Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions
With 455 weanlings and 23 additional entries set to be offered on Thursday at the Magic Millions Bundall complex, there will be an opportunity for pinhookers and end-users alike.
It is no secret that pinhooking weanlings for resale at the yearling sales or even the ready-to-run sales can prove advantageous.
Pinhooking is not a new method of buying or trading in Australasia or globally, for that matter. However, it caused a lot of conversation when at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Lot 440, consigned by Silverdale Farm, a stunning filly by the Arrowfield Stud-based The Autumn Sun, from the Var (USA) mare Via Africa (SAf) entered the ring at Warwick Farm and left as a $1.8 million yearling purchase.
Gallery: The Autumn Sun x Via Africa (SAf) (filly) pinhook
The filly was undoubtedly helped by the exploits of her half-brother, In The Congo, who now stands at Newgate Farm.
However, the daughter of The Autumn Sun was a $600,000 purchase from the 2022 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale—no doubt, a stout price for a weanling, but one that paid off.
The filly is not the only success story. The 2018 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale saw Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) shell out $200,000 for a son of Zoustar out of the Estambul (Arg) mare Madamesta.
The colt would later head through the 2019 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and make $1 million selling to Orbis Bloodstock.
Gallery: Zoustar x Madamesta (colt) pinhook
On a lower end, Warren Mobbs happened to be at the 2017 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale when a daughter of the Eureka Stud-based Spirit Of Boom was consigned; Mobbs would sign the cheque for $7000.
Fast-forward to 2018, the daughter of Spirit Of Boom from the Magic Albert mare Zabeeler was offered at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, where she was purchased for $300,000 by Spicer Thoroughbreds, Darren Weir Racing and Brae Sokolski.
Amongst all the success stories, there have been disappointments in the sale ring. For example, Behemoth, the hulking son of All Too Hard, was a $120,000 weanling purchase before being unwanted by the market as a yearling at the 2017 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale selling for $6000 to Grand Syndications.
Behemoth would be a success story on the track, retiring as a three-time Group 1 winner.
Behemoth | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
But how does one go about pinhooking, and what does one look for?
TDN AusNZ sought answers from those that like to test their luck in the weanling market, Adrian Stanley from Woburn Farm and Marcus Heritage of Swettenham Stud.
Marcus Heritage
Firstly, we spoke to Marcus Heritage, who is on the nominations team at the Victorian-based Swettenham Stud.
Heritage told TDN AusNZ, “ I will be getting on a plane tomorrow (Wednesday) to the Gold Coast and hope to be active.”
Heritage understands weanling sales is not for everybody, “For some buyers, it’s not their cup of tea. When selling yearlings, you usually have to breed one and hold on until sale time, hoping everything goes smoothly. So, weanling sales can provide buyers and breeders with a different window of opportunity.
“Some people stay away because their results haven’t gone the way they hoped, others jump right in, and we’ve seen the results that can happen.”
“Some people stay away because their results haven’t gone the way they hoped, others jump right in, and we’ve seen the results that can happen.” - Marcus Heritage
What does Heritage look for? “I buy mainly on type, trying to picture what this horse will look like in six months. Some foals look average but grow into nice horses; the same applies to weanlings. If you can find bits to like about them and think they will grow into a lovely horse with more time, you can buy low and hopefully sell high.
“But there are some absolutely belting weanlings that peak early. You could say it is like a kid at school who is the star athlete at 12, but then they don’t go on with it, horses are the same.
“Another aspect is looking at the family, if you have knowledge of the family and feel the page has an upside. Pedigrees can change in six months or less for better or worse. But if you have some inside intel on a relative showing ability, that can always go a long way.”
As part of the nominations team at Swettenham Stud, Heritage understands how quickly a stallion's fortunes can change.
Swettenham Stud now serves as the home for Rubick, who was once based at Coolmore Stud’s Jerrys Plains property. The stallion has seen a resurgence of late, with the likes of the star colt Jacquinot who has been recently retired to Widden Stud, the flying filly Opal Ridge who added another stakes victory in last Saturday’s Listed Luskin Star S. and a host of other winners such as Glint Of Silver and Shades Of Rose.
