Trio of First Time Vendors at K1

The 2014 Karaka Premier Sale will feature three vendors presenting drafts for the first time: Glen Hall Farms, Milan Park and Prima Park Bloodstock.

Milan Park will offer a full-sister to Irish Fling in the Premier Sale. Photo courtesy of Trish Dunell.

Cambridge based farm Milan Park is run by Tony Rider and his daughter Nicole. This will be the first time selling under their own banner having previously sold horses through Mark & Denny Baker’s successful Hallmark Stud.

The boutique operation has five horses catalogued for the Premier Sale, six in the Select Sale and one in the Festival Sale.

“My daughter Nicole worked for Little Avondale Stud and Waikato Stud, and Mark Chittick said she has got enough ability to prepare yearlings for me so that is how we have come about doing them ourselves,” commented Tony Rider.

“We certainly try to use the top stallions, we have a number of K1 mares and we try to go the best stallions and at this stage Waikato Stud has some of the best.

“We have a full-sister to Irish Fling (Lot 59) who is running in the Group 1 Telegraph on Saturday so we have good hopes for her. We also have a beautiful Savabeel filly that is a half-sister to Digital Fortress (Lot 438) - it was a shame to see that horse break down after the Derby.

“It is very exciting especially when you hear some very good feedback from Gai Waterhouse on the O’Reilly out of Brianna two-year-old she is racing. We are really looking forward to Karaka.”

Milan Park’s Premier entries include Lot 396 by Savabeel out of Listed winner and Group 1 Railway Handicap placegetter Brianna (Sudurka).

Another new vendor at the Premier Sale is Prima Park Bloodstock who has previously sold at the Select Sale in 2012. Prima Park Bloodstock is run by Leighton Van Dyk and his daughter Kelly, a successful dressage rider. They have three entries in the Premier Sale and four in the Select Sale.

“We have been pinhooking weanlings and yearlings to take through to the Ready to Run Sale and that is how we have come about,” said Leighton Van Dyk. “Two years ago we took two yearlings to the Select Sale just to dip our toes in so to speak just to try it.

“We are just a small place and we focus on trading horses through pinhooking but we have purchased mares in foal and with those foals we have decided to try our own draft with our pinhooks. We bred the Savabeel (Lot 321) and have pinhooked the Sebring (Lot 431) and High Chaparral (Lot 214) in the Premier Sale.

“We had three horses go through the Premier Sale last year but they went through other people’s drafts. This year we thought we would get our own named established. My daughter is a big part of the business and horses are her passion so we are trying to get the business established for her.

“I retired out of the furniture retail business five or six years ago and horses have been my passion so I thought if I could get a business going doing what I love it will be all the more fun.

“The three horses we have are by stallions that should be on everyone’s lists and lips. Sebring is on fire, there is a lot of talk about Savabeel and a High Chaparral. We couldn’t be happier with the three sires we have going to our first Premier Sale.”

Glen Hall Farms is small farm based near Pukekohe run by Linda Campbell and has just a single entry in the Premier Sale in 2014, Lot 51 by Savabeel. The Farm also has two entries in the Select Sale and one yearling in the Festival Sale.

“We are small boutique farm with half a dozen broodmares and also have some mares with Helen Johnson,” commented Linda Campbell. “We have one filly in the Premier Sale that Helen bought inside the mare, who is a three-quarter sister to Tullamore.”

“We look after the horses ourselves and only employ one person and have the time to give a lot of attention to our horses.”

To view catalogues for New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales Series and for more information about the Sale visitwww.nzb.co.nz.