Forums

Trainer Ciaron Maher and jockey Ethan Brown described Jimmysstar as a matured "ultimate professional" after the gelding cruised to his third elite success—all of them landed this year—in the C.F. Orr Stakes (G1) Nov. 15.View the full article

After torrential rains hammered much of the west coast on Saturday, outside of a rogue scattered shower or two moving through the area Sunday, the weather and the conditions improved enough to proceed with Del Mar's nine-race card. Racing Saturday was cancelled in anticipation of the heavy rains that blew through Del Mar, flooding the parking lots and portions of the backside stable area. Work crews were busy Sunday morning cleaning up the facility. While the backside was wet and soggy, no major flood issues were reported. Ponds had formed in the areas between the barns, however, shed rows were spared and the horses and their stalls remained dry. “We're fine,” trainer Bob Hess said outside his barn Sunday morning. “It flooded outside some of the older barns but here is okay.” Berms, which had been built up around some barns to prevent flooding, proved successful. With the main track closed, horses with their riders walked the shed rows or other paths around the barn area while horse trailers could be seen dropping off horses throughout the morning. According to Del Mar Track Superintendent Dennis Moore, rain gauges showed an inch and a half of rain fell on the area beginning Friday afternoon. The track was sealed following the races on Friday and remained sealed through much of Sunday morning. By 11 a.m. the tractors were out with harrows opening up the track. “I waited until I felt comfortable that we're not going to get anymore showers,” Moore said. He added that 11 o'clock was the latest they could hold off. Turf racing was cancelled for Sunday at Del Mar.   The post Racing Resumes at Del Mar Sunday as Storm Moves East appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The vet scratch is a baked-in component of the sport. It isn't going away. But is there a way to make the system better, more efficient? On the one hand is the regulatory vet world, arguing that criticism of their vital role is not only damaging to the sport but often misleading (the latter argument they back up with statistical support). On the other hand are the trainers and owners on the receiving end of a vet scratch decision who feel that too many sound horses are getting caught up in a system that doesn't effectively account for the subjectivity involved with identifying lameness, and subtle lameness especially. There's no one way to diagnose a lame horse. There's no one way to read a scan. With that in mind, there are some, both regulator and the regulated alike, who believe they can improve the system without jeopardizing horse welfare. One of those people is bloodstock agent David Igordo, a member of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) horsemen's advisory committee. In this Q&A, Ingordo talks about possible changes to the way horses are monitored in the lead up to big events, ideas to improve transparency for the betting public, and a possible code of conduct. The following has been edited for clarity and brevity.   TDN: What are your main takeaways from the White Abarrio vet scratch situation?   DI: I want it to be clear I'm not passing judgment on the connections or the regulatory vets. My observations as a horseman were that White Abarrio was being looked at quite a bit throughout the week, and I don't think it was fair to the connections or the sport or the gamblers to have the horse get out there and then get scratched. I have regulatory vets tell me, 'trust me, David, the horse needed to be scratched.' Okay, I take their word. But the thing is, if there were concerns about running the horse throughout the week, all the parties should have just made the tough decision to scratch him before he ever got to the track.   TDN: What can be done to ensure a similar situation doesn't happen again?   DI: We need to sit down and look at our big days and [make sure] the Kentucky Derbies and the Breeders' Cups don't sneak up on our industry. We shouldn't be putting the horses and their connections through this scrutiny the week of the Derby or the week of the Breeders' Cup. My proposed solution is we need to start this much further out. Let's get all the proper people in a room and let's come up with a 'Best Practices' protocol to evaluate these horses prior to them even getting entered in the race-come up with something that can really give us confidence we're putting the soundest horses out there.   TDN: Can you point to some examples?   DI: Sure. The Melbourne Cup that just was completed. In my position on the ADMC, I'm lucky to deal with a very intelligent regulatory vet from Australia. He's in charge of the team for the Melbourne Cup inspections. These inspections don't start the week of the race-they start quite a bit out. We need to take something like they do for the Melbourne Cup, which is a much longer window of inspection and communicate any extra kind of diagnostics that need to be done. Not everything they do might suit us here in the U.S. and whatever protocols are put in place need to be customized to our racing here to find a sweet spot of horse safety and allowing horses and their connections to compete. Some of these things are very definitive. With a PET scan or a CT scan or whatever, it makes it easy for the trainer, his attending vets and his owners to understand, 'my horse isn't going to compete in this race for this reason.'   