Stauffenberg Q&A: 'If You Didn't Get Paid This Year You Did Something Wrong'

   As entertaining as he is brave, Philipp Stauffenberg has dominated the top bracket of the pinhooking table despite buying only a select number of foals each year.

   Stauffenberg was once again in the spotlight in October when five of his yearlings took Tattersalls by storm when selling for a combined figure of 2,345,000gns at a memorable Book 1 sale. 

   Back at Tattersalls, where he was searching for his next Book 1 star at the December Foal Sales, the never-boring and cigarillo-smoking Stauffenberg spoke with TDN Europe's Brian Sheerin about his approach to pinhooking, love for breeding, family history and much more. 

   Stauffenberg went on to add another foal to his portfolio at the December Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana, a €150,000 Hello Youmzain (Ire) filly. He also sold four foals at that sale and explains the reasons why they were offered at public auction below. 

Now that the foal sales are almost finished for 2022, how would you sum up buying in the current market?

Very tough. If you wanted to buy quality, the prices had risen and, overall, the selection of foals in that top bracket was very small. Quite often you can find the nice horse without the pedigree or else you have the page and the physical does not match up. I like to buy the physical and some of these physicals just didn't have a strong enough page for me. The problem for me is that we do all of the work back home in Germany. All the foals come back home to Germany and we prep them there. I have to focus on the Book 1, Book 2 or Orby horse, as that is where the market has the best chance of holding up. In is very difficult doing these high-level pinhooks. Obviously, you have a reduced number of people who are able to afford these high-end yearlings so, if I buy a foal for say €200,000, a lot of trainers and owners will automatically say that it will be out of their range when it comes to the yearling sales. For that reason, it is a little bit of a risk to buy in that bracket but, when it works out, it's very good. The other problem I face is, I just can't buy the numbers. Nowadays I buy seven to 10 foals. We are a small operation. I have a few principles on how I want to raise these horses so we keep only a very small number on the farm so we never overstock. I have just 39 boxes on the farm and these are all limiting factors. So, if I was to go to pretty much all of the sales and buy horses at every level, I would completely lose control. This is why I focus on the few sales and limit my selection process. 

I know you said you are concentrating on the top bracket but I noticed you bought a few speedier types on pedigree at least–two Dandy Mans (Ire) and an Advertise (GB)-at the foal sales at Goffs.

Buying that Advertise filly happened more or less by accident. I didn't target that filly. I was looking at other foals and I saw her out of the corner of my eye and really liked her. I bought her and, yes, there is hope that Advertise will produce some very good 2-year-olds and she is a lovely physical and I really adore her. I just thought they were racehorses. Whether they will be successful pinhooks, I don't know, but I think they are racehorses and that's why I bought them. 

Are you down on numbers for this year given you bought only two foals at Tattersalls?

I am happy with what I bought. I got six foals at Goffs and only two here at Tattersalls. I have some very nice colts but I am lacking the high-end filly. There was a better selection of high-end fillies here at Tattersalls on paper than at Goffs but the owner-breeders, Juddmonte especially, were so strong. The value was not there for me. I underbid the Lope De Vega (Ire) filly that Juddmonte bought for half a million-I went to 480,000gns-but, paying that price, your margin becomes very thin when you are buying for resale. I just wanted to have her. She was the one I liked the most of all the filly foals here. But I didn't succeed. I bid 600,000gns on the sister to Chaldean (GB) and she sold for one million. I formed a special syndicate to buy Chaldean when he was a foal but, again, Juddmonte were strong on him and already owned half of him. I just had to leave him behind as well. So I fended off all of my competitors on these high-end foals but when the owner-breeders, who are the people you want to be selling to the following year as yearlings, come in and bid strong, you cannot compete with that.

That was the major theme to develop at Tattersalls with Juddmonte, Shadwell and Moyglare being so strong. It must have been fairly demoralising going head-to-head with operations of that size?

Yea, it is in a way. You do your selection process and target these horses, then you try to think about what kind of money you will have to spend and, when it comes to the bidding, you can even go beyond your limit to try and get it and then you don't succeed. Obviously that is tough. But anyway, you have to cope with that. It's how the whole thing works. I only had a very short list of these fillies so, when you target them and cannot buy them, it is a little bit frustrating. 

