By MIKE DILLON
Last year, retired Melbourne businessman Peter White came to the Karaka sales to buy fillies and went home with colts by Zabeel, Octagonal and Danehill.
He was not going to miss a filly this year and paid $400,000 for the Zabeel half-sister to last year's New Zealand Oaks winner She's Country.
White operated Australia's biggest freight-trailer manufacturing business, retiring not long after his company merged.
He paid $600,000 for the Danehill colt he bought last year.
"I had just missed out on a filly and I was determined I wasn't going to miss the next horse I liked."
White likes the residuals in fillies and, a few lots after his Zabeel purchase went through the ring, paid $400,000 for an Octagonal-Dragoncello filly offered by Chatham Lodge.
During the first session White bought a Volksraad-Alberton Lass filly for $120,000 and paid $200,000 for a Woodman-Battocchi filly.
He was underbidder on the $500,000 Zabeel filly which went through the ring late in the session on Tuesday.
The Zabeel colt he bought last year is from Auckland Cup winner Miltak.
"He's taking time and my trainer Ross McDonald had wanted to geld him, so I tested him. I said: 'Keep talking and I'll find someone who can train stallions.'
"He's been a little quiet about it lately."
White, 60, is mates with Melbourne's Nick Columb, who also liked the Zabeel colt.
"I let Nick have the first crack and asked him to let me know if and when he was past his limit.
"Nick dropped out at $350,000 and passed it on to me."
White said New Zealand was the perfect place for him to buy horses.
"I'm in no hurry and if they need time I'm more than happy to give it to them."
Mark Pilkington thought he got great value when he bought the second top-priced lot, the Danehill-Doe colt, for $480,000.
The racing manager for the powerful Lindsay Park operation in Australia said it was still to be decided who would race the colt, but said he would first be sent to trainer Peter Hayes in Adelaide.
He did not rule out the possibility of the colt ending up with brother David Hayes in Hong Kong.
"He's got a great international pedigree, one of the colts of the sale by an international sire," said Pilkington.
Last year he bought several lots and said the Pentire-Frenetic colt, named Mutaagle, was rated a coming topline group horse.
Racing: Colts buyer gets his filly on the second attempt
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