Happy New Year everyone! The champagne corks popped a little earlier at the farm thanks to Zed’s first winner on 10 December. To add to the Xmas celebrations, on New Years Eve Zed also had his first Australian winner, followed the next day by the victory of Chicharita (Towkay-Swiftsynd) in the Group Two Royal Stakes at Ellerslie. All in all a magic way to bring in and start the New Year!
Sam was in Australia just prior to Xmas and felt the feedback about buying at Karaka this year was at least on par to what he experienced last year on a similar marketing trip. The parades of our Karaka draft for trainers and agents have commenced and a certain Thorn Park colt is catching more glances than Liz Hurley at stag do.
You can see what all the fuss is about and our other 29 Karaka bound yearlings at the public parade of our draft here at LA on Sunday 15 January, commencing at 10.30am. Per Incanto, Towkay and Zed will also be paraded.
Per Incanto, Towkay and Zed
128 mares have tested in foal to Per Incanto and with a smattering of them of Premier quality and a number at the Select Sale level. We could not be any happier with the start breeders have given the son of Street Cry.
The latest performances of Towkay’s three-year-old crop continue to highlight what he can achieve with a better standard of mare. Precision King (Towkay- Quasi Stellar) just failed to make it three consecutive wins when beaten narrowly by Trapiche at the Ellerslie Xmas Carnival, with the winner breaking 1.09 for the 1200m, but it was his filly Chicharita (Towkay-Trisynd) who took the spotlight, backing up a strong Ellerslie win on 7 December with a last to first victory in the Group Two Royal Stakes at the same course on New Year’s Day.
Chicharita becomes Towkay’s 11th individual stakeswinner and his 21st stakes performer.
Interestingly Chicharita, who is owned and bred by Curraghmore Stud’s Gordon Cunningham, is yet another leading Towkayperformer containing the Fair Trial bloodline in their female family.
Zed’s inaugural winner Kina Win (Zed-Maggs) had a real LA flavour with the three-year-old gelding bred by the farm from a Towkay mare. Congratulations to trainer Michael Pitman and owner Siobhan Kirkland for their success and good luck as they target the South Island Guineas races over the summer.
Our stallion groom Helen Phinney then had the honour of breeding Zed’s first winner in Australia when Choir Girl (Zed-Stella Suprema) won over 1400m at the Gold Coast meeting on Saturday.
Performance of the Month
The LA bred and raced Skittle (Pins-Rapid Kay) pictured left had to be good to win at Waipukurau on 4 December. Never closer than three wide from the fence for the entire 1400m contest, the four-year-old mare showed all the class and courage of her stakeswinning and dual group one placed dam, stalling off all challenges to win narrowly but well.
Skittle who we hope can make the field for the Wairarapa Breeders Stakes at Tauherenikau on 6 February has an outstanding Darci Brahma half brother selling as lot 392 at Karaka.
Karaka Sales 30 January to 5 February
On the back of the recent upgrades for Lot No’s 105 and 392 in our Karaka Premier draft comes more good news with the latest performances from Tiger Stripe in Australia and domestically, the highly promising Darci Brahma colt Nashville.
Tiger Stripe who recorded his third consecutive success in Victoria earlier this month is from a half sister to our first lot through the Premier Sale, an Alamosa filly from the multiple stakes producing mare Vedodara, which sells as Lot 5. Opportunities to buy fillies from this sought after family are rare and Tiger Stripe’s recent form is a further reminder of this family’s ability to leave high performing racehorses.
One of the more exciting three-year-olds in the country at the moment is the exciting Adrian Bull trained Nashville, who’s latest success at Awapuni on 17 December bought his record to two wins and a second from just three career starts. LA offers a half sister by the leading sire Stravinsky to Nashville, which sells as lot 410 at Karaka
Our Karaka Select Sale draft received a boost courtesy of the wins during December by Darci’s Money (Darci Brahma-Miss Moneytree), who won over 1200m in New South Wales and Excellent Beauty (No Excuse Needed-Chatto Creek) a 1200m winner in Singapore on 4 December. Darci’s Money has a full brother selling as Lot 905 while Excellent Beauty has a half sister by Towkay as Lot 635 – the only Towkay filly in the entire Karaka Sale.
Other News
The LA bred and raced Kekova (Elusive City-Racing Waters) won over 1400m at Awapuni on Saturday to the cheers of many of her owners and their supporters.
Selador (Savabeel-Double Okay) who recorded her second win from just seven starts when successful at Taupo on 30 January was bred by the farm and is raced out on lease. She holds a nomination for the New Zealand Oaks.
The LA bred Gamekeepers (Pins-Eloa) having just his fourth career start, recorded his third consecutive Hong Kong victory when successful over 1400m at Sha Tin on 1 January. National Treasure (Pins-Trigon Lass) is another promising son of Pins that we have sold to Hong Kong and the Pins – Wait a Minute colt in our Karaka Premier draft appeals as a similar type to those horses – strong with plenty of scope.
LA acquired a Centaine half sister to the exciting filly Xanadu last month and since then the mare has tested in foal to Darci Brahma. Some other confirmed pregnancies of interest include the group winning racemare Eloa to Zabeel and Maria’s Story to the same stallion. The later is a half sister to Natalie Wood the dam of Maluckday (Zabeel) which has the John Gilbert owned Woodborough mare carrying a very close relation to the Melbourne Cup runner-up.
Important Upcoming Dates
15 January - Yearling Parade at LA
21 January - Trentham Wine and Racing Festival
28 January – Wellington Cup at Trentham
30 January – Karaka Sales commence
HAPPY RACING