It seemed like a lot of buyers were zoning in on the top of the market. Perhaps the thinking there is that, if there is a bit of a downturn in the economy, they will have the yearlings to sell to the recession-proof operations?

I think so. It is not only us but some of the pinhookers who have been operating at that high level, they have been really well-rewarded. The thinking is that it is a safer option. Okay, you have to spend a little bit more money but it might be better in the reselling process to focus on that bracket. Whether we have a year like this again, that is a question mark. We had a very special situation this year where Sheikh Mohammed and his son were incredibly strong on the high-end yearlings. Their spending impacted every other level of the market because the high-end buyers couldn't succeed at the top level against him and were forced to drop down. There was a knock-on effect and it lifted everything.

There was a cloud of doubt hanging over the yearling sales this year so, given what transpired, how surprising was that?

If you leave our little bubble, you have the war in Europe, which we haven't had since World War II, all the other problems the industry is facing with the situation in China and the supply chain, and the fact we had the coronavirus for two years as well. You had to be worried but the yearling sales turned out to be sensational. People say to me, oh you had a tremendous year, how do you do it? I think that is wrong. I might be a little bit more in the limelight through some big prices but, the truth is, anyone who had a half-decent horse made a profit this year. Whether it was a breeder or a pinhooker, it didn't matter, the whole market was so strong. If you didn't get paid this year, you did something wrong. You can't blame others. This year was the year for everybody and I think that was reflected in the foal sales and even more so now in the sales of mares. It's madness. It really is. I looked at every foal I felt would get into Book 1 and 2 at Tattersalls as well as high-end Orby types and, let me tell you, what some of my colleagues spent on foals that I would not like to touch was amazing. 

You mentioned the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, war is something your family knows all too much about. Can you tell us a little more about that?

My grand-uncle tried to assassinate Hitler but failed. The whole family was sent to a concentration camp after that. It was obviously a very difficult situation but, because it happened towards the end of the war, nobody really wanted to take over the responsibility of killing the entire Stauffenberg family. The order came from the German government for all of them to be killed and quite a big number of them were. A lot of my family were shot after it happened. My father told me all about his own situation in the concentration camp. He told me about how they were on the walk to death, as the German government had found someone who was willing to kill them all, but thankfully they were freed by the Americans. It's a relief that I am here today and I feel lucky but it does not really influence what I do in my life. Sometimes, you have to factor in what is going on in that world and how many people are in that same situation in Ukraine right now.

The war in Ukraine could have had a much more detrimental effect on our industry. 

Definitely. Okay, it's happening in Europe and is very close to us so it's overall very worrying but the war and the coronavirus have had a big impact on the way people do things. I have never seen so many poorly raised foals because of the costs involved-the price of everything has gone up. Don't forget we didn't have the easiest of years with the drought, either. This was also a major factor as well. Maybe that is why there was a smaller selection of foals but a lot more breeders may have decided not to sell their stock as foals due to the strength of the yearling market. They had too much money left over on the table so maybe a higher number of the better foals from this year's crop will be offered as yearlings next year. The pinhooking game is about getting value when buying foals. You have to weigh up if the foal has been underdone just because the people who prepped it didn't do the best possible job or whether the basics have not been laid with that foal. If the foal has had a poor youth, then you lack a foundation to be able to build them up. For example, if the bone substance is not there because they have not been raised properly, they will never make it as racehorses. The aim is to buy a really good racehorse and make money on the way. That is necessary to keep the whole thing going. But at the end of the day, if you don't sell good racehorses and only sell nice show horses, it will not work. 

Can you give us an idea of what kind of work you do with the foals between now and the yearling sales?

