Te Akau Thoughts - Karaka Day 3

Well on his way to becoming leading buyer for the 14^thconsecutive year at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales Series, the ‘King of Karaka' Te Akau principal David Ellis had secured 27 lots at the three-quarter stage of the Book 1 Sale.

“I think overall the vendors will be happy,” Ellis said, reflecting on the sale. “Really good types, that we rated highly, have sold well after plenty of competition.

“The three colts we wanted to buy for the Colts Syndicate we've managed to secure which is not only exciting for our owners and Te Akau but also for the whole industry to retain these beautiful colts. 

“We want to buy the best horses because we're proud New Zealanders and we want to see the best horses that this great country breeds stay in New Zealand, and hopefully they're good enough to take to Australia and race as well.

“Everybody knows that Te Akau has had huge success with the progeny of Savabeel. We've trained both his Group One winning colts, Embellish and Hall of Fame, and we've won 12 Group races with Savabeel's in our stable in last two seasons and he's a stallion that really seems to suit the way we operate.

“I think it's been terrific buying, across the board, and as buyers we're happy with the prices we've paid, while a lot of the vendors are doing well too. 

“There's certainly been good value and we've been able to buy some cheaper horses with really good pedigrees, and good quality types. Some of them will need a bit of time and a patient approach and others will get up and go sooner. 

“We've tried to buy a variety of different horses by a good range of sires that we can promote to our owners and win races with.”

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