by USTA Communications Department

Springfield, OH — A son and daughter from the second crop of Big Bad John topped the first edition of the Buckeye Classic Yearling Sale, managed by the Hoosier Classic Sale Company, on Wednesday (Sept. 30) at the Champions Center Expo.

The sale topper from the 190 head entered in the sale was Hip No. 175, a colt named Big Ron, who sold for $57,000 out of the Winterwood Farm consignment to Mark Evers of Lebanon, Ohio.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Big Ron, by Big Bad John–Jamie Sue, topped the sale for $57,000 to Mark Evers of Velocity Standardbreds.

Bred by Duane Miller and Gene Borkholder, the colt was the first foal out of Jamie Sue p, 3, 1:52.3f ($167,928), herself a sister to Mypanmar ($1,491,968), Pang Shui ($535,665), Road Bet ($380,315), Pandarin Duck ($190,004) and Sri Panka ($183,022).

“I used to race Art’s Chip against Mypanmar,” said Evers, who bought the colt for his Velocity Standardbreds. “[Big Ron] looked a lot like him, but he was just a different color. It looked like a really good family and he looked the part.”

The top filly was Hip No. 154, a Big Bad John filly named Girl Of Norway, who sold for $47,000 from the Winterwood consignment. Evers also signed the sales slip.

Bred by Miller as well, Girl Of Norway is out of Fox Valley Monika, a sister to world champion Glass Pack p, 2, 1:50.4; 3, 1:50.2h; 1:49.4 ($976,602), Doubletrouble ($675,829), Our Dragon King ($427,746), Architect ($189,976) and Flowmaster ($132,788).

“I just came for those two and I just bought those two,” said Evers. “I had about a half-dozen marked on paper, but when I saw [Big Ron and Girl Of Norway], they looked the part, too.”

The top-selling trotter was hip No. 157, a colt named Dominic The Donkey, who sold for $32,000 out of the Winterwood consignment to Rene Allard, agent.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Girl Of Norway, also by Big Bad John and also sold to Mark Evers, was the top filly sold at $47,000.

Bred by Cornerstone Farm, Dominic The Donkey is by first-crop sire Dejarmbro out of Future Talent, who is a sister to Friendly Amigo ($557,965).

“I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised if he would have brought $40,000 or $50,000,” said Albert Adams, who operates Winterwood Farm with his son, Mark. Overall, he said the sale was a success from his standpoint.

“If you had something that people wanted, they didn’t mind paying for it,” he said. “If you don’t have what people come to the sale to buy, you’re going to suffer.”

Foals by McArdle, who sends his first crop of Ohio-eligible foals to the sales the year, lit up the bid board early, with Hip No. 22, a filly named McTravisty, and Hip No. 55, a colt named McRaven, each selling for $27,000 out of the Winterwood consignment. Stephen Sexton and Brian Brown, respectively, signed the sales slips.

While final numbers will not be in for several days, the gross was estimated at $1.2 million for an average estimate of around $7,000 per horse sold, according to sales manager Steve Cross.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Dominic The Donkey, by Dejarmbro–Future Talent, topped all trotters when he sold to Rene Allard, agent, for $32,000. He is shown here with Albert Adams of Winterwood Farm.

“It was a great building block for us,” he said. “We really appreciate the consignors that took the chance on a new sale. There’s always some apprehension there. I think our consignors really stepped up to the plate, brought us some nice colts, and I think we hit a home run.”

Consignors were complimentary of the facility and the way the sale was run.

“First sales can be total flops or they can be solid, and I think this one was solid,” said Adams. “It was set up to make people comfortable. I think Steve put a lot of thought into this and did a really good job.”

Full sale results can be viewed here.