Well-related mare Bits and Pieces proved a smart buy from gavelhouse for Hannah Kettlety and Adrian Stanley of Woburn Farm at Pukekura Raceway yesterday, winning the Smokeylemon Maiden over 1100m in emphatic style.
Having
her first start for her new connections from the stable of Alan Sharrock, Bits
and Pieces appreciated the rain overnight, jumping well from barrier six to
lead the field. The daughter of Aussie speed sire Snippetson managed to skip
along at a solid clip in the hands of Sharrock's gun apprentice Wiremu Pinn. A
move that ensured the pair were clear of the trouble that eventuated back in
the field where a horse slipped, after which the track was deemed unsafe and
further races abandoned.
Out of a half-sister to Tavistock in Danasinga mare Inertia, Bit and Pieces was bred by Bloomsbury Stud and sold on account of Brighthill Farm on gavelhouse.com in June. Having placed as a two and three-year-old on five occasions from nine starts, Kettlety bid to $6,250 to secure her.
Bits And Pieces is a great advertisement of Cambridge-based Woburn Farm's spelling, pre-training and rehabilitation facilities which now include a water treadmill .
"We have the treadmill in for four months and we have pre-trained two of our own on it now, one being a sprinter and the other being a stayer, and both have come out and won their first starts," said Kettlety.
"We have had up to nine at one time with us to work on the water-treadmill but currently we are busy with yearling prep so we only have six at the moment and will look to pick up more again after the yearling sales."
Bits and Pieces maintained her lead turning into the home straight and won with an impressive eight-and-a-quarter lengths in hand.
"We were confident on a firm track, but she showed us she can manage both yesterday."
"She's pulled up well and we will look to run her in the Taranaki Summer Challenge or perhaps a 65 grade race."
The latest gavelhouse.com New Zealand catalogue is now online with 20 Lots with bidding set to close from 7pm Monday 10 December. Entries for the next fortnightly Australia gavelhouse.com auction are open and are due by 7pm AEDT Monday 10 December. Contact the gavelhouse.com Australia team for assistance on +61 3 9614 4882 or email info@gavelhouse.com
