At the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, there were no fireworks set off in the ring when Hip 567, a son of Triple Crown winner Justify , walked out of the sales ring after the gavel fell for $150,000 to Norman Williamson.
Fast forward to May of 2024, and that colt was in France, catching the eye of Godolphin at the Arqana May 2-year-old Breeze Up sale and selling for $2,477,404. One year later, the colt known as Ruling Court was celebrated as the winner of the Two Thousand Guineas (G1).
That is the potential being dreamt of by the many international pinhookers in attendance at this year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where a large and diverse market allows them to take unique prospects with top American pedigrees overseas for the shot at a large return on investment.
"Good horses can come from anywhere, really," said Irishman Cormac Farrell of CF Bloodstock. "The market over here (in America) is huge and the racing over here is so good. We're obviously keeping an eye on it the whole time. There's trade back and forth both ways.
"Flat racing is so global, you can't ignore any market. There's plenty of European pinhookers here, and they're buying horses. That's just because there are nice horses that could potentially suit the European program."
Those nice horses are ones whose size and shape may not fit the typical profile of a top American dirt horse, but would slide in nicely to the European turf courses. CF Bloodstock found that value through the first three books, tallying four horses by top stallions Constitution , Flightline , Justify, and Starspangledbanner for $615,000 combined.
"It's much the same as what we're looking for in Europe: a good horse," Farrell said. "You need a bit of sire power now, so we focused on sort of the higher echelons."
Flightline is perhaps the most exciting of those stallions as this is his first crop of yearlings. CF Bloodstock and 30A Thoroughbreds went to $190,000 for Hip 1641, a Taylor Made Sales Agency-consigned filly bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm and GMP Stables. She is out of the stakes-winning Verrazano mare Miss Mosaic, who herself is a half sister to three-time grade 1 winner Miss Temple City.
Flightline's domination of six career races on the dirt, which included four grade 1 victories and 2022 Horse of the Year honors, caused just as much excitement in Europe as it did in America. Farrell said European buyers are willing to take the chance to see if his talent transfers to the grass through his progeny.
"Flightline is going to be a very sought-after stallion all over the world," Farrell said. "He was an outstanding racehorse, so people will definitely want to try and see if they will go on the grass. If they do, he's going to be a superstar of a stallion."
The filly seems to be the right kind of prospect to test Flightline's ability as a turf sire, given Miss Temple City's success on grass. Her full sister, Pricedtoperfection, was also a grade 3 winner on turf.
CF Bloodstock and 30A Thoroughbreds also partnered for $200,000 on a Four Star Sales-consigned son of Constitution. Hip 1680 was bred in Virginia by Clarke Ohrstrom and Awestrike and is the first foal out of the stakes-winning Wicked Strong mare Por Que No.
Also in the Sept. 14 session, CF Bloodstock partnered with Blandford Bloodstock on the Brookdale-consigned Hip 1597, a son of Starspangledbanner bred in Kentucky by Yulong Investments. Out of the winning High Chapparal mare Laurelita, the colt is a half brother to grade 1 winner and 2023 Canadian Horse of the Year Fev Rover.
During the Sept. 10 session, CF Bloodstock acquired Hip 694 in a $100,000 private sale with consignor Lane's End. The Justify colt bred in Kentucky by St. Elias Stable is out of Elitiste, a half sister to group 1 winners Alpha Centauri, Alpine Star, and Discoveries.
Justify has experienced great success in Europe, highlighted by Ruling Court and the four group 1 wins by 2024 Longines co-World's Best Racehorse, City of Troy.
The current robust yearling market is not making it easy on the international pinhookers, Farrell saying that even these value prices were a bit higher than typical.
"The market is so strong, you kind of have to push a little bit to get the good horses," Farrell said. "The money has been phenomenal here, so it's a very strong market. That will only trickle down all the way through the system."
Hopefully, for those pinhookers, it will trickle across the pond to the springtime 2-year-old sales, and they can turn as big a profit as Ruling Court brought Williamson.
