Uncle Mo Filly Most Profitable at Keeneland

When an Uncle Mo   filly went through the ring during the fifth session of the Keeneland September yearling sale, partners in the Cockaigne Ranch partnership that purchased her for $30,000 had high hopes for a healthy profit.

But even they could not have expected the final $450,000 paid by D. J. Stable for the filly out of winning Dixie Union mare Bayou Miss consigned by Four Star Sales. Bred in Kentucky by Vossfeld Bloodstock Group, the filly was purchased as a weanling from Sheltowee Sales by Cockaigne, a partnership consisting of family, friends, and colleagues of the Greathouse family, which are also vested in Four Star Sales.

After deducting the sales company's 5% commission, the filly's net price at Keeneland was $427,500. Subtracting total investment (previous sale price plus upkeep, estimated at $10,000 from weanling to yearling) left a $387,500 profit, an impressive 968% return on investment, the highest in Books 1-4 of the sale.

“Generally, if I don’t think I can double my money on one, I don’t buy it,” said John Greathouse III, who manages the partnership. “We take shots. They don’t all work. Up until she sold, we were breaking even. When I brought her to the sale, I was hoping for $150,000. By the time she went to the ring, I was hoping for $250,000. Obviously you are thrilled when you get more than you hoped for. When you pay $30,000 you can only expect so much.

“When you’re pinhooking, you’re looking for horses that appeal to your eye, have some athletic ability, and vet well," Greathouse continued. "Obviously Uncle Mo couldn’t be any hotter and we found an opportunity. She was a little small as a weanling, which is why we probably got her for what we did. She grew up a little bit and turned into a lovely filly. Sometimes it’s all about placement. We didn’t think we would buy her for that and we didn’t think we’d sell her for that. It’s nice when it comes together.

The second-highest ROI of 590% was returned by a Stay Thirsty   colt sold for $160,000 to Xavier International Bloodstock. Produced from unraced Ghostzapper   mare Phantom Romance, the colt consigned by St. George Sales was a $12,000 Keeneland November purchase by Mick Flanagan from the Indian Creek offerings. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Indian Creek, Hess, Hess, Miller, Drion, and Gans.

For the 289 Keeneland pinhooks offered through Sept. 21, 84 (29%) did not attain their reserve prices. As a group, the pinhooks had been bought for an average price (either as weanlings in 2015 or yearlings previously this year) of $77,714 and sold for an average $144,485.

According to BloodHorse MarketWatch statistics, the 49 Keeneland-sold yearlings that had been bought earlier in the year had the greatest return on investment of 81.3%, as 34 (49.3%) were profitable and 15 (21.7%) were not profitable. There were 20 RNAs in this group.

Conversely, the 156 yearlings sold at Keeneland September (from 220 offered) that had been bought as weanlings had a group ROI of 50.7%, with 99 (45%) profitable and 57 (25.1%) not profitable.

KEENELAND SEPT. PINHOOK RETURN ON INVESTMENT