Savabeel x Bling colt
Photo- Trish Dunell
It was a match made in heaven as New Zealand breeding superpower Waikato Stud and the leading buyer at Karaka for the past ten years combined to set the highest price on the first day of the National Yearling Sale Series at Karaka today.
Te Akau Racing supremo David Ellis has stood head and shoulders above the competition at Karaka in recent years as he has battled a host of international raiders to secure well credentialed youngsters for the local racing scene. One of Ellis' major aims has been to purchase potential stallion types to boost the local breeding landscape should they prove successful on the racetrack.
This year the "King of Karaka" was in two minds as to whether he should put together another syndicate of colts however any doubts were erased when he set eyes on Lot 200, the Savabeel colt from O'Reilly mare Bling who was on offer through the draft of Waikato Stud.
The colt is a full brother to Group One winner Diademe while exciting Group One performer Sacred Star also features in his extended pedigree.
"I wasn't sure about offering a colt's syndicate this year however once I started to inspect the yearlings that would be on offer I knew we just had to go again," he said.
"In particular I fell in love with this colt from the first time I saw him. He oozed quality and is from a cross that consistently produces quality stakes performing individuals.
"He was simply one of the colts of the sale as he just had everything you look for in an individual as well as the family to back it all up."
The handsome brown colt had been the major attraction of the extensive Waikato Stud draft with Stud principal Mark Chittick overwhelmed by the attention he had received.
"We knew he could possibly be the best we had sold here at Karaka purely through the sheer volume of parades and interest he has received," he said.
"Everything just came together perfectly as he has a wonderful extended pedigree that is full of stakes performers and as a type he has excited anyone who has looked at him.
"I generally don't get that nervous before they go through the ring but for this guy I admit I was a little apprehensive."
Chittick needn't have been concerned as the response from the buying bench was immediate and the colt raced past $500,000 early in the piece. Ellis had entered the fray by then and as each of his challengers fell away he signed for the colt with a final bid of $775,000. That figure represented a record for Waikato Stud at any auction as it eclipsed the $600,000 they received for a Fastnet Rock colt in 2015.
The purchase was one of 12 individuals secured by Ellis on the day as he outlaid in excess of $3.2million. Included in that figure was Lot 151, a colt by Tavistock from Zabeel mare Zsa Zsa Gabeel who was purchased from the Cambridge Stud draft for $460,000 along with a Fastnet Rock filly, Lot 101 from Curraghmore who sold for $420,000. Ellis was also the underbidder on Lot 113, the unique white filly by High Chaparral who went to a Japanese buyer for $450,000. - NZ Racing Desk.
Te Akau Racing supremo David Ellis has stood head and shoulders above the competition at Karaka in recent years as he has battled a host of international raiders to secure well credentialed youngsters for the local racing scene. One of Ellis' major aims has been to purchase potential stallion types to boost the local breeding landscape should they prove successful on the racetrack.
This year the "King of Karaka" was in two minds as to whether he should put together another syndicate of colts however any doubts were erased when he set eyes on Lot 200, the Savabeel colt from O'Reilly mare Bling who was on offer through the draft of Waikato Stud.
The colt is a full brother to Group One winner Diademe while exciting Group One performer Sacred Star also features in his extended pedigree.
"I wasn't sure about offering a colt's syndicate this year however once I started to inspect the yearlings that would be on offer I knew we just had to go again," he said.
"In particular I fell in love with this colt from the first time I saw him. He oozed quality and is from a cross that consistently produces quality stakes performing individuals.
"He was simply one of the colts of the sale as he just had everything you look for in an individual as well as the family to back it all up."
The handsome brown colt had been the major attraction of the extensive Waikato Stud draft with Stud principal Mark Chittick overwhelmed by the attention he had received.
"We knew he could possibly be the best we had sold here at Karaka purely through the sheer volume of parades and interest he has received," he said.
"Everything just came together perfectly as he has a wonderful extended pedigree that is full of stakes performers and as a type he has excited anyone who has looked at him.
"I generally don't get that nervous before they go through the ring but for this guy I admit I was a little apprehensive."
Chittick needn't have been concerned as the response from the buying bench was immediate and the colt raced past $500,000 early in the piece. Ellis had entered the fray by then and as each of his challengers fell away he signed for the colt with a final bid of $775,000. That figure represented a record for Waikato Stud at any auction as it eclipsed the $600,000 they received for a Fastnet Rock colt in 2015.
The purchase was one of 12 individuals secured by Ellis on the day as he outlaid in excess of $3.2million. Included in that figure was Lot 151, a colt by Tavistock from Zabeel mare Zsa Zsa Gabeel who was purchased from the Cambridge Stud draft for $460,000 along with a Fastnet Rock filly, Lot 101 from Curraghmore who sold for $420,000. Ellis was also the underbidder on Lot 113, the unique white filly by High Chaparral who went to a Japanese buyer for $450,000. - NZ Racing Desk.