Pinhookers Shop for Value at Saratoga Sale

The risk-reward game of pinhooking—buying horses to sell later—relies upon buying at a price point that has upside potential for profit if all goes according to plan.

To succeed requires foresight in being able to anticipate how a young horse might develop down the road, patience to go beyond one's budget at point of purchase, and a large share of luck at the selling end.

With an average price of nearly $370,000 in 2018 at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected yearling sale, finding value is challenging because of a paucity of individuals that can be bought reasonably enough to turn a profit even if all goes according to plan.

According to BloodHorse MarketWatch data, there were 27 Saratoga yearling purchases of 2018 resold as juveniles this year. The group was purchased for an aggregate of $5,435,000 and brought a total of $9,204,000 as 2-year-olds.

Among those shopping the Saratoga sale grounds on a pleasant overcast morning Aug. 3 for this year's sale that takes place Aug. 5-6 were Raul and Martha Reyes, who through their King's Equine pinhooked recent impressive Amsterdam Stakes (G2) winner Shancelot out of the 2017 edition of the sale. Shancelot ran off with the 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam, winning by 12 1/2 lengths in a near-record time of 1:14.01 on a fast main track to remain undefeated in three starts.

Bred in Kentucky by Charles Muth and Patrick Murphy, the 3-year-old son of Shanghai Bobby was purchased by King's Equine for $50,000 from Taylor Made Sales Agency's consignment in 2017. King's Equine then consigned the colt to the 2018 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where Juan Pacanins, agent, bought him for $245,000.

Shancelot is out of the stakes-winning Is It True mare True Kiss, who is also the dam of grade 2-placed One True Kiss and grade 3-placed Tiz Kissable. True Kiss is a half sister to Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (G1) winner Silver Max , and her female family extends to Girvin , the 2017 betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) winner, and grade 1 winner and sire Yes It's True.

Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, Shancelot was the least expensive horse sold at the 2017 Saratoga sale, followed by the $75,000 paid by King's Equine for an Exchange Rate colt who fetched $80,000 as a 2-year-old.

"You buy the horse thinking they can be somebody," Raul Reyes said of the thought process that goes into buying a pinhook prospect. "You've got to keep looking, looking for a horse that you think can get better later. Sometimes they are and sometimes they're not."

Reyes said he believed one reason for the colt's modest price was that his sire, Shanghai Bobby, who now stands in Japan, was not as fashionable as many of the other stallions represented by yearlings in the sale.

"Shanghai Bobby was cold at the time, and nobody wanted one," said Reyes, noting the colt is now living up to expectations as shown in the Amsterdam. "When I had him, he was really fast. He was fast when he was at the farm, and he was the fastest horse in the 2-year-old sale. He was a big, long horse, so I think he can go longer based on the way he finished."

While the yearling-to-juvenile sale profit was nice, Reyes said Shancelot's racing success means more than the auction numbers.

"It was a good profit, but to see a horse run that well means more than the money at the end of the day," he said.

Another buyer inspecting horses for possible resale Saturday was Carlo Vaccarezza, who with his wife, Priscilla, also races a successful stable that included 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) winner Little Mike.

By shopping the Saratoga sale, Vaccarezza, accompanied by Jimbo Gladwell of Top Line Sales, was returning to the source of three major pinhooking scores for the team that includes Gladwell's wife, Torie, and Vaccarezza's son Nick.

Among Vaccarezza's Saratoga yearling purchases last year were an Into Mischief  filly (Hip 88) out of Rosemonde bought for $375,000 and sold through Top Line to OXO Equine for $900,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training (a record price for that sale); an American Pharoah  colt (Hip 3) out of Jeweliana bought for $235,000 and sold for $775,000 to Katsumi Yoshida at Fasig-Tipton's The Gulfstream Sale; and an Into Mischief  colt (Hip 56) out of Nihilist who turned a $265,000 price into a $710,000 resale when purchased by Bradley Thoroughbreds at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2019 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale .

"It's a lot of hard work and determination, and we try to be as selective as we can," said Vaccarezza, who races yearling purchases that are not sold as juveniles. "Out of the 223 horses in this sale, we came out with a short list of 43."

The Florida horseman said the list of horses to be inspected is based on a projected price point based on pedigree and what might appeal to 2-year-old buyers.

"People see different things in different horses," Vaccarezza said. "This is incomplete science. People can see the potential of the individual. Sometimes you have to be lucky."

Vaccarezza said the shortlists are the results of the combined scrutiny of the Gladwells, himself, and his son.

"We go in different groups and see the horses, writing notes, and then compare the notes and make a final decision," he said. "We have eight eyes and have four different opinions. Then we get a consensus and come up with the right formula. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."