Karaka Graduates Honoured at New Zealand Horse of the Year Awards
9 September 2025
The champions of New Zealand’s 2024-25 season were crowned during the Horse of the Year Awards in Hamilton on Sunday night, where four Karaka graduates were named the standouts of their respective categories.
La Dorada (NZ) (Super Seth) won Champion Two-Year-Old with 53 of the 60 votes cast, Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel) took Champion Three-Year-Old honours, Willydoit (NZ) (Tarzino) was Champion Stayer and Grail Seeker (NZ) (Iffraaj) was named Champion Sprinter.
LA DORADA
La Dorada (NZ) (Super Seth) is yet another Karaka-sourced Champion Two-Year-Old for Te Akau Racing, whose previous winners of that title include Tokyo Tycoon (NZ) (Satono Aladdin), Cool Aza Beel (NZ) (Savabeel), Yourdeel (NZ) (Dundeel), Avantage (Fastnet Rock) and Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) – all purchased at Karaka by David Ellis.
Breeders Waikato Stud offered La Dorada in Book 1 of Karaka 2024, where Ellis secured her for $190,000.
The star filly’s five-start juvenile season produced four wins, a second and $1.06m in prize-money – five and a half times her purchase price.
In her final three appearances of the season, the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained La Dorada completed an unprecedented treble in the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie, the Group Two Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Matamata, and Group One Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Trentham.
| Vendor | Waikato Stud Ltd |
| Purchaser | Mr DC Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) (Te Akau) |
| Breeding | Super Seth – Gold Fever |
| Sale | Lot 109, Karaka 2024 Book 1, $190,000 |
| Breeder | Chittick Investments Ltd & Waikato Stud Ltd |
| Owner | Te Akau Solid Gold Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM) |
SAVAGLEE
The Oaks Stud paid $400,000 to buy Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel) from Waikato Stud’s draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2023, and that purchase was handsomely rewarded during a spectacular three-year-old season.
Matamata trainer Pam Gerard guided the colt through an eight-race campaign that produced five wins, three placings and $1.07m in stakes. Savaglee put together four consecutive wins in the Group Two Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m), Group Two Sarten Memorial (1400m), Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Group Two Levin Classic (1400m), then took on an elite weight-for-age field of older sprinters and ran third in the Group One BCD Group Sprint (1400m).
In his final three-year-old start, Savaglee ventured across the Tasman and finished second behind Feroce (NZ) (Super Seth) in an all-Karaka quinella in the A$1m Group One Australian Guineas at Flemington.
Savaglee has had an overall total of 15 starts for seven wins, four placings and $1.21m.
Savaglee and La Dorada completed a remarkable double on Horse of the Year Awards night for Waikato Stud. It means they bred and sold the winners of both the Champion Two-Year-Old and Champion Three-Year-Old awards.
| Vendor | Waikato Stud Ltd |
| Purchaser | The Oaks Stud (Waikato) |
| Breeding | Savabeel – Glee |
| Sale | Lot 210, Karaka 2023 Book 1, $400,000 |
| Breeder | Waikato Stud Ltd |
| Owner | The Oaks Stud |
WILLYDOIT
Byerley Park trainer Shaun Clotworthy picked out a striking son of Tarzino (NZ) in the Westbury Stud draft at Karaka 2023 and bought him for $75,000. Along with his co-trainer Emma, plus co-owner Bryan Black and thousands more shareholders in a MyRacehorse syndicate, Clotworthy was taken on an unforgettable ride with the horse they named Willydoit (NZ).
And it all happened very quickly, with Willydoit kicking off his career with a booming finish for third over 1150 metres at Te Aroha in November. A mere four months later, he outstayed and outclassed his rivals with a two-and-a-quarter-length triumph in the $1.25m Group One New Zealand Derby (2400m) on Champions Day at Ellerslie.
Willydoit then carried on over to Sydney, finishing a gallant fourth after a tough wide run in the A$2m Group One Australian Derby (2400m) at Randwick.
Willydoit’s seven-start campaign as a three-year-old produced four wins, a third, a fourth and more than $950,000 in stakes – 12 times his purchase price.
| Vendor | Westbury Stud |
| Purchaser | Mr S Clotworthy (Auckland) |
| Breeding | Tarzino – Willamette |
| Sale | Lot 639, Karaka 2023 Book 1, $75,000 |
| Breeder | G Harvey |
| Owner | B G Black, Mrs E L Clotworthy & MyRacehorse Pty Ltd |
GRAIL SEEKER
This was a breakthrough season for Grail Seeker (NZ) (Iffraaj), who had previously shown promise up to Group Two level as a three-year-old but went on to scale all new heights at four.
In her first two starts of the season, she scored scintillating come-from-behind victories in the Group One Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings and the Group One Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham. She won those two prestigious weight-for-age races by a combined margin of almost four lengths and beat fellow Group One winners Skew Wiff (NZ) (Savabeel), Waitak (NZ) (Proisir), Bonny Lass (NZ) (Super Easy), Crocetti (NZ) (Zacinto), Snazzytavi (NZ) (Tavistock), Puntura (NZ) (Vespa) and Mercurial (NZ) (Burgundy).
Grail Seeker is trained by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott. She was offered by Jamieson Park in Book 1 of Karaka 2022, where Kakapo Lodge bought her for $130,000.
From a total of 14 starts, Grail Seeker has recorded four wins and four placings. She has earned $737,215 for owners Sir Trevor Clarke and Chris Jones.
| Vendor | Jamieson Park |
| Purchaser | Kakapo Lodge (Auckland) |
| Breeding | Iffraaj – Starwish |
| Sale | Lot 610, Karaka 2022 Book 1, $130,000 |
| Breeder | Jamieson Park Ltd |
| Owner | Sir Trevor Clarke & C B Jones |