Tim Hamlin and his wife Nancy were among the most respected breeders of Quarter Horses in the country when they left their home state of Iowa fifteen years ago. The couple then sold the rest of their stock and purchased seventy acres of land in Winchester, Ky., in search of new horse worlds to conquer when they founded Wynnstay Farm. They were determined to breed and raise exceptional Thoroughbreds.
"We didn’t know if we would be able to make it or not (with the Thoroughbreds) but the only thing my wife and I knew how to do was raise horses," Hamlin told BloodHorse.
After accruing clients, the Hamlins have not only found success in the sales ring but have seen their Wynnstay Farm-raised horses reach the pinnacles of the sport on the racetrack. Graded winners such as Lady Ivanka, Miss Mischief, Isotherm , Giant Game, Skelly, and the latest star born from the operation—Adirondack Stakes (G3) victress Brightwork, have all shared their early beginnings on Wynnstay Farm soil.
Hamlin talks to BloodHorse MarketWatch about exciting Sept. 3 Spinaway Stakes (G1) contender Brightwork, the farm's first-ever consignment on the grounds at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale this summer, and his ideology when it comes to raising horses.
MarketWatch: After buying your first farm out here, it didn't take you guys long to get involved in the sales business. Can you talk about your early business ventures in Kentucky?
Tim Hamlin: There was a guy named Johnny Jones who gave us a bunch of weanlings to get ready for the sales. They weren't even halter broke. And we got them ready and took them to the sales and they all sold really well. We took all our money and bought a son of Tapit . And we doubled our money on him. He brought $300,000. He was the first one we ever pinhooked. After we took him to the sale everybody was like 'Who got him ready for the sale?' and we've been busy ever since.
MW: What are the differences between raising Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds?
TH: You still want them made the same way. The conformation is the most important thing to me. I never nick them or anything like that I like to breed strictly on conformation. I don't want a computer telling me what my horse will look like.
I still use the same feed formula that I used 40 years ago with the Quarter Horses. I mix my own feed. But I use the same recipe that I learned from a guy that had Quarter Horse racehorses and show horses. I've tweaked it a little bit over the years but it's basically the same thing.
You have to start preparing those babies when they're in their mamas. When we talk about raising horses, it starts when they're in the mare's bellies. That's one of the most important parts of it.
MW: What did you like about Brightwork's dam, Clarendon Fancy, at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale?
TH: Allen Poindexter is my partner on her. He called me and gave me a list of 10 mares that he liked the pedigrees on. She was a young Malibu Moon mare that was bred for her second foal I believe. I went and looked at them and she was the only one I liked of the bunch. So we bought her.
We had a little bad luck with her in the beginning. We bred her to Nyquist twice and lost those foals. She was then in foal to Colonel John and we sent her out to a clinic in Iowa and unfortunately lost that foal too. After that, there were two years where she didn't want to carry the foal. And then we kind of figured out what to do with her and she's carried foals ever since. This year she was a little later so we left her alone and didn't breed her.
MW: Brightwork is sired by Uncle Mo's son Outwork. What was the decision-making process behind sending Clarendon Fancy to Outwork?
TH: A lot of people have asked me that. We raised a foal named Outadore that we sold for a lot money and we really liked that colt ($140,000 Keeneland November weanling trained later by Wesley Ward; multiple stakes winner of $722,971). I thought Outwork could be one of the next serious sires. He was a grade 1-winning 3-year-old by Uncle Mo. When you get a foal you really like you want to get some more of them. So we bred more mares to him. Sometimes you get a little pressure to breed to stallions who are commercially hot but if I have a mare that needs to be bred to a certain stallion I'll take that chance and hope for the best.
She has a baby by Yaupon that's absolutely gorgeous. And Yaupon is by Uncle Mo too. I think Outwork could be anything as a stallion.
I love the minds on the Outworks. They're just so nice to be around. And Brightwork looks like she might be one of the smartest horses I've ever seen. When she was a baby she didn't want to go back in her stall at the Night of the Stars sale. She just wanted to show and be outside of her stall all the time. And (current trainer) John (Ortiz) has told me that sometimes after her breezes it's the same thing she doesn't want to go back in the stall. So he grazes her for a while and then she'll go back in when she's ready.
I was at the last race up there. They didn't even have a lip shank on her in the saddling paddock. I was hoping she'd wake up a little bit she was acting so quiet. But her mother is pretty quiet too.
MW: Brightwork sold for $95,000 to Barber Road Bloodstock (Bill Simon of WSS Racing) at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. What can you recall about Brightwork from that sale?
TH: When we put her in the Night of the Stars Fasig-Tipton wasn't really sure she would be the right kind of sell in there because they want first-year stallions or flashy pedigrees. But I just told them she's made perfect and there's going to be someone who's going to find her.
To me, physically, Brightwork's perfect. And that's what I try to make—a horse that looks like that. She's made perfect. When they're balanced and made like that, they run. I'm happy that she ended up going to (Bill Simon); she couldn't have ended up with better owners unless I had her myself. I'm so happy she has a home where people love her like they do. That's all we can ask for when we raise these horses.
MW: Can you talk about your partnership with Allen Poindexter?
TH: We met him through Mark Toothaker from Spendthrift. Allen has been the leading breeder and owner out there in Iowa for 14 years. He wins a lot of races. He works as hard as anyone I've ever seen. He has a full-time job and has horses at his house. It's been a good partnership. He lets us do our thing and it's been great. We've had a lot of success together.
And we don't spend that much money on mares. Brightwork's dam cost $17,000 and Giant Game's mother cost $8,000.
MW: I see you've had your consignment since 2018 but this was your first year bringing horses up for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. What was that experience like? What would you do differently?
TH: It was technically not our first Saratoga sale, just the first one where we were in New York. When the Saratoga sale was not in Saratoga during COVID-19 and was here in Lexington, we had Giant Game and Skelly in that sale. Giant Game brought $500,000 and Skelly brought $250,000 so that was a great year for us. We had five very nice horses that all sold well.
I think Saratoga went well but there's a few things I would do differently. A lot of the horses I took there were a little late—one filly I took was a late May and one was an April. And I don't think they were as mature as some of the other ones that were there. I was happy we got them all sold. The horses sold really well, the crowd was great there.
MW: What other sales will you be bringing a consignment to this fall?
TH: We're bringing 21 to Keeneland September and 10 to Fasig-Tipton October. And then eight will be in the Fasig-Tipton Night of the Stars that we really like. And then we'll start all over again.
MW: We're a week away from Brightwork's start in the grade 1 Spinaway. Are you going to be there for the race? What are your thoughts going in?
TH: They're not giving her any love in the press up there. She beat a Royal Ascot winner, a few rising stars. But I guess none of that matters when it's the end of the year and we're looking back. I know I'd hate to run against her if I was one of those other trainers.
In that last race (jockey) Irad (Ortiz Jr.) just sat there, asked her to go and she just went with that big stride of hers. I hope she comes back a grade 1 winner and we go to the Breeders' Cup.