In the first few weeks, you have to look after them especially well because they have gone through a pretty difficult process. They have been prepped, which is one thing, and then the sales with all of the shows can be quite demanding. You have to be careful that these foals don't fall into a hole when you buy them. They normally live out 24/7 but we bring them in every day to check temperatures and give them a chance to lay in the straw or whatever. But they more or less live outside all of the time. You have to keep a close eye on how they are. That's very important, especially at this time. Luckily, I have had fewer foals who need to be wrapped up all of the time. I just hate these foals who have been pampered going to the sales. They are just not tough enough to live out all of the time so you may have to adjust one or two things for these ones. You can't leave those ones out day and night because it gets quite cold with us in Germany. It's an individual process but the goal is that they will all live outside in time. It's a natural approach and it's the same for when we prep them as yearlings. We don't keep them in the boxes during that time. All of them go out, depending on the weather, but usually they all stay out at night until the beginning of September. After that, they get turned out for between four and six hours per day. It's much more labour intensive and I need more staff to do it this way. For me, the horse comes first and, in nature, they wouldn't stay the whole day in a box and not be moving. That's why I like to have them out as much as possible. 

It's a big family operation with your wife Marion and daughter Alexandra heavily involved at the sales which must be a big help?

It's fantastic that it is like that. Alexandra studies in London but when I ruptured my Achilles tendon, I could not do anything with the yearlings and it was difficult to find staff so we managed to persuade her university to allow her to come back and work with us. She had to do an internship in the bracket of luxury goods and we managed to convince the university that we are dealing with luxury goods. This allowed her to come back and work with us and continue her studies. She always loved the horses and I was really happy to have an assistant this year. Whether she will continue in horses when her studies are complete, we don't know. 

When you think of this game objectively and explain what you do to people outside of the industry, spending six figures on a foal in the hope of turning it into a million-Euro yearling, it's all a bit crazy, isn't it?

I think about that more than you would believe. I think I am a realist. You may not believe that but I have my feet down on the earth and I am realistic about what can happen. It has just developed this way but I know that I am mad to be doing what I am doing. It is madness. Even I can admit that. It is mad and I am mad to be doing it. 

Has there ever been times where you thought it was too mad?

Again, I am thinking every moment like this. It is a high-risk thing. The way I do this, I select and buy the foals first and when I have finished my shopping, we start to split the horses up between different partners. That is a long process because it is difficult to please everyone. I'm not doing this, for example, in a way where everyone has to take 10 per cent of every horse, it's all different. Some may want 20 per cent in one and nothing in the other. It is up to me to try and balance the whole thing out. Whoever is willing to support every horse is at an advantage.

Can you explain a little more about who the partners are and what the breakdown of the investment is like?

There are some foals where I am left with them myself. A good example would be two years ago when I bought a Free Eagle (Ire) colt. He was well-bred on the dam side but obviously nobody wanted Free Eagle. I paid €80,000 for him but I couldn't persuade my partners to come in on him so I was left with 80 per cent. They just thought I was completely mad. I then sold him for 150,000gns here as a yearling so I was happy that I was left with 80 per cent on that occasion. I cannot do that every time because I am not a wealthy man. This is the risky part of this. I have to pay for all of these foals and then I go and collect between all of the different partners depending on what shares we sell after the sales. Luckily, some of my partners who have been with me for many years rely on my judgment and have done very well financially out of this. That makes it a little bit easier.

Is there one particular result that you look back on as being the one that catapulted you to becoming one of the leading pinhookers in Europe?

I have to admit that, in my heart, I am a breeder and never thought about pinhooking. It just developed through Andreas Putsch, who is also a German, and he knew how I was working with horses and asked me if I would like to pinhook for him. At the beginning, it was only his money I was spending and I was not even involved in the ownership of the foals. I only bought them, prepped and sold them. That was going quite well so some people were asking to come in. Andreas is no longer involved but other partners who started on that journey are still involved now and new ones have come in.

And prior to the pinhooking, how did you develop your love for thoroughbreds?

