First Duporth weanling to be offered Australasia wide
Lot 54 for Karaka next Monday; the Duporth colt from Be Inspired (Zabeel)
I am offering the above colt from the consignment of Curraghmore Stud next Monday.
He’s an interesting horse because he represents the very first weanling by the newcomer sire Duporth (Red Ransom) to be offered anywhere in Australasia.
I bought the mare last year privately through fellow bloodstock agent Michael Wallace. I liked her for a number of reasons; with the top of the list being the fact that she’s by Zabeel. The Super Sire clearly leads the Broodmare Sire Premierships in both Australia and New Zealand. On Saturday his influence in the dam sire role was vividly-clear with Atlantic Jewel (All Aged Stakes) and Invest (Schweppes Oaks) being Group One winners from his daughters.
The dam of this colt, Be Inspired, is from a Centaine mare, who in turn, is from a Mill Reef mare – that’s lovely blood in my book. Be Inspired is a sister to Rainbow Styling (Gr.3 & LR winner of 8 races) and a half-sister to Zingaling (Gr.3 & LR winner). The NZB Sale pedigree can be VIEWED HERE.
Gordon Cunningham has done his usual expert preparation job with this colt; he’s been a progressive horse and I expect him to look spot-on when he’s paraded to buyers this weekend.
Munce to partner Quintessential
Top rider Chris Munce has been confirmed to ride Quintessential in her Australian debut on Saturday.
The talented Fast ‘n’ Famous filly is down to contest the Gunsynd Classic-Gr.3 (1600m) at Eagle Farm.
Trainer John Sargent spelled Quintessential after her brave run for third in the NZ Oaks-Gr.1 (2400m). She had a little over a fortnight in the paddock before returning to the stable for a few days in readiness for her flight to Australia on Easter Sunday. She has been stabled at Eagle Farm since then & galloped in company with race rival, Trump, on Tuesday morning.
Quintessential has raced once over 1600m; that was in the Desert Gold Stakes-Gr.3 at Trentham Gardens where she dashed home late to win narrowly from Capital Diamond and subsequent Oaks winner, Artistic.
Safely through Saturday’s run, Quintessential will contest the Doomben Roses-Gr.3 (2020m) in three weeks time, with the Queensland Oaks-Gr.1 (2400m) a fortnight later being her final mission for this campaign.
Weanling Sale profile: Lot 285
I was asked an interesting question today by a leading New Zealand studmaster.
“Why are you selling Sarajay’s first filly at the Weanling Sale,” was his exact question.
In a perfect world you don’t sell the first filly a broodmare has produced, especially if that mare was of Group-winning quality. I’m mindful of that and mindful as well that Sarajay might not produce another filly, or in a worse case scenario not be around long enough to produce me another.
However we all have bills to pay & I’ve decided to present all the foals (3) I bred this season for sale at the Weanling Sale. Gordon Cunningham (Curraghmore Stud) has the Sarajay filly and a colt by Duporth from Be Inspired, while Casey Dando (Bradbury Park) has the colt by Swiss Ace from Veil.
I’m a fan of selling at Weanling Sale time. Last year I was lucky enough to be the seller of the top-priced filly at NZB’s Weanling Sale, the filly by Pentire from Gin City.
All my three will be at Karaka to sell, but they will have reserves. I base my reserves pretty much on the basis of being 50% of what they might be worth if taken through to yearling sale time. It’s a rough guide, but one I’ve felt is fair to both buyer & seller.
So when you see the Red Giant filly from Sarajay – Lot 285 – in the upcoming catalogue; be assured she’s no cull. Her Zabeel half-brother made $320k this year (Bart Cummings); last year’s Zabeel half-brother made $240k (Mark Kavanagh) and the 2008 Zabeel half-brother made $270k. So she’s a half-sister to 3 very commercials colts. Her looks match the pedigree – she’s very much like her mum and a great advertisement for Westbury Stud’s first-crop stallion Red Giant.
Sarajay (left) looks on at her Red Giant filly; this shot was taken when the foal was around 4 months old. She is being readied by Gordon Cunningham at Curraghmore Stud for the upcoming NZB National Weanling Sale.
The filly has been x-rayed and can be viewed by making an appointment with Gordon Cunningham (021 762 559).
Challenge No.1 Update: Tale of the Cat filly
This Tale of the Cat filly is one of four yearlings who form the Challenge No.1 Syndicate
I inspected the Tale of the Cat ex Our Pineau yearling filly at the property of Paul Pertab on Wednesday of this week.
