Dancer’s Tale (Tale of the Cat ex Pineau, by Carnegie) provided the highlight of selling action on Day Two of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Weanling and Mixed Sale at Karaka.
The four-year-old black type-winning mare fetched $120,000 to the bid of prominent Masterton-based bloodstock consultant Bruce Perry. She was offered by Gordon Cunningham’s Curraghmore Stud and proved to be a popular offering with a number of live bidders chasing her.
Bruce Perry told me post sale that Dancer’s Tale had been purchased by a syndicate which has been put together to support the boom young stallion Per Incanto who stands at Little Avondale Stud.
I purchased Dancer’s Tale for the Challenge No.1 Syndicate at the 2012 NZB Select Yearling Sale for $65,000 from Blandford Lodge.
Trained initially by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, Dancer’s Tale won the very first two-year-old race of the 2012-2103 Season at Wanganui. It was a dream result for my newly-formed Challenge Racehorse Syndications Ltd and matters got even better two starts later when the filly landed the Listed Welcome Stakes at Riccarton Park. And to the great delight of her big group of owners, Dancer’s Tale went on to contest that season’s Karaka Million.
The last racetrack campaign for Dancer’s Tale was handled by Wayne Marshment at Wanganui. I sent her down there for a change of environment. She seemed to lose her mo-jo in the big Baker/Forsman stable and I fancied the idea of her going to a small stable which offered a training regime of both track and beach work. It proved to be a good move as the filly won two more races including her very last run for Challenge at Trentham Gardens on Anzac Day.
It’s been a big few days for the Challenge No.1 Syndicate. Just last Saturday their other horse, Fascination Street took out the Listed Windsor Park Stud Rotorua Stakes (1400m) at Arawa Park.
Murray Baker (right) with Dancer's Tale the day I purchased her for the Challenge No.1 Syndicate at Karaka, January 2012