I was a professional showjumper before I started working in racing but I was not good enough to fulfill my dream by becoming an Olympic champion. I always loved thoroughbred breeding so, back in 1985, I was approached and became an assistant manager at a stud farm. I then managed two stud farms, building them up from scratch, before setting up my own bloodstock agency in 1994. Of the first foals and yearlings I bought, there were two Classic winners and several stakes horses, so I was very lucky at the time. There were two fillies by Seattle Dancer who were very good. Que Belle (Can) won the German 1,000 Guineas and the German Oaks and was Group 1-placed. She also ran in the Arc. She was a very good filly and we sold her to Wayne Hughes. This is how Marion and I could start our own operation because he obviously paid quite a lot of money for her. The other one was Rose Of Zollern (Ire), who I bought off Kirsten Rausing, so this is how it started. Marion and I have been developing the farm ever since and we have been developing the breeding side of the operation. Then I met Andreas and, as I said, he set me up. I never would have taken the risk to go at that level without him. 

You've mentioned a few times that it's the breeding that is closest to your heart so it must give you huge pleasure to have bred Fantastic Moon (Ger) who is one of the best 2-year-olds in Germany this year. 

Yes and it's very emotional for us because this colt is by Sea The Moon (Ger) and I bought the second dam of Sea The Moon as a foundation mare for Gestut Karlshof for €4,000 and she has produced three Classic winners. Marion and I met through the second dam of Frangipani (Ger), who is the dam of Fantastic Moon. From both sides, horse and human, it is very emotional. This family is very close to our heart. If Marion had not looked for a boarding place for that mare, Fraulein Tobin, many years ago, we'd have never met. For this to happen now after a sensational Book 1 sale is incredible. 

And what type of horse do you view Fantastic Moon as next year?

Obviously he's one of the best 2-year-olds in Germany but now he has to progress through the winter. I don't think he is a Derby horse because the family lacks stamina but obviously Sea The Moon is a stamina influence. I see him more as a 10-furlong horse. There is talk of the French Derby for him so we will see. It's a nice situation to be in. We can dream a little bit over the winter with that horse as well. 

You are best known for being a buyer but you also sell four foals at the December Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana. 

The Kingman (GB) was a foal share for a client and she was born and raised on the farm. Juddmonte want to sell most of these foals at the sales which is why she goes there. The other three were homebreds. It sounds odd but our homebreds sold very badly as yearlings this year so, to balance the books, we needed to sell the foals this year. 

I understand that you have been contemplating consigning mares as well?

The aim is to diversify. The demand of people who want to invest is getting bigger and I can't increase my foal portfolio. The idea is to buy young mares, breed from these mares and then sell the offspring. This is the aim as we'd like to develop a new branch in the portfolio. But I am not sure if now is the right time to invest in these younger mares because the market is so hot. If you want to turn the mare around quickly, you could buy a race filly and cover her and sell her on, but in my heart I am a breeder and would like to take on something that is more of a long-term process.

You clearly care deeply about breeding and your philosophy is an interesting one.

It sounds odd but money does not really interest me. Okay, I need to survive but that's all. I only need money to live. I can't take it with me anyway. I need to give my kids a chance as well but they are going to have to make it on their own. I said to all of my kids, 'you won't inherit anything because I need all of the money for the way we live our life', so the only thing they get is a good education and then they have to build it up on their own. 

Who has been your biggest influence on your journey in bloodstock?

I really adore a few of my colleagues. They do a fantastic job in the way that they prep their horses. Take Paul McCartan, he's a genius. He is somebody I have always adored. He's a very good stock person. If you look at some of the younger ones coming through, the Gleeson brothers from Aughamore do an incredible job as well. I was stabled beside them during Book 2 and we had a long chat about how they do everything. They are good guys. There are some fantastic people in this industry. If you were to ask me who influenced me, though, there isn't someone who has influenced me in pinhooking. It has just grown into its own thing and I have followed my own ideas. My main aim is to take care of these animals. It's a fine balancing act between producing your horses to achieve the best possible price but also allowing them to be animals and not being too hard on them. I have to admit that some of my competitors, when you look around and observe who they are, it's brutal. They are only thinking about money and what's best for them out of the whole industry. I can't do that. We have produced a lot of good horses but what we are lacking is a Chaldean. That's the aim. This is what I would like to achieve with what I am doing. I need to survive but the aim is to produce top-class racehorses. That's what gives me the most pleasure.