White Robe Lodge does a roaring trade in on-farm sales these days but the North Taieri stud still likes to have a presence at New Zealand’s premier, week-long thoroughbred bloodstock Sales that attract global interest.
The stable will have two yearlings at the National Yearling sales starting at Karaka on Monday.
Lot 239 is a Per Incanto filly out of White Robe Lodge broodmare Fascinate.
Lot 315 is a filly by Savabeel, the champion sire of 776 winners (including 119 stakes winners), out of Include, the Gallant Guru mare who has already foaled two winners.
Both are part of the premier book 1 at the sales.
White Robe Lodge stud manager Wayne Stewart arrived in the north on Sunday and was getting the youngsters ready for their first parade yesterday.
"It’s always a long trip but it was pretty straightforward, the horses travelled well and there were no hold-ups," he said.
"It’s important just to get them settled in for the first few days."
White Robe Lodge and the Anderton family have had a long association with Karaka, and the latest horses to go up for sale were a promising pair, Stewart said.
"They’re two fillies out of very good race mares. Both their mothers won 10 races each, and they’re both stakes-winning mares.
"They’re a good advert for the stud, and we’ve got plenty of the breed, so they can go away and help the future of our bloodlines.
"They’ve been picked to go to the sales from the day they were born, really."
The stable had some other yearlings in contention but several were sold privately this year.
Some sales were to local clients but a feature was how many found Australian homes, Stewart said.
"It’s not unusual, but it’s certainly a trend that has really become quite the norm over the past couple of years.
"The Australians want our staying types of horses, mainly. They like what we breed, and prize money is very strong in Australian racing, so good horses are very sought-after."
Stewart said local buyers often liked to come to the farm to see horses in their own environment before they whipped out the chequebook.
Multimillion-dollar stakes winner Who Shot Thebarman was sold on-farm at White Robe Lodge for just $8000.
Still, it was important to be at Karaka again, Stewart said.
"We always try to bring our premier stock to Karaka. It’s our No 1 show place, and it’s an international audience.
"I think the sales will be very strong this year, too. That’s just the way the world of racing is at the moment — sales are well up."
