McCrocklin Lays the Foundation for Kingsbarns’ Success

The journey to Kingsbarns’ Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) victory on June 29 did not begin with his previous start or the training sessions in between. It began at the auction house, where the now 4-year-old horse caught the attention of consignor Tom McCrocklin.

A year later, McCrocklin turned his $250,000 purchase into an $800,000 sale.

The industry veteran recounts the process of acquiring Kingsbarns and discusses the keys to success, his thoughts on sales and more in the latest BH interview.

Blood Horse: As a Champion Equine dealer, you have purchased King in 2021 for $250,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Sale and then had success when you sold him the following year for $800,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. What attracted you to this colt and what led to his sale success?

Tom McCrocklin: What attracted me to this pony was its build and appearance. It is a beautiful horse. I like it. Uncle Mo as a stallion and thought (Kingsbarns) to be a great prospect not only for resale at a 2-year-old horse auction but also for a future owner, and eventually became Spendthrift Farm.

BH: Do you think it was his physique and upbringing that led to his success in sales?

TM: At the yearling sale, yes. But at the 2-year-old sale, it’s a different cup of tea. People want pedigree and condition, but you have to perform well on the track and he did that. He ran a quarter mile at Gulfstream Park in :20 3/5, very, very, very good for a 2 year old in training. Almost no one has ever broken 21 seconds.

In the end, he was the last 2-year-old to be sold at Gulfstream because Fasig-Tipton stopped selling 2-year-olds at that location. This horse got a lot of attention from that wind. He was one of the better horses at that sale and he finally proved it on the track two years later.

BH: Every consignor loves to see a sales horse go on to achieve great results on the track, not only for the sense of pride it brings, but also because it can keep buyers coming back for future consignments. What does a Grade 1 win from one of your sales graduates mean to your operation?

TM: I think what it means is that people have the confidence that they can come and buy a 2-year-old horse that we train and that we consign, and then they can win Grade 1 races. That’s what we’re trying to do as buyers and sellers. When you hook, the goal is profit, but listen, that’s not sustainable if you’re not selling good horses, and we feel like we’re selling good horses.

BH: Tell me about your process of hooking and consigning your fry. Without revealing any trade secrets, what are some of the key factors that have contributed to your success?

TM: There are no trade secrets, and I always use a restaurant analogy, which is to start with good ingredients and cook them well. Same with young horses, buying a yearling and preparing a 2 yearling for a 2 yearling training sale. It all starts with buying yourself a good racehorse prospect. A horse that has good form and enough pedigree to attract buyers’ interest and then they have to do well in a light show.

You really only get one chance to do it. People don’t want to hear excuses. It’s not like you’re giving a new guy his first race and ‘He doesn’t like the track, he doesn’t like the inside, or he doesn’t like the dirt hitting him in the face.’ At a wind show, you only get one wind and you have to get it right.

High risk and high reward. It’s frustrating when things don’t work out and it’s financially punishing, but it’s also rewarding when things do work out. I think Spendthrift, at this point, feels like they got a bargain at $800,000. And it’s hard to imagine that you buy a horse for $800,000 and feel like you got a bargain, but I’m sure today they feel like they got a real bargain.

BH: How do you see the 2-year-old market in 2024 and what changes do you think could help sales to teens grow?

TM: The way I find the market is a continuation of what we’ve seen. People want the best. People want better pedigree, better wind, better physique and what we consider the best. When they buy a 2-year-old horse in training, they don’t know what it’s going to be. We don’t know what it’s going to be. There’s a lot of speculation going on, so I try to buy what I like.

I also try to buy what I think the public will like. The game is dominated by bloodstock dealers. When I go to 2-year-old training sales, I see familiar faces at every stop, but those dealers represent a lot of thoroughbred owners with a lot of capital to spend on young horses.

I don’t deal directly with many owners at the 2-year-old training horse sales, but I do deal with their representatives. What we’ve continued to see over the past few years is an emphasis on quality. You have to have a beautiful horse.

BH: You mentioned that you feel that with so many sales, including digital and racehorses, sometimes 2-year-old sales aren’t as special as they used to be. Can you share some thoughts on that?

TM: I feel that way. Some of the terms I use are, ‘There’s no buzz at these third-rate auctions anymore.’ It’s a little boring. Now we have a sale every month, we have digital sales, we have flash sales, we have on-site sales, yearling sales, 2-year-old sales; there are so many sales for people to attend. I’m not smart enough or powerful enough to make those bigger decisions, but that’s how it feels to me. One of the adjustments I might make is not to plan to attend every 2-year-old-in-training sale because it’s probably not a good idea.

BH: What were some of your personal highlights at this year’s 2 year old sale?

TM: We sold the highest priced horse at the OBS April auction. It was a Tiz Law The mare sold for $1.9 million to Michael Lund Petersen and she went to California to Bob Baffert, so that was absolutely a highlight. She has the physical qualities that people are looking for. She has a very good pedigree. She is the offspring of a half-sister Abel Tasman … She was the highest priced horse by a significant margin. No other horse with a million-dollar price tag was offered for auction at that auction.

BH: Many yearling sales are coming up—what’s your process for selecting a horse to take?

TM: I think it’s time to bring this up, and this is me personally. The term ‘pinhooking,’ I understand what it means. It means buying a horse to resell later, but I also try to think of myself and we try to think of our operation as more than just pinhookers. I like to think of myself as a rider and a trainer. Everyone on the team is the same because we take the process very seriously. We don’t buy a horse and immediately start thinking about the end goal, which is profit. We buy a horse and, using a football analogy, Nick Saban, the longtime head coach at the University of Alabama—arguably the greatest college football coach ever—talks about this process every day. Worry about your one-on-one, and then worry about the game and the score. That’s how we approach the process of buying these young horses.

BH: When you go shopping for a horse to bridle, what do you consider most?

TM: I look for what I like. I know that’s a very general statement, but you know it when you see it. We all have a mental picture of what we like when we buy horses, what has worked for us in the past, what hasn’t worked for us in the past, and sometimes you learn more from your mistakes than your successes. That’s an ever-evolving perspective of mine on young horses, and I also like to learn from my peers and see what they buy and I like to learn from my buyers. People like the Todd Pletchers, the Bob Bafferts, the Chad Browns, successful riders who buy good horses year after year. I pay close attention to what they buy, not necessarily what they buy from me, but what they buy from people. Same with agents. There are some fantastic agents out there with really valid opinions and I like to see what they are doing. I am always a sponge trying to be a little better and buy a little better horse and get a little better results through the auction house and on the track.