OBS Spotlight is an occasional series highlighting OBS sales graduates, consignors, buyers, and breeders.
By Alicia Hughes, Director of Communications
No matter which of his former proteges he is discussing, the tone in Joe Pickerrell’s voice remains constant. It is a timbre tinged with parental pride which, as the co-owner of Pick View LLC will attest, is not an accident.
“Courtney and I don’t have any children, these are our kids,” Pickerrell, who operates Pick View along with his wife, Courtney Roberts, said of the horses who come through their consignment. “We’re around these horses a lot, so we have a pretty good idea of what we’re leading over there before they ever put the clock on them. So, when we tell people to buy a horse, tell people we like a horse, and they don’t…it’s like, maybe next time you’ll listen.”
When entries are drawn for this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar, a couple of graduates will be helping to scream from the rooftops what kind of athlete is often sent through the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company ring via the Pick View program. The Florida-based couple not only have the distinction of having sold Grade 1 winner and leading Turf Sprint (G1) contender Cogburn at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, but they also consigned Del Mar Futurity (G1) winner and likely Juvenile (G1) entrant Gaming when he brought $250,000 at this year’s OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training.
See: Spring walking video and Under Tack video of Cogburn; March walking video and Under Tack video of Gaming.
Pick View has had its share of high points since launching in 2011, including selling 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Structor to Mike Ryan for $850,000 at that year’s OBS March auction. When it comes to showcasing the type of versatile athletes Pickerrell and Roberts bring to the OBS sales grounds, they couldn’t ask for a pair of better representatives in five-year-old Cogburn and the upstart Gaming.
If ever a horse embodied the faith and teamwork it takes to make a successful sales graduate, Cogburn is just that. The son of Not This Time was sent to Pick View by their longtime friend and bloodstock agent Josh Stevens after an eye ailment caused the colt to be returned to him after initially selling as a yearling.
The speed that allowed Cogburn to set a North American record when he won this year’s 5 ½ furlong Jaipur Stakes (G1) in :59.80 showed itself to Pickerrell and Roberts as he thrived while learning his early lessons. At the OBS Spring Sale in 2021, he blitzed a quarter mile in 20.3. However, the issue with his eye scared some buyers off, much to the to the benefit of Clark Brewster who landed him for $150,000 and now campaigns him in partnership with Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt.
“He should have brought a lot more. He was the fastest colt in the sale,” Pickerrell recalled. “Physically, he was 100 percent sound and did everything you want a racehorse to do, they just were a little worried about a cosmetic eye issue. We knew he was going to be discounted but Josh was confident in the horse the whole time. He did everything right from day one, never missed a beat.
“He’s the kind of horse where it’s the reason why we put in the hours of work: to find the ones that look and act like him,” Pickerrell continued. “And thankfully, he went to the perfect spot. To go to (trainer) Steve (Asmussen) and now he’s five and still competing at the top level.”
Cogburn certainly showed precocity as a two-year-old, but he has gotten incrementally faster as he has matured. He has won six of his last seven starts dating back to his victory in the 2023 Chamberlain Bridge Stakes at Lone Star and heads into the Breeders’ Cup a perfect 3-for-3 this year having posted wins in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2) and Ainsworth Turf Sprint (G2) to go along with his Jaipur triumph.
“That says a lot too about Steve’s program with how he can keep these top, top horses going for seasons on end,” Pickerrell said. “He can put a career together instead of a couple good races together.”
Gaming’s career is only in its infancy, but the son of Game Winner has already backed up Pick View’s esteemed early assessment of his talent. When he breezed in 20.2 at the OBS March under tack show, the impressive nature of his time was surpassed only by the ease at which the colt went about his work.
Since being purchased by longtime Baffert clients Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Gaming has continued to make challenging tasks look common. After breaking his maiden at first asking by 5 ½ lengths at Del Mar Aug. 11, Gaming captured the Del Mar Futurity by 1 ¾ lengths on Sept. 8, finishing up like a horse who would relish added ground.
“He’s kind of a unique horse. He’s got all the leg to go the distance and stretch out so it’s crazy to think his best is yet to come but I think it’s very possible,” Pickerrell said of Gaming, whom he and Roberts initially purchased for $40,000. “He’s a horse who when he gets to the breeding shed one day, they’re going to be fighting over him because he is absolutely beautiful. Whoever gets lucky enough to get their hands on him as a stallion, they’re not going to have any trouble selling out his book.”
In addition to being the latest pair of success stories for Pick View, the achievements of Gaming and Cogburn further enhance Pickerrell’s opinion that those youngsters who stand out during the OBS under tack shows should be heeded even if their vet reports are not perfect. Both showed they could handle the demands of being prepped for the two-year-old sales and come through it all in sound order.
Hence, it’s no accident in Pickerrell’s mind that both are now showing up the competition.
“These horses that go fast in the breeze show, it’s not a freak thing. The stats show that they often go on and win a lot of races,” Pickerrell said. “That’s what we’re trying to do at the end of the day. It’s a horse race, the fastest horse usually wins. That’s the basic part of it.
“A good word for it all is validation because we spend the time with these horses. And for them to go on and do what you think they can do is really validating.”
