Sire Power at Karaka 2015

12 January 2015

In less than a fortnight, New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales Series will be underway, showcasing an impressive roster of the best sires in Australasia at its 2015 Premier Sale.

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Savabeel Standing at Waikato Stud

There are 66 stallions with yearlings in the Premier Sale, amongst them are proven leading New Zealand sires such as Savabeel, O’Reilly, Thorn Park, Darci Brahma and more, and Australian leading sires such as Fastnet Rock, Redoute’s Choice and High Chaparral. With some exciting emerging talent from the likes of Tavistock, Mastercraftsman, Iffraaj, and Makfi, the line-up offers a unique selection of the very best sire talent from both sides of the Tasman.

Across the Premier, Select and Festival Sales are over 180 siblings to stakes winners, with 35 of these being to Group 1 performed horses, and there are over 130 yearlings out of stakes winning dams, 19 of which carry Group 1 victories to their credit.

SAVABEEL:

Currently leading New Zealand’s sires table is Savabeel (Zabeel), the son of superstar sire Zabeel. Of Savabeel’s progeny who have started, 66.3% of them have won races with 8.7% winning a stakes race.

Savabeel has the second largest draft on offer in the Premier catalogue with 49 yearlings. Amongst the highlights are:

  • Lot 16  - a half-sister to twice winner of Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup, Precedence (Zabeel).

  • Lot 91 - out of November Rain (Stravinsky), winner of the Group 2 Cal Isuzu Stakes and joint third on 2009-10 3YO Free Handicap.

  • Lot 124  - a full-brother to Group 1 Queensland Derby winner Brambles (Savabeel) and also a full-brother to stakes winning Lopov (Savabeel).

O’REILLY:

Headlining at the Karaka Premier Sale is one of New Zealand’s top sires in O’Reilly. With the largest draft in the Premier Sale, O’Reilly is represented by 61 Lots, with a further 16 Lots catalogued in the Select Sale.

Bred and raced by Waikato Stud, the striking stallion had a stellar racing career as a sprinter-miler, winning four of his six starts, including the Group 1 Bayer Classic and the Group 1 Telegraph. O’Reilly remained at Waikato Stud for the duration of his stud career before the 21-year-old stallion passed away at the end of 2014.

The son of Last Tycoon is today known as one of New Zealand’s leading stallions of all time. O’Reilly has won each of New Zealand’s three stallion awards three times – the Grosvenor Award for domestic stake earnings, the Dewar Stallion Trophy for Australasian earnings and the Centaine Award for global earnings. He has also won the Hong Kong sires’ title.

O’Reilly has consistently produced stakes winners since the beginning of his stud career after retiring from racing as a three-year-old, leaving 77 stakes winners to date including 16 Group 1 winners.

His most recent Group 1 winner to come out of Karaka is Sacred Falls (NZ) (O’Reilly), victorious in back-to-back Group 1 Doncaster Handicaps and the winner of the Group 1 George Main Stakes this season. Sacred Falls is a four-time Group 1 winner who was bought at the 2011 Karaka Premier Sale for NZ$160,000.

Karaka 2015 is one of O’Reilly’s biggest Sales, with almost 20 more yearlings entered compared to last year’s Premier Sale. Amongst his highlight Lots at the Premier Sale are:

  • Lot 111 - out of Group 1 winning mare Pernod (Centaine) this colt is a half-brother to multiple stakes performer Martini Red (Red Ransom).

  • Lot 413 – a colt out of Grand Echezeaux (Zabeel), winner of the Group 1 Australasian Oaks, and a half-brother to Darci Brahma, a five-time Group 1 winner and now successful sire.

  • Lot 427 - a full-brother to multiple Group 1 winner Sacred Falls (O’Reilly).

  • Lot 440 - a half-brother to Glamorous Girl (Thorn Park), winner of the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes and a half-brother to So Elusive (Elusive City) winner of the Listed Pegasus Stakes.

O’Reilly is also currently at the top of New Zealand’s Broodmare Sires’ List with earnings of nearly $1 million. His legacy will continue through generations carried by his broodmare daughters, with a further 13 Lots as the damsire in the Premier Sale.

DARCI BRAHMA:

Five-time Group 1 winner Darci Brahma (NZ) (Danehill) is currently ranked second on New Zealand’s Leading Sires table. Darci Brahma has finished in the top three NZ sires for the previous two seasons and continues to produce quality horses with 70.8% of starters winning races, including 6.9% stakes winners.

The New Zealand-bred stallion has 27 yearlings on offer in the Premier Sale including:

  • Lot 65 - out of Miss Raggedy Ann (Faltaat), winner of the Group 1 Railway Handicap.

