Arkansas horsemen pay top dollar at Florida sale

Two Arkansas thoroughbred owners were major players early in the four-day Ocala (Fla.) Breeders’ Sales April auction of 2-year-olds in training Tuesday.

Frank Fletcher, a North Little Rock automobile dealer, paid $800,000 for a Quality Road filly produced by the Medaglia d’Oro mare Betty Brite.

Alex Lieblong, of Conway, chairman of the Arkansas Racing Commission, purchased a Strong Mandate colt for $550,000.

Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni and trainer Al Stall Jr. were on hand and encouraged Fletcher’s selection. The filly was recommended by agent

Eddie Woods, who is breaking and training some other horses Fletcher acquired as yearlings.

“I was hoping for $400,000-$500,000, and I don’t know who was sitting behind us, but they were bidding pretty hard,” Fletcher said. “We are excited. It is always a gamble, but it is a fun business. I travel all over the country going to races. This is what I do for fun.”

Woods said the filly may reach full potential in her 3-year-old season. “She is plenty tall and will get taller,” he said. “She is going to need to fill out more, though she has filled out considerably from when she was with us.”

Lieblong surprised client Randy Miles, the colt’s consignor, when he paid $550,000 for the dark bay or brown son of Grade 1 Hopeful winner Strong Mandate. Miles bought the colt, produced by the Majestic Warrior mare Callous Effect, for $60,000 at last fall’s Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale.

“He (Lieblong) would come to the farm periodically and would see this horse, but he never said a word to us. He never showed any interest, so when he purchased the horse it was a real shock,” Miles said. “I saw Alex after he had signed the ticket, and he got a chuckle out of it. He said he likes to fly under the radar, and he definitely did.”

Lieblong said he was impressed that the colt worked in 10 seconds during a brisk headwind at the under-tack show. The owner said he is sending the colt to trainer Ron Moquett.

“Hopefully, he’ll be a 2-year-old but if he is a 3-year-old, that’s OK,” Lieblong said. “If you don’t wait on them, they’ll make you wait.”

Horses racing in the name of Lieblong and wife JoAnn won 10 races in 52 starts and earned $440,473 at the recently completed Oaklawn Park meeting. Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc. earned $73,615 with a win and a second from five Oaklawn starts.

Wednesday at Ocala, Robert and Lawana Low, owners of unbeaten Grade 1 $1 million Arkansas Derby winner Magnum Moon, paid $750,000 for a Tapit colt produced by a half-sister to 2014 Belmont Stakes runner-up Commissioner. Tapit, who stands for

$300,000, has sired three of the last four Belmont winners in Tonalist in 2014, Arkansas Derby winner Creator in 2016 and Tapwrit last year.

Longtime Oaklawn patrons from Springfield, Mo., the Lows paid $380,000 for Magnum Moon at the September 2016 Keeneland yearling sale in Lexington, Ky. Magnum Moon, winning the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and Grade 2 $900,000 Rebel Stakes for trainer Todd Pletcher, set a single-season Oaklawn record for purse earnings with

$1,140,000. That bettered the $1,050,000 future Triple Crown winner American Pharoah collected in the same races in 2015.

Also winning the $125,000 Gazebo with

3-year-old Bourne in Nixa, trained by Steve Margolis, the Lows narrowly missed a single-season Oaklawn record for purse earnings with $1,257,517.