Red Vow, a well-balanced bay son of Broken Vow , set the early financial pace with his $625,000 price Tuesday during the opening session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March select sale of 2-year-olds in training sale in Central Florida. Sobhy Sonbol, representing entrepreneur Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables, signed the sale ticket after holding off trainer David Carroll in the bidding.
“He’s a beautiful physical, and his breeze here was great,” said Sonbol, who added that he ended up paying more than he had planned for the colt. “Broken Vow is a very nice stallion, and he (the colt) is out of a Strawberry Road mare. He looked a lot like Strawberry Road. He (the colt) was an awesome horse; we liked him a lot. We thought he was the nicest horse in the sale. He was definitely ‘The One.’ I know (Hall of Fame trainer) Bill Mott liked him a lot, and there’s a good chance he’ll go to him.”
The colt’s dam, 16-year-old Sedona Berry, was unplaced in her only career start, but she produced Eishin Hampton (by Dynaformer), who scored in the 2004 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup in Japan, and Level Red (by Aptitude), who finished third in the 2007 San Felipe Stakes (gr. II).
Bo Hunt's and Terry Oliver’s O & H Bloodstock consigned the $625,000 colt, which had been purchased for $65,000 by Earl Silver and Mike Eiserman of Third Street Partners at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale. Prior to the OBS auction, the colt worked a quarter mile in :21 2/5.
“We knew he would sell well,” Hunt said. “We were hoping for $300,000 or $325,000, and then he brought double what we thought he would. It was just a great surprise even though we thought he was a nice horse.”
