Trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott have been putting in the hard yards over the past few weeks as they look to amass their next stable stars and they struck early at the Summer Sale session of the New Zealand National Yearling Sales at Karaka on Thursday.
Bidding remotely through New Zealand Bloodstock’s Andrew Seabrook, O’Sullivan went to $80,000 to buy a striking filly by Noverre out of the four-win El Roca mare Royal Roc as Lot 865.
“She is just athletic and a really nice filly. She walked well, and she looked to have a good mind. She looked like a Savabeel (grand sire).
“We've got two in the stable by Noverre and we like both of them,” O’Sullivan said.
“We saw everything on the complex yesterday, but she was the one that we really wanted.
“We were looking for something that was going to get up and run and have a bit of a punt and I feel like if she was in the other sale would have made a lot more.”
O’Sullivan said he was pleased with what they had sourced at Karaka, headed by a Super Seth filly in Book 1 for $260,000.
“You always want more, and we certainly tried on a few that we missed out on, or some that we thought were going to go in the ring and have a good go and we didn't even have a bid,” he said.
“I think it was a very strong sale, the Australians were certainly helped by just how weak our dollar is and we're trying to compete with them, which makes it very difficult. The good ones certainly made very good money.
“We purchased eight, including the one today, and then we have been given another three or four to train at this stage.”
The Matamata horseman said there were shares available in a number of their purchases, including the Noverre filly.
“She was my type of horse and we just put them all up on the Wexford website,” he said. – NZ Racing Desk
