3 minute read
Karaka 2021 - Book 1 - Vendor In Focus
Who are your pick of the colts and why?
Lot 103 Ribchester - Shalaka, a well grown, good moving colt with a good girth, a great attitude, he’s really everything you want to see in a racehorse. He’s a great advertisement for the stallion and if Ribchester keeps leaving them like this colt, we will be very happy.
Lot 244 Ocean Park - Annie Higgins . The third living foal fabulous racemare. This colt is medium sized with length and natural muscle and he has really come to it in the last month of the yearling prep.
Lot 527 Almanzor - Markisa, another well grown colt. He is out of an older mare but is from the great Eight Carat family. Not too dissimilar to his half-brother Winning Dreamer, who has won six-in-a-row in Hong Kong.
Who are your pick of the fillies and why?
Lot 27 Iffraaj - Patrimonium. A lovely scopey filly from an international family. The mare has already left two stakes performers and this filly would be a lovely addition to any broodmare band after her racing career.
Lot 70 Merchant Navy - Rina Bettina. The first foal from a member of the Haunui foundation family – the 8th generation of the family we have bred from. She’s from the first crop of Merchant Navy - Danehill line stallions have crossed very well with the family. She’s a good advertisement for the sire and the mare going forward.
Lot 481 Belardo - Khales. An elegant type of filly out of a proven mare. By Belardo, who has made a great start to his stallion career, she’s a filly with plenty of upside and she has thrived in the last month of preparation.
Who do you feel has improved most over the prep?
They’ve all improved from the time we started the prep and that’s obviously what we are aiming for. What’s also important is that they continue to go forward post the yearling sales and that all comes down to the work and management that’s undertaken not only during the yearling prep but from the day they hit the ground.
How do you feel the 2021 sale will measure compared to previous renewals?
It is definitely a year of difference without an international buying bench so it will certainly be a very different selling environment. We need to provide as much information as possible to buyers, especially those that can’t be at the sale, to give them the confidence to participate. So this year we are taking more photos than ever, and our videos are more extensive. We will also have x-ray and scope reports from both a New Zealand and Australian veterinarian and all of this info will be on our website and accessible to anyone.
How do you think the current COVID pandemic will affect the sale?
That’s something we really won’t know until it’s over. There won’t be the same opportunity to put a yearling in front of someone you know well that may not have a particular lot on their list, or for someone to add a lot to their list that has taken their eye when parading for someone else. It’s those little anomalies that won’t be there to create competition on more lots so that will be a challenge.
What do you think are the positives of the pandemic on the way that sales are conducted?
It has really increased the level of transparency and as I’ve already said. We will have x-ray and scope reports from two different vets for each yearling. Our photos and videos are more extensive and NZB have done a great job with their new online bidding platform to make it as easy as possible for buyers to participate.
What is the thing that you like most about the sale?
Every yearling sale provides an opportunity to showcase the progeny bred by Haunui and our clients to the racing and breeding buying bench. There are always highs and lows but it’s an exciting time and exciting to think what each yearling could potentially go on to achieve. It’s also a great opportunity to renew old acquaintances and form new ones.