TDN: In short, a clear set of additional veterinary protocols for everyone to follow over a much longer timeframe leading up to these big events.   DI: And a clear set of expectations for the trainers, the attending vets and the owners of these horses.   TDN: Now, in fairness, regulatory vets have access to a horse's regulatory exam history from all around the country. But these are primarily written records. Do you think video diagnostic aid (like the Sleip app) should be woven into this whole regulatory system? A video can reveal a whole lot more than a set of written notes can.   DI: That Sleip app is a great tool. The trainers I know who work with it on a regular basis talk about integrating it into their training regime. I've spoken to Mark Casse–he's a proponent of it. From the regulatory side, it would be a great help when horses move from different jurisdictions. It would help the regulatory vet in say, New York, see what the regulatory vet in Kentucky saw–see if he's getting better, he's getting worse or if he stays the same. We're looking for that consistency and something like the Sleip app could be a great tool.   TDN: The regulatory vet world argues that the process works, and they point to compelling statistical evidence that horses who are scratched for unsoundness are notably more likely to face extended periods of time off than non-scratched horses. They typically take longer to get back on the work tab and to the races. A significant number simply never make it back.   DI: I've heard the regulatory vets make these comments. Now, I can only look at the population of horses that I'm intimately involved with to speak accurately. And at one point in Cherie's [DeVaux, Ingordo's wife] barn, the horses that were vet scratches the morning of the race typically got back to the races within 45 days of the day they were scratched at the level they were entered at, or, in some cases, a higher level than they were scratched at. I can also tell you that a lot of our vet scratches were because the horse probably had a bad day or out of an abundance of caution by the regulatory vet. And the ones that did not come back, some might've been fillies we were going to retire anyway, or there was a reason they were retired that wasn't necessarily on soundness. That's why I believe we should take into account each trainer's individual records. Just like if you have a driver's license and you have no speeding tickets or no accidents in your car, your insurance is different, right? In the insurance world, the healthier and better you are as a person, the lower your insurance rates are. So how does that pertain to this? I think with all the statistics [HISA] has out there on things like this, I think the horsemen and women that have best practices shouldn't necessarily be treated the same as people that maybe are not as thorough.   TDN: A program to incentivize 'Best Practices' behavior, in other words?   DI: We jog all our horses up. Cherie and her assistants look at these horses. Our vet then comes to look at them. So, there are two sets of eyes inspecting a horse in the programs I'm involved with intimately. That's before the regulatory vet comes. There are things that could happen when the reg vet sees it. But if you have a trainer that you trust and a vet that's competent, and they're saying, 'look, we don't see it per se. It could be a foot. It could be this. It could be that.' Well, maybe have a different avenue than putting it on a vets' list. If the reg' vet can honestly say, 'I think this horse is at risk of a catastrophic injury or could really hurt itself,' then by all means they need to say 'no, you're on a vet list.' The regulatory vets have an awesome responsibility every day. I respect the job they have and what their purpose is. But there should be some way with this rating system idea we're talking about to make it an easier process for the horsemen that still protects the horse. Sometimes it's very difficult to get off the vets' list because of timing, because of several things. I think we need to look at that part of it to make it fairer for the horse, the horsemen, and still be thorough from a welfare standpoint. TDN: Now, as a former exercise rider, I can think of dozens of times where trainers (who undoubtedly are under a lot of pressure) didn't react well to news that something's wrong with a horse. I don't think there's one reg vet who hasn't encountered the same reaction. Everything you've outlined so far comes back to the idea of better communication.   