Northern Vendors Head South
6 August 2012
New Zealand Bloodstock's South Island Sale of Two-Year-Olds & Mixed Bloodstock will be held this Friday (10 August) and will see a number of well-known vendors from the North Island make the trip south to Christchurch.
With a catalogue of 154 untried two-year-olds, three broodmares, three yearlings and two unraced horses, the South Island Sale will see 18 North Island based vendors offering horses at Canterbury Agricultural Park on Friday.
Included in the vendors travelling south is Janine Dunlop's Phoenix Park which has a draft of five horses heading to the Sale including the only two-year-old by hot sire High Chaparral.
"I am really happy with the draft," said Janine. "We have got five nice, strong, correct horses and they have been doing really well.
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Lot 130, the colt by High Chaparral from the |
"The High Chaparral colt (Lot 130) is a real standout and a lovely type. He is owned by Brent and Grant McKenzie who raced Group 3 Canterbury Gold Cup winner The Meista (Montjeu) and the colt's dam Starrinka (Volksraad) is a half-sister to The Meista.
"Brent and Grant were keen to support the South Island Sale and given the colt's family has registered success in the South they thought it was a good place to offer him."
Don Eduardo has a draft of four horses in the South Island Sale including Phoenix Park's Lot 131. The sire of nine stakes winners, Don Eduardo has produced some talented horses including dual Group 1 winner Booming and Australian stakes winners Swift Alliance, Moti and Older Than Time.
"The Don Eduardo colt is another really nice two-year-old," said Dunlop. "He is a strong type and is a brother to the Karen Zimmerman trained Langdon, a very promising young stayer who has won three races this year including his last two in a row."
The home of the recently retired Jimmy Choux, John and Colleen Thompson's Rich Hill Stud had a top 2011/12 season courtesy of leading performer Mufhasa and is another North Island vendor who will be making the journey south.
"The draft is coming along well," commented John Thompson. "We have five horses and are happy with the way they have progressed during the preparation. We had a good number of colts in 2010 which has meant that we can take a few down to the South Island Sale this year."
Rich Hill Stud is the home of New Zealand's Champion First Season Sire Any Suggestion - sire of the 2012 Karaka Million winner Ockham's Razor - who has a draft of seven two-year-olds in the South Island Sale.
"The Any Suggestion colt (Lot 17) is a nice horse," said Thompson. "He's very athletic and is a well-balanced colt. Sir Percy has made a good start with his first two crops in the northern hemisphere and his two colts (Lots 21 & 74) offer buyers a good opportunity to purchase nice staying type horses.
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Lot 21, the Sir Percy half-brother to |
"We also have the only Pins colt (Lot 20) in the Sale. He is out of a well-bred Centaine mare and has grown into a nice type since the Karaka Yearling Sales."
The Pins - Centaine cross has proven highly successful and boasts a winners to runners ratio of 73% and a stakes winners to runners ratio of 11%. The 12 stakes winners bred on the cross include Group 1 NZ Oaks and Group 1 Kelt Capital winner Legs and Group 1 Caulfield Guineas winner Econsul.
A great supporter of the South Island Sale, Tom and Shelly Murtagh's Esker Lodge has not missed a South Island Sale since the Stud was established 16 years ago.
Esker Lodge has sold a number of successful horses through the South Island Sale including Draconic who won the Listed Timaru Stakes, Lesley Brook who won the Listed Welcome Stakes as a two-year-old and Back in Black who has won eight races for over $170,000.
"We have a draft of three horses heading to the South Island Sale this year and we are very happy with them," commented Tom Murtagh.
"The Keeper filly (Lot 84) and the Don Eduardo colt (Lot 123) were both heading to the Karaka Yearling Sales but both had to be withdrawn and they have developed into nice horses since.
"The Sir Percy colt (Lot 99) has developed into a nice two-year-old. We offered him at the Karaka Select Sale earlier this year and he was a little behind but he has really matured since and we are very happy with him."
The South Island Sale catalogue can be viewed on the iPad sales application which can be downloaded for free by clicking here.
New Zealand Bloodstock's South Island Sale will be held at Christchurch's Canterbury Agricultural Park this Friday 10 August from 11am.