The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March sale of 2-year-olds in training has the pole position, tasked with establishing market momentum for the season – and freshman sire Drain the Clock could be getting away from the pole quickly.
Among multiple juveniles to distinguish themselves during the under-tack preview show that precedes the sale, two from the first crop of Drain the Clock made headlines by equaling the OBS track record for a quarter-mile breeze, and he also had a filly among the furlong bullet workers as well.
The OBS March sale, the first of three the company will hold this year, is set for March 10-12, with 816 2-year-olds cataloged prior to outs. The under-tack preview show began March 4 and runs through March 7.
A number of freshman sires, including 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline and multiple Grade 1 winner Life Is Good, have their first juveniles stepping out this week. Both had strong results in the yearling marketplace, with Flightline averaging $737,274 from 57 yearlings sold against an advertised stud fee of $200,000, and Life Is Good averaging $310,741 from 81 sold against a fee of $100,000.
While the yearling market is a speculative endeavor based largely on pedigree and conformation, the 2-year-old market allows the chance to see young prospects in motion. They’ll breeze a furlong, the traditional yardstick, or slightly longer – or, in some cases, open gallop.
This season, OBS has implemented additional “control measures” for all three of its under-tack preview shows, building upon existing standards. Horses are now required to have a veterinary state they are suitable to perform in the under-tack show, while entries without this statement will be scratched from the sale. This is in addition to the existing practice of a staff veterinarian monitoring training leading up to the breeze show and positioned on track during the show.
Use of the riding crop is restricted, with the rider not permitted to strike the horse with their hands off the reins before, during, or after a breeze.
At this under-tack preview, it was another freshman sire who distinguished himself. Drain the Clock, by Maclean’s Music, won the Grade 3 Swale and Grade 3 Bay Shore en route to a signature triumph in which he defeated eventual champion Jackie’s Warrior in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens. Drain the Clock averaged $66,953 from 115 yearlings sold last year, a solid return on investment against his $10,000 introductory fee at Gainesway.
A filly from Drain the Clock’s first crop breezed a quarter-mile in 20 1/5 seconds on the second day of the breeze show on the Ocala Training Center’s all-weather Safetrack. That was not only the fastest time midway through the show, but it tied the track record.
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“We knew she was fast. We let her run and found she was faster than most of them here,” consignor Jesse Hoppel said. “She had a good day. I have a lot of Drain the Clocks right now, and to tell you the truth, I can’t think of one I don’t like. I think, all in all, the sire might be a pretty decent stallion.”
The filly is out of the Street Boss mare Queen of Aces, dam of two winners from as many starters. It is the family of Grade 1 winners Adjudicating, Dispute, and Time for a Change.
Later in the breeze show, the track-record time was matched - by another colt by Drain the Clock. The colt is out of the Exhi mare Exsqueeze Me, dam of one winner from a pair of starters. She is a half-sister to Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner and multiple stakes producer Wavell Avenue.
Six juveniles tied for the fastest furlong at 9 3/5 seconds - also including a Drain the Clock filly.
"Given his pedigree and given his precociousness and speed, it’s something we thought was definitely possible,” Ryan Norton, stallion director for Gainesway, said regarding the aptitude of Drain the Clock’s offspring. “Now, did I think it was going to be to this level of having multiple sub-10s and two tie the breeze up record at 20 1/5? No. But obviously, we’re very happy."
Two other freshman sires had juveniles record bullet 9 3/5 works, with a colt by two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal and a filly by multiple Grade 1 winner Jack Christopher in the group. The other three bullet workers were an Army Mule colt; a colt by Yaupon, last year’s leading freshman sire; and a Nyquist filly.
Last year, only one juvenile, a gray Gun Runner colt, breezed in 9 3/5 seconds at OBS March. That colt, Brant, went on to sell for $3 million, a record for an OBS sale. He won last year’s Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and was third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Led by Brant, OBS reported that 432 juveniles sold for gross receipts of $65,660,500 during its 2025 March sale, compared to $65,239,100 generated by 454 horses sold in 2024. Last year’s average was $151,992, compared to $143,698 in 2024. The median dropped just slightly to $70,000 from $72,000, while the cumulative buyback rate improved to 18 percent from 24 percent.
The March sale kicked off a powerhouse season for OBS, as its April auction finished with a record average, the June sale posted a record average and median, and all three sales posted a buyback rate under 20 percent – strong trade in a selective market.
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