DI: 100% that's what needs to happen. Look, I'm not going to say that I have never had disparaging words for a regulatory vet because I have, with horses I own or I'm involved with. That needs to stop. There needs to be more meeting in the middle at times. The communication between the parties and respect between the parties needs to improve. There does need to be some kind of code of conduct that the trainers and the vets adhere to. Again, I'm guilty of being upset with the vets and saying things to them that are out of frustration because I don't agree with them. But there's got to be a code of conduct that would be very helpful to everybody involved.   TDN: When it comes to communication, it's not just between the vets and the horsemen. One of the key issues many folks have concerns alerting the general public in a timely and transparent manner about the reasons behind a vet scratch, especially those that occur post-parade. Do you have any ideas about that?   DI: I think that is a very important thing to be transparent about. I don't know why there's not [a uniform system already in place]. This is important to do for respect to our gambling component of the game and to show respect for the betting public. When a football player is injured, they'll come on and say, 'Peyton Manning was hurt on that play. And they're looking at his ankle and he's out indefinitely.' That's it. End of story.   TDN: One regulatory vet I spoke with suggested having an on-call spokesperson relay this information on big race days, and one of the stewards do it on the lesser race days. Similarly, some tracks make the reasons for a vet scratch available on Equibase but that's far from a uniform approach. This reg vet thinks Equibase should have this info recorded on Equibase as standard protocol. Do you think both ideas would help?   DI: I love the idea of having a spokesperson that's articulate and media trained do that. I think it's fantastic and I think they should bolster that person's visibility. I think any information on horses that we think is pertinent ought to be put on Equibase. When they just put on Equibase, 'unsound,' that's an improper word to use. Unsound is a very strong word. So, put scratched and the reason versus just 'unsound.'   TDN: Okay, you're king for the day. What's the first few thing you do to start fixing the system?   DI: When you say king, just on this subject or…   TDN: No, no, no. You're not touching anything else but this.   DI: I'm a big fan of the sit down, like the old mob movies. But you have to bring all the players in the room and everybody has to talk sensibly to one another. I'm not just talking about the Breeders' Cup or the executives from the racing commissions or the racetracks. They are definitely part of it. But you have to have practicing veterinarians with great practical veterinary experience involved. And then you've got to get the horsemen in, the trainers with the most experience in dealing with this. The horsemen at times haven't been well represented in the creation of HISA's regulatory body. Get the smart kids in the room together, roll their sleeves up and figure out something that will work. It's not going to be perfect ever, but we need to work on it.   The post David Ingordo Q and A on Vet Scratches appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The sixth race Wednesday at Churchill Downs was, on the surface, rather unremarkable. It was just a $30,000 maiden claimer for 2-year-olds, normally the type of race where even the winner usually doesn't amount to much. But the race turned out to be one of the most remarkable and heartwarming stories of the year. You probably know prominent owner John Stewart and his family and their work to save horses from slaughter. But 99 times out of 100 those horses never race. Instead, they are given to a safe home and, sometimes, retrained for a second career. That almost happened to Awesome Hawaiian (Awesome Bet), but the Stewarts, and particularly Stewart's daughter Sarah, refused to give up on him. They were determined to give him, and two other horses they rescued, a chance. And it paid off. Originally purchased for $1,000 at the 2024 Breeders Sales of Louisiana as a yearling, Awesome Hawaiian wound up in a feedlot in Bastrop, Louisiana only two days later and a Facebook post said that if someone did not pay “bail” money to rescue him he, and the two other horses, would be sent to a Mexican slaughterhouse. There are no equine slaughterhouses in the U.S. “Most of our rescues we find through Facebook,” Sarah Stewart said. “Mainly, though, it's through the perseverance of the fans who are watching out for these horses. With Awesome Hawaiian what happened is I had someone messaging us about these three thoroughbred yearlings. At the time, when I had first seen that post the countdown until they were shipped to Mexico was like a week. I thought someone would take those horses. They came straight from the sale and it would be fine.  