This filly is one of the four yearlings secured for the Challenge No.1 Syndicate (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION) and is currently being broken in at Paul’s Alexandra Road (near Matamata) property.
This filly is thriving and I could see real improvement in her since the Karaka Sales. She was due to be ridden for the first time this week. Once she is fully broken in and ticking over to the satisfaction of the breaker, she will go to trainer Murray Baker’s Cambridge stable for a look at the environment there.
The Tale of the Cat filly is a close relation to Pussy Willow who looked exceptional when taking out the Wakefield Challenge Stakes-Gr.2 at Trentham Gardens in January, having earlier won her debut outing at Ruakaka.
Shares are available in the Challenge No.1 Syndicate; minimum investment is $4,000 (gst inclusive) which includes all costs till 31 January 2013.
Great team
A great team - Lisa Allpress and Quintessential on their way to do battle in last Saturday's Group One Wellfield NZ Oaks
Lisa Allpress has built up a wonderful association with Quintessential this season; from five rides on the filly Lisa has won twice (including Gr.3 Desert Gold Stakes) and been placed the other three times – 3rd Sir Tristram Fillies Classic-Gr.2; 3rd Lowland Stakes-Gr.3 and third Wellfield New Zealand Oaks-Gr.1.
This magnificent shot was taken by Peter Rubery of Race Images last Saturday at Trentham Gardens.
I’m very proud to have selected Quintessential and look forward to her campaign in Brisbane. Right now she is enjoying a break at Paul Pertab’s Matamata agistment property.
Quintessential to spell
Win number one for Quintessential at Te Teko in October.
Win lose or draw in tomorrow’s $300,000 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks-Gr.1 (2400m), Quintessential will certainly head to Paul Pertab’s Matamata property next week for a well earned break.
The filly has come a long long way since breaking her maiden (at her second start) at Te Teko on a hot October day last year. She started favourite that day and did it well for Vinny Colgan, but I must admit I didn’t expect her to be an Oaks contender five months on.
I purchased Quintessential for Nearco Stud Ltd at the 2010 Karaka Select Sale. She was very immature at two and spent much of that season spelling. This season she’s kept on surprising us. Despite a light frame & average size, she’s won this season at Te Teko, Awapuni and Trentham Gardens. The latter event was the Group Three Desert Gold Stakes and she’s since added third placings in the Sir Tristram Fillies Classic-Gr.2 and Lowland Stakes-Gr.3.
Don’t take too much notice of how far she was behind Planet Rock in the Lowland. That was the day of the Central Districts storm & the track at Hastings became a quagmire!
Quintessential hated it, but had enough courage to run into third and collect a vital Group placing.
I think the TAB Bookmakers have got her price ($15) right tomorrow. It’s a fantastic field of 3YO fillies with only Silent Achiever missing. Quintessential has worked well this week, has arrived safe & sound at Trentham (I’ve recently spoken to trainer John Sargent), she will appreciate racing on top of the ground again & rider Lisa Allpress has built an excellent affinity with her. For all that, it’s a massive ask from barrier 17 and like so many of the opposition, we don’t really know if she’ll get the 2400m.
I can vividly remember Oaks contests at Trentham in the seventies & early eighties, with horses like La Mer, Tang, Glamour Bay and Maurita strutting their stuff. Tomorrow’s contest will be every bit as memorable and it’s a privilege to be in some way involved with a contender for the race.
A plug for NZTR
I’m a great believer in giving credit where credit is due and today’s blog is a plug for every one of the hard-working team at New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
I often feel that NZTR is the fall guy when things aren’t going right for our industry. Right now, it’s tough out there for everyone in the New Zealand racing and breeding industry. Returns are down, whether that be prize money, yearling sale revenue, private sale opportunities – whatever. It’s easy to blame someone else for the reality of a difficult marketplace and, sadly, NZTR is often the organisation people like to blame.
Well I’m going in to bat for them. Let me tell you why. For a start, the website I use the most often is www.nzracing.co.nz; NZTR’s site. What would we do without it! Nominations, fields, trials fields, trials results, race replays, calendar, ratings, online forms, latest news – the list goes on and on.
Recently I had to do broodmare returns for something like 60 mares; I could do it all in a morning, online – simple, easy and instant.
When I need to register a horse I get instant answers to my queries about what names are & aren’t available. If I need to push a change of ownership through in a hurry because the horse is about to race again, no problem.
When I set up Challenge Racehorse Syndications Ltd at the very end of 2011, despite it being a busy time of year, NZTR couldn’t do enough to smooth the way.
