Racing: Forking out $1.6m by remote

Graeme Rogerson. Jeff Brass/Getty Images

Graeme Rogerson was always going to crack his whip at Karaka.

It took a while and when he did it was by remote.

Rogerson allowed 23-year-old Jacinta Wells to spend $1.6 million for him to secure the Zabeel-Miss Power Bird colt yesterday.

The nervous-looking Wells was reassured by Rogerson when the gavel hit the wood.

"Don't worry, we were going to buy him, no matter what he made," said Rogerson.

Wells is an Australian and the sister of jockey Peter Wells, who recently made a short trip to New Zealand to ride for the Rogerson/Autridge stable.

The transtasman trainer said the colt was his pick of the sale.

"Everyone's entitled to their opinion," at which point Rogerson's innate competitiveness kicked in: "I prefer him to the Stravinksy [$2.2m] yesterday, even though he was a lovely colt.

"It won't be long before we know who is right. He's cheap if he's as good as we think he is."

The colt's breeder Sir Patrick Hogan backed Rogerson's judgment.

"I've bred a lot of Zabeel colts on my property and he's the closest in looks to his sire that I've produced.

"For a long time I've rated him a million dollar colt."

As the sale progressed Hogan upgraded his expectation from $1.2 million to $1.4 million.

"When that Stravinsky colt made $2.2 million yesterday it almost certainly put a couple of hundred thousand on this colt."

Hogan owned half the colt with Melbourne engineering businessman Bill Schwarzenberg, who raced the dam Miss Power Bird.

Rogerson said he has all but one of the 10 shares in the Zabeel colt syndicated.

"The members are from all around the world. I haven't told him yet, but I'm probably going to include Patrick [Hogan] in the team - he's good at packing down a scrum."

There was a precedent for Rogerson using a remote bidder - his four-year-old grand-daughter Bailey sat on his knee and made the bids when he paid A$1.55 million ($1.7 million) for the half brother to his Cox Plate winner Savabeel at the Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast last month.

Halfway through the bidding the grand-daughter turned her head and said: "Don't worry pop, no one will be beat us."

The Zabeel colt was Rogerson's 34th Karaka purchase in three days.

The previous highest price he'd paid at Karaka was $1.1 million.

"Isn't it marvellous that New Zealanders bought the two top lots at the sale, how often has that happened."

Te Akau's principal David Ellis was clearly a long way from the bottom of the tin when he paid the $2.2 million top price on Tuesday.

Yesterday Ellis came up with $800,000 for the colt by Zabeel from class mare Marquise, beating off some spirited bidding against Japanese buyers.

"He's part of a three-horse partnership Te Akau has put together with some of its long-term clients," said Ellis. "Some of them were in the King's Chapel syndicate."

Ellis was chuffed to pay only $800,000. "To be honest we probably had a couple of more bid up our sleeve, whereas yesterday [$2.2 million] it was our absolute last shout."

Ellis said the first purchase for the three-horse syndicate was a $280,000 Fasliyev colt from the first day and the deal was wrapped up with the $560,000 Zabeel-Pretty Buttons colt 11 lots from the end of the sale.

A few lots earlier Ellis went to $500,000 for the Zabeel-Paint Me a Dream colt.

"It's on behalf of a smaller syndicate that includes one of New Zealand's most successful businessman."

Ellis said Te Akau has stretched itself off the back of Mark Walker's remarkable success.

"In having a Racing Minister like Winston Peters that understands racing's needs, it gives you the confidence to stretch."

The summation of the 2006 Karaka premier sale depends on who you talked to, but undeniably:

* Cambridge Stud and Pencarrow Stud dominated yet again in producing the horses.

* Te Akau dominated the buying market, chased throughout by a strong international bench.

* The humidity dominated everyone.

* Mark Waugh dominated the press room computer for a while and no one minded.

* The fact that there were a number of first-time internationals thrilled everyone but the underbidders.

* Watching a Sadlers Wells - stud fee around A$400,000 - go through the ring for $60,000 was interesting. "Bit small," said the vendor.

* Probably a few might have been better placed in the Select Sale, but no one could deny that those that deserved to attract good money did so.

* Some outstanding racehorses changed hands. 

  
Sale figures impressive

The 80th national yearling sales series at Karaka finished in strong style yesterday, with results exceeding expectations across the board.

The final sale average was $127,072, a 7.5 per cent decrease from last year but up 14 per cent from 2004.

Notably, the sale average in 2005 without the 20 yearlings from the final southern hemisphere crop of Danehill, was $120,620. This year's average reflects a 5 per cent increase on that figure.

The clearance rate was 81 per cent and the sale median was $80,000.

Total takings were $49.5 million for 390 lots sold, down from $53.4 million last year.

There was considerable depth to this year's buying bench, with the results sheets showing buyers from New Zealand, Australia, England, Ireland, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Japanese buyers were prominent this year, purchasing a total of 11 yearlings, with Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm buying six yearlings, including a filly at Lot 150 by Rock of Gibraltar, out of Whatcanisay, purchased on the first day for $500,000.

The leading vendor by aggregate for the 25th year in a row was Sir Patrick Hogan's Cambridge Stud, with 39 yearlings sold for an aggregate of $8.36 million.

His top-priced lot was the Zabeel colt at Lot 461 which was sold for $1.6 million.