Familiar Faces Reign at Karaka

The Informant reports:

Te Akau Racing, Waikato Stud, Savabeel and Cambridge Stud all played starring roles at the blockbuster twilight race meeting at Ellerslie on Saturday, and they carried that momentum into the Karaka 2019 yearling sales.

Probabeel, Aotea Lad and dead-heat third placegetter Yourdeel delivered an unprecedented Karaka Million 2YO trifecta for the Te Akau team, along with an astonishing third consecutive win in the race.

Star filly Probabeel carried the colours of Cambridge Stud owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay, while both Probabeel and Aotea Lad are by Waikato Stud supremo Savabeel. Waikato Stud bred and sold Probabeel.

With Te Akau having continued its recent Karaka Million dominance in such scintillating fashion, principal David Ellis had an understandable spring in his step as he took up his usual position in the Karaka auditorium for the Book 1 sale. The leading buyer at the sale for the last 13 straight years, he was a force to be reckoned with again in 2019.

Ellis made 27 purchases in Book 1 last year, spending a total of $7.61 million at an average of $281,944. After only three days of this year's four-day sale, he had already racked up similar figures. He had signed for 29 yearlings in three days, spending a total of $6.27 million at an average of $216,207.

“We've put a lot of work into this sale,” Ellis said. “We've spent the last 10 weeks travelling around and looking at all the horses. I've been saying for a while that I think this is the best line-up of yearlings I've seen at Karaka for probably 20 years.

Te Akau principal David Ellis again led the way with his Karaka yearling purchases.

“It really reflects the fact that they've been brought up in fantastic growing conditions, where a lot of rainfall has led to wonderful grass for them to graze on. It's really showing in the individuals, who look great and have terrific bone. They're well-developed, mature yearlings.

“We've spent a lot of time on promotion in the lead-up to this sale, and we've welcomed a lot of new owners.

“We'd always planned on buying this many yearlings and supporting the New Zealand industry. We're expecting some real positive changes in New Zealand racing, and we want to be a part of the next stage.”

The headline act was Waikato Stud's Lot 192 - a striking dark brown colt by Savabeel out of the Pins mare Make A Wish.

“I may have been able to make one more bid after the $1.4 million, but I was on the ropes.”

With a big contingent of the Waikato staff looking on among a packed auditorium, Ellis beat underbidders Graeme Rogerson and Rob McAnulty to buy the colt for $1.4 million.

It was an all-time record price for Waikato Stud, the highest price paid at Karaka since 2013 (a Fastnet Rock colt, $1.975 million), and the 12^th highest ever at Karaka. The record price remains $3.6 million for Don Eduardo in 2000.

“My first bid was at $1.2 million,” Ellis said. “I may have been able to make one more bid after the $1.4 million, but I was on the ropes.”

The colt's dam has produced two winners to date including the Gr. 1 Queensland Oaks placegetter Another Dollar.

The family also features Group One performers Starcent, Ambitious, Strike The Stars and Best Case, along with the exciting Regency Legend. Group Two-placed in New Zealand under the name Espumoso, he is unbeaten in three impressive Hong Kong starts.

But Ellis was taken more with the colt himself than his pedigree.

“He was on everyone's list, and he was probably the best athlete I've seen at Karaka for 10 years or more,” he said.

“We've bought seven colts as yearlings who are now at stud in New Zealand or Australia. We want to see the best horses this country breeds remain in New Zealand and hopefully race in Australia.

“We've trained Savabeel's two Group One-winning colts, Embellish and Hall Of Fame, and we've won 12 stakes races with his progeny in recent seasons.”

Embellish, who won the New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton last season, is set to stand at Cambridge Stud.

“At the time I bought Embellish, I thought he was as nice as yearling as I'd ever bought, and I think this colt is right up there with him,” Ellis said.

“I can see him running in some of our good two-year-old races, then training on and being a lovely three-year-old for races like the 2000 Guineas. He could even run in the million-dollar Karaka Million 2YO, then be back the next year for the million-dollar Karaka Million 3YO.”

The colt took top billing in Ellis's annual colts syndicate, sitting alongside a Written Tycoon-Into The Groove colt from Hallmark Stud (bought for $475,000), and Waikato Stud's son of Savabeel and the multiple Group One winner Suavito ($775,000).

Waikato Stud have been leading vendors at Karaka for the last five years, and they were in the thick of the Ellerslie action with a Savabeel quinella in the Karaka Million 2YO (Probabeel, Aotea Lad), placings in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (Savabeel filly The Real Beel, Pins gelding Madison County), and Waikato's colours were carried to an impressive Gr. 3 Concorde Handicap victory by Ardrossan.

Stud owner Mark Chittick had high hopes for the sale-topping colt, but even he was taken aback.

“It's easily a new record for us - about $600,000 ahead of the second highest,” he said, referring to the Savabeel-Posy filly who sold for $875,000 last year.

“He definitely exceeded our expectations. People have been asking me what our reserve was, but I never put one on. I just knew he was going to sell well.

“He's one of the most outstanding individuals we've ever brought to the sale, and a lot of people had commented that he was the nicest yearling they'd seen at the sale.

“He's the complete package and he's a horse we all love. He's the complete package and so much like his father. There was huge interest in him, we took him out for inspection more than 150 times - the most we've ever had.

“There was massive competition, and we're delighted to see him go to Te Akau. Obviously they bought a horse off us last year (Probabeel) who won the Karaka Million. Their stable is flying with Savabeel progeny.

“I'm sure this horse is going to make us very proud on the racetrack. If he goes on to win the Cox Plate for Te Akau, and for New Zealand, we'll be even more proud.”

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