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Ellis goes to $800,000 for Savabeel colt.

Fresh from Cool Aza Beel's (Savabeel) victory in the Karaka 2YO Million (RL, 1200m) on Saturday, Te Akau's David Ellis is hopeful the Savabeel (Zabeel) colt he paid NZ$800,000 for at Karaka 2020 on Sunday will be providing him with yet another victory in the lucrative two-year-old race in 2021. 

Catalogued as Lot 79 and offered by Waikato Stud, the colt is out of Group 3-winning Rip Van Winkle (Galileo) mare Magic Dancer, who is herself out of Listed winner Dazzling Belle (Desert Sun) making her a half-sister to Group 1-placed Manten (Encosta De Lago). 

Ellis, who beat off competition from Team Hawkes to take the horse home, said he had to go over his budget but was happy to rating the colt one of the best Savabeels he has ever seen and he will now join Te Akau's colt syndicate.  

"When we were looking at our notes on this horse this morning my budget was $600,000 but Mark said to me you won't get him for less than $800,000," Ellis said.

"As usual Mark [Walker] was dead on.

"He's a beautiful colt and interestingly the genetic experts say the genetic cross is as high as you could ever get.

"When you combine that with his athleticism then we think he will be in the race (Karaka Million 2YO) next year."

Ellis was taken by the physical attributes of his latest purchase that matched up well against some of the outstanding Savabeel progeny that have made their way through the Te Akau system.

"He's a different sort of horse to Probabeel but you could compare him very favourably with Cool Aza Beel and is probably looks a little more precocious," Ellis said.

"He is bred out of some very fast horses, all with two-year-old form and his granddam was one of the best two-year-olds in the South Island and has produced numerous winners.

"He has been bought to become a member of our colts syndicate this year and I rated him as high as I have ever rated a colt here." 

Meanwhile, Mark Chittick of Waikato Stud said the colt was always a standout from very early on and was not surprised to see him realise that price-tag. 

"The colt has been a standout on the farm since he was born. Obviously, he has been very popular and where better to end up than with Te Akau. He is the perfect fit for them," Chittick said.

"For the Hawkes team to go hard to get him is also very encouraging."

Earlier in the day, Ellis bought into a family he knows well when he went to NZ$375,000 for the Snitzel (Redoute's Choice) colt out of Katie Lee (Pins) from the Cambridge Stud draft. 

Ellis purchased the colt's Savabeel (Zabeel) half-brother for NZ$1,025,000 at the 2018 edition of the sale. Now named Lethal, the colt was placed as a two-year-old and the progeny out of the mare have made NZ$2,995,000.

Katie Lee (Pins) completed the rare feat of winning the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and she is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Banchee (Oratorio) from the family of dual Group 1 winner Gee I Jane (Jahafil). Pins (Snippets) is responsible for 34 stakes winners as a broodmare sire, including four elite-level winners. 

Henry Plumptre, CEO of Cambridge Stud, who offered the colt, said the yearling was the perfect combination of the stallion and the mare. 

"He's a classic combination of mum and dad," said Plumptre. "Snitzel wasn't a huge yearling either with an offset knee. They're not massive token types. They're not like Zoustars or I Am Invincibles.

"They are workman like and Snitzel punches well above his weight. He is a fantastic stallion. The mare's had a few chances, but we think that the Iffraaj that Rogie has got is a very good colt.

"She's in foal to Almanzor and she's got an Almanzor at foot, so she's going to get every chance."

Of the market Plumptre said he thought that vendors had been very realistic with their reserves and were being rewarded for that realism in the ring. 

"I think it's early days, but (the market) is not going to go through the roof. It seems to be steady and vendors' expectations appear to be realistic and I think that's what we have got to do," said Plumptre. 

"We have got to meet the market and we've got to get these horses sold. The predominant buying bench is Australian and that's where we want them to go.

"It doesn't mean you're not going to come up with the same number of Group winners from this sale, but Magic Millions is made for syndicators. 'Can it win an Everest, can it win a Blue Diamond, can it win a Slipper? The answer is, of the 1000 horses, probably 500 of them can - they have the right credentials. 

"We're not breeding that sort of horse here."

"There are 900 horses in Sydney next week, 700 at the sale in Melbourne in four weeks' time."

Ellis has been the leading buyer at Karaka for the last 14 years and looks well on track to make it 15 if he maintains the pace he has set during the opening session, in which he purchased 12 lots for an aggregate of NZ$2,730,000, including one in partnership with Fortuna Syndicate.