Nothing happened and then we heard no one has saved them and that they're going to be shipped to the slaughterhouse the next day.” Stewart stepped in and bought all three horses. Combined, they sold for $3,000 at the yearling sale, and she said she was able to buy the trio “for just a little more than $3,000.” She did it because she has a good heart, but never did she expect that any of them would go on to accomplish something on the racetrack. That just doesn't happen with horses caught up in the slaughter pipeline. But there was something different about Awesome Hawaiian. “Our trainer, Will Walden, said that what this horse lacks in talent he makes up for in heart,” she said. “He comes to train every single day and that he's ready to work. He wants this.' Sent off at 3-5 (more on that later), Awesome Hawaiian won by two lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr. Someone was paying attention. He was claimed by trainer Joe Sharp and owner Larry Romero. “It was a such a cool feeling to know we gave this horse a second shot and he came out here and showed what he can do,” said Chelsey Stewart, the CEO of the Stewart's Resolute Racing. She is John Stewart's wife and Sarah Stewart's stepmother. “He proved something to all the doubters. We hate that he got claimed. But we've talked to new owner and to Joe Sharp and we know they will do right by the horse. We also offered to take him back if racing doesn't work out. They were very kind about that. “No, I never thought this was possible. We were honestly expecting him to get beat in that race. We were just all thrilled that he had made it to the racetrack. We were all out there with our Awesome Hawaiian sweatshirts on and were just thrilled to be there. We were floored that he actually won. We got just as excited over winning that race as we did when we won the Grade I stakes (the Diana S.) with Excellent Truth at Saratoga. To us, he has proven himself to the Thoroughbred industry that he has value.” While this turned out to be a feel-good story, the Awesome Hawaiian saga sheds light on one of the uglier parts of the sport, that there are still way too many thoroughbreds that are sent to slaughter. If not for the Stewarts, that no doubt would have happened to Awesome Hawaiian. The three horses saved by the Stewarts were among 11 purchased by Steve Nalls at the Louisiana sale. He paid as little as $700 for one and $1,100 for another. Eight of the horses were bought for $1,000. The TDN was unable to find any contact information on Nalls. According to the AI Website gemini.google. com, this is his story: “A Steve Nalls from Sparkman, Arkansas, has been identified as a buyer and potential seller of horses and mules. He has purchased Thoroughbred horses at sales, sometimes for low prices, and these horses have subsequently appeared on social media pages for resale to a “bail pen” at escalated prices, under threat of shipping to slaughter. This practice is controversial within the Thoroughbred industry, though he reportedly agrees to release the horses' registration papers to those who buy them from the pen. He has also been listed as a consignor/seller of mules and horses at various auctions.” The feed lot where Awesome Hawaiian wound up has a Facebook page and goes by the name North Louisiana Equine Transport & Feed Lot. On its Facebook page, there are references to horses that are in Bastrop and will be sent to slaughter if not bailed out. However, Sarah Stewart has no ill feelings toward the Bastrop operation. “I know with a lot of these kill pens you never really know what their intentions are,” she said. “But the place I got them from, I told Chelsey they really do care. They somehow intervene with these trucks of horses that are going to go to Mexico and they ask people, 'do you want to try to find homes for them?' Honestly, I don't think they make too much of a profit off of this.” As for the other two horses, it was determined that they had no viable future as racehorses, but they will be retrained so that they can have a second career, likely as pleasure or trail horses. But the Stewarts wanted to give all three a chance to prove themselves. “I had mentioned it to my dad that it would be cool if we could include these yearlings into our regular yearling program to see if they could go on and we could go forward with them,” Sarah Stewart said. “He said that, if we are going to do this, we should give them the same shot as everyone else. They're going to have a good trainer, they are going to WinStar to be broke, they are going to be seen by the same veterinarians. The mind set was we were not going to treat them like they're just some rescue horses we got for $1,000. We are going to treat them the same as Puca's yearling and all the rest. They will all get the same shot. “Everybody kept telling me that Awesome Hawaiian had no talent. At one point they almost didn't move forward with him. I said, 'Dad that's the yearling rescue we are talking about. Remember we wanted to give him a real chance.' He said, 'Sorry, I forgot about that. Let's move forward with him.' He went to training with Will Walden. What made a big difference is that Will believed in him as well.” Eventually, even John Stewart was convinced. Chelsey Stewart said the reason the horse went off at such low odds was that Stewart put out a tweet telling his followers to bet on him and asked his employees at his MiddleGround Capital to do the same. “He thought it would be really neat if the horse went off as the favorite,” Sarah Stewart said. His career is now in the hands of Sharp. “Now, we couldn't buy him back for double what he was claimed for,” Chelsey Stewart said.  “All of a sudden he went from nothing to six figures. It's crazy. Such a cool story.” The new owner, Romero, specializes in Louisiana-breds and will send Awesome Hawaiian to Sharp's division at the Fair Grounds. “I think he got claimed by a good stable and a good owner,” Sarah Stewart said. “We immediately got in contact with them and told them the story and said we would love to buy him back. They were saying we really want this horse. They know his story and thought it was awesome and want to race him at the Fair Grounds. They were just as into it as we were.” A future stakes winner in Louisiana-bred company at the Fair Grounds? Why not? This is a survivor, a horse who has already beaten the longest odds possible. “I had no idea the story about this horse,” Sharp said. “We obviously go to the Fair Grounds for the wintertime and he is a Louisiana-bred. That made him appealing. He had some good works and had all his conditions left. I was able to able to logon to the Kentuckybred.org website and watch a couple of his work videos and his breeze videos were really impressive. It just seemed like a logical horse considering where we go geographically. We haven't really decided where we'll run him next. He hasn't even gone back to the track for us yet since we just claimed him. Based on the way he won first time out I think he's capable of winning a first-level allowance race against state breds at the Fair Grounds. I spoke to Will Walden and he had all positive things to say about the horse and how he trains. It's a great story. My wife [Rosie Napravnik] and I are involved in horse rescue, so it's a great story. It's a neat story to be a part of. He sure is an easy horse to cheer for.” The post Horse Goes From Kill Pen to Winner’s Circle at Churchill Downs: The Story of Awesome Hawaiian appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Regaleira answered some questions with an impressive, off-the-pace victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) at Kyoto Racecourse Nov. 16.View the full article

The New York Racing Association has canceled live racing following Race 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 16 due to high winds currently impacting the New York City metropolitan area.View the full article

Live racing at Aqueduct has been cancelled following Race 2 on Sunday due to high winds currently impacting the New York City metropolitan area, according to a New York Racing Association, Inc. release. The National Weather Service forecast calls for sustained high winds and gusts in excess of 40 mph. The GIII Pebbles Stakes, which will be run at 1 1/16-miles on the outer turf, and the Forever Together Stakes will be brought back on Sunday, Nov. 2. Entries to be taken on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting and wagering is also available via www.NYRABets.com. Live racing is slated to resume Thursday at Aqueduct with a nine-race card. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern. The post Live Racing at Aqueduct Cancelled Sunday Due to High Winds appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last year's Arima Kinen heroine Regaleira returned to winning ways in Sunday's Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Kyoto, justifying short odds with the minimum of fuss to register the third top-level success of her career. Trained by Tetsuya Kimura for owners Sunday Racing, Regaleira and jockey Keita Tosaki travelled wide in mid-division through the early stages of this 2,200-metre contest and still had plenty of ground to make up on long-time leader Erika Express (Epiphaneia) as the 16 runners entered the home straight. Paradis Reine (Kizuna), who finished one place behind Erika Express when third in last month's G1 Shuka Sho, was the first to collar her old foe inside the final two furlongs, but Regaleira soon emerged as a big danger out wide on the track. Produced to lead with 50 metres to run, the daughter of Suave Richard quickly asserted from there to win by a length and three-quarters in a new record time for the Group 1 first run over this distance back in 1996. Paradis Reine fared best of the three-year-old challengers in filling the runner-up spot, with another length back to Lilac (Orfevre), who edged out Lynx Tip (Kitasan Black) by a head in claiming the final podium position. “I'm truly delighted to have won with Regaleira again,” said Tosaki. “I'm both happy and relieved that we were able to live up to everyone's expectations as the race favourite. “The stable staff told me how good her condition was and I could feel it too when I rode her. She was calm during the post parade and jumped out of the gate on her own. “The condition of the inner track wasn't very good, so I made sure that we didn't get stuck there. She responded well in the stretch. I'm confident that she'll do even better from here.” The Arima Kinen, which takes place at Nakayama on Sunday, December 28, is likely to be next port of call for Regaleira as she tries to become the first horse to win consecutive editions of that Group 1 since Symboli Kris S (2002 and 2003). Last year, she earned a slice of history as the first three-year-old filly to win the Arima Kinen for 64 years. Now a top-level winner at two, three and four, having also won Nakayama's Hopeful Stakes as a juvenile, Regaleira's return to action this year was delayed by injury, but she proved that she retained all of her ability when returning to Nakayama to win September's G2 Sankei Sho All Comers.     