Taylor Made’s Bloodstock Investments Shifts Focus

When Taylor Made began a pinhooking operation under the Bloodstock Investments banner, it began by investing only in broodmares to take advantage of the strong market in that sector.

Now, entering its fourth year, the operation has shifted gears and was among the active buyers of short yearlings at the Jan. 9 opening session of the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale, buying a Street Sense   colt for $165,000 and a First Samurai   colt for $135,000.

Consigned by Hurstland Farm as Hip 78, the Street Sense colt is a full brother to Bijou, who topped the 2013 January auction when sold for $1.45 million. The First Samurai colt, Hip 89 from the Claiborne Farm offerings, is a half brother to stakes winner Irish You Well and out of a half sister to three-time grade 1 winner Zensational.

"We think we got good deals," said Taylor Made's Katie Taylor-Marshall, who directs investor relations for Bloodstock Investments. "Our short lists were a lot shorter for this sale than in November and I'm pleased we got what we wanted. Right now we've got 12 (foals of 2016) and we're selling one today we bought in October so we're doing a quick flip on it."

With a minimum investment of $50,000, a Bloodstock Investments investor is part of an investment vehicle that has a 12-14 month maturation date, at which time all the horses in the package are sold. There are no additional costs of upkeep or care, which is included in the initial investment.

"We started it to help make entry into the industry easier for people," Taylor-Marshall said. "Each year we raise between $2-3 million. If you have $50,000 and you love horses it's a lot safer to invest in 15 horses rather than just one horse. We go wherever the market goes. We buy value. Our goal is 15% return on each horse. If the numbers show we have a pretty good chance of earning that, we follow the numbers.

"In the first couple of years we did all mares carrying their first foals or mares off the track," Taylor-Marshall continued. "Then we foaled them out if they were in foal, took the foals and bred the mare back and then sold everything the following year. We started seeing the market trending toward weanling pinhooking and this year we are doing almost only weanlings of 2016 or short yearlings of this year that will be sold in yearling sales later this year."

In addition to adding to its yearling pinhook portfolio, Bloodstock Investments closed out its third package at Keeneland Monday, selling two mares for a total $400,000 and a yearling for $45,000.

Topping that group was grade 2 winner Thegirlinthatsong, sold in foal to Honor Code   to Shadai Corporation for $210,000, followed by the $190,000 purchase price for stakes winner Sheza Smoke Show in foal to Liam's Map, who sold to Not This Time/A.F.S. Sheza Smoke Show's 2016 colt by Malibu Moon   was sold for $45,000.

"We had phenomenal success last year and are expecting a return closer to 20%," Taylor-Marshall said of the Bloodstock Investments III portfolio. "We're selling our last horses today and we are even for the year so everything else today is profit."

Although Bloodstock Investments is closely alligned with Taylor Made, Taylor-Marshall said there is transparency on everything the group buys, including any horses bought from the farm.