Restrepo Works Ahead of the Curve

The May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1) will be a day bloodstock agent and co-owner Ramiro Restrepo (44) of Marquee Bloodstock will never forget and likely will be riding on high cruising into Maryland in the coming weeks on. The agent sourced this year's Derby winner, Mage , from the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale along with assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. After processing the win, Restrepo took the time to speak with BloodHorse MarketWatch on how he got to the first Saturday in May.

MarketWatch: How did you get into the Thoroughbred Industry?

Ramiro Restrepo: As a child, I grew up in a family of horsemen, my grandfather, Luis Alvarez, and my two uncles, Luis Cesar and Harold Alvarez; they were trainers on the NYRA circuit on a small scale, in terms of the size of their barns. When they came in the late 60s, they worked from the ground up. Working for guys like John Russell and Lucien Laurin, they were around Roger Lauren and some pretty amazing barns. 

I have some great pictures of them when they would come down with the Phipps winter string to Hialeah Park and would be grooming and hot walking. They were building their way back up because the climate as an immigrant in the 60s differed from 2000. Even though they were jockeys, trainers, and breeders over there (in Colombia), when they came here not knowing English in the late 60s, it hit the reset button. Having my uncles and grandfather be so committed to the game for 40, 50, and 60 years is pretty cool.

While my mother's brothers worked at the track, my exposure was as the son of an owner, and we had horses in the 80s at the NYRA tracks and in Florida. My memories were going to the barns, running around, and just being at the tracks as soon as I can remember. Rather than watching cartoons, it was Caveat winning the 1983 Belmont, 1984 Swale in the Belmont, Chief's Crown as a 2-year-old and then as a 3-year-old. John Henry. Those were like my He-Man, Superman, and Spider-Man; that's what I learned by watching those races, those horses. 

It's crazy how that exposure to that stuff sometimes remains ingrained in your mind subconsciously. I saw so many good horses as a child.

MW: What was your first job in the industry?

RR: As I got older, my mom and uncles would negotiate where I'd work. At Saratoga, I was around the barn doing silly things like hot walking, changing bandages, feed tubs, and water buckets, and then I'd be a rail bird—watching Hansel, Fly So Free, Turnback the Alarm, and Meadow Star. 

Being around, I saw them work, gallop, and breeze. They (trainers) would tell me how horses change leads. All those things, especially when you're young, you can learn six languages as a child. You're like a sponge, and as you get older and try to learn French, for some reason, it's different. Being around all those horses as a kid and constantly watching, watching, watching, it was ingrained in me.

MW: Were Thoroughbreds and racing always the end goal?

RR: Not exactly; as I got older, I played tennis competitively and worked in the nightlife industry for 14 years after college at the University of Miami. The horse racing industry was never a straight path for me. I would attend the Breeders' Cups and Super Saturdays at Belmont Park, watch everything, and read anything. I was an obsessed fan from afar.

My parents disbanded their stable around 1994-1995, and it was when I turned 30 in 2007 or 2008 my uncle said, "Look, Aqueduct is closing, and there is a filly she's run three times. She runs on grass, but I know we can move her up, and the guy's willing to sell it for $5,000. Do you want her? We can take her to Tampa and run her on the grass there." We did, and if you can believe it, in her second start for me on the dirt, she ran in a Maiden $50,000 because, at Tampa, they have a rule you have to finish on the dirt in the top three before you can go back to the grass. She won at 18-1, and I lost my mind; the vampire completely converted me, like a bite to the neck.

At that moment, I said to myself, I have to figure out how I am going to make (this) my passion and a living. I started small with some guys from Miami, buying a couple of Florida-breds claiming, one at Thistle Downs, one at Finger Lakes, and one at Tampa. Then we went to the sales and bought a couple of inexpensive horses and won a couple of the Florida Sire Stakes races, which gave me confidence. We purchased a little filly for $18,000, and she went out and broke her maiden first time by five lengths in open company.

MW: Most Bloodstock agents have a horse or client that helps get them their first big race; who was yours?

RR: I'll always remember a buddy of mine who had $100,000 to go to a sale with. I couldn't believe he trusted me with $100,000; my heart was racing when I was in the ring to buy this horse. It was another first crop sire, Kantharos  , a filly named Kandoo . 

She broke her maiden at Gulfstream Park with Ralph Nicks going four and a half furlongs and ran off the screen. The owner turned down big money and took her second time out to Saratoga. She ended up being a two-time stakes winner.

