We've come to the end of the road for the 2023 North American yearling auction season, which means we also have our final standings for the Pinhook Power Rankings.
The top of the list is a combination of proven commercial entities and sires whose stock rose dramatically in the time between the weanling and yearling sale seasons, and all of the top five have a reputation for getting early developers. In a segment of the marketplace that requires dramatic early development by its nature, this is not necessarily a surprise, but it certainly becomes more apparent when it's sitting on a chart in front of you.
Though the upper echelon of the list is populated by elite commercial sires, the layer below the upper crust includes a number of sires that stand for much more economical stud fees who turned modest weanling purchases into solid yearling sales. The returns might not be as flashy as one might see from pinhooking a Tapit or Into Mischief, but those youngsters can create some serious liquidity versus the price of admission.
Making money is the name of the game, and that can look different for each investor. That's why we rank them from top to bottom – for folks to find where they'll best fit in.
Stallions in the Pinhook Power Rankings will be measured by two factors:
1) Net revenue from every pinhooked yearling by a sire during the 2023 major sale season (yearling sales at Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, and OBS) over the combined purchase price of those horses during the weanling/short yearling season of fall 2022/winter 2023. Because pinhooks comprise a smaller percentage of the yearling market's total offerings, compared with yearling-to-juvenile pinhooks, there is no minimum number of horses sold to qualify for the list.
2) Percent change of net yearling sales over combined weanling/short yearling purchase price. If a horse sells for $10,000 as a weanling and brings $200,000 as a yearling, that's a 1,900 percent improvement. If a $200,000 yearling goes on to sell for $390,000, that's a 95 percent improvement. Both net you $190,000, but the entry point and expectations are very different.
Stallions are ranked in each category, and their combined ranks are totaled into a combined score. The lower the score, the better the horse is performing.
Let's get a look at those rankings…
#1 – Tapit, Gainesway
One horse was all Tapit needed to finish atop this year's Pinhook Power Rankings, and that came at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale when a colt purchased as a weanling for $275,000 sold to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm for $1.2 million. It was the second-highest price paid for a Tapit yearling in 2023.
You can read more about that transaction, and the weanling-to-yearling pinhook operation of Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds here.
The sale marked a net revenue of $925,000, which by itself put Tapit in 17th among sires with pinhooks in that category. It also marked a 336.36 percent increase, which put him ninth.
The colt, offered as Hip 129 from the consignment of Taylor Made Sales Agency, is out of the winning Tiznow mare Plenty O'Toole, whose three winners from five foals to race include multiple Grade 3 winner Mr. Money and stakes-placed Tiz Plenty. He hails from the family of Grade 1 winners Well Armed, American Patriot, and Cyberknife.
Tapit has been a pantheon-level commercial sire for a decade, and the Saratoga sale has been his playground for just as long. This colt was one of his two seven-figure yearlings at this year's renewal, and his notable Saratoga sale alumni include Belmont Stakes winner Tapwrit, who sold for $1.2 million in 2015.
#2 – Constitution, WinStar Farm
It's only fitting that a list with Tapit at the top is followed by a son of Tapit.
Constitution jumped up to second place following the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, and he carried that through to the end of the year, with three completed pinhooks. He held on to the runner-up spot thanks to a massive pinhook score at the Keeneland September sale, where Hip 1777 sold to Pin Oak Stud for $900,000 after bringing $100,000 as a newly-turned yearling earlier this year at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.
Jim Fitzgerald purchased the colt as a short yearling, and he was consigned at the September sale by Knockgriffin Farm, agent. The bay colt is the first foal out of the unplaced Curlin mare Low Pressure Zone, from the family of prominent sires Liam's Map and Not This Time.
Constitution's three yearling pinhooks at this point in the calendar have netted a combined $1,025,000 over their initial purchase price, which slotted him 11th in that category, while his his percent change of 241.18 percent placed him 16th.
In terms of commercial viability in the weanling-to-yearling pinhook market, Constitution is closely following in his sire's footsteps, and that's a good one to draft off.
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.#3 – Practical Joke, Ashford Stud
In terms of money in and money out, few sires have done it better on the pinhook market this season than Practical Joke.
His 18 pinhooked yearlings was among the most on the year, and his revenue over investment of $1,191,000 was second only to his own sire, Into Mischief, in that category. It marked a 158.52 percent return on investment.
The marquee return among this season's pinhooked yearlings came at the Keeneland September sale, where Hip 17 sold to Greg Tramontin for $575,000 after selling as a weanling for $115,000. The September transaction tied for the second-highest price for a Practical Joke yearling this season.
Consigned in September by Four Star Sales, agent, the bay filly was purchased at last year's Keeneland November sale by Rascal Bloodstock. The filly is out of the unraced Empire Maker mare Advance Party, which puts her in a deep family that includes champion sprinter Covfefe, Grade 1 winners Acoma and Arch, U.A.E. Horse of the Year Festival of Light, and Japanese champion Yamanin Paradise.
The market for sons of Into Mischief at stud has become more crowded by the year, but Practical Joke has carved out a lofty place in that hierarchy with consistent foals and reliable returns in the commercial space, both with the capability to go well above the mean. Those words are music to a yearling pinhooker's ears.
#4 – Good Magic, Hill 'n' Dale Farms
What a 2023 it's been for Good Magic, who was represented by a Kentucky Derby winner from his first crop in Mage before nearly taking the Preakness Stakes with Blazing Sevens. It was a near-certainty that buyers would pounce on the Good Magics when the yearling season came around, and investors in his young stock would be rewarded for their perfect timing.
Good Magic had 11 pinhooked yearlings on the season, with his net revenues of $1,723,000 placing him third in that category. His 153.29 percent improvement over the initial investments put him 34th.
The most dramatic jump among the Good Magics came at the Keeneland September sale, when Hip 288, a colt out of the Bernardini mare Que Chulo sold to the partnership of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Walmac Farm and Bridlewood Farm for $725,000 after bringing $210,000 as a weanling.
The colt, a half-brother to stakes winner Sharp Aza Tack, sold to J B Bloodstock during last year's Keeneland November sale, and he was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm, agent.
There are few stallions in Kentucky whose star is rising as quickly as Good Magic. It's safe to assume his weanlings will be fought over viciously during this fall's weanling sales, which will naturally raise the ceiling for yearling pinhooks next year. Being in the right place at the right time can be so rare in this business, but the folks who invested in Good Magic last year hit the bullseye this summer and fall.
#5 – Into Mischief, Spendthrift Farm
It should come as no surprise that the reigning commercial titan of the North American Thoroughbred industry has a big presence on this list.
His combined pinhook net of $2.1 million from just four sold was the highest of all sires this season, marking a 131.25 percent return.
The star of that class came during the Keeneland September Sale, when M.V. Magnier of the Coolmore partnership went to $1.8 million for a colt out of the Grade 1-placed stakes-winning Street Cry mare Princess Haya. St George Sales consigned him, as agent.
Last fall, the dark bay or brown colt sold as a weanling to Brookstone Farm for $550,000 at the Keeneland November sale. He is a half-brother to Grade 1-placed stakes winner Lady Kate and graded-placed runners Prince of Arabia and Princess Theorem.
The price of admission is obviously going to be high for an Into Mischief weanling to pinhook. Of the four that did it this year, the lowest weanling price among them was $250,000, and that's a pretty significant hole to dig out of, no matter how big the pot of gold might be at the end of the rainbow.
However, the buying bench knows what it wants, and right now, it wants Into Mischief more than it wants air to breathe. If you can afford to ante up, and can stomach the risk of keeping a young horse's vet report clean until they go through the ring, the “jackpot” sign is flashing.
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