Army Mule Colt Clocks :09 3/5 at OBS Under-Tack Show

The under tack show for the Ocala Breeders' March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale kicked off March 4, with Hips 1-204 hitting the track. Hip 139, a colt by Army Mule from the Cesar Loya Training & Sales consignment, was the only horse to breeze a furlong in :09 3/5. Hip 139 is the third foal of the winning Midnight Lute mare Marching Fire, who is a half sister to graded stakes winner Sharp Sensation. The colt was bred in Arkansas by Mark Burdette and purchased by Silver Oaks II for $57,000 at last year's Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling and Mixed Sale. "That horse, my wife and I went to the Texas sale, and we purchased two horses, and he was one of them," Cesar Loya said. "He was one of the top selections that I liked, and he's been a straightforward horse all year. The expectations on him were pretty high; he was always very, very fast. "Every year since I've been out on my own, I've had fast horses. Obviously, he is in the top 1%; you could say to go that fast. You can't predict them going that fast, but it did not surprise me that he did it." Loya brought his first consignment to OBS in 2023 and will offer a total of four horses in this year's March OBS Sale. Last year's edition of the sale was topped by the record-breaking sale of Brant, who brought $3 million from Zedan Racing. The son of Gun Runner also breezed a furlong in :09 3/5, and was offered from the last consignment of the legendary Eddie Woods. Brant went on to win the 2025 Del Mar Futurity (G1) for trainer Bob Baffert and was a finalist for the Eclipse Awards 2-year-old male. A total of 20 horses worked a furlong in :09 4/5. The session's fastest quarter-mile was completed in : 20 3/5 by two juveniles, the first being Hip 96, a colt by Tale of Silence from the Doble J Equine Sales consignment, and Hip 168, a filly by Mitole, from the White Lilac (Katie Miranda) consignment. Hip 96 is from the first crop of Tale of Silence, who stood his first three years at stud at Darby Dan Farm near Lexington, before relocating in 2026 to Colebrook Stallion Station in Ontario, Canada. The colt is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Lemon Drop Belle, who is a daughter of multiple graded stakes winner and millionaire Bourbon Belle. She was bred in Kentucky by Charles Fipke and purchased as a yearling for $14,000 at the 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Tume Race. Hip 168, a daughter of 2023 leading first-crop sire Mitole, is the third foal from the Noble Mission mare Mission From Elle, who is a half sister to the group-placed and multiple stakes-winning Cougar Ridge. BOCA picked the filly up as a yearling at the 2025 Keeneland September Sale for $27,000. The under-tack show continues March 5 at 8:00 a.m. with Hips 205-408 slated to hit the track. Full results for the under-tack show can be found at obssales.com.