I manage a number of racehorses for clients. Every two weeks I get a statement of income & expenditure. I’m yet to find a mistake in the workings; it’s reliable and consistently on time.
All of us making our living out of the racing and breeding industry know the score; it’s bloody difficult out there & we have to be on our game to survive. Thank goodness for NZTR, I for one know that they make my task as bloodstock consultant, valuer & syndicator a hell of a lot easier.
Race morning decision for Quintessential
Lisa Allpress & Quintessential before the Sir Tristram Fillies Classic
A decision as to whether Quintessential will start in tomorrow’s Lowland Stakes-Gr.3 at Hastings will be made early in the morning.
It’s not that there’s anything amiss with the filly, quite the opposite – her work has been exceptional this week & she is extremely bright.
It’s all about the extreme weather forecast facing the entire North Island tomorrow.
While Quintessential won on a slow track at Manawatu three starts ago, we don’t believe for a moment that she’s a wet track horse. But with so much at stake (Gr.3 status & valuable points in the NZB 3YO Filly of the Year Series), a decision will be delayed till the eleventh hour.
A back up plan is next Wednesday’s Listed Sunline Vase (2100m) on Auckland Cup day at Ellerslie. It’s not ideal as it means a tight 10 day turnaround for the $300,000 Wellfield NZ Oaks-Gr.1 at Trentham Gardens. On the other hand, the prospect of a run on top of the ground ten days out from the Oaks is more appealing than trudging through a bog track (which might eventuate at Hastings) a fortnight out from the Oaks.
Our dilemma with Quintessential is a dilemma every trainer and owner with a runner in tomorrow’s NZ Derby will be able to relate to, to say the least.
Special satisfaction from Consummate success
I took this photo of Consummate the day I saw her as a yearling at Esker Lodge.
I took a great deal of pleasure watching Consummate’s Rating 65 win at Riccarton Park today.
I purchased this filly for Nearco Stud at the 2010 Karaka Select Sale. I bought five fillies at that sale and two of them were from the first-crop of Waikato Stud’s Redoute’s Choice sire-son, Fast ‘n’ Famous.
The other, by the way, was Quintessential, the winner of this season’s Desert Gold Stakes-Gr.3, placed third in the recent Sir Tristram Fillies Classic-Gr.2 and a contender for next week’s Lowland Stakes-Gr.3.
Getting back to Consummate; Nearco Stud still owns the 3YO filly, but she has been leased to Pam Hughes, wife of trainer Kevin Hughes.
Kevin Hughes & I go way back. I first met Kevin when I was reporting on the Foxton track gallops when I was sixteen – that’s a hell of a long time ago!
Kevin and I have kept in touch over the years and he’s always done a great job with any of the fillies I have sent him. Subtle Difference (Senor Pete) and Dream By Day (City on a Hill) are two who come to mind and both returned to me with black type after being trained by day one by Kevin.
Judging by the strength of Consummate’s win today at 2000m, black type could well be on the horizon for her.
Chance to race 4 fillies from 4 leading stables!
Leading trainer John Sargent with the Elusive City filly he will train for the Challenge No.1 Syndicate
It’s been two weeks since I secured the 4 fillies for the Challenge No.1 Syndicate (CLICK HERE to find out more) and the interest from investors has been very pleasing.
This is my first public syndication and my emphasis has been on doing something different; packaging up a syndication opportunity which will suit the experience racehorse owner & newcomer racehorse owner alike.
The entry level is 1% of the syndication ($4,000 including GST), however I’ve sold a number of 5% units ($20,000 including GST) and there is nothing to stop an intending investor taking a bigger parcel.
The fillies (Lots 620, 697, 950 & 967 from the Karaka Select Sale) are now with breaker Paul Pertab. They will be progressively broken in before heading off to their respective trainers (Richard Collett, Shaune Ritchie, Murray Baker & John Sargent).
These are all fillies with sound physical make-up and strong pedigrees. If they can run, they have the potential to develop into valuable propositions.
In saying that, while I hope the fillies will one day be worth substantially more than I paid for them, the top priority is to give my investors an exciting experience; something to look forward to & something to celebrate!
All prize money is paid out. The fillies are sold at the end of the syndicate life (May 2015), with all proceeds paid out according to shareholders’ portion of ownership.
It’s a syndication model I’ve worked on for some time. I believe it’s the ‘right’ model and while it won’t suit everyone, I believe it’s the most transparent & suitable syndication structure to encourage reinvestment in the future.