Savabeel Colt Reigns Supreme on Day 2 at Karaka

A colt by Australia's premier stallion out of one of best current female families lived up to the hype to top the second session of the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale Jan. 27, after Te Akau's David Ellis went to NZ$875,000 (US$576,195) for the son of Savabeel.

The blueblood colt from the family of dual hemisphere group 1-winning stallion Merchant Navy headed a competitive market where six yearlings made NZ$500,000 or more, following on from a solid opening day's trade where two colts by Pierro and Savabeel made NZ$900,000 ($594,840) and NZ$800,000 ($528,746), respectively.

A patriotic Ellis, whose success with the progeny of Savabeel is unrivaled, was rapt to secure the colt to ensure he remained in New Zealand.

"I was hoping I would get him for $750,000 but these really top colts have a lot of good judges on them so sometimes you have to pay a bit more for them," he said. "If he is a really top colt, like I hope he is, then he is going to be cheap, otherwise if he is no good then he's going to be very expensive.

"We thought he was a magnificent individual and Jamie (Richards) is so excited to have him to train," he continued. "It's been a very successful couple of days for Te Akau and we're just delighted to have secured so many nice horses. It's pretty exciting to have this sort of quality and I want them for both Te Akau and for New Zealand racing as I want them to stand at New Zealand studs.

Sydney trainer John O'Shea and prominent Australian owner Ron Finemore were underbidders after also missing out on a Lonhro colt earlier in the day who made NZ$675,000.

Consigned by Windsor Park Stud as Lot 454, the colt is out of the Fastnet Rock mare Bayrock, who is a full sister to Coolmore sire Merchant Navy and group 2 winner Jolie Bay as well as the stakes-placed Zara Bay. Their dam, Legally Bay, is half sister to group 1 winner Bonaria and group 3 winner Time Out. 

Windsor Park Stud's Rodney Schick said Bayrock had proven to be a tremendous investment after being bought in Australia in 2015.

"We bought Bayrock at the Sydney Easter Broodmare Sale with the help of Michael Wallace, who inspected her for us, for AU$140,000 and within a month Merchant Navy came out and won a listed race, then went on with it and the rest is history," Schick said. "The colt has a stallion's pedigree now. We sold the sister (at Magic Millions) a year ago for AU$825,000 ($591,525) and now this."

Schick added: "What a great sire Savabeel has been for New Zealand and for the sale again this year. It is really such a great result for us."

I Am Invincible Colt Leads Amazing Start for Trelawney

Another Day 2 sales ring star by an Australian stallion was an I Am Invincible colt who is also headed to the Te Akau stable of Richards, New Zealand's leading trainer this season.

The Trelawney Stud-bred and -sold colt was signed for by Te Akau principal David Ellis who won the bidding battle at NZ$625,000 ($411,568) for the "precocious" colt by arguably Australasia's most commercial stallion.

Ellis was confident that the colt, who is by the same sire as the stable's unbeaten 3-year-old filly Festivity, could be one of Te Akau's leading prospects for an unprecedented fifth straight Karaka Million 2YO Stakes.

"He is a really precocious colt, a lot of class, a lot of strength, and beautifully balanced," Ellis said. "We just loved him the moment we saw him and he just ticks all the boxes. You can see when they come to the sale whether they are enjoying it, whether they want to be part of it, whether they are coping with leaving home for the first time."

Ellis said the Te Akau buying team had worked hard in the lead-up to the Karaka sale, with Joe Walls, Richards, and Singapore-based Mark Walker as well as Waikato Equine veterinarian Doug Black playing an integral role in the selection process.

"He is a beautiful colt and Mark Pilkington was the underbidder, who I regard as one of the best judges in the world, so it was great that such a great eye saw the same as what we did," he said. "He was bred by one of our great nurseries of all time and some of the best horses New Zealand has ever produced have come off that farm. Brent and Cherry Taylor are taking it to another level. They are just unbelievable operators and really good supporters of Te Akau Racing so it was nice to be able to buy such a nice colt off them."

Cataloged as Lot 247, the colt is the second foal out of the four-time winner Sancerre, whose second dam is the Trelawney Stud-bred Queensland Oaks (G1) winner Vouvray. Sancerre is also a half sister to Champalou, the dam of the stakes-winning juvenile Champ Elect.

"He is a ripping colt who has taken the pressure of the sale well," Trelawney's Brent Taylor said. "He is a beautiful moving horse, and I would like to think he will be up on our stallion wall in the future." 

Coolmore Takes to Lonhro Colt

A concerted effort by Coolmore to target colts they deem to have stallion qualities if they can deliver on the racecourse stepped up another level at Karaka with the addition of a NZ$675,000 ($444,493) son of Lonhro.

"This is a beautiful colt by Lonhro and one of the best Lonhros you could see," Coolmore consultant James Bester said. "His mother still holds the track record for a mile at Moonee Valley. We think he is a quality animal and a late season 2-year-old, possibly the Golden Rose or Guineas type. 

"He is a Kementari type of Lonhro—he is a special horse and I haven't seen a Lonhro for a while with this much quality. He has an awesome head, is an awesome mover—just a beautiful animal with what seemed to be a beautiful temperament throughout as well. We are thrilled to have got him." 

Coolmore held off O'Shea to land the colt, while Godolphin also showed interest in the son of its resident stallion.

Cataloged as Lot 342 and consigned by Cambridge Stud, the colt is the first foal out of the former David Brideoake-trained group 3 winner Thames Court, who is a daughter of stakes winner Pantenny.

The high-priced score for Coolmore comes after they bought into an American Pharoah  colt Sunday that made NZ$575,000 to the bid of Guy Mulcaster. Coolmore also bought nine yearlings at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for a combined AU$5.93 million.

Bester said there was no question Coolmore's decision to step up its market activity was a strategic move.

"Colts are the holy grail. If you hit the right colt and get the stallion prospect you've done well," he said. "You will notice this year there has been an emphasis on finding the best colts we can. We thought the American Pharoah yesterday from Pencarrow and this Lonhro were the best colts on the complex. 

"We also tried on the (NZ$900,000) Pierro yesterday, but were blown out of the water. We are targeting that kind of animal." 

Cambridge Stud chief executive Henry Plumptre said the NZ$675,000 price tag was "way beyond our expectations."

"He was quite a small, backward foal, but he has done very well in prep," Plumptre said. "He's kept improving all the time and I think that what probably grabbed James Bester, who was the one that picked him out, was that he loves athletic horses and he's a beautifully athletic colt. He never took a backward step this week." 

Hot Competition on Day 2

After the second Book 1 session, the average was at NZ$150,456, an increase of 5.3% year on year, and median was at NZ$120,000, the latter up NZ$20,000 at the same time in 2019. The clearance rate was 78% with one more Book 1 session to be held Jan. 28. 

"The Australians and Kiwis have undeniably made their presence felt—the stats speak for themselves in what has been a positive day for the New Zealand breeding industry," NZB bloodstock sales manager Danny Rolston said. "This is the strongest middle market we have seen for some time, for the median to be as strong as this is a great endorsement of our product and a welcome reward for the support shown to us by our vendors."