The top lot in the broodmare section at New Zealand Bloodstock's May Sale was knocked down to one of the most familiar faces at the Karaka sales complex, Sir Patrick Hogan.
The famed thoroughbred breeder swapped his usual role of vendor to that
of purchaser when he went to $150,000 to buy lot 468, Passion Cut, a Pins mare
in-foal to Cambridge Stud stallion Tavistock.
Consigned by the farm he sold to Brendan and Jo Lindsay last month, Sir Patrick was delighted with his first purchase since selling Cambridge Stud, but said it was an odd experience.
"She's a young mare and it's pretty hard to get nice Pins mares," he said. "He's a successful sire and he's a good broodmare sire.
"I've had a lot of luck with that family and I've done well with it and I am very happy to buy her back.
"It is a bit strange to come here and buy a Cambridge Stud mare, consigned by Cambridge Stud."
Depending on the sex of the resulting foal, Sir Patrick may send it through the Karaka sales ring as a yearling.
"It depends if it is a colt or filly, if it is a colt it will head back to Karaka," he said.
Sir Patrick may have sold his famous nursery, but that doesn't mean he has taken a step back, with his 500-acre property Monarch Farm keeping him busy.
"I've never been busier," he said. "We have given it (Monarch Farm) a tidy up, but I'm not competing with the new Cambridge Stud.
"I'd be guessing, but with partners at the moment, I'd have 10 or 12 (mares) maximum. But I've got some magnificently bred two and three-year-olds racing so in a couple of years I'll have some smashing mares by Savabeel, O'Reilly and Tavistock." – NZ Racing Desk.
