Happy New Year everyone. It's just under a month to the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales Series at Karaka. The parades have started in earnest including us showing the draft to a prospective buyer on New Years Eve!
New Zealand-bred horses have enjoyed a wonderful year in Australia in 2007 providing winners of the AJC Australian Derby (Fiumicino), W.S. Cox Plate (El Segundo), Caulfield Cup (Master O'Reilly), VRC Victoria Derby (Kibbutz) and VRC Emirates Melbourne Cup (Efficient). That's plenty of incentive for overseas buyers to be out in force at Karaka from 28 January.
After a fair bit of prompting Sam has nominated the following lots from LA's Premier Sale draft of 15 yearlings as his personal picks;
Sam has had a soft spot for Lot 382 the Savabeel colt (pictured below right) from Steluta from the day he was born. The dam has left some high priced yearlings and it's no wonder when you see them looking like this. With Gorky Park's runner-up effort behind Efficient in the 2006 VRC Victoria Derby, she's also shown she can leave horses that can run. "He's a masculine colt with a lovely head that is a clone for his father".
Lot 35 is the first foal of Centaine mare Centrefold Angel, a filly by first-season sire Shamardal. "A powerful filly with good bone, she has a lovely sensible head".
Lot 39 is a No Excuse Needed filly from Chatto Creek. "She's a scopey classic type with good reign".
Lot 439 (pictured left) is the first foal of imported mare Tycoon Lover by resident LA stallion Towkay. "An early, speedy type who is very powerfully built".
Sam's singles out from the Select;
Lot 757 - O'Reilly filly from Kincia . "She's really a Premier yearling who is a full sister to Lorraine Jameson's very good mare Ciara".
Lot 1069 - Savabeel colt from Trocair. "He's a big strong colt from a Flying Spur mare".
Lot 1143 - Towkay colt from Ashley Downs. "He's the image of dad in front and is from the family of Rios".
Towkay
December has been another big month for our resident sire. The Sue Harty bred filly Parole (Towkay-Out on Bail) collected a double down south while keeping with the fairer sex, Lady Cavalier (Towkay-Malahide) won the feature race on the second day of the Ellerslie Christmas Carnival.Speaking of feature races Towzan (Towkay - Kimberlite) took out the feature at Awapuni on Boxing Day and ran an unlucky second yesterday.
Tau Tona (Towkay- My Wild Irish Rose) who scored over 1200m at Otaki earlier in the month for breeders NJ & WM Cavanagh, is from the same family as Caulfield Cup runner-up and now resident LA broodmare Laebeel. A winner of nearly half a million Australian dollars when raced on lease from LA, Laebeel has a Pins filly at foot and is in foal to O'Reilly.
Animation (Towkay-Chica Guapa) was a winner over 1400m in Hong Kong. Bred by Anthony Lockyer, Animation was a trial winner as a two-year-old at Tauherenikau back in May of last year when trained by Guy Lowry.
The top priced Towkay at last years Karaka Yearling Sale was the colt from Gaysutina, fetching $270,000 from the LA draft. He was resold for a whopping NZ $800,000 just prior to Christmas at the International Sale in Hong Kong.
LA Success Overseas
Special Days (Keeper- Eva's Belle) just goes from strength to strength in Hong Kong, scoring again up there on 23 December, winning easily after leading throughout.
Over in Victoria, The Fonz (Traditionally-The World is Mine), put two wins together, the second most stylishly after coming from last at the turn at Kyneton (no easy task) before graduating to city class with second at Moonee Valley on 29 December. Some of you may recall The Fonz winning by seven lengths at his last NZ start back in May of last year. Passed in as a yearling The Fonz was sold by LA shortly after that impressive win to an Australian syndicate that includes Terry Henderson and Simon O Donnell. LA sells a particularly nice Keeper filly from a half sister to The Fonz as lot 834 in the Select Sale.
Pachanga (Redoutes Choice-Foxtrot) is back in work with the David Hayes stable and aiming at the Group One Blue Diamond Stakes next month. A $700,000 purchase by Jonathon Munz from our Karaka draft last year, her half brother by Savabeel has unfortunately been withdrawn from Karaka 2008 due to a small setback.
Charlie (Lot 998 Karaka Select)
Charlie could actually step into the sale ring tomorrow. He's probably the most physically advanced yearling across both our drafts. In 2006 we sold the second top priced No Excuse Needed yearling that year, a colt from Clermont Rose which fetched $280,000: now racing as group 3 winner Grand Dancer. And last year our No Excuse Needed colt from Cymbidium established a new Select Sale Record at $230,000. Sam points out how similar Charlie is to both these colts on makeup and on pedigree he's certainly no inferior to the Cymbidium yearling from last year.
Public Yearling Parade
Don t forget the
PUBLIC YEARLING PARADE
At LA
Sunday 13th January
10.30am.
For those of you coming out to Karaka for the sales we look forward to seeing you at barn F and joining us in some good LA hospitality where you too may find the next Pasta Post from an LA draft!
