Hip 850, Curlin Filly. (OBS/VidHorse Photo)
Bidding wars, great clients and doing right by the horse, thoughts from the OBS June Sale
By BEN BAUGH
Sometimes a second look can yield optimal results, and in the case of a Curlin filly at the second session of the OBS June Sale, it established a new record.
Randy Miles signed the ticket for Gus King, who purchased the half-sister to stakes placed Mejhaam for $975,000 from Caliente Thoroughbreds
However, a few minutes later, My Racehorse purchased a Gun Runner filly from Miles’ consignment for $525,000, as the Ocala-based horseman, not only bought the sales, topper, but sold the second highest priced horse during the sale, making for a an extremely successful second session.
“I’m very fortunate to have really good clients both on the buying and the selling side,” said Miles. “It all happened in about 10 15 minutes, and that was a little stressful in itself. When I hung the phone up with Gus, after we won the bidding war, I quickly signed the ticket and ran back to the back, so I could represent my filly (by Gun Runner, who was out of the Grade One winner Restless Rider). When you get to that level, the work has already been done. I just needed to be there in case something went wrong. It was a good 10 or 15 minutes. “
Less volume in the June sale proved propitious for the agent and consignor, with not as much depth, providing greater visibility for the horses who possessed the qualities buyers find desirable.
“When you get to a sale like June, the good ones really stand out,” said Miles. You’re not clouded by hundreds of really good horses. That filly was in April (OBS Spring Sale) and I didn’t remember her. When you get in a sale like April, it’s really easy to miss good horses. If they don’t do something to dazzle the public, you can miss them. When you get to a sale like June, they stand out because June doesn’t have the amount of quality horses in it. It was quite easy for her to stand out.”
The Curlin filly breezed in 10 flat making an indelible impression on Miles. Transformations and evolution can develop rapidly, and such was the case with the sales topper.
“I can’t believe that she changed that much from April to June, but she was just a gorgeous individual, great sexy walk, very muscular, the breeze show video showed her very efficient way of moving, the gallop out was good,” said Miles. “It was really hard to miss her, and then you put the pedigree on the top, you just couldn’t miss her. It was how much you were willing to pay for her.”
"We felt the Curlin was the best horse in the sale." Randy Miles bidding on behalf of Gus King landed Hip 850, a daughter of Curlin who set a new #OBSJune record when she sold for $975K from the consignment of @caliente_thor.
— OBSSales (@OBSSales) June 18, 2025
OBS/VidHorse Photo pic.twitter.com/ncNCaUbU1Z
Caliente Thoroughbreds was day two of the OBS June Sale second leading consignor, with both parties involved in the transaction feeling good about the filly’s promise.
“He (Saul Marquez) was confident,” said Miles. “Once you have a nice horse, like I sold a really nice horse, I was excited about her, but I was also confident at the same time, and he was the same. He had already felt like he had a really good horse in the sale, and the pressure was off. All she had to do was show herself for the next couple of days and he had done his job, and she had done her job.”
There seemed to be a consensus among those at the sale that the top two selling horses were the best on the grounds, with the end result validating what everyone seemed to know prior to the horses going into the sales ring.
“We actually knew that it was down to his filly and my filly as the best two fillies on the ground, and the pedigree was somewhat similar,” said Miles. “Some people liked his filly more, and some people liked my filly more. It was just left up to the trainer which was Steve Asmussen, and it was left up to the owner. The owner really loves Curlin. Outside of that, you were just splitting hairs as to who was the best horse at the sale.”
But it was less than seamless for Miles in acquiring the filly for King, as he had competition for the racing prospect from an owner and agent who’ve enjoyed tremendous success in the industry.
“We ended up having to bid against Donato Lanni, who was bidding for Frank Fletcher, who was the underbidder, and I knew if Donato was bidding on the horse, we were going to have to pay a premium to get her,” said Miles. “Outside of him, if Donato would not have been in on the horse, we would have bought the horse for $400,000 or 500,000, which we were hoping to do, but obviously that wasn’t the case.”
The rewards for being patient at times can be frustrating, but when fortuitous circumstances do occur, and the stars align they often come with a favorable outcome. For Alex Cortez’s Cortez Racing and Sales sold the opening session’s second highest priced horse, a bay colt by Constitution, to Sleeper Thoroughbreds and Full of Run Racing LLC.
However, life isn’t without its challenges, but having the welfare and best interest of keeping the horses sound was paramount for Cortez, who had worked for Rudy Delgiudice for 13 years, before going out on his own, eight of those at Roberts Quarter Horses and the last two at Classic Mile, developing a foundation as a horseman that would suit him well, when he transitioned into the world of becoming a consignor.
Talk about ending with a . Hip 850, a daughter of Curlin from the consignment of Caliente Thoroughbreds, sets a new #OBSJune record by selling for $975K. pic.twitter.com/OlXHcBEofx
— OBSSales (@OBSSales) June 18, 2025
At the June sale, Cortez took great care of making certain of the horse’s best interests, as are all of the horses that go through his program, providing optimal care and it paid dividends at the sale.
“This was going to be one of the top horses in April, he breezed in 10 flat, he bruised his foot in a workout, everybody was trying to get him,” said Cortez. “I started showing him in the beginning, and then he got an abscess on his foot, so I ended up having to scratch him. It was a little depressing for me because he was one of the top horses. I said I have to do the right thing for the horse. I took him back home, and I gave him a whole month off. I came back in June over here. I ended up only galloping him (at the breeze show).”
Cortez’s training approach, patience and discipline, brought out the best in the racing prospect, things that he learned while working under Delgiudice.
“Rudy taught me everything that I know,” said Cortez.” He always showed me and told me, I have to do the right thing for the horses. Sometimes it’s not all about making money. The way the horse was training, I could’ve worked him, I was saying to myself, he wasn’t ready to work back because he’s only been training for three weeks”
Cortez was also extremely familiar with the colt’s family, having broken and trained his sibling who went onto to earn black-type being graded stakes placed.
“It was funny because I trained his sister, Allworthy,” said Cortez. “I trained that one at Classic Mile, and then she went to Saffie Joseph, and made almost $400,000. She was super nice, and now she’s in foal.”
Steven Venosa’s SGV Thoroughbreds was the fifth leading consignor during the sale’s second session and sold the fourth highest priced horse at the auction, a colt by leading sire Into Mischief, out of the multiple stakes’ winner Kadira. Trainer George Weaver signed the ticket for $375,000.
“He was a later May foal, so we wanted to give him the time, we didn’t rush him along, and we felt this sale would be ideal for him,” said Venosa. “This is the sale we targeted. He worked real well here, was received well and was supported by his sales price today. I have a great team, and I can’t do it without them. I’m real happy with who he’s going to, George Weaver, he’s having a great year, having won a Grade One with Dorth Vader. We’re looking for big things with this colt.”
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