McCrocklin Laid Groundwork for Kingsbarns' Success

The journey to Kingsbarns' Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) win June 29 didn't begin with his previous start or his workouts in between. It started in the sales ring, where the now 4-year-old caught the attention of consignor Tom McCrocklin.

McCrocklin a year later turned his $250,000 purchase into an $800,000 sale. 

The industry veteran retraces the purchase of Kingsbarns and discusses the keys to his success, his thoughts on sales, and more in the latest BH Interview.

BloodHorse: As an agent for Champion Equine, you purchased Kingsbarns  in 2021 for $250,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Sale and then experienced pinhooking success with him when you sold him the following year for $800,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. What drew you to the colt and what led to his sales success?

Tom McCrocklin: What drew me to the colt was his physical conformation and appearance. He's a beautiful horse. I love Uncle Mo   as a stallion and thought (Kingsbarns) was a great prospect not only for a resale at a 2-year-old sale but also for a future owner, which ultimately wound up being Spendthrift Farm. 

BH: Do you think it was his conformation and breeding that led to his success in the sales, too?

TM: At the yearling sale, yes. But the 2-year-old sale is a different cup of tea. People want pedigree and conformation, but you have to perform well on the racetrack and he did that. He worked a quarter of a mile at Gulfstream Park in :20 3/5, which is very, very, very good for a 2-year-old in training. It's almost unheard of for anybody to break 21 seconds.

It was ultimately the last 2-year-olds in sale at Gulfstream because Fasig-Tipton stopped selling 2-year-olds at that venue. He drew a lot of interest off that breeze. He was one of the better horses in that sale and ultimately, two years down the road he's proven that on the racetrack as well. 

BH: Every consignor likes to see a sales horse go on to achieve big things on the racetrack, not only from a sense of pride but because it can lead to buyers to come back for a future consignment. What does a grade 1 win from one of your sales graduates mean for your operation?

TM: I think what it means is people have the confidence that they can come buy a 2-year-old trained by us and consigned by us, and then they can go win grade 1 races. That's what we're all trying to do as buyers and sellers. When you pinhook, the goal is profit, but listen, that's not sustainable if you don't sell good horses, and we feel like we sell good horses. 

BH: Talk to me about your pinhooking process and consigning juveniles. Without giving away any trade secrets, what are some key elements of your success?

TM: There are no trade secrets, and I always use a kind of restaurant analogy, and that is start with good ingredients and prepare them well. The same with young horses, buying yearlings and preparing 2-year-olds to go through a 2-year-old training sale. It all begins with buying yourself a good racehorse prospect. A horse that is conformationally good and has enough pedigree to attract interest of buyers and then they have to perform well in a breeze show.  

You really get one chance to do that. People don't want to hear excuses. It's not like you run a first-timer at the track and 'He didn't like the track, he didn't like being on the inside, or didn't like dirt hitting him in the face.' At a breeze show, you get one breeze and you've got to get it right. 

It's high risk and high return. It's very deflating when things don't work out and it's financially punitive, but it's also very rewarding when things do work out. I would think Spendthrift, at this point right now, they feel like they got a bargain at $800,000. And it's hard to imagine that you buy a horse for $800,000 and it feels like a bargain, but I'm sure today they're feeling like they got a really good deal. 

BH: How have you found the 2-year-old market in 2024, and what changes do you think could potentially help the juvenile sales thrive?

TM: How I found the market is a continuation of what we've been seeing. People want the best. People want better pedigrees, better breezes, better physical individuals, and what we perceive to be the best. When they buy a 2-year-old in training, they don't know how it's going to turn out. We don't know how it's going to turn out. There is a lot of speculation going on, so I try to buy what I like. 

I also try to buy what I think the public is going to like. The game is dominated by bloodstock agents right now. When I go to the 2-year-old in training sales, I see familiar faces at every stop, but those agents represent a lot of Thoroughbred owners with a lot of capital to spend on young horses. 

I don't deal with a lot of owners directly at 2-year-old training sales, but I deal with their representatives. What we're continuing to see for the last several years is an emphasis on quality. You have to have a nice horse. 

BH: You had mentioned that you felt that with so many sales, among them digital and horses of racing age, that sometimes 2-year-old sales don't feel as special as they once were. Can you share some thoughts on that?

TM: I do feel that way. Some of the terminology I use is 'There's no buzz at these third-rate auctions anymore.' It's a little flat. We have a sale every month now, we have digital sales, we have flash sales, we have on-site sales, yearlings, and 2-year-olds; there are a lot of sales for people to attend. I'm not smart enough or powerful enough to make these bigger decisions, but it feels that way to me. One of the adjustments I may make is don't plan on attending every 2-year-old in training sale because it's just maybe not a good idea. 

BH: What were some of your personal highlights at the 2-year-old sales this year?

TM: We sold the highest-priced horse in the OBS April Sale. It was a Tiz the Law   filly that sold for $1.9 million to Michael Lund Petersen and she shipped out to California to Bob Baffert, so that was absolutely a highlight. She had the physical qualities people are looking for. She had a very nice pedigree. She was out of a half-sister to Abel Tasman  ... She was significantly the highest priced. There was not another million-dollar horse that went through the ring at that sale. 

BH: Many of the yearling sales are just around the corner—what is your process to picking a horse to pinhook?

TM: I think it's a good time for me to mention this, and this is me personally. The term 'pinhooking', I understand what it means. It means buying a horse for resale at a later date, but I also try to think of myself and we try to think of our operation as more than just pinhookers. I like to think of myself as a horseman and a horse trainer. Everybody on the team is the same way because we are very process-oriented. We don't buy a horse and immediately start thinking about the end goal, which is profit. We buy a horse, and to use a football analogy, Nick Saban, longtime head coach at the University of Alabama—arguably the greatest college football coach ever—talks about the process every day. Worry about your one-on-one battle, and then worry about the game and the score. That's kind of how we approach our process with buying these yearlings. 

BH: When you go shopping for a horse to pinhook, what are some of your chief considerations?

TM: I look for what I like. I know that is a very broad statement, but you know it when you see it. Typically we all have an image in our mind of what we like when we buy horses, what's worked for us in the past, what hasn't worked for us in the past, and sometimes you learn more from your mistakes than you do your successes. It's an ever-evolving opinion that I have about young horses, and I also like to learn from my peers and watch what they buy and also like to learn from my buyers. The Todd Pletchers, the Bob Bafferts, the Chad Browns, the successful horsemen that are buying good horses year in and year out. I pay close attention to what they're buying, not necessarily what they are buying from me, but what they are buying from everybody. Same with the agents. There are some phenomenal agents out there with really valid opinions and I like to see what they're doing. I'm always a sponge for trying to get a little better and buy a little better horse and get a little better result through the sales ring and on the racetrack.