Major NZ Studs Underpin Karaka 2014

Five vendors at New Zealand Bloodstock’s forthcoming National Yearling Sales Series make up 42% of the 469 yearlings entered in the Premier Sale, strongly underpinning the stellar selection on offer at Karaka in less than a fortnight.

Savabeel - One of Waikato Stud's leading sires.

Waikato Stud (55), Cambridge Stud (48), Windsor Park Stud (36), Trelawney Stud (30) and Westbury Stud (30) have the five largest drafts in the 2014 Karaka Premier Sale, and are set to provide a wealth of the highlights of Sales Week.

The largest draft in the Premier Sale comes from Waikato Stud who has committed its entire yearling line-up to Karaka this year. One of the most successful Group 1 producers in Australasia, the stud is responsible for 27 Group 1 winners to date, with a remarkable average of 12 stakes winners bred each season.

Now in its 20^th year of having the Chittick family at the helm, Waikato Stud continues to go from strength to strength with a legacy of successful stallions that includes some of the hottest sires of the moment. Waikato Stud’s 2014 draft is characterized by a strong representation of their highly successful resident sires O’Reilly, Pins and Savabeel.

Highlights from Waikato Stud’s 2014 draft include:

• Lot 28 – Colt by Savabeel from dual Group 1 winning sprinter Glamour Puss (Tale of the Cat).
• Lot 100 – Colt by Savabeel from Group 1 Kelt Capital Stakes and Group 1 NZ Oaks winner Legs (Pins)
• Lot 107 – Full-brother to four-time Group 1 winner and exciting young sire Alamosa (O’Reilly).
• Lot 268 – A Savabeel colt out of Group 3 winner Splashing Out (O’Reilly), dam of Group 2 winner Shopaholic (Pins) and from the family of Sacred Falls(O’Reilly).
• Lot 354 – Three-quarter brother to twice Hong Kong Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon (Pins).

Sir Patrick Hogan’s Cambridge Stud enjoyed a remarkable 32 consecutive years as the leading vendor at Karaka, with its resident sire Zabeel providing more six-figure sales at Karaka than any other sire.

Among the Stud’s 48 Karaka yearlings are 14 Lots by super-sire Zabeel, his last significant crop to enter the sale ring. Cambridge Stud has a draft packed full of quality, representing not only Zabeel but some of the best sires from Australia and New Zealand along with strong female families rich with Cambridge Stud history.

Cambridge Stud’s Premier Sale draft highlights include:

• Lot 73 – First foal of dual Group 1 winner Katie Lee (Pins) by Fastnet Rock.
• Lot 110 – An Encosta de Lago filly from Love Diamonds, a Danehill daughter of dual Group 1 winner Tristalove(Sir Tristram).
• Lot 118 – A colt by Zabeel out of a daughter of Group 1 winning sprinter Dantelah (Volksraad).
• Lot 160 – Filly by Commands, a half-sister to Group 2 winner Pussy Willow (O’Reilly) out of Group 1 performer Octapussy (Octagonal).
• Lot 240 – Half-sister by Zabeel to Group 2 winner Amelia’s Dream (Redoute’s Choice) out of Listed winning mare Shalt Not (St Covet).

Nelson, Sue & Rodney Schick’s Windsor Park Stud has a prestigious place in New Zealand’s breeding heritage, producing dozens of top performers over the past 30 years including the likes of superstars Might and Power and So You Think. 

The Stud will present 36 yearlings at the Premier Sale, with the notable presence of some of Australasia’s best-performed sires who have also resided at Windsor Park, in High Chaparral and Thorn Park. Complementing them are the exciting young sires Mastercraftsman, Rip Van Winkle, Onemorenomore, Savabeel and Shocking.

Feature Lots from Windsor Park Stud include:

• Lot 2 – Thorn Park filly from the Group 3 winning daughter of High Chaparral in Fairy Oak.
• Lot 72 – Colt by High Chaparral from Volksraad mare Karmann Ghia, from the family of NZB Filly of the Year Planet Rock.
• Lot 97 – Three-quarter sister to 10-time Group 1 winner and dual hemisphere champion So You Think (High Chaparral).
• Lot 106 – Half-sister to Group 1 Victoria Derby and Group Underwood Stakes winner Lion Tamer (Storming Home) by Rip Van Winkle.
• Lot 183 – A filly by Rip Van Winkle out of Listed winner Polish Princess and a half-brother to Group 2 winner Polish Knight (Encosta de Lago).
• Lot 280 – Half-brother by Thorn Park to Listed VRC St Leger winner Hippopus (High Chaparral) out of stakes placed mare Straight Eight (Danske).

