January 2010
2009 was full of highlights for LA. Stakeswinners throughout the year, bred, reared or sold by the farm included Roman Emperor(Group 1 AJC Derby), More Bountiful and Marquardt. Some of the listed and group placegetters in 2009 to have come off the farm include Pachanga, Blonde Bombshell, Aspinal, Special Day's, La Collina and the Classic placed Larry's Never Late and Can't Keeper Down.
Looking forward it's just under a month until our next batch of stars are auctioned at the Karaka Yearling Sales starting in Auckland on Monday 1 February.
Towkay has had nine individual winners over the last month including High Octane in the Group Three Manawatu Cup while his filly Blonde Bombshell made a great fist of her stakes debut running third in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic.
Read on for pedigree updates of some of our Karaka yearlings and the great results for one of our clients.
Towkay
Winners for Towkay over the last month have been...
High Octane (Towkay-Trendy and True) winner of the Group Three Manawatu Cup at 2300m.
Loose Lover (Towkay-Tycoon Lover) maiden winner over 1300m.
Cracker Tee Pee (Towkay-Imperial Inn) the LA bred was a winner over 1600m at Trentham
Blonde Bombshell (Towkay-Millie Munro) won over 1400m at Ellerslie on 9 December.
Parole (Towkay-Out on Bail) the Sue Harty bred mare won her sixth race scoring over 1200 on 28 December.
Tycoon (Towkay-Clermont Lass) the LA bred won his fourth race scoring over 1600m.
Towcutter (Towkay-Eva's Belle) his 1200m success in Victoria was his fourth career win in 16 starts.
Super Bobo (Towkay-Be Reasonable) won his second Hong Kong race taking a 1600m event.
Esteem Power (Towkay-Dolphin Miss) the J Haigh bred three-year-old won over 1400m in Singapore
The win by High Octane showcased ....
... the toughness inherent in so many of the Towkay breed. Group races are notoriously difficult to win not the least a time honoured race such as the Manawatu Cup with a capacity field. Yet despite racing four and three wide for the first half of the race then sitting outside the leader on a fast pace the Gregor Robson trained High Octane refused to lie down in the home straight. The form out of the race has certainly held-up with Fazza and Manonamission, fifth and second respectively in the Manawatu Cup, then running 2nd and third to Red Ruler in the Group Two City of Auckland Cup.
Trying for an all the way win in her stakes debut the three-year-old Towkay filly Blonde Bombshell (Towkay-Millie Munroe) produced a brave effort for third in Boxing Day's Group Two Eight Carat Classic at Ellerslie with her fast early sectional's enabling exceptional filly Katie Lee to post a winning time of 1.33.69, a clocking rarely bettered by New Zealand three-year-olds over 1600m.
Part of our 2008 Karaka Premier draft for her breeders Herb Renall, B. Payn and Mark Oulaghan, Blonde Bombshell (Towkay-Millie Munroe) was sold at the Sale to Sir Patrick Hogan, Peter Walker and Alastair Sutherland for $150,000. LA sells very well related Towkay fillies from Gaysutina LOT 1011 and Trigon Lass LOT 769 at the upcoming Karaka Select Sale starting on 3 February.
LOT 769 received a pedigree update following the win by Seeker (Keeper-Edsa) over 1600m at Otaki on 4 January. Both Trigon Lassand Edsa are daughters of Kentucky Lass.
Karaka Yearling Sale Series 1 to 8 February
The first graduate from our 2009 Karaka Premier Sale to grace the racetrack made a most encouraging debut when a close second in the two-year-old race at Awapuni on Manawatu Cup Day. Kalisan (Stratum-Eloa) who heads next to the Group Two Wakefield Challenge Stakes at Trentham on 23 January was a $220,000 Karaka purchase by Stephen Gray. LA will offer a half brother to Kalisanby Pins at the Karaka Ready to Run Sale later this year
Here's a small selection of Sam's thoughts on this year's Karaka draft:
Most Improved Horse: The Pins-Roseario filly LOT 135.
Outstanding Filly on Type: Pins-Dancing Daze filly LOT 353
Most Improved Towkay Colt: Towkay-La Grandezza LOT 490
There is no hotter stallion in Australia at present than Lohnro and LA expects a lot of interest in the Lohnro-Danone filly who is LOT 360. The win by the son of Hussonet A Gold Trail in the Group One Blandford Lodge Railway Stakes should create a lot of interest in the Hussonet-Opportunity colt who we offer as LOT 80.
As we've said before this year's draft are an extremely even line-up. Sam feels it's probably the strongest offering the farm has yet presented at a Karaka Select Sale ranging from fillies offering very good residual such as LOT 781 the Darci Brahma-Tycoon Lover, LOT 882 the Written Tycoon -Bondi Beauty, LOT 928 the Pins-Cruz Control and LOT 1099 the O'Reilly-Kincia through to an outstanding selection of Towkay colts; Lot 490 the Towkay-La Grandezza colt has great scope, slightly longer in the body and leg than your typical Towkay whereas the colts from Heureka, Sonia Blade and Jabeske look natural early running types who will make great turnover horses for sales like the ready to runs.
Other News
La Collina third in the Group Two Royal Stakes at Ellerslie on New Year's Day was foaled and reared at LA for her owners Brown Thoroughbreds and JML Bloodstock.
The LA bred Special Days (Keeper-Eva's Belle) has been a grand campaigner in Hong Kong over a number of seasons and last weekend saw the six-year-old gelding finally capture black-type with a third placing in the Hong Kong Group 3 Challenge Cup.
Last season's New Zealand Oaks runner-up the LA bred Can't Keeper Down (Keeper-Ashley Downs) was a fresh up winner over 1400m at Tauherenikau on January 2.
The recent Group One and Two wins of Ekstreme have been well received by LA client Alan Jackson. Alan bought Ekstremes's dam Cashcade privately earlier this year.
On behalf of the team at LA we wish you all a very Happy New Year and trust that it will be even brighter than 2009 and of course for those of you who make it to Karaka you are so very welcome to join us in our usual spot in Barn D for some good old fashioned LA hospitality.
