Te Akau Friday Update
13 April, 2018
David writes:
Last Friday we went to Sydney and on Saturday enjoyed a great day at the Randwick races and then we have been at the sale all week and we flew home last night.
While we were at the sales we stayed in at the new sales' company hotel which is based right on the Warwick Farm Racecourse which is very picturesque and certainly is a better option than driving out each day from the city.
The new sale complex at Riverside stables has been pretty well done but there are naturally a few problems. Not with the complex rather, during the hot Sydney weather!! When we left last Friday it was 25 degrees in Sydney and it got up to 35 degrees. Last night when we arrived home it was 10 degrees but the good news is more rain last night and more to come. Every farmer loves rain in April!
The team in Sydney of Jamie, Karyn and myself bought five fillies which I thought were incredible value and in my opinion each one would have made more money at Karaka. The market for a buyer like myself was incredibly strong at the top end, but the middle market represented very good buying and this is the area Te Akau has had the most success in the last ten years. For example these Group One winners I have purchased cost as follows:
Tell A Tale - A$100,000
Princess Coup - A$260,000
Heroic Valour - $400,000
Xtravagant - $370,000
Sword of Osman - $160,000
Avantage - $210,000
Age of Fire - A$400,000
Hall of Fame - $240,000
These are just some examples of Group One Winners I have bought in the middle bracket in the last few years.
The fillies we have bought this week in Sydney are:
Lot 30 Redoute's Choice/Aware filly - A$300,000
Lot 56 Pierro/Bulle de Champagne filly - A$160,000
Lot 72 Fastnet Rock/Ciesrzo filly - A$500,000
Lot 214 Zoustar/Luminous Harmony filly - A$230,000
Lot 243 Pierro/Missy Cummings filly - A$135,000
These are five truly magnificent fillies and all with international pedigrees and by some of the best sires in this part of the world.
Fillies have a massive advantage in New Zealand Racing:
- They get a huge 2kg sex allowance on the colts;
- They can run in both the 1000 and 2000 Guineas and The Oaks and the Derby plus in New Zealand we have the very prestigious New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year series; and
- They are also eligible for the very lucrative NZB Insurance Pearl Bonus Series.
Some of these fillies will be nominated for the Golden Slipper.
Tomorrow I will be at Te Rapa and on Sunday Karyn has her last ever Trackside programmes at 10.00am when she hosts her final "Weigh In" programme. I gather it will be worth watching!! It is nearly 26 years since Karyn started on Action TV as I think was then called and what an amazing career she has had. I don't think she will miss the 4.30am starts on Sunday mornings but I can tell that deep down it will be a very sad day for her. She loves the team she works with, and the friends she has made, and I know she will miss them terribly.