Orchestral’s sister hits the $2.4 million top note at Karaka
Daughter of Savabeel becomes the most expensive filly ever sold in New Zealand when going to Mulcaster and Waller
Orchestral’s (Savabeel) sister became the most expensive filly ever sold at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka Yearling Sale when Guy Mulcaster and Chris Waller came out on top of a spirited bidding dual to snare the filly for an eye-watering $2.4 million on Monday.
When New Zealand Bloodstock released the catalogue for their Karaka Yearling Sale the Haunui Farm-offered filly became the focal point and one of the most talked about horses in the run up to the sale. The interest jacked up when dual Group 1 winner Orchestral stormed back into form in Saturday’s Aotearoa Classic (Listed, 1600m) at Ellerslie.
Starting the bidding at $300,000, the money came flying in from different directions for the filly. As the price soared past the million mark, the other parties dropped away, leaving Bruce Wilson’s Glentree Thoroughbreds and the Mulcaster / Waller camp to fight it out for the youngster. As the bidding flashed $2.3 million, Mulcaster landed the final blow, to secure the filly on behalf of owner Glenn Ritchie.
Barneswood Farm’s Sarah Green, who bred the session-topper with Ger Beemsterboer, was visibly emotional during the bidding and described the moment as a ‘fairytale’.
“We were expecting interest, but never at that price – this is a fairytale,” she said. “My first dad died when I was six months old and he was a jockey. My stepfather was an owner-trainer and I just keep thinking how proud they would be.
“I never wanted to sell this filly but my husband talked me into it, so he is off the hook now.
“This is just incredible. I always thought when you breed a horse and you sell it you don’t get the same thrill from watching them, but you absolutely do – she is still like our baby and I am sure Betty, who I named at birth, will still be as exciting.
“They thought she was perhaps a wee bit smaller [than Orchestral], but she has got that residual value, even if she doesn’t race.
“We were told there were five big players up to our reserve and then maybe three that would go above it. We were hoping to get $1 million, it would have been our first ever sale that high, but to go that high is unbelievable.”
Green sold New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) and Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Orchestral to her trainers, Roger James and Robert Wellwood, for $625,000 at the 2022 edition of the same sale. The breeder has another sister out of four-time winner Symphonic (O’Reilly), who she will retain.
“We have a full-sister at foot, so I will keep that one,” she said.
“I love my racing, my racing partner from the Netherlands [Beemsterboer] loves his breeding, but you have got to have both. We get a different enjoyment out of it and I love the racing side of it – I don’t so much the breeding side of it because you have got to sell your babies, it’s like selling your children, but this dampens the pain.”
Reflecting on the price he had to go to in order to secure the filly, former coach operator Ritchie said: “From a personal point of view I kind of look at it and say ‘$2.4 million – that is only three new buses’ and you think what the hell.
“After we sold the business my wife said to me ‘what do you want to do?’ and I said ‘I wouldn’t mind getting a racehorse.’
“We have got over 20 with Chris [Waller] and we own 100 per cent of ownership of the whole lot. We are not into syndication because it becomes too unwieldy.”
As well as the horses he has with Waller, Ritchie races Miss Ziggy (Brazen Beau) who finished third in Saturday’s Karaka Millions 2YO (RL, 1200m) at Ellerslie. The daughter of Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) was bought by her trainer Andrew Carston on behalf of the owner for $250,000 at Book 1 of the same sale last year.
While Orchestral is the stand-out on the page, the filly hails from a family that packs a punch with stakes winners right through the pedigree.
Symphonic herself is out of the unraced mare Chorus (Danasinga), whose other daughter, Glee (O’Reilly), produced this season’s impressive New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Savaglee (Savabeel). Further back, this is also the family of top flight-winning trio Good Faith (Straight Strike), Aegon (Sacred Falls), Daffodil (No Excuse Needed) and Atishu (Savabeel).
To add a further dimension to an already potent pedigree, the filly is bred on the Savabeel / O’Reilly cross, one of the strongest nicks in the Stud Book and one that has yielded 34 individual stakes winners, a list headed by ten elite-level winners.
Monday’s top-price means the filly became the second-most expensive horse ever sold at Karaka, with the auction house record held by subsequent Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Don Eduardo (Zabeel), who Cambridge Stud sold to Gooree Stud for a massive $3.6 million in 2000.
The $2.4 million brought by the filly means she is the most expensive yearling by Waikato Stud’s marquee stallion Savabeel (Zabeel) ever sold, smashing his previous record of $1.4 million, which David Ellis paid for No Limits in 2019.
Mulcaster told ANZ Bloodstock News that they inspected a collection of the best bred fillies on the complex and said the session-topper had the looks to match her outstanding pedigree.
“I looked at all the best bred fillies here and I thought she was the best physical to match the beautiful pedigree, so that was what got us fired up. Chris [Waller] looked at her quite a few times and we both agreed that she was probably the pick,” he said.
“We took our clients to see her this morning and we were lucky enough they buttered up and stumped up the money. We’ve been beaten on a few good fillies over the past couple of years. When they’ve got a good page and the physical to match, they’re going to make their money.
“She’s a lovely Savabeel who has a bit of growing to do, but she’s got a big deep girth so fingers crossed.”
Haunui Farm began the day on a positive note when they sold another daughter of Savabeel to Dean Hawthorne for $400,000.
The filly is out of the Group 1-placed winner Rondinella (Ocean Park), whose colt by Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) sold for $825,000 to David Ellis at last year’s edition of the sale. That colt is now known as He Who Dares and he broke his maiden on the first attempt when he landed a 1200-metre maiden at Wanganui on January 20.
Rondinella herself is out of Group 3 winner Valpolicella (Red Ransom), who is also the dam of Group 2-winning duo Vilanova (Commands) and Vavasour (Redoute’s Choice), while she also produced Group 3 scorer Celebrity Dream (Thorn Park).
Hawthorne said he was keen to get his hands on a well-credentialed filly to stay in New Zealand, believing well-bred fillies to be a rare commodity with so many of them being lost to Australia.
“It was the residual value that drew me to her. Fillies in New Zealand with residual value are becoming rarer because of the offshore competition across the Tasman to get them because everyone loves a good New Zealand family.
“This filly will stay in New Zealand because she’s been bought for a client here. It is great for the industry that people can buy these good fillies – it’s what our industry needs because our good pedigrees disappear offshore because of the quality of our racehorses and they go and win their Oaks and mile races and recently there have been some nice 1400-metre fillies race over there.
“The colt last year made $725,000 and the early reports from Te Akau are great on him and he’s a lovely horse.”
Haunui Farm’s Mark Chitty told ANZ Bloodstock News that he was happy to meet the market and see her go to a good home.
“She is a lovely filly,” he said. “Rondinella was one hell of a racemare and one hell of a producer. Maybe overshadowed by the Symphonic filly but we were happy to meet the market and we let the market decide.
“When you get beyond her sort of value you don’t have to miss by much to be friendless. We are enormously proud of Rondinella and her filly has gone to a great home.”