I figured if I could buy something that's talented as a runner, maybe we could make some money pinhooking. I convinced some people to come in with me and start pinhooking. It all helped increase exposure. I partner with Joe Pickerrell of Pick View in Ocala; in our second year together, we bought Structor  for $160,000 as a yearling and sold him for $850,000. At the end of the year, he won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T).

MW: After you tasted success, how did you keep it going?

RR: This is a contact sport. It's a relationship game. The more contacts you have, the more hands you can touch, and the more opportunities present themselves. Then little things started happening. I met some great people in South Africa; one was an agent representing a big Saudi prince. They needed a horse for their big race before the Saudi Cup phenomenon, and there was a South American Triple Crown Champion from Chile. I had met those connections on a trip to South America on behalf of Fasig-Tipton. 

I purchased the Chilean horse for the Saudi prince. The horse went over and won the King's Cup, which was their big race. It gives you confidence. Next, I bought His Royal Highness Prince Saud a Commissioner  colt that Gustavo Delgado Sr. happened to train; he went on to be grade 1 placed over in Saudi Arabia. 

This year I helped purchase six 2-year-olds that are returning to Saudi for him. 

Things start snowballing. You start catching opportunities, and winning the Derby with Mage is the crown jewel of it all.

MW: Talk about the partnership on purchasing Mage and how the relationship with the Delgado's has matured.

RR: Gustavo Delgado Jr. and I have been working the sales for a couple of years together; we teamed up three years ago to help increase his profile as a trainer and my profile as a bloodstock agent where we get each other's back. We have been buying in England, France, Ireland, and here in America, trying to put a bunch of horses into the barn and hope that things work out.

For the past few years, I have had a role with Fasig-Tipton as a marketing representative, so I'm at all the sales. Gustavo was down in Lexington leading the string at the Thoroughbred Center and came up to the Maryland sale. We went through the shortlist and trimmed the list down to two horses. A Good Magic   colt, which ended up being Mage, and a City of Light   filly, which ended up being Mimi Kakushi . We went back and forth on them and visited them several times.

It's amazing how things do pan out.

MW: Freshman sires come to the market with only their success on the race track, no proven winners yet. How do you sort through the dozens of first-year sires?

RR: I bought Outwork  's first winner (Garoppolo ), I pinhooked him for $65,000 (with Joe Pickerrell), and Palace Malice  's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) winner Structor.

I lean on other factors and buy the best of something or the perceived best of something that will probably not be on the radar of the buying groups going after those established high-end sires because I won't be able to afford them. I try to find a niche in the market where you can catch some lightning in a bottle and be ahead of the curve.

I'd rather the first, second, or third of a freshman sire and fall on that sword if it doesn't work out—rather than already being behind the eight-ball by going after a lower-rated progeny of a high-end stallion.

MW: The year you purchased Mage was Good Magic's first 2-year-olds; how did you land on his progeny?

RR: When doing my shortlists, certain horses are beautiful but probably out of my price range. It's a challenging market; we focus on this kind of stallion. 

Good Magic was super brilliant and was very precocious and is by Curlin  , who has become one of the most influential stallions of the breed. You know the job that Hill 'n' Dale does; Good Magic was going to get a great shot at the start with a great book of first-year mares. He won the Haskell (G1) and was a valiant second to Justify   in the Kentucky Derby. He won the Breeders' Cup at 2; he was a special horse. 

Stone Street is another fantastic program that is in the lineage. Jerry Crawford from Donegal is an awesome buddy; he owns Puca  (the dam). I saw Puca break her maiden by 18 lengths, place in the Gazelle (G2), in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) that, with a little more luck, could have hit the board or even won that race, and who knows if I'd be here today if she did that. She had class as well. From a pedigree perspective, all the bases were covered.

MW: As we head into this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale, what freshman sires are you liking?

RR: There are a lot of answers to this question from respectable people, and it's in line; no surprises at the moment. I love horses, and as runners, they were just monsters. They were actual monsters, and they proved it over and over again. Mitole   as a straight-up runner, was a gorilla, sprinting even up to the mile he took them all on. He's a short, strong, compact colt, typey, and has a lot of heart. The babies show many of those traits; carrying on the legacy there would be nice. Mitole's would be my preferred pick.

The horses I've purchased in assisting His Royal Highness have been specific; they are quite particular in what they look for. They have different requirements, which they look for. For myself and what Gustavo Jr. and I have been doing, we had planned to find a few here at this upcoming Fasig-Tipton Timonium Sale. 

I'll see what we can cook up on the freshman sire end and what else might catch our attention.