  • Lot 150 - a full-brother to Nashville (Darci Brahma) twice Group 1 winner in the WFA Stakes.

  • Lot 355 - a half-brother to stakes winner Kuro (Denman), winner of four Listed races and third in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes.

ZABEEL: The Final Curtain

Karaka 2015 will feature the very last of Zabeel’s yearling progeny to be offered at auction, with just two entries from his final crop in the Sale Series.

Zabeel has had a profound influence on both the New Zealand and Australian racing and breeding industries. His impressive list of accomplishments include 15 Dewer Stallion Awards, four times Champion New Zealand Sire, twice Champion Australian Sire, twice Champion New Zealand Broodmare Sire and twice Champion Australian Broodmare Sire.

The super sire has seen 147 of his progeny win stakes races, with 43 of these at Group 1 level. He is also taking on a new mantle as a potent broodmare sire, leading on both sides of the Tasman for the past two seasons. There is one filly by him in the Sale, and 35 yearlings that he has damsired.

The two yearlings from his last crop will be offered on the first day of the Sale Series. These are:

  • Lot 28, out of Laurinel Princess (Desert Sun) who is a half-sister to Champion 3YO Male in Singapore Palace Line (Palace Music) and Laurinel Argie (Palace Music) who was a multiple Group 2 winner in Australia.

  • Lot 102 is a half-brother to (Sir) Time Keeper (Stravinsky), winner of the Group 1 Easter Handicap. The colt is out of unraced mare Organdy (Our Emblem).

FASTNET ROCK & REDOUTE’S CHOICE:

Australia’s top two leading sires have a select representation at Karaka 2015 with 16 yearlings by Fastnet Rock and 3 byRedoute’s Choice in the Premier Sale. Of their highlights are:

  • Lot 27 – a BOBS eligible colt by Redoute’s Choice out of winning mare La Scala (Bahhare) who is a half-sister to Champion 3YO Miler in NZ Final Destination (O’Reilly).

  • Lot 83 – by Redoute’s Choice from a stakes winning mare Mygoodgrace (Royal Academy) winner of the Listed Canterbury Breeder’s Stakes

  • Lot 227 - a half-brother by Redoute’s Choice to Group 1 sprinter Shamexpress (O’Reilly).

  • Lot 340 – by Fastnet Rock out of winning Sadler’s Wells mare Dance On By, a full-sister to Champion Sire High Chaparral

  • Lot 354 – by Fastnet Rock from Zabeel mare Diamond Smile, a full-sister to Group 1 Australian Derby winner Don Eduardo (Zabeel) and from the blueblood Eight Carat family.

  • Lot 372 - a full-sister to First Seal (Fastnet Rock), winner in the Group 1 Flight Stakes, from the Group 1 winning mare, Episode (Scenic).

  • Lot 429 – a filly by Fastnet Rock from NZ Champion 2YO ll Quello Veloce, winner of the Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes.

AUSTRALIA’S INFLUENCE:

Australia’s top Sires have headed New Zealand’s Leading Sires by Average for three consecutive years with last year’s Sales results concluding with all of Fastnet Rock’s progeny selling bar one.

Fastnet Rock has produced the top lot at NZB’s National Yearling Sale Series for the past 3 years, and again topped the Sale in 2014 as the Leading Sire by Average with an aggregate of $5,635,000.

His progeny have also received the top bid for the last three seasons, last year’s top price going for $800,000. The top bid at the 2013 Sales went for $1,975,000 and the 2012 Sale breaking the million dollar mark at $1,750,000.

NZB’s 2014 National Yearling Sales Series had only one yearling sired by Australia’s Redoute’s Choice, selling for $210,000. The 2013 Karaka Sales saw the progeny of Redoute’s Choice sell for an aggregate of $1,035,000 resulting in Redoute’s Choice being third on the Leading Sires table.

Australian sires were responsible for six of the Group 1 wins to come out of New Zealand Bloodstock’s graduates from last season, including Sires from Fastnet Rock, Hussonet, Choisir, Mossman and Encosta de Lago.

The current season has seen Fastnet Rock filly, First Seal, win the Group 1 Flight Stakes and Platinum Witness (California Dane) win the Group 1 NZB 1000 Guineas. Platinum Witness is also the second leading filly in the 2014-15 NZB Filly of the Year Series.

Champion Sire High Chapparal (Sadler’s Wells) commenced stud duties in Ireland, followed by New Zealand in 2005 and went on to stand in Australia in 2010. So You Think(NZ) (High Chaparral) was from first crop of High Chaparral’s progeny in Australia to win Group 1 races. A first season sire at Karaka 2015, So You Think won 10 Group 1 races worldwide including two Group 1 Cox Plates.

