The Karaka Sales are always bursting with hype of one sort of another. What spins my wheels is being able to buy into yearlings which are at the very top of my list. I’ve learned over the years that “OK” yearlings are best avoided; the ones who repay you are the ones you really, really want.
This year we are now the proud co-owners of two colts and a filly which not only have strong pedigrees; they are also excellent types.
The first purchase was Lot 982, the colt by Proisir out of the three-win Yamanin Vital mare Yamanna. The female family abounds in stamina and I felt that Proisir would maintain the staying-orientation of the mare whilst adding a touch of speed and class. The son of Choisir pushed Dundeel hard in the Group 1 Spring Championship Stakes and has been well-supported at stud. We are fortunate to currently part-own the Derby prospect Super Gee; hopefully our new colt has the ability to follow a similar path.
The sale then moved onto Book 3. Astute trainer Frank Ritchie outlaid $13,000 for Lot 1113, a chestnut filly by El Roca out of the Sir Percy mare Lady Grace. I was quickly on the phone as this was the filly I rated as the best prospect in this section of the sale. The dam was herself a $75,000 yearling and, in spite of being somewhat injury-prone, had scored a facile maiden victory over 2200 at Wingatui. The pedigree is jam-packed with desirable crosses and the recent performance of El Roca’s 2YOs indicates that we may just have pulled the right rein.
Finally, there was Lot 1278 – a stunning colt by Jimmy Choux – Danness (Danske). Although Jimmy Choux is unlikely to ever be champion sire and is anything but currently fashionable, he can leave a good horse. I’ll analyse our colt’s pedigree in depth should his performances match his looks, but suffice to say it has a range of highly desirable features. At $5000, he could turn out to be a bargain.
I’ve just completed writing this year’s analyses of all three Karaka sales and, apart from my initial reaction expressed in my previous article, this year’s offering has another surprise.
My reading of the industry as a whole is that, by and large, times are tough. It’s not easy for trainers to make a dollar and we can all remember the disaster for breeders that last year’s Festival Sale was. It was virtually impossible for fillies to produce an acceptable return and, in extreme cases, females with perfectly acceptable pedigrees were given away rather than being taken home after failing to attract a bid. As a result of the carnage, I would have expected this year’s Festival Sale to be distinctly short of fillies with any quality at all on the pedigree page. If you had bred a nice animal, not quite fashionably enough bred to make the Select, surely you’d just keep it or lease it rather than going to the expense of a yearling prep.
Well, I was wrong. This year’s Festival Sale has five fillies I’ve rated as A+, whereas in some years the total has been zero. There are 13 rated as A’s, and 15 more as B+. In fact, the standard of filly pedigrees appears to comfortably exceed that of the colts. Whether the strength of the filly catalogue reflects breeders’ natural optimism and confidence in the market or a desperation to dump unwanted yearlings, time will tell, but I have a strong suspicion that buyers will be going home very happy indeed.
It is also worth saying that this year’s catalogues contain the progeny of some very impressive first-season stallions. Ocean Park must have a huge chance of making it as a stallion and it’s also hard to see the brilliant Super Easy being a flop. Reliable Man has had every opportunity and my two favourites, He’s Remarkable and Highly Recommended, provide lots which appeal very strongly indeed. Power was an impressive racehorse with the benefit of the Cambridge Stud broodmare band behind him, Rock ‘n’ Pop ticks every box there is and Niagara has left some stunning weanlings.
All in all, it’s going to be a very interesting few days.
As always, please get in touch if you’d like an opinion on any of the 1378 lots catalogued.
