Through two sessions of the OBS April sale, there have been notable successes for lesser known stallions, and longtime owner John Fort got into the action when going to $195,000 for a daughter of western Canadian-based Exhi (Maria’s Mon). The chestnut filly, consigned by Hidden Brook and bred by Bonne Chance Farm, is a half-sister to GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Wavell Avenue (Harlington).
“It’s written right there on the pedigree,” Fort said of the filly’s appeal. “She’s a half to one of the fastest fillies we’ve had in a while. She ran first in the Breeders’ Cup and she was second in the same race the next year.”
Of the juvenile’s appeal, Fort added, “She’s a beautiful filly. She had a wonderful aura about her. We put a lot of confidence in that–kind of seeing the aura around the horse.”
Exhi, who won the 2010 GII Lexington S., stands at Highfield in Alberta, Canada for C$3,000.
“I’ve always gravitated to individuals,” Fort explained. “I bought two horses today by stallions who are either very unpopular or unknown. I bought a colt earlier today by Big Brown [hip 330 for $37,000]. And then this one. I could walk around here and pick a victim and bet $100 you’ve never heard of a horse named Exhi and they would say, ‘No, I never have.’”
Fort admitted he was unsure going in how much he would have to pay for the Exhi filly.
“I thought it was either going to be $200,000 or $50,000,” he said. “I wasn’t sure which way it was going to go.”
During Tuesday’s first session of the sale, a colt by blue-collar stallion Big Drama sold for $475,000. — @JessMartiniTDN