CTBA Winter Sale Preview

Whatever you are shopping for, you can likely fnd it at the California Toroughbred Breeders Association mixed sale, scheduled for Feb. 1. Te catalog consists of some 50 newly turned 2-year-olds, 25 newly turned yearlings, 40 broodmares, and several older horses of racing age.

Te sale is perfectly positioned for those wanting a horse to race quickly, a pinhook, or a mare to breed in the upcoming breeding season. Te CTBA will hold the sale beginning at noon at Fairplex Park. Te auction facility now dovetails well with Te Derby Room, the OTB and restaurant formerly known as Te Finish Line.

Bargains often abound at this sale, such as Cashing Big Checks, who sold for only $1,500 at the 2020 edition as a yearling. Te California-bred daughter of Mr. Big won the 2021 Blue Hen Stakes at Delaware Park.

Big Returns, another Cal-bred stakes winner by Mr. Big, is being ofered as a stallion prospect by Andy Havens’ Havens Bloodstock Agency, which is bringing a large consignment to the sale. Big Returns, hip #64, won the 2019 Graduation Stakes at Del Mar and earned $131,200. Havens is also ofering Big Update, hip #128, a 2-year-old Cal-bred daughter of Mr. Big out of the Mutakddim mare Miss Graziella, the mare a half sister to two stakes winners.

Terry Lovingier’s Lovacres Ranch is bringing a large consignment—13 mares, nine 2-year-olds, fve yearlings, and four racing prospects. Many are by the popular California stallion Stay Tirsty, and several of the mares are in foal to that sire.

Te 2-year-olds include hips #38 and #87, a colt and a flly by Stay Tirsty. Te colt is out of the stakes-winning El Corredor mare Tee Game while the flly is out of the stakes-winning Elusive Quality mare Elusive Tought.

Lovacres will ofer a yearling son of Stay Tirsty as hip #69. Te colt is out of the Bertrando mare Brilliant Melody, who has produced stakes winner Fast Enough.

Adrian Gonzalez’s Checkmate Toroughbreds has nine yearlings, seven 2-year-olds, two broodmares, and one broodmare prospect in the catalog. Several are by California sires Danzing Candy and Sir Prancealot.

Hip #95 is a yearling daughter of Danzing Candy out of the Deputy Minister mare Game Show, who has also produced stakes-placed Little Paul. Game Show is a half sister to stakes winners Pike Place Dancer, Petionville, and Midnight Foxtrot.

Checkmate and Havens are ofering the two 2-year-olds by California superstar California Chrome. Havens has hip #90, a Cal-bred flly out of the Rock Hard Ten mare Fantasy Rocks and a half sister to stakes winner Bold Fantasy and stakes-placed Fantasy of Luck. Checkmate has Aloha Chrome, hip #105, a Kentucky-bred colt out of the stakes-winning Archarcharch mare Honeymoon Cruise. Elena Crim’s H&E Ranch’s consignment includes the mare Brandyafterdinner, hip #68 and the dam of the stakes-placed California Chrome colt Kentucky Bourbon. A daughter of Afeet Alex out of the stakes-winning Buddha mare Hisse, Brandyafterdinner is being sold in foal to Te Factor. Into Mischief continues to be one of the most popular stallions nationally, if not worldwide. Kim McCarthy’s McCarthy Bloodstock has consigned Vivacious Beauty as hip #44. By Into Mischief, Vivacious Beauty is out of the Maria’s Mon mare Capitola and is cataloged in foal to Tom’s Tribute.

California stallion Northern Causeway has eight 2-year-olds in the catalog. Tey include two from Sue Greene’s Woodbridge Farm. Hip #55 is a flly out of the Unbridled’s Song mare Artillera, and hip #100 is a colt out of the Tapit mare Gypsy Preacher.

I’ll Have Another’s frst Cal-breds will be 2-year-olds of 2022. A flly from that crop and another from the yearling crop are in the catalog.

Shane Easterbrook’s Easterbrook Livestock Management ofers the 2-year-old, hip #39. Te flly is out of the unraced Galileo mare Tender and True, the mare a half sister to stakes winner Californian.

Lovacres has the yearling flly, hip #122. She is out of the Afeet Alex mare Light Striker, who is a half sister to two stakes winners and the stakes-placed Stay Tirsty flly Oh So Tirsty.