by Pete Denk

Although a string of six consecutive years with at least one seven-figure horse could be in jeopardy, excitement is building in Pomona, California, where the Barretts Equine Ltd. March sale of selected two-year-olds in training will commence Wednesday at 2 p.m. PDT.

There have been no predictions of $1-million horses, and few people were even willing to guess what horse would top the sale, but Barretts and its consignors have assembled a 190-hip catalog of athletic, quick horses that should pique the interests of buyers.

The weather was perfect for both training previews, and Fairplex Park’s five-furlong dirt oval received good marks for consistency and kindness. Activity on the sales grounds picked up as the one-day auction drew closer.

“I thought the training previews were well attended by key people, as have the last few days of presale inspections,” said Barretts President Jerry McMahon. “Now we’ll see what the buyers ultimately think of this group of horses.”

The 2008 March sale has a tough act to follow. Last year’s sale produced a 34.7% increase in year-to-year total sales to $19,340,000. Average improved 42.3% to $219,773, and median improved 84.4% to a Barretts March record $147,500.

The only bad news was that the buy-back rate, which was 33.1% at Barretts in 2006, rose to 41.3% last year. McMahon said he will be “pleasantly surprised” if buyers reach down to the lower price levels of this year’s sale.

“What we’ve all learned to expect is a high level of selectivity, which seems to be a built-in component of these select two-year-old sales,” McMahon said. “It was harder to fill catalogs this year, and the other factor weighing in on our gross sales is people tend to withdraw more horses than they used to. In terms of total sales, it will be very hard to match last year.”

Pete Denk is Thoroughbred Times sales editor