Pedigree Notes Regaleira, a member of the first crop of the G1 Japan Cup and G1 Osaka Hai hero Suave Richard, is out of the winning Harbinger mare Roca, who achieved her career high when finishing third in the G3 Daily Hai Queen Cup. She is the dam of three winners from four runners, with the others including the six-year-old Douradores (Duramente), who completed a remarkable one-two for the mare when chasing home Regaleira in the Sankei Sho All Comers. Roca, in turn, is out of the Dance in the Dark mare Land's Edge, a half-sister to none other than Deep Impact, the Japanese Triple Crown winner who quickly rose to become one of the world's most influential stallions. Land's Edge also features as the second dam of the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) hero Urban Chic (Suave Richard) through her daughter Edgy Style (Harbinger), as well as last year's G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas) scorer Stellenbosch (Epiphaneia) through another daughter in Bloukrans (Rulership). Stellenbosch featured among Regaleira's opposition in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup but could finish only tenth. Both Deep Impact and Land's Edge are out of the blue hen Wind In Her Hair (Alzao), herself a Group 1 winner in Germany and runner-up in the Oaks at Epsom. Sunday, Kyoto, Japan QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP-G1, ¥252,980,000, Kyoto, 11-16, 3yo/up, f, 2200mT, 2:11.00, fm. 1–REGALEIRA (JPN), 123, f, 4, by Suave Richard (Jpn)       1st Dam: Roca (Jpn) (GSP-Jpn, $240,719), by Harbinger (GB)       2nd Dam: Land's Edge (Jpn), by Dance in the Dark (Jpn)       3rd Dam: Wind in Her Hair (Ire), by Alzao O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Tetsuya Kimura; J-Keita Tosaki; ¥133,486,000. Lifetime Record: 11-5-0-1, ¥835,637,000. *1/2 to Douradores (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), MGSP-Jpn, $1,244,438. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Paradis Reine (Jpn), 119, f, 3, Kizuna (Jpn)–Paradise Garden, by Closing Argument. O-Makio Okada; B-Okada Stud; ¥52,996,000. 3–Lilac (Jpn), 123, m, 6, Orfevre (Jpn)–Viva Bouquet (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Seiichi Serizawa; B-Kineusu Farm; ¥33,4980,000. Margins: 1 3/4, 1, HD. Odds: 2.30, 10.00, 32.70. Also Ran: Lynx Tip (Jpn), Coconuts Brown (Jpn), Sekitoba East (Jpn), Safira (Jpn), Vermicelles (Jpn), Verehrung (Jpn), Stellenbosch (Jpn), Bond Girl (Jpn), Erika Express (Jpn), Shinryokuka (Jpn), Kelly Fled Ask (Jpn), Kana Tape (Jpn), Aurora X (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video. The post Regaleira Warms Up for Arima Kinen Repeat Bid with Group 1 Strike at Kyoto appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Pinhookers have their say on the market ahead of the November Foal Sale at Goffs Philipp Stauffenberg, Fearghal Hogan, Roger O'Callaghan and more have weighed in on what many pinhookers have described as being one of the trickiest yearling sale seasons in recent times and outlined how they will be approaching next week's Goffs November Foal Sale.  Pinhookers definitely didn't have it easy at the yearling sales this year, yet the first chapters of some of the most spinetingling stories of life-changing profits were written at a sale that has produced Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Field Of Gold, Group 1-winning juvenile Power Blue and ante-post Derby favourite Pierre Bonnard in the past couple of years alone. And who could forget the teenage pinhooking syndicate behind the 450,000gns Minzaal filly that lit up Book 2 at Tattersalls this year? Along with brothers Jack (17) and Max Galway (13), Fionn White (16) sourced that filly at Goffs for €85,000 the previous November. Then there was Fergal Hogan, who enjoyed his best day in the business when a St Mark's Basilica colt that he bought for €120,000 at Goffs sold for 800,000gns to Amo Racing during Book 1 at Tattersalls. There are countless other examples of pinhookers young and old striking oil with their Goffs November Foal Sale purchases.  The St Mark's Basilica and Minzaal foals were genuinely life-changing results for their connections and, when you consider that Power Blue and Pierre Bonnard were reoffered at the yearling sales, it goes some way to explaining the allure behind shopping at Goffs for pinhookers and end-users alike.  However, even after masterminding one of the most impressive pinhooks of the entire year, Hogan, like many other people in his sphere, says he will be refining his approach to buying foals after negotiating what he describes to be an “increasingly unpredictable” yearling market.  “To get the proper money, you need to be buying the expensive foals but, after looking at the results of the yearling sales this year, I don't know if that is the right approach or not,” he explained. “I got lucky with my St Mark's Basilica but I was only treading water with the rest of my pinhooks. I had six altogether and, while I didn't lose a lot of money on the other five, I found the yearling market very difficult this year on the whole.” Why? “I'd say the foals were just too expensive last year,” he replied. “You have lads queuing out the door to buy foals but, when you bring that horse to the yearling sales, you might only have one person to buy it. That's the reality of the game right now. A lot of the time, you are paying the yearling price on these foals but then the hope is that one of them will ring a bell, which, fortunately for me, happened this year with the St Mark's Basilica. And that's what keeps lads going; the dream of landing that big touch that will pay for all of the bad years.” On plans for the November Foal Sale at Goffs, which Hogan labelled as being “the most important week” of his year, he added, “I am probably going to concentrate almost entirely on the middle market. I might forgive a sire to a degree but the dam will have to have produced a few winners and the physical will need to be very good. That's the way I'm going to play it. Between all of the foal sales, I hope to buy 10, but I have to say I absolutely love this sale at Goffs. It's without doubt the most important week of my year and I have always been very lucky at this sale. The quality of the foal is always good here and it's good for the market to have so many pinhookers that turn up to Goffs year in, year out. As a pinhooker, I always try to get value, but the breeder also deserves to get paid and there are few better places to sell a foal than at Goffs.” At first glance, the figures for all of the major yearling sales in Europe look good. Take Book 1 at Tattersalls as an example; despite trade being selective and all of the key figures taking a slight dip, 70% of the 152 pinhooks offered throughout the three days at Park Paddocks made a profit. Not so bad. However, among the 30% that failed to make a profit or in some cases sell at all, 37 of those pinhooks had been purchased for six figures as foals. Ouch. Trade  was fairly good at Book 1 of the Orby Sale, with 64% of the 118 pinhooks leaving a profit behind, but there weren't as many expensive pinhooks at that sale and only a handful of those failed to hit the target, most notably a €550,000 Night Of Thunder colt that was bought back at €625,000. Meanwhile, at Book 2 at Tattersalls, 54% of the 192 pinhooks that sold in the ring made profit.  Some of the game's biggest pinhookers are still feeling the hurt from what has clearly been a year of selectivity. One unnamed consignor joked that they would be best served putting in a gallop to cater for all of the yearlings they brought home from the sales this year while another massive name within the industry, who again chose to remain anonymous, said that they had been forced to completely reevaluate their approach to the foal sales this year after being left high and dry with a handful of expensive pinhooks. “I'm going to whistle a tune on those expensive foals this year,” the leading pinhooker said. “Instead, I'm going to do something I haven't done in a good few years, which is go and try to buy the €20,000 foal to bring back to Fairyhouse to try to get €40,000. Now, that's not really worth doing, but I'm going to go back to my bread and butter rather than competing for the expensive Blue Points or Night Of Thunders. Playing on those expensive foals just isn't really adding up anymore.” Stauffenberg was hit as hard, if not harder, than any other pinhooker this year. Of the 18 yearlings he prepped on his farm in Germany, he sold just six of those in the ring. When it came to his own pinhooks, there were some crippling losses and he only got out by the skin of his teeth on a €440,000 Night Of Thunder colt, who left hardly any meaningful profit behind him when selling for 475,000gns at Book 1 at Tattersalls to Karl and Kelly Burke.  Reflecting on the market this year, he said, “Looking at all of the figures, I felt the level at which trade dropped off was extremely high. You either got overloaded, or else you fell down all of the ladders because there was nobody there to pick you up somewhere in the middle. Let's say, if you didn't make the 500,000gns or more bracket, your horse who you think is worth 150,000gns to 200,000gns was making only 80,000gns because there was nobody there to pick up the pieces. I need to look into the figures more but it felt that the people who thought Book 2 at Tattersalls was going to be too strong, they got their shopping done at Tattersalls Ireland and other sales. These buyers were missing at Book 2 because they had filled their orders and maybe even overpaid at previous sales compared to what they would have had to pay at Book 2. But, you know, who could have predicted that?” Stauffenberg is not alone in putting on record his feeling of a shrinking buying bench, certainly at the top level. O'Callaghan, who enjoyed a pretty good year on the whole with his pinhooks and Tally-Ho Stud homebreds, simply said, “the reality is that there are very few buyers with a lot of money to spend.” Meanwhile, Peter Kelly, who reported his year as being “very patchy,” had a unique way of summarising how the art of pinhooking has morphed into one big game of Russian roulette.  