|
|
Stravinsky filly tops Karaka session Te Akau Stud's David Ellis came away with the top-priced horse during session one of last year's New Zealand Bloodstock's Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka -- he eventually purchased the sale topper in session two -- and was back at it in 2012. During an opening session that yielded mixed results, Ellis saw fit to go to NZ$740,000 to acquire a Stravinsky filly from the draft of Cambridge Stud. The filly was produced by Jesmonds Gift (Magic of Sydney), an 11-year-old half-sister to champion Canny Lad (Bletchingly) and multiple Group 1 winner Canny Las (Bletchingly). It's also the immediate family of the talented champion juvenile Sepoy (Elusive Quality). The filly sold late in Monday's session as Lot No. 256. "She is a beautiful filly with a lovely outlook and a lot of class, and we are thrilled to be training her," Ellis said. "You have got to be prepared to pay for the best fillies, and we were prepared to do that today. She was bought for a very good client who has had many fillies with Te Akau over the past 20 years. Stravinsky is a very good international sire of fillies, and we are going to aim her for the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, which Te Akau has a great record with, having won four of the last six titles." Dual Group 1 Breeders' Cup Turf winner High Chaparral has emerged as a legitimate understudy to his luminary stablemates Galileo and Montjeu at Coolmore, and has carved out a sterling reputation in Australasia as the sire of the likes of So You Think and the Group 1 winners Descarado, Monaco Consul and Shoot Out. For much of Monday's opener, yearlings by the son of Sadler's Wells held the top placings at Karaka before being demoted by the Stravinsky filly five lots from the end. The first of the High Chaparrals through the ring was Lot 130, a colt from the account of Lyndhurst Farm who realized NZ$650,000. The November 2-foaled colt is the third foal from Group 1 Avondale Gold Cup heroine Creil (Frenchpark), and was knocked down to Hong Kong agent Willie Leung for Hong Kong owner W.K. Lee. "We thought he was the best High Chaparral in the sale, and we were very keen to get him," Leung said. "Mr. Lee wants a tough stayer and has been looking for a long time for a horse like this. We paid a premium to get him, but in order to get such a quality horse, that is sometimes necessary. The horse will remain in New Zealand for at least 18 months for training, and we will race him here in New Zealand before deciding whether he is good enough to send to Hong Kong." Less than an hour later, a High Chaparral filly matched that NZ$650,000 price tag when Gai Waterhouse and James Harron Bloodstock won the war for Lot 159. Consigned by Cambridge Stud, the filly traces back to the Cambridge blue hen Eight Carats and was produced by the stakes-winning Diamond Like (Danehill). The 13-year-old Diamond Like is a half or three-quarter sibling to three stakes winners, including Group 1 Spring Champion hero Viking Ruler (Danehill), and is a daughter of Australian and New Zealand champion Tristalove. A Zabeel half-brother to the High Chaparral filly topped the 2010 Premier Sale on James Bester Bloodstock's NZ$2 million bid. Overall, the sale was off to a slow start compared with 2011. With 107 lots selling for NZ$24,817,500, the average of NZ$145,985 was down 12 percent from last year's corresponding figure. The median of $120,000 was down 7.7 percent. In kind, the not-sold rate was up, from 25 percent to 30 percent. But New Zealand Bloodstock Co-Managing Director Andrew Seabrook anticipates a stronger second session of selling. "There is no lack of firepower to the buying bench, with good horses attracting plenty of competition, but the market is taking a bit of time to settle into a steady pace," Seabrook said. "Many buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach, and from what I'm told, several leading buyers have their favorite horses in (Tuesday). Like Magic Millions, which picked up significantly on the second day, we would expect to see improvement here (Tuesday)." Tuesday's session will complete the Premier portion of the National Yearling Sales Series at Karaka. The Select Yearling Sale is comprised of three days, running Wednesday through Friday, with the single-session Festival Yearling Sale concluding things Sunday after a dark day Saturday. For complete results, catalog, outs, and live video, visit www.nzb.co.nz.
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
