Farm shines bright at Karaka

Tauwhare's Brighthill Farm continued its bumper Karaka yearling sales when it sold the top-priced lot on the first day of the select sale yesterday.

A Ustinov-Reasonably brother to last month's Gr I Telegraph Handicap winner Vonusti made $210,000, knocked down to Sydney's Leung Kai-Fai under his company name of Lucky Owners Pty Ltd.

He is the same owner Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse bought a $650,000 Pins-Procure filly for on Monday out of the draft of Cambridge's Whakanui Stud.

The Ustinov colt was bred by Brighthill Farm's secretary Liz Fairweather along with her husband Jeff and continued a memorable sale for Nick and Anne-Marie King's draft, the studfarm having achieved its best  result when it sold a Pins colt out of dual Gr I winner Bazelle to Melbourne trainer Danny O'Brien for $380,000 on Tuesday.

Nick King was thrilled for the Fairweathers after the Ustinov colt pipped an Elusive City colt out of Midnight Breaker which was knocked down to Cambridge bloodstock agent Bryce Tankard for $200,000 earlier in the day.

''It was a wonderful result. Liz is the secretary at the farm and it's great for people like them to get a good result like this,'' King said.

''He was a lovely horse and it was good to see the big players chasing him. We had a lot of interest in him and we were hopeful he would sell well.''

The colt will join Cambridge trainer Chris Wood and race here as a two and three-year-old before a likely transfer to Hong Kong.

The Kings had previously stood Ustinov at Brighthill, where leading first-season sire Perfectly Ready is now based.

King said the demand for good quality yearlings had continued on from the premier sale on Monday and Tuesday to the three-day select sale which began yesterday.

''It just shows the interest for a horse which ticks all the boxes is incredibly strong,'' he said.

''It doesn't matter what session you are selling for, if you've got the right horse they are prepared to write out a cheque for them.''

There were 24 yearlings sold for $100,000 or more yesterday on a day which saw 148 horses find new homes to the tune of $8,237,000.

The average price was $55,655, up 49 per cent from last year's $37,366, while the median was $45,000 compared with  $30,000 last year. The clearance rate was 77 per cent.

Windsor Park Stud was the day's leading vendor, selling nine lots for $611,000, while David Ellis from Te Akau Stud was leading buyer with five buys for a total of $390,000.

Te Kauwhata's Hallmark Stud leads the vendor averages, having sold four lots for an average of $110,000.

- © Fairfax NZ News