Steve Weicholz isn’t a newcomer to shopping at the top end of juvenile auctions. The Boca Raton, Fla., resident is the new owner of El Kingdom, whose $450,000 price topped the recent Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March select sale of in training. Three years ago, through Bill Badgett, Weicholz purchased Justin Rules, a son of Mr. Greeley, for $525,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile auction in Maryland.
Justin Rules, who was the second-highest-priced horse sold at the Fasig-Tipton sale, won three times and finished second twice in 12 career races while earning $64,097.
Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. represented Weicholz at the OBS March auction. El Kingdom, according to Weicholz, “stood out because of his conformation and breeding.” After Plesa recommended the purchase, Weicholz looked up the colt on the Internet and said he was “very impressed.”
Weicholz, who is retired from the insurance business, owns three horses in training, including El Kingdom, who is a son of El Prado.
One of the reasons Weicholz is playing at the top of the 2-year-old market again, he said, is because of the opportunity to buy top horses for more reasonable prices during a time of economic turmoil. A horse like El Kingdom, he said, would have cost a lot more money in previous years.
Dr. Barry Eisaman and his wife, Shari, bred El Kingdom and consigned him to the OBS March sale.
