The upcoming Karaka Million Twilight Meeting and National Yearling Sales Series will showcase how exciting and rewarding the industry can be, and there are a number of different ways to get involved in the heart of the sport.
Breeding
From some of our world-famous stud farms to hobbyists with one or two mares, the value of breeders to the New Zealand thoroughbred industry cannot be measured.
There is a huge amount of hard work and patience involved in breeding horses, but that effort can be rewarded with the indescribable pride of watching those horses charge down the home-straight or shine in the sale ring.
A recent example is the Hunterville couple Christopher and Susanna Grace, who in early November saw their green, gold and white colours carried to Group 1 Kennedy Mile glory at Flemington by home-bred mare Shillelagh(NZ) (Savabeel).
"We just kept our fingers crossed she could run well, but when she won it was such a marvelous feeling and one that I think rates as the best we have ever had in racing," Christopher Grace said.
Results such as those can have significant flow-on effects. Shillelagh is now an immensely valuable broodmare prospect, and the commercial appeal of her relatives have received a well-timed boost.
Book 1 of Karaka 2018 will be a case in point with the Graces offering a close relative to Shillelagh (and recent Listed-winning full-sisterGrazia(NZ)) in Little Avondale Stud's draft atLot 226,a Charm Spirit colt out of Shillelagh's full-sisterGalway(NZ).
Successful Auckland owner-breeder Marie Leicester is a regular vendor at Karaka and 2018 will be no different with a four-strong draft set to head through the ring next week. Having reaped success with homebred Group 1-winning fillyMelody Belle(NZ) (Commands), she will offer a half-sister atLot 371from the successful Belle family which was established by Leicester's parents.
Syndicates
The most accessible and affordable avenue to racehorse ownership in New Zealand is through the number of syndicates that operate in this country. The costs of purchasing and training the horses are shared widely among a group of shareholders who can then share the thrills and triumphs of racehorse ownership.
The highest-profile syndicator is Te Akau Racing whose principal David Ellis has dominated the buyers' bench at the National Yearling Sales Series for more than a decade.
Te Akau will provide opportunities to owners across a range of budgets. Ellis has paid $750,000 or more at Karaka to buy subsequent Group One winners such as Darci Brahma(NZ) (Danehill) and Embellish(NZ) (Savabeel), but at the other end of the scale there are horses likeGingernuts(NZ) (Iffraaj). An astute purchase by Ellis at the Ready to Run Sale for just $42,500, he has won the Group 1 New Zealand Derby, Rosehill Guineas and Windsor Park Plate for prizemoney of $1.27 million.
Ellis has been inspecting yearlings and is once again planning to make a number of purchases at Karaka 2018.
"I have seen some beautiful yearlings this year," he said. "The quality is probably the best I have seen for at least 10 years, and I am going to buy some future champions, be assured of that."
Ellis also selects yearlings for John Galvin's Fortuna Syndications who won last year's Karaka Million with the $57,500 purchase Melody Belle.
At Karaka 2018 there will be a three-quarter brother to Embellish (Lot 485), and half-siblings to Gingernuts (Lot 170) and Melody Belle (Lot 371).
Another prominent syndicator is Go Racing who can boast a number of success stories from their Karaka purchases – most famouslyRuud Awakening(Bernardini), who cost $90,000 and won the 2013 Karaka Million and Group 1 Diamond Stakes; and the $110,000 purchaseHasahalo(NZ) (Savabeel), who dominated the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas in November.
"There is a lot of first-time owners in the syndicate, and to have a Group 1 win is just mind-blowing," the group's racing manager Matt Allnutt said after the 1000 Guineas triumph.
Trainers
Trainers will be out in force on the Karaka buyers' bench, recruiting future stars for their stable and making ownership shares available.
Matamata's Graham Richardson went beyond his usual budget to buy a Foxwedge filly for $240,000 at Karaka three years ago. Named Volpe Veloce and shared among a large group of owners, she has won 10 of her 13 starts including this month's Group 1 Railway at Ellerslie for prizemoney of $464,000 boosting her appeal as a broodmare.
Donna Logan, who trains at Ruakaka, has also had a number of successes particularly with the first crop of Tavistock yearlings at Karaka in 2013. She paid $50,000 forVolkstok'n'barrell(NZ) who has given his owners nine wins (four Group 1) and $1.4 million in stakes. She also paid just $14,000 forHasselhoof(NZ) who had 13 starts in an injury-curtailed career for six wins and $168,977.
The upcoming Sale will offer Volkstok'n'barrell's three-quarter brother (Lot 138).
Awapuni's Lisa Latta is another big buyer at Karaka, with her honour roll including Karaka Million winnerFort Lincoln(Charge Forward) who cost $110,000; and the $55,000 purchasePlatinum Witness(California Dane) who won the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas.
A more recent example is the Karaka Million contenderSir Nate(NZ) (Nadeem) who Latta paid $65,000 to buy at last year's Sale. He has won two of his three starts including the Listed Wellesley Stakes.
"It's a fantastic group of owners that was put together after we bought him at the sales," Latta said after that Trentham victory. "Results like this are great for the game."
Cranbourne-based Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young are also highly successful buyers and syndicators for owners on both sides of the Tasman with 2015 Yearling Sale purchases showing promise on the track withAnaheim(Fastnet Rock) a stakes winner andEl Sicario(NZ) (Bullbars) a Group 1 performer.
And so too is fellow expat Kiwi trainer Chris Waller who will be inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame next month. A primary example was his $190,000 Karaka yearling purchase Preferment(NZ) (Zabeel) who he trained to win four Group 1 features and more than $3.7 million in prizemoney for his ownership group. The son of Zabeel now stands at Brighthill Farm.
Love Racing will be running "The Thoroughbred Experience Tour" which takes you behind the scenes on Sunday 28th and Monday 29th January at the Yearling Sales where you can see the horses, meet the people and get involved. Pre-register online at nzb.co.nz/loveracing and you will have the chance to win $3,000 towards purchasing a share in a racehorse.
NZB's revamped National Yearling Sales Series will take place from Sunday 28 January – Sunday 4 February. Catalogues forBook 1,Book 2andBook 3can be viewed online or requested fromreception@nzb.co.nz.