High Chaparral has 16 yearlings offered in Karaka 2015 including:

  • Lot 17 – a colt out of Krysia (Elvstroem) who is a half-sister to stakes winners Leica Guv (Deputy Governor), Light Fantastic (Danehill Dancer) and Lectrice (Encosta de Lago).

  • Lot 251 – a filly out of Alma Star (Al Maher) who is a half-sister to the dam of Champion 3YO Filly in Australia in 2011-12, Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock) and Commanding Jewel (Commands), Group 1 winner of the Thousand Guineas.

  • Lot 357 – a filly out of stakes winner D.J. Lightning (Doneraile Court), winner of the Listed Meadowlands Prom Stakes.

EMERGING SIRE TALENT:

Some of the most exciting talent to emerge in New Zealand is recent years is set to be on prominent display at Karaka 2015.

NZB’s 2014 National Yearling Sales Series saw Rip Van Winkle (Galileo) lead the First Season Sires by Average with his top Lot selling for $375,000. With his oldest progeny in New Zealand now two-year-olds, he has already had a winner from just three runners. The son of Galileo has three-year-olds in the northern hemisphere including Group 1 winning juvenile Dick Wittington.

Makfi (Dubawi) was also a first season sire at last year’s Sale earning a position directly below Rip Van Winkle as second Leading First Season Sire by Average. The son of Dubawi has already sired Group 3 winner Marky Mark (NZ) from his first crop of two-year-olds racing in New Zealand.

A stallion who is starting to make a big impression is Tavistock. With his oldest progeny now three-year-olds, Tavistock has already had three stakes winners this season. The most recent was Volkstok’n’barrell (NZ) on New Year’s Day with victory in the Group 2 Great Northern Guineas. He is the early race-favourite for the New Zealand Derby.

Tavy (NZ) (Tavistock) recently added black-type pedigree to her family in the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial Stakes in November last year. Earlier in the season Avisto(NZ) (Tavistock) claimed two stakes wins as a three-year-old, taking her tally to three following a Listed win as a two-year-old.

Leading Great Britain First Season Sire in 2013 was Mastercraftsman (Danehill Dancer) who was also the second top First Season Sire in New Zealand in 2013. A champion racehorse, he won four Group 1 races including the Group 1 Curragh Phoenix Stakes as a two-year-old.

Mastercraftsman is proving to be a successful middle-distance sire in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres producing 173 horses to win including 12 Group wins.

The Grey Gatsby (IRE) (Mastercraftsman) is leading his progeny in the Northern hemisphere with two Group 1 wins including the Group 1 Chantilly Prix du Jockey Club. Leading his progeny in Australasia is three-year-old Thunder Lady (NZ) (Mastercraftsman), winner of the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes.

New Zealand’s Leading 3YO Sire Iffraaj (Zafonic) has produced exceptional results in both hemispheres since commencing stud duties in New Zealand in 2008. Leading his New Zealand progeny is Turn Me Loose (NZ) (Iffraaj) winning his first Group 1 race this season in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).

New Zealand Bloodstock’s Filly of the Year in 2012-13 was sired by Iffraaj, Fix, winning multiple Group 2 races including the Eight Carat Classic and has earned $451,376 to date. Iffraaj has also sired three Group 1 winners in Europe to date.

FRESHMAN SIRES:

A crop of 14 freshman sires will have their first progeny go under the hammer at the Premier Sale, read about them here.

FULL SIRE SELECTION:

Other sires set to be represented at the 2015 Karaka Premier Sale (26 & 27 January) are Alamosa, All American, Artie Schiller, Authorized, Bachelor Duke, Bel Esprit, Benfica, Bernardini, Bullbars, Cape Blanco, Cape Cross, Casino Prince, Charge Forward, Commands, Dalghar, Denman, Encosta De Lago, Exceed and Excel, Foxwedge, Guillotine, Iffraaj, Jimmy Choux, Keeper, Lonhro, Lope de Vega, Makfi, Mastercraftsman, More Than Ready, Myboycharlie, Nadeem, No Excuse Needed, Northern Meteor, Pentire, Per Incanto, Pins, Pour Moi, Redwood, Rip Van Winkle, Rothesay, Sebring, Sepoy, Shocking, Showcasing, Smart Missile, Snitzel, So You Think, Stratum, Stravinsky, Street Cry, Swiss Ace, Tavistock, Testa Rossa, Thewayyouare, Thorn Park, Toorak Toff, Uncle Mo, Wanted and Zacinto.