Waikato Stud principal Mark Chittick was beaming after reaching the $1 million mark for a Waikato Stud bred and consigned yearling for the second time at Karaka.
Chittick had just seen the full-brother to Group One winner Mo’unga knocked down to the $1 million bid of Kacy Fogden who came out on top of a spirited bidding duel with Te Akau principal David Ellis, for the Savabeel colt, Lot 161 from the Waikato Stud draft.
“That is our second $1 million sale after the Savabeel ex Make A Wish colt we sold for $1.4 million in 2019 here,” he said.
“Being by Savabeel it gives you the opportunity to sell horses in that bracket as it is a hell of a lot of money for an unproven animal at this stage of their career.
“With this horse in particular, there was spirited bidding from throughout Australasia and it settled down to two operations who are both fantastic judges of horseflesh and it looks like Kacy, who was acting for Tony Fung and Annabel Neasham, has come out on top this time.
“He will be given every opportunity and he is a lovely horse who had everything going for him.”
Chittick admitted to some anxious moments during the prolonged bidding duel for the colt.
“With a high-profile horse like this I do get a bit anxious with them,” he said.
“It’s not about how much they will make, but more about them being nicely sold as there was a lot of hype about him.
“He has been an absolute professional in both the outside and inside ring and it is nice when it all falls into place.
“There is a hell of a lot of time and effort that goes into all of these horses, it’s two years with a lot of hours and people involved.
“I have to take my hat off to everyone and especially my team at Waikato Stud as they put their life and soul into this and it is great that we can get a little result like this for them.
“It verifies that we are doing the job right.”
Chittick was convinced there would be fireworks in the auction ring for the colt, based on the interest he had attracted in the past week and the growth and development he had shown leading into the sale.
“He really is a quality animal with a lot of attractiveness about him and all the way through from a foal to a weanling, he stood out,” he said.
“Even when he was an early yearling and you went down the farm and saw them running in their groups, he was the one that caught the eye.
“His family goes right back to the days when we were based in the Wairarapa, 30 or 40 years ago and like a lot of our families they are turning out great results in the sales ring and the racetrack.”
Waikato Stud enjoyed a successful day throughout their Book 1 draft on the first day of selling at Karaka with 11 of 12 lots sold at an aggregate of $2.815 million. – NZ Racing Desk