He said, “This whole pinhooking game has become a bit like pass the parcel and, when the music stops, you are left holding a very expensive box. I have nine yearlings that are going into training next year. I always run a few but I've never been left with that many before. It's become incredibly sire-driven and the end-users would look at 150 Mehmases rather than buy the best horse by a cheaper stallion. It's something to think about going forward and I'll be very selective at Goffs.” O'Callaghan said that “fellas probably got a bit excited at the foal sales last year,” and pointed to the fact that Yulong also played in the foal market, “without really showing up at the yearling sales this year.” Stauffenberg goes a step further than O'Callaghan by admitting, not only did he get excited at the foal sales, his discipline went out the window. He said, “I was not disciplined enough. I got a little bit carried away by the good race results we had on the track and maybe spent too much on foals. This year, I got really badly punished with my sires that weren't on the top lists. You know, I made quite a bold statement when I said, of my nine pinhooks, I would make a bet that 50 per cent of them were black-type horses. But still, I could not sell them. I always said that, if your horse is nice, you might not hit the bullseye but normally you will sell pretty well no matter what stallion you are by. However, if the theme of this year's yearling sales continues, I will have to change my view.” He continued, “What is the way forward? Will I be positive and try to find a route, or do I be negative and say to myself, 'it has become too dangerous?' It is hard to say what is playing safe anymore. Okay, pinhooking has always been a bit of a risky thing, but it has become even more risky now than in previous years. The sexy sire thing and the whole polarisation of the market has made things completely unpredictable. I always said that I might not make the biggest money with my pinhooks, but I got away with bringing nice physicals to the market. I think that is changing. Nowadays, it seems as though the physical does not help you if you are not by the popular stallion. If you are breeding, it is even more difficult. But if you don't do business, you can't move forward. Sitting on your hands and doing nothing might be safe in one way but then you don't have any ammunition to go to the sales or the racecourse. You cannot move forward by choosing that route.” Asked what way he would be playing the foal sales, Stauffenberg added, “That is a very difficult question and I can't answer that today without the benefit of seeing the horses at Goffs yet. Obviously I try to analyse my mistakes and I can't just blame the market. Going into the yearling sales, I felt I had a good bunch of horses but, in hindsight, there were a few mistakes. So, going forward, I will be quite disciplined in my buying.” Moments Of Magic Fuel Future Investments Hannah Wall | Goffs Put simply, there has never been so far to fall for a pinhooker. However, just once in a while, the yearling sales can produce the odd spark or crackle of magic that makes the process all worthwhile.  One such story came deep into Book 2 at Tattersalls this year when Wall, along with Charlie Vigors's young sons Harry and Oliver, turned 72,000gns into 260,000gns on a colt by Perfect Power.  Through her association with Tweenhills Stud, Wall has navigated her way through many profitable pinhooks but described that memorable result with the Vigors family as “truly humbling” and revealed the team will be on the ground at Goffs next week searching for a foal to reinvest in.   She explained, “I have to say, we didn't go into the foal sales planning to do that. I have known the boys and Charlie for a long time and we just fell upon the same horse in the back ring. David [Redvers] and I had a chat and we realised we weren't going to be able to afford the horse on our own individual budget so it was going to be a case of buying him together. We were delighted to do that and thankfully it worked out well.  “I have to say, the whole thing has really been quite humbling. You just couldn't have written it. I was delighted for the boys and hopefully that will set them up to pinhook a few more. Hopefully we can pinhook a couple this year.” Wall added, “The really lovely thing was, after we sold the horse to Shadwell, David went into the Green Room at Tattersalls and bought some champagne and we had a drink with Angus [Gold] and all of the Hillwood team. The two boys were outside doing an interview with Tattersalls and, when they came into the Green Room, they received a massive cheer. There was nothing staged about it – literally everyone in the room stood up and cheered for them. I have to say, that was the moment that really got me. To see those boys share that moment after everything they had been through, it was really quite special.” Therein lies the power of a pinhook. The post ‘I Love The Foal Sale At Goffs – It’s The Most Important Week Of My Year’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article