Flat Out Colt Most Profitable Fasig-Tipton Pinhook
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Photo: Photos by Z
Quinn, Jenn, and Cash Adams of Q Bar J Thoroughbreds
When trainer Mark Casse signed the sale ticket for a Flat Out colt on behalf of owner John Oxley at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2-year-olds in training sale, the purchase price of $400,000 represented a profit of $310,000 for Jenn and Quincy Adams’ Q Bar J Thoroughbreds.
From the first crop of Flat Out—the three-time grade 1 winner who stands at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington—the colt is a half brother to Arella Rockstar, a precocious grade 3 winner as a 2-year-old of 2016. Flat Out, who stands for $7,000 in 2017, had a first-year fee of $10,000 when the current 2-year-old crop was conceived.
After deducting the sales company's 5% commission, the colt's net price was $380,000. Subtracting the consignors’ total investment (previous sale price, plus upkeep estimated at $20,000 from yearling to 2-year-old sale horse) left them with a an impressive 443% return on investment.
"I really like the Flat Outs,” Quincy Adams said. "They have good minds and are exceptional movers. They are good looking on the end of a shank and good movers on the track. He is a big, scopey horse who is very fast and the type that can get two turns."
The couple, who was represented by their first consignment to the Fasig-Tipton sale at Gulfstream Park in South Florida, bought the colt for $50,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale from Select Sales. Carrie Brogden, a partner in Select Sales, and husband Craig, bred the colt in the name of their Machmer Hall Farm and they retained an interest in the colt when he sold March 1.
Machmer Hall also bred and sold as a weanling the Fasig-Tipton sale-topper, an Uncle Mo filly whose $1.5 million purchase price by Lawrence Best’s OXO Equine brought a 428% return on investment to consignor Cary Frommer. Purchased by Nitiosagan Farm for $50,000 as a weanling at the 2015 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, the filly was pinhooked into the 2016 Fasig-Tipton July sale by Dromoland, going to Frommer and her business partner Barry Berkelhammer for $250,000.
The filly’s sale at the Gulfstream sale produced a $1.155 million profit for Frommer, a 428% return on investment.
Another Frommer-Berkelhammer major pinhook play was Hip 156, a More Than Ready colt sold for $1.1 million that was bought at the Fasig-Tipton July sale last year for $235,000, yielding a $790,000 profit and a 310% ROI. The colt was also bought by OXO Equine.
Rounding out the top five pinhooks by profitability were a Custom for Carlos colt bought for $80,000 as a yearling and sold by Ciaran and Amy Dunne’s Wavertree for $400,000 and the sale’s second-highest-priced juvenile, a Bernardini colt Hartley/De Renzo purchased for $350,000 and sold for $1.45 million.
2017 FASIG-TIPTON GULFSTREAM PINHOOKING RETURN ON INVESTMENT
| Hip | Description | Consignor (Agent) | F-T Sale Price | Previous Price | Profit | ROI |
| 150 | Flat Out c. | Q Bar J Thoroughbreds | $400,000 | $50,000 (Y) | $310,000 | 443% |
| 57 | Uncle Mo f. | Cary Frommer | $1,500,000 | $250,000 (Y) | $1,155,000 | 428% |
| 156 | More Than Ready c. | Cary Frommer | $1,100,000 | $235,000 (Y) | $790,000 | 310% |
| 157 | Custom for Carlos c. | Wavertree Stables | $400,000 | $80,000 (Y) | $280,000 | 280% |
| 135 | Bernardini c. | Hartley/De Renzo | $1,450,000 | $350,000 (Y) | $1,075,000 | 272% |
Profit = Net Price – Total Investment Cost
Net Price = F-T Sale Price – Sales Company Commission of 5%
Total Investment Cost = Previous Sale Price + Upkeep Costs
Return On Investment (ROI) = (Net Price – Total Investment Cost) / Total Investment Cost