by John P. Sparkman

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Matkoum finally struck midway through the first session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March sale of selected two-year-olds on Tuesday as Jimmy Bell, president of Darley USA, secured a handsome Pure Prize colt for $550,000.

Consigned by Mike and Britt Mulligan's Leprechaun Racing, the half brother to Darley Ocala Breeders Sale Sprint Stakes winner Banga Ridge worked an eighth in :10 at the first presale breeze show.

"This is a colt we liked from his first breeze," Bell said. "Every eighth he went, he seemed better than the one before. After John [Ferguson] talked to Sheikh Mohammed, we wanted him. These horses that can perform well obviously have a great deal of athleticism about them, and he showed that on the track and on the shank."

"Everybody was trying to buy him in the $300,000-to-$400,000 range, and we were hoping that this would happen and people would hook up," Mike Mulligan said.

Leprechaun Racing purchased the colt for $30,000 at the 2007 OBSC August yearling sale.

John P. Sparkman is Thoroughbred Times bloodstock editor