Rubick | Standing at Swettenham Stud
The Rubick resurgence was also felt in the sale ring when Glenbeigh Farm paid $26,000 for the colt from Bonito (I Am Invincible) at the 2022 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale and later offered him at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, delivering an outstanding price of $200,000.
“First-season sires usually sell well as weanlings and as yearlings, but there is nothing at that stage to give them any upside because they don’t have runners. You are really jumping into the unknown,” says Heritage.
“So, from a stallion perspective, I like to target horses in a similar position to say, where Rubick was 12 months ago. He had all these numbers coming through, but they hadn’t done anything yet. Then all of a sudden, you buy a weanling by him, and he has a Group 1 winner with Jacquinot and then Opal Ridge comes out, and the horse is very popular all of a sudden.
“I am looking at stallions like that, that already have runners on the board, but they can kick. We know the industry is very fickle and go on and off a stallion very quickly, they jump off them quickly, but a stallion can have a good winner on the weekend, and then people want to buy them.
“I am looking at stallions like that (Rubick), that already have runners on the board, but they can kick. We know the industry is very fickle and go on and off a stallion very quickly...” - Marcus Heritage
“Timing is everything and I like to look at progeny by a stallion who might time it well.”
As Swettenham Stud has consigned yearlings to major sales in the past and sold them, Heritage also understands a vendor's perspective and how critical buyers can be at the yearling sales.
“You can be slightly forgiving on x-rays, but they must be reasonably clean. Minor issues can become big ones. Yearling sale buyers are so tough on x-rays. If they have a problem as a weanling that will hold them back at the yearling sales, you probably want to avoid them.
“Pinhooking, you plan to sell in the future, so you want everything in your favour. If you retain to race, you would be more forgiving of an x-ray.
“Pinhooking, you plan to sell in the future, so you want everything in your favour. If you retain to race, you would be more forgiving of an x-ray.” - Marcus Heritage
“With how big our major sales catalogues can be and the online auctions, there is always the next horse. Horses are getting judged as critically as ever, especially with the technology people use now. Back then, what people didn’t know, didn’t hurt them. A lot of these x-ray issues if you didn’t x-ray them, you wouldn’t know they had problems.
“But now everybody has all the information and data in the world. You have to be pretty clean.”
Adrian Stanley
Woburn Farm proprietor Adrian Stanley enjoys sourcing weanlings at the sales and has a rather interesting methodology.
With an excellent eye for a horse, Stanley sold the star Hong Kong-based galloper Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse) through his 2020 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale draft.
Adrian Stanley | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Instead of primarily focusing on pinhooking for a specific sale or solely at weanling sales, having actively pinhooked at the yearling sales, Stanley likes to spread his purchases far and wide.
“When I am looking at weanlings, I like to categorise them on type, whether they fit the Karaka Sales in New Zealand or Inglis Premier in Melbourne; I find the Karaka and Premier types can be quite similar. Then you have the Inglis Classic Sale in Sydney or Magic Millions on the Gold Coast.
“Then you have those weanlings you pinpoint to take home to New Zealand and grow out for the ready-to-run sales,” Stanley shared with TDN AusNZ.
“I have used the weanling and yearling sales as an end user. I have also bought yearlings for the ready-to-run sales and horses for the trial market in New Zealand, where you can turn them over to sell to Hong Kong or Australia.
“I cover all bases. I look at virtually every horse in the catalogue to assess where it is placed. When I buy a weanling, I want to have an idea what the horse will turn into and where it will stand out so that I can place them to provide the best return on investment.”
“I cover all bases. I look at virtually every horse in the catalogue to assess where it is placed. When I buy a weanling, I want to have an idea what the horse will turn into...” - Adrian Stanley
Stanley explained to TDN AusNZ his stance on x-rays citing what could arguably be a very holistic approach, “I am very critical of x-rays, but there are different areas and things I can forgive if the horse ticks the boxes in other areas.
“If I buy a weanling with a slight x-ray issue, the first thing I do is get them back to New Zealand and put them on the ‘Kiwi’ grass. I change their feed to a fibre feed which is low in grain. For example, if they have a slight knee issue, you can manage them and grow them out. The pasture is so good in New Zealand.
“It is about managing the horse's growth rate. You can get a horse and not overfeed them, which can blow up their joints. I would have loved to set up in Australia, but the growing conditions in New Zealand are just too good for young horses; they are superior. Sure, the prizemoney isn’t that good, and it is harder to make money in New Zealand, but you can’t find a better place for raising horses.
“I have had a lot of cases of problems disappearing pretty much by just managing them off the land in New Zealand.”
“I have had a lot of cases of problems disappearing pretty much by just managing them off the land in New Zealand.” - Adrian Stanley
Given the well-advertised feats of the Kiwi suffix, particularly the past season, it is hard to argue with that sentiment.
People often cite that a yearling is an August or September foal as a positive for those precocious gallopers. We have all seen the articles outlining the success of those later-born November foals, Anamoe, So You Think (NZ) and Dundeel (NZ). Then you have the Champion Lonhro with a December foaling date, but what does Stanley think? “Foaling date-wise depends on what sale I am targeting. If the weanling has a good forearm and is a November-born foal, but it looks like it will turn into a nice yearling but a little bit smallish and has a great walk and forearm, which is a must for me, I am not overly fussed.
“Even if a weanling is light-boned at the time, they are the type of horse I would take back to New Zealand. You can see a lot of improvement with light-boned horses once they have been on the New Zealand pasture, and especially in the clover paddocks, you can see a lot of development quickly.”
Adrian Stanley
Stanley touched on the type of weanlings he sees at the Gold Coast and the type of horse he targets.
“I am looking at weanlings here that are big, strong and forward horses that will be coming back to this sale next year and will probably stay here.
“Then you do have your New Zealand-looking horses that I feel you can get a lot of development from. They are lovely types but aren’t the early runners.
“Ultimately, I am looking for Guineas-type horses. I am looking for a horse that looks like a classy animal that will show that on the track by winning Guineas races but having the class to be competitive in Derbys or Oaks, and when they are older, they’ll be lovely miler to 2000-metre horses.
“I don’t want to be horses that look like they’ll be dour or stout. I’m not looking for Melbourne Cup horses.
“I want to find horses that will train on. That's where the money is, especially in Australia. You need horses to train on.”
North Pacific impressing Stanley
With the Magic Millions Weanling Sale, a parading ground for the new boys on the block, for example, Darley’s Bivouac, Kia Ora Stud-based Farnan and Prague among them, it is a Group 3-winning son of Darley’s Brazen Beau that is catching the eye of Stanley.
His name is North Pacific, and he stands at Newgate Stud Farm for a 2023 service fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
North Pacific | Standing at Newgate Farm
Perhaps it should come as no surprise given North Pacific was an $800,000 yearling and described by his co-trainer, the legendary John Hawkes, “He was quite simply one of the best-looking yearlings I’ve ever seen at a sale.”
“I have had success going through first-season sires and trying to pick who is throwing the nicest type that will be a racehorse,” said Stanley. “When I first started, I learnt it is always better to outlay money on type, and it will always sell. Rather than what is deemed fashionable by the competition, and its strong competition, it is very competitive.
“The progeny of North Pacific has taken me. They are nice, attractive horses, have a nice walk and good action, and will develop into nice horses. North Pacific is an exciting prospect.
“The progeny of North Pacific has taken me. They are nice, attractive horses, have a nice walk and good action, and will develop into nice horses. North Pacific is an exciting prospect.” - Adrian Stanley
“He is going to fly under the radar. Many people will say, ‘Oh, North Pacific,’ but they are really lovely, well-balanced horses. I actually have already bought a colt and a filly at the Inglis Weanling Sale, they are value horses who will turn into beautiful yearlings, and I'm taking a punt that they will turn into good racehorses. They have great attitudes, which you need to be a good racehorse. He has a good upside, and their type will stand out in New Zealand.
“I loved the Brash Smash progeny the first year they were here, the Cosmic Force weanlings were nice last year and those by Toronado, I've had a crack at a few of them. They are lovely athletic horses with good strength, they look like good racehorses and have proven to be. Those are the types of horses I am trying to source.”