New Zealand’s oldest commercial stud, famed for producing seven individual Melbourne Cup winners, Trelawney Stud was established over 80 years ago and is still a leading producer of quality thoroughbreds with at least one Group 1 winner bred every season since the Taylor family took over in the 1990s.

The breeders of champion Tulloch recently sold another champion in Ocean Park through the National Yearling Sales Series, and the Stud’s top price of its 2013 draft was $775,000 paid by Peter Moody for Ocean Park’s half-brother by Pins.

Highlights of Trelawney Stud’s 30 entries include:

• Lot 96 – A colt by Teofilo out of multiple Group winning mare La Sizeranne (Stravinsky) and a half-sister to stakes winning two-year-old Za Moulin Rouge (Street Cry).
• Lot 220 – A colt by Iffraaj from a half-sister to champion Ocean Park (Thorn Park).
• Lot 223 – A colt from dual Group 2 winner Ruud Van Slaats (Van Nistelrooy) by World Champion Miler Rip Van Winkle.
• Lot 327 – An O’Reilly filly from Group 1 performer Vedodara (Kreisler) and a half-sister to Group 1 winner Sharvasti (Montjeu) and Group 3 winners Bhandara (Zabeel) and Shastri (Stravinsky).
• Lot 356 – A colt by Makfi from More Than Ready mare Altesino, from the family of Zeditave, Melito and Grey’s Inn.

Local Karaka vendor Westbury Stud has 30 yearlings catalogued in the Premier Sale and the largest draft of the Sales Series with 116 yearlings across the three Sale sessions.

Westbury Stud has a large assembly of yearlings by their resident first season sire Makfi, the Qatar Bloodstock-owned son of Dubawi and one of the most anticipated freshman sires of 2014. With a draft that represents 24 of some of the best stallions from Australia and New Zealand, in addition to the Stud’s resident sires Captain Rio, Cecconi, Red Giant, Postponed and Swiss Ace, are the likes of Exceed and Excel, Encosta de Lago, Northern Meteor, Snitzel, Sebring, and more.

Westbury Stud will also feature prominently at this year’s Karaka Million Twilight Meeting (26 January) as the inaugural sponsor of the new $100,000 Karaka Stayers Cup (2200m), one of three feature races on the night.

Westbury Stud’s Karaka highlights include:

• Lot 55 – A Makfi colt from multiple stakes winner and Group 1 placegetter Illuminates (Strategic).
• Lot 56 – A Makfi half-sister to Group 3 winner and this season’s Group 1 placed Full of Spirit(Flying Spur).
• Lot 198 – Out of stakes placed Puzzle Book (Danehill), a full-sister to dual Group 2 winner Shania Dane (Danehill) and multiple Hong Kong Group 1 winner Scintillation (Danehill).
• Lot 336 – A Zabeel filly from Encosta de Lago mare Wednesday Rocks, from the family of Hong Kong champion Vengeance of Rain.
• Lot 347 – Daughter of Snitzel and Group 1 winner Zirna (Deputy Governor) and half-sister to Group 3 winner Crafty Irna (Starcraft).

Karaka’s strongest Premier Sale catalogue for many years features a total of 39 individual vendors in 2014, including Ancroft Stud, Ardsley Stud, Ascot Farm, Beltana, Blandford Lodge, Bradbury Park, Brighthill Farm, The Estate of J.W. Campin, Curraghmore Stud, Esker Lodge, Fairdale Stud, Glen Hall Farms, Goodwood Stud, Hallmark Stud, Haunui Farm, Highview, Jamieson Park, Kendayla Park, Leanach Lodge, Little Avondale Stud, Lyndhurst Farm, Mapperley Stud, Milan Park, Monovale Farm, Oxford Thoroughbreds, Pencarrow Stud, Phoenix Park, Prima Park Bloodstock, Rich Hill Stud, Seaton Park The Oaks Stud, Valachi Downs, Wellfield Lodge and Wentwood Grange, with an abundance of excellence to be found across a host of drafts big and small.