Headline makers!

Aegon and Probabeel headline the Waikato Stud recent graduates from the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale drafts with proprietor Mark Chittick pointing out that at the half-way point of the 2020/21 racing season, Waikato Stud have already clocked up nine individual stakes winning graduates from their premier property in New Zealand.

Probabeel (Savabeel) sold for $380,000 in 2018, and most recently won the 2020 Gr.1 Epsom Handicap to go with her Gr.1 Surround Stakes win last season, while Aegon (Sacred Falls) sold for $150,000 and at the time of writing is an unbeaten three year-old who won this season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas. Waikato Stud continues to be a proven source of top quality racehorses, backed by their team of Champion and emerging stallions, and they will present 37 yearlings at the 2021 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale.
Mark Chittick said, “Our Karaka draft is one we are extremely proud of with a strong selection of stallions, including the giant influence of our two Champion Sires Savabeel and Ocean Park. We have several yearlings by Sacred Falls, whose progeny have really hit their stride this year, and of course, Tivaci whose future is incredibly exciting.”

With twenty two yearlings by multiple Champion Sire Savabeel, there is bound to be a pedigree to suit every buyers’ needs. Savabeel needs little introduction; he’s a multiple Champion Sire with twenty Gr.1 winners to his name, and 105 stakes winners. Among the yearlings on offer this season, Chittick picked out a few Savabeels of note, led by the filly, Lot 446, whose dam, I Do, is a Gr.1 winner of fifteen races, with the added bonus that her first two foals are already winners, so she’s doing well at stud too. “This filly is typical of the family, a big strong type who will be a beautiful three year-old and onwards.”

The colt out of Gr.2 winner Villifye, Lot 201, caught Chittick’s eye. “An extremely athletic colt who looks like he’ll get over distance, a real Derby style horse.” Not only is his dam a Gr.2 winner, but she’s left three winners from as many foals to race, and is a half-sister to Gr.1 Queensland Oaks winner Miss Keepsake, and Gr.1 VRC Oaks placed Salto Angel (Sacred Falls) who is also a Waikato Stud graduate.
From a good consistent family with a big pedigree update is Lot 412, a half-brother to recent Australian Listed winner Ocean Beyond (Ocean Park). The “nice athletic type” has two winning full brothers and is from the same family as Waikato Stud’s Champion Sire O’Reilly.

Chittick’s pick on type is Lot 568, the Savabeel colt out of American broodmare Mystery Lake. He is her first foal, and Chittick said, “He’s always been an outstanding foal who keeps improving through the preparation. He looks like he’ll go early too.” Another one of note is Lot 422, a filly who “looks like a runner and won’t take long to come to hand.” She is the first foal of Glee, who wasn’t distinguished as a racemare (running mid-field at her only start), however, she is a full sister to two stakes placed winners, from the family of Gr.1 winning two year-old Good Faith, who counts five stakes winners among her descendants.

A Savabeel filly whose older brother, Dublin Star, has won twice in Hong Kong is Lot 530, and she comes from one of Waikato Stud’s quality families. “She’s a lovely filly with a great family. She’s not one hundred percent in front, which is typical of the family, and still they all run.” Her dam, Maxmara, is a half-sister to three stakes winners (Somepin Anypin, Rule of Engagement, and Salsa), and to the dams of stakes winners Love Affair (Savabeel) and Diamond King.

Outside of the Savabeel yearlings, Waikato Stud will present fifteen yearlings by other sires. Their dual Doncaster winner Sacred Falls is proving to be a great loss having recently left his first Gr.1 winner in Waikato Stud graduate Aegon. In 2021, Waikato Stud have five Sacred Falls yearlings to sell, including Lot 537, a filly who is a half-sister to Gr.2 Wellington Guineas winner My Gold Bracelet, and their dam, Miss Bling, is a full sister to Hong Kong Mile-Gr.1 winner Beauty Flash.

Exciting sprinter Tivaci has five representatives from his second crop and Lot 447 has a stellar pedigree. This colt is the second foal of winning mare Indulge, who is a full sister to group winners Shopaholic and Packing Pins, as well as a half-sister to Gr.2 winner Splurge, and this is the family of Waikato Stud’s sire Sacred Falls.

The only Ocean Park colt in this draft is bound to be the subject of many inspections, especially considering how well Ocean Park is going in Australia. Lot 473 is the third foal of winning High Chaparral mare Kazemi, herself a half-sister to Gr.1 winner I Do and stakes winner Iggi Pop.

Other sires represented in this draft are Almanzor, Belardo, and Star Witness. Waikato Stud is a proven source of winners, one of the world’s truly great thoroughbred farms, and buyers can inspect their yearlings knowing that every year, Waikato Stud sells plenty of headline makers.

2021 Draft