Te Akau Heads Day 2 at Karaka

The Informant reports:

The trio of Waikato Stud, Te Akau Racing and Savabeel provided fireworks on Day 2 of the 2019 National Yearling Sales Series, setting a new top price of the sale and exceeding that of the top lot in 2018.

When Lot 192 walked through the ring, the Savabeel colt caught the attention of multiple bidders but it was Te Akau Racing's principal David Ellis who trumped them with a final bid of $1.4 million. Out of a winning Pins mare and a half-brother to Group One Queensland Oaks runner-up Another Dollar, the Waikato Stud yearling took their results to a whole new level and delivered the team their first seven-figure yearling.

“It's a massive team effort, a massive amount of work and investment that has culminated in this result today,” commented Waikato Stud chief Mark Chittick.

“It's a process that started 30 years ago with Star of the Night, who was this colt's great granddam and then of course the investment in Savabeel.

“We are so proud of selling a horse like this to an operation like Te Akau Racing. They bought a beautiful Savabeel filly (Probabeel) off us last year who won the Karaka Million 2YO, and for them to come back and buy the prize of our draft is something that we are really proud of.”

The same trio also made headlines with Ellis securing another Savabeel colt (Lot 258) from the Waikato Stud draft, and the third top lot of Day 2, for $430,000.

At the end of trading today, Ellis' 22 purchases totalled $4,905,000 in receipts - cementing his position as the leading buyer by aggregate.

Waikato Stud have held strong at the top of the leading vendor by aggregate table with 38 lots sold for a turnover of $8,810,000.

The end of Day 2 figures have closed with the aggregate reaching $31,855,000 for 223 lots sold. The average settled at $142,848 and the median at $100,000, with the clearance rate 75 per cent.

“We would have loved to match last year's numbers,” commented NZB Bloodstock Sales Manager Danny Rolston. “However, 2018 is a hard yardstick given it was the second-best sale on record.

“We've been really pleased with the strong and diverse international buying bench which has been supported by some of New Zealand's leading trainers and syndicators.

“There's a lot of nice horses to come through the ring over the next two days and some good value to be had.

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