'We knew he was going to cost a lot' - $1.5 million Not This Time colt heads OBS trade

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo of Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds bought just a single horse at last year's Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale, a handsome bay colt by top sire Not This Time. 

The popular yearling did not come cheap for a pinhook prospect, costing Hartley/DeRenzo $900,000 from the Gainesway consignment. During the second session of the Ocala Breeders' March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, Hartley/DeRenzo's faith in the colt was handsomely rewarded, selling to Pro Racing Stable for $1.5 million, the highest-priced horse of the first two days at the OBS March Sale.

Bred in Kentucky by Rockingham Ranch, the bay colt, who is out of the winning War Front mare Pammy Whammy and a half-brother to stakes-placed Pammy's Ready (by More Than Ready), breezed an eighth in :09 4/5 at the auction's under tack preview last week. According to DeRenzo, the way in which the colt drilled is even more notable than the swift time.

"We hoped he would go the right way and he did," said DeRenzo. "Then he just worked in hand. The rider never uncocked the stick in :09 4/5, :20 flat, and he just kept going, :32 1/5 and then out in :45 and change. He looks like the first Saturday in May.

"He was amazing as a yearling. He was fantastic last year. He was the only horse we bought at Saratoga. He just stood out, and it was hard to buy him then. He just kept getting bigger and stronger all winter. Of course, we handled him with kid gloves. We just wanted to keep him healthy and sound."

As Hartley and DeRenzo breathe a sigh of relief following the colt's successful sojourn through the sale ring, the responsibility of helping the promising colt achieve his potential now lies with Pro Racing and trainer Jose D'Angelo. 

The connections are no strangers to sons of Not This Time. D'Angelo currently conditions Not This Time's Graded winner and Kentucky Derby hopeful No More Time for Rich Mendez' Morplay Racing. The principals of Morplay Racing comprise the ownership group of the newly acquired colt. No More Time won the Sam F. Davis Stakes in February and most recently was a close runner-up to Domestic Product in the Tampa Bay Derby.

Not This Time: sire of the top lot on WednesdayCredit: Taylor Made Stallions

"Since the day the juvenile worked, we have wanted him," D'Angelo said of Wednesday's session topper. "He worked amazingly and had a nice gallop out. He has a great mentality and is focused. I spoke to all the owners of No More Time and said that we needed this horse. He has a good opportunity to be a real horse next year. Everyone is excited. We knew he was going to cost a lot after his breeze. He was beautiful in Saratoga last year."

Originally from Venezuela where he was a leading trainer, D'Angelo, who is the son of a champion trainer, arrived in South Florida in 2019. Among his top United States-based runners is stakes winner and multiple graded stakes-placed Jesus' Team, a Classic-placed millionaire son of Tapiture. Jesus' Team finished third in the 2020 Preakness Stakes and second in that year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. He went on to finish second to Knicks Go in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park the following year.

"I went to the Breeders' Cup, the Preakness, and the Dubai World Cup with Jesus' Team, so it put me on the map," said D'Angelo. "This is my first year with my own babies, and I feel blessed that all of this is happening."

As for the new big horse in the barn, D'Angelo said of the day's top seller: "The colt will decompress for maybe 15 days on the farm and then ship to Palm Meadows where I keep all my babies. We are prepping for Keeneland and Saratoga. We don't know how early he will be just yet."

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