When Danzel Brendemuehl purchased a colt by Nyquist for $275,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings Sale, she lay the groundwork for a pair of first-time pinhookers who will be hoping the move hits pay dirt when the youngster returns to the sales ring as hip 62 next Wednesday at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. Brendemuehl signed the ticket on the yearling in the name of Don Cox's Sausalito Partners and Colleen Smith's Breckenridge Bloodstock, but pretty soon another name was added to the partnership when Dr. Bramdeo Singh joined the group.
Cox, who has been involved in horse racing on and off since the 1980s, has a handful of racehorses and broodmares, but his first foray into pinhooking came almost by accident when he was attending the California yearling sale last fall.
“This is my first time pinhooking,” Cox confirmed. “This opportunity just came up over at Pomona. I don't know, you get over there and you might have a cocktail or two and you're talking to everybody and you meet more and more people in the horse industry and it's an auction–sometimes you do things you wouldn't normally do. I jumped in with Danzel and Colleen and I guess somehow after that there was a fourth partner who wanted in, but I own one-third of him.”
While the Nyquist colt will be Cox's first official pinhook, the California resident did come close a few years ago.
“Danzel has been breaking horses for me for a few years and she bought a couple to pinhook a few years ago,” he explained. “We bought a Ghostzapper filly and a Goldencents colt and we were going to pinhook those. But, long story short, I said, 'Why pinhook them? I will just keep them and race them.' I bought both of those. I haven't had much luck with them yet, they both got hurt, but they are getting back to the track soon.”
Moderate to bad luck seems to be a theme for Cox's racing stable.
“One of my friends had a horse ranch, that's kind of how I got into it back in 1985,” Cox said. “I was working at the ranch and I just loved the animals. So they sold me one for $500 and I went down to Caliente with him and he won the race by 11 lengths. But they told me he would never be able to race again. I was a novice, I said, 'What do I do?' We gave him to a kid from the area to use as a riding horse. That was my first experience.
“Ever since then, unfortunately, we have given five or six horses away,” Cox said. “One of them went to Huntington Beach Equestrian Center and the people love him. One of them went to a little girl who sent us a nice letter about how much she loves him. We always get them re-purposed for a good cause. I don't like to hurt anything or put anything down. Of course we'd like to make some money, but so far we've mostly been donating.”
Cox is a vendor for the Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions chain of stores.
“My business is going great guns and that pays for all of my vets. The disposable income pays for my horse fun,” he explained.
Dr. Bramdeo Singh, who serves as medical director of Montefiore Nyack Hospital in New York, has been active in the Standardbred industry over the years, but jumped at the chance to return to Thoroughbred racing when he met Brendemuehl through a mutual friend.
A native of British Guyana, Singh's roots in Thoroughbred racing run deep.
“My grandpa had one of the most famous horses in that country, so that gives me goose bumps hearing the stories,” Singh said. “That's why my first love is the Thoroughbreds. There is just a thrill about being around the horses and watching them go fast.”
But when the family relocated to the U.S., Singh's love of racing took a slight detour.
“I came to this country when I was seven years old,” Singh said. “My dad took me to Yonkers Raceway. I've lived in Yonkers all my life pretty much. And I was a Standardbred fan. But I was always a fan of the Kentucky Derby, so this was my chance to get into the Thoroughbred business.”
Brendemuehl made several purchases at the California sale last September and Singh eventually invested in a package of three pinhooking prospects–one for each of his children–but he said the Nyquist colt was always at the top of his list.
“I noticed Danzel had bought a few in the California sale and on paper the Nyquist was the best looking,” Singh said. “I was a big Nyquist fan because he was undefeated when he won the Derby and I liked him in the Derby. So when I had a chance to own one of his offspring, I was all in. I asked her if I could get a share and she said of course. In the videos that she sends me of the three yearlings, this one stands out by far.”
The bay colt, who sells under Brendemuehl's Classic Bloodstock banner, is out of Soul Crusader (Fusaichi Pegasus) and is a half-brother to stakes-placed There Goes Harvard (Will Take Charge). He is from the family of Grade I winner Killer Graces and graded winner Chocolate Ride.
So far, Singh has only seen the 2-year-old from afar and his schedule is unlikely to allow him to travel to South Florida for the Gulfstream sale next week.
“I've just seen the videos,” he said. “I haven't had the chance yet to see him in Florida. I'm a medical director by day with three kids. So with my schedule I probably won't make it to the sale. But with my other two, one is selling in Maryland and I may try to go there.”
Singh has been getting positive reports on the colt.
“Danzel told me he is the best horse she's had by far. And that speaks volumes,” he said. “And the videos are like poetry in motion. He just looks so fluid.”
Both Cox and Singh make it clear that Brendemuehl is the lynchpin to their involvement in the pinhooking venture.
“In this business, trust is a big factor and she is one of the most honest people I know,” Singh said of Brendemuehl.
Cox agreed.
“I don't think I would do it with anybody other than Danzel,” he said. “I really like her and she's as honest as the day is long.”
Nyquist has already developed quite a resume for himself at the Gulfstream sale. Bloodstock agent Dennis O'Neill purchased the future Derby winner for $400,000 at the 2015 auction. The stallion was represented by the sale topper a year ago when his colt out of Spinning Wheel (Smart Strike) sold for $2.6 million.
In addition to hip 62, the 2022 Gulfstream catalogue also includes a daughter of Nyquist (hip 15) who sells with the Wavertree Stables consignment responsible for the 2021 sale topper and a son of the Derby winner (hip 31) who sells with Cary Frommer.
The under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale will be held Monday beginning at 9 a.m. The auction will be held Wednesday in the track's paddock with bidding scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
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