Pinhooking success for Carlaw Park
Carlaw Park enjoyed a standout pinhooking success on day two of Book 1 when Lot 341, a filly by Darly’s rising international sire Ghaiyyath (Dubawi), was secured for $360,000 by a powerful buying team led by Henry Dwyer Racing, Sam Haggas of Hurworth Bloodstock and Glentree Thoroughbreds.
The filly represented a significant return on investment for Carlaw Park, who purchased her for just $40,000 at last year’s Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale in partnership with Sullivan Bloodstock, Bevan Smith Bloodstock and emerging Victorian stallion farm Lovatsville.
Carlaw Park principal Nick Fairweather, who runs the operation alongside partner Nicole Brown, admitted the result exceeded expectations for the filly.
“She’s an absolute queen,” he told ANZ News. “We spotted her at the Great Southern Sale in Melbourne and really liked her style. She is a well-bodied filly and has a striking walk. When she parades she almost goes into auto-pilot. She knew what it was about and never put a foot wrong.
“Friends of ours also liked her so instead of bidding against each we formed a partnership. Her sire, who was under the radar at the time, has come on strong since then so we had a lot of interest both locally and from Australia. We weren’t about to give her away but her reserve was $150,000.”
The timing of the sale proved ideal, with Ghaiyyath’s son Opera Ballo adding to a second elite-level winner to his sire’s CV with an stylish win in the Jebal Hatta (Gr 1, 1800m) at Meydan on Friday night.
Sam Haggas said he was keen to secure the filly given Ghaiyyath’s growing profile as a sire on both sides of the globe.
“Ghaiyyath is one of the few stallions who’s going really well in both hemispheres,” Haggas told ANZ News. “In Australia, he’s had a great start. I’m a huge believer in the stallion, ever since he’s had his first runners and I’ve been very keen to get as many of them as I can.
“I think he’s got a massive future as a stallion. He was obviously a brilliant racehorse himself and I think he could have a massive 2026 which was kick- started by Opera Ballo winning a group one on Friday. He could be a real top horse for the sire.”
On the filly, Haggis added: “This filly was a very nice, good-looking sort. I just loved the way she moved. She’s got a great action and she used herself really well. She looks like she could be quite sharp, which is encouraging for a Ghaiyyath, but equally, she’s got loads of scope to go on and improve as she gets older. Hopefully she’s got a nice future ahead of her.
“I think she should be running at two for sure, but she’s got plenty of scope to be a really nice three-year-old. She might stay in New Zealand for a little while, and then long term, she’ll go over to Henry’s place in Ballarat.”
Ghaiyyath shuttled to Darley’s Northwood Park in Victoria from 2021 to 2024 before remaining in the northern hemisphere in 2025. His southern hemisphere-bred runners are headed by 14 winners and they are spearheaded by four stakes winners including VRC Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) scorer Observer.
Haggas hoped the stallion’s recent success could prompt a return to Australia.
“It would make sense for him to come back given how well his early runners have done in Australia,” he said. “They’re in high demand and his star is rising as a stallion in both hemispheres. I think Henry has been a big fan of his for a long time. He’s got a good one in his barn, and there aren’t many of them selling as yearlings, so they’re in high demand. I’d like to think he’ll come back given how well he’s going down there.”
The purchase continues a successful working relationship between Haggas and Dwyer, which began prior to Asfoora’s (Flying Artie) Royal Ascot triumph and subsequent crowning as European Champion Sprinter at the 2025 Cartier Awards.
“Henry rang me out of the blue in March 2024 to get my view on the sprinters in Europe, when he was thinking about bringing Asfoora out for the first time,” Haggas said.
“We had a good chat about what the sprinters were like in Europe, and he obviously came and he’s done a fantastic job, and he’s had a hell of a journey with Asfoora. She’s come up the last two summers, and won Group 1s and he’s done a fantastic job.
“I understand she’s having another crack this summer and she stayed up in Newmarket over this winter instead of coming back to Australia. Henry is going great and having a great time of it’s very encouraging.
“He bought a couple of tried horses at the horses in training sale in October and they have stayed up in Newmarket as well, so hopefully it will be an exciting summer for him in Europe.”