Brookdale's Pinhooking Operation Has a Big Week

When two fillies consigned by Philip Prevost-Baratte on behalf of Brookdale Farm go through the ring at the Arqana Breeze Up Sale later this week, buyers might want to give both a second look. Brookdale's pinhooking operation is riding a hot hand and jumping on board might not be the worst idea.

Last Friday, Serengeti Empress (Alternation) won the GI Kentucky Oaks. She was bought by Dixon Enterprises, a group led by Brookdale's Fred Seitz, Jr., as a weanling for $25,000 at Keeneland November and resold at the 2017 Keeneland September sale as a yearling for $70,000. The buyer was Joel Politi, who gave the filly to Tom Amoss to train. Three days later, another product of the Brookdale operation, showed that she is a filly to keep an eye on as Proud Mandate (Strong Mandate) romped in an allowance race at Parx to remain unbeaten in two career starts.

“We've always been doing it a little bit, but we've been pinhhooking quite a bit more for the last five or six years,” said Seitz, Jr. “We've done foals to yearlings and quite a bit of yearlings to 2 year-old sales. This year we probably have five to seven 2 year-olds and probably 10 yearlings.”

Brookdale paid just $25,000 for Serengeti Empress and $62,000 for Proud Mandate, who they also purchased at the Keeneland November 2016 Breeding Stock Sale. Seitz will pay more for a horse and said he's gone up to $200,000, but much prefers to find horses that sell for $100,000 or less.

“It just the level of risk involved,” Seitz said when asked to explain why he doesn't buy more expensive horses. “We are horsemen, we do it every day and we know what can happen. So quickly you can get a phone call that your investment has become a ruined investment.”

Brookdale will buy colts, but Seitz believes that fillies present better opportunities.

“We do buy colts, but colts seem to cost more money,” Seitz said. “I think you're more likely to get a filly at a value price. It always seems that way, that you can get a better physical at a modest price buying a filly.”

Serengeti Empress was raised at Brookdale, which is in Versailles, Kentucky. The team there thought early on that she had potential.

“The reason we bought her in the first place was based purely on the physical,” Seitz said. “She seemed to have a lot of potential. She was good enough mover and I thought, with the way she looked and the potential we thought she had, she could blossom into something really nice. That's what happened as a yearling, she really blossomed. I talked to a few friends of mine leading up to the [yearling] sale and at the sale, saying I really like the way she looks, the way she's moving. But to be quite honest, if I had known she'd be a Kentucky Oaks winner she would have been standing in the winner's circle in the Brookdale silks.”

Seitz didn't keep her, but he's still proud that Brookdale was part of the process that delivered a Kentucky Oaks win, and he said he is overjoyed for the connections.

“It is absolutely a huge sense of pride for us and I'm excited for the people who bought her from us,” he said. “From what I know of the connections, they seem like great people and seem very deserving of this. I'm always happy for people that buy a horse off us that goes on to have any sort of success, whether they resell it for more money or go on to win a big race.”

Proud Mandate has a long way to go before she merits comparison with Serengeti Empress. She broke her maiden by 4 1/2 lengths in her debut last August at Monmouth, but then went on the shelf until reappearing Tuesday at Parx. Ridden by Daniel Centeno and trained by Keith Nations, she won her comeback, a 6 1/2-furlong allowance race, by 1 3/4 lengths.

“I heard all along that she is talented,” Seitz said. “She had a couple of issues along the way and had a long layoff. But to be two- for-two just shows she's a very gutsy, mentally tough type of filly to have overcome a problem. I have heard they like her quite a bit. She sure looked good in that race Tuesday.”

At Arqana, Brookdale will sell Hip No. 2, a filly by The Factor. She cost $40,000 at Keeneland September. Brookdale will also sell Hip No. 49, a filly by Kitten's Joy. She cost $85,000, also at Keeneland September. Might one go on to be a Group 1 winner? The odds are against it. But, this is a sport for dreamers and Brookdale, and everyone else involved with Serengeti Empress, proved that when smart people are involved anything can happen in horse racing.