tack preview when she put up a sales co-fastest quarter-mile of :20 2/5 last week.

“Her work was phenomenal,” Lanni said. “She was running against a head wind too. Galloped out good. She was serious out there. We all like her. The team liked her. She’ll go to Bob.” @SGrimmTDN

‘Positive Vibes All Around’ As MyRacehorse, MorPlay and Marquee Team Up On Essential Quality Colt

Marquee Bloodstock, along with partners MyRacehorse and MorPlay Racing, doubled-down on Essential Quality, purchasing a colt (hip 1027) for $775,000 Friday.

One year ago, Marquee’s Ramiro Restrepo signed the ticket from the colt’s first crop, picking up The Puma, a colt who is now well on his way on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. After partnering with one another two at a time, the trio decided to pull the trigger here on this colt who the group deemed a “game changer”.

“This is a three-team combination, MyRacehorse, MorPlay Racing and Marquee Bloodstock,” said Restrepo. “We all came together. We’ve been partnering on a few horses separately. We have a really nice filly together, Reputation, was a stakes-winning, graded-stakes filly. We’ve gotten together and purchased some horses at OBS March. So we’ve been chatting about all coming together and this was the colt we landed on.”

Consigned by Hoppel LLC, the colt impressed in a quarter-mile breeze of :20 2/5.

“He was just an exceptional athlete,” said MyRacehorse’s Joe Moran. “We wanted a game-changer colt and I think it’s as simple as that, this was the game-changing colt that we found. He breezed exceptionally. I think Mr. Hoppel had a great breeze show, as he always does. The way this colt moved on the track, he seems like the two-turn dirt colt that we’re looking for. [His] trainer will be determined.”

After winning a bidding battle at $775,000, Moran was in no way caught off guard by the final number, saying, “We were not surprised [by the price] by any means. Of course, we’re always trying to find value where we can. But seeing, in comparison, the other colts in the sale, we knew we were going to have to be prepared to be around this number.”

Purchased by Jesse Hoppel as a yearling at Keeneland for $80,000 last year, this colt is out of a half-sister to MSW/GSP and sire King for a Day (Uncle Mo) and to the dam of MGISW Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) and GISP Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft).

“He’s got a lovely family, King for a Day, that Red Oak family, very classy horses,” said Restrepo. “I got lucky with Essential Quality last year and hopefully this is the sequel. It’s a pleasure to have guys like MorPlay Racing and MyRacehorse involved. They’ve been so successful on the track. When you come together with a good group, it’s just positive vibes all around.” @SGrimmTDN

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