by Chris Tully, for Tattersalls

East Rutherford, NJ — The annual Tattersalls January Select Mixed Sale at The Meadowlands enjoyed strong bidding on high quality horses. Of the 269 racehorses that sold for a gross of $6,066,500 the average reached $22,697. Billed as the Winter Racehorse Market, this sale has traditionally featured some of the most sought-after top class prospects available.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Dan Patch Award winner Rocklamation sold for $360,000.

The main attraction of the well-attended harness horse auction was this year’s Dan Patch co-champion older pacing mare Rocklamation p,1:48.3 ($2,255,493). The Ron Burke-trained Rocknroll Hanover mare was hammered down for $360,000 by Eugene Kurzrok and Jerry Silva, two of the previous owners of the horse.

Consigned by Preferred Equine Marketing, she will remain in the Burke stable, with a slightly different ownership compilation.

“We intend to breed her and race her for the first season,” noted Kurzrok. “Once she gets in foal, we can continue to race for another four or five months.”

Silva, another of the previous owners, added, “She was the best horse offered in this sale. It was extremely close today, but she is a special mare.”

Another top selling racehorse was Big Boy Dreams p,3,1:50.1 ($462,132). Also trained by the powerhouse Burke Racing, the 4-year-old If I Can Dream stallion was purchased by Rene Allard as agent for $265,000 and was consigned by Preferred Equine Marketing.

“We bought him to race in some of these new 4-year-old stakes, including the $200,000 Prix d’Ete where I come from,” said Allard.

The Quebec native liked the horse because he is good on all size tracks and can leave or come from off the pace.

“He will be a good horse to have around and race on the Grand Circuit,” added Allard.

The Burke stable offered another eye-catching prospect in Somesizesomestyle p,4,1:50 who earned more than $283,000 in 2014, including a second place finish in the $500,000 Breeders Crown final. The Somebeachsomewhere stud was purchased by Ray Remmen, agent, for $145,000.

Many of the sport’s top breeders were on hand to bid on the several dozen stallion shares that were offered for sale. Four shares of Cantab Hall were the most popular, fetching $50,000 to $52,000 each.

Compared to the 2014 sale, 35 more horses were sold, pushing the gross up by two percent. Average price saw a decline of 11 percent.

Tattersalls sales manager David Reid was very happy with the overall results of the sale.

“We had people from every jurisdiction come in, and we had horses for them. We had a terrific pace for the sale, we got everybody in and out of here on time. I thought the top of the market was very strong, and I thought the middle market was very good as well.

“The breeding stock, for the quality of what it has been, held up very well. Stallion shares for the most part sold well. It was just another good mixed sale, and we look forward to another one in May when we are going to have the 2-year-olds in training again, and the racehorses. Everything is looking good.”

Results from the sale may be accessed by clicking on this link, while complete sales information is available at www.tattersallsredmile.com.