9 Mar 2022The wait to see our stunning son of Pierro enter the Karaka ring was well rewarded when he provided the highlight of the day as the curtain fell on Book 1 of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale.
Lot 621 was chased by several potential buyers, but former long-serving Trelawney Stud employee Kevin Walls, now operating as KPW Bloodstock, put paid to his opposition with a closing bid of $850,000 on behalf of an Australian client.
“He will get broken in and carry on. When we think he is ready he will head to Australia, where I am sure Peter Moody will be up near the top of the list when it comes to selecting a trainer,” he said.
“He has a great action. I have seen him half a dozen times and he has a great attitude, moves like a cat and was my pick of the sale.”
Brendan Lindsay had a smile a mile wide after the colt had left the ring and a significant milestone result.
“It is very exciting, the highest priced yearling I have ever sold. Half a million dollars is a lot of money, but I thought he would make that quite easily, but you don’t know and to get $850,000 is a big result,” he said.
“It was quite exciting to finish the sale for us and it is great for the staff to finish off all of the hard work they have put in on such a high.
“It is also extremely gratifying to see how many of the good judges were on him and when you see Tom Magnier, one of the best judges in the world, as the underbidder that says it all.”
The colt is the second foal of the English-bred Makfi mare Subatomic, who had a filly last season by Savabeel and visited our own Hello Youmzain, and she boasts an impressive international pedigree.
Savabeel has proved to be an ideal match for our Pins mare Silk Pins and we came up trumps again at Karaka with the $320,000 sale of their son.
Offered as Lot 580, the colt had widespread admirers before Tartan Meadows Bloodstock saw off their rivals.
Silk Pins was a precocious performer who won as a two-year-old and placed in the G1 Diamond Stakes and Karaka Million before going to stud and both of her winners, including our own Savasilk, are by Savabeel.
Te Akau has already enjoyed a huge result with a son of Almanzor and the powerhouse operation will be hoping for more of the same after purchasing one of our star colts, Lot 532, for $300,000.
They won New Zealand’s richest two-year-old race with a first crop son of our shuttle stallion and comparisons were drawn with their latest purchase.
“We thought he was very similar to our Karaka Million 2YO-winning colt Dynastic. He’s athletic, good mover, correct, and just has plenty of substance and quality about him. He ticked all the boxes and looks to have the X factor,” David Ellis said.
The colt is out of the Power mare Respin, who won the Listed Inglewood Stakes and is a half-sister to the Group 3 performer Dame Margo Fonteyn.
“We thought he was as good an Almanzor colt as there was in the sale. We fell in love with him and he’s out of stakes winning mare,” Ellis said.
We were away to a cracking start on the final day of Book 1 when our first offering, Lot 443, was the subject of a protracted bidding duel before she was claimed by Group One-winning Sydney trainer Mark Newnham for $160,000.
She is a daughter of Tavistock and boasts a strong international pedigree with her dam the German-bred Lawman mare Nessun Dorm, whose only foal to race has been placed in England.
On the other side of the fence, we had to stave off determined opposition to purchase Wentwood Grange’s Lot 489 for $450,000.
A stunning daughter of Pierro, she is a half-sister to the G1 Telegraph H. winner Signify and the multiple winner and Group One placegetter El Sicario.
There is also an international flavour to the pedigree with family member Champion’s Way a two-time Group Three winner in Hong Kong.