NEWS & EVENTS

LA Update 1 June 2007

Friday, 01 June 2007 14:28

It’s been a busy and productive month on the farm. We capitalised on a strong market to get some excellent returns at the Weanling Sale, bought the foals into the stables for some handling and marketed our new stallion!

Sarah and Helen have departed to sunnier climates for richly deserved breaks leaving farm duties squarely on the shoulders of Sam, Catriona, Buzz, Susie and Billy.

Towkay and Zed


Sam’s phone has continued to run hot with enquiries for our new stallion Zed. As we go to print, the son of Zabeel and Emerald Dream has 89 mares booked. Amongst those confirmed are daughters of Shirley Heights, Centaine, Towkay and Faltaat along with a mare in foal to Stravinsky and a full sister to Rapid Kay just to name a few. There’s also a booking from an Australian domiciled mare currently carrying to Stratum (at $35,000 service fee) – you are mixing with good company Zed!

While his leading Hong Kong lights Armada and Happee Owner (Ambitious Owner) are spelling, Towkay’s winners keep rolling in with Inca Princess saluting the judge first on Monday in Oz. Towkay’s also had any number of impressive recent trials winners most of which will probably wait for the better spring tracks to debut.

While it’s been the males who have been at the forefront of Towkay’s recent racetrack performers, don t forget his females really get along too! Kay’s Awake has had a wonderful season and could have had a major Group race win with just a little more luck. Add to the mix, American stakeswinner Starkay and the Group One placed Rapid Kay and Sahara Flight.

Weanling Sale


As reported LA were a pretty happy bunch after last months sale at Karaka, but clearly the biggest smile in barn G belonged to head groom Helen Phinney. Helen, who has been with us for just over seven years, took the plunge two years ago outlaying $10,500 for the Centaine mare Centaine Gu Li. In foal to Van Nistlerooy at the time, Helen sold the resulting colt through our draft at last years South Island Sale for $38,000 - currently in training with John Size in Hong Kong. A healthy start one could say. But there was even better in store at the Weanling Sale. Selling the mare’s latest progeny, a strongly developed Pins colt, to Joe Barnes for $60,000 produced another healthy profit for Helen on the back of Pins 2005 service fee of $15,000. It just goes to show how with astute buying and stallion selection one does not necessarily have to operate at the top end of the market to do well. Congratulations Helen and don’t spend your entire windfall on holiday!

Charlie

Charlie, our weanling we’re following through to the Karaka Sales, has just spent a week in the stables getting educated. He was drenched, had his feet trimmed and generally taught how to be handled by us strange humans. His great nature was again to the fore and we probably need to be careful not to spoil him!

Charlie’s now out playing in the paddock with his mates, complete with his winter pyjamas. In about 6 to 8 weeks he’ll come back indoors for some more education and maintenance.

While we'd chosen Charlie as our horse to follow through to next years Karaka Sales primarily on the back of his good looks and personality, his female family has really been on the move this last month. Out of the Stark South mare Soneri, Charlie hails from the wonderful family, produced by our long time client Don Gordon via his mare Phareno. Not only is Phareno Charlie’s grand dam but she also happens to be the grand dam of the current Queensland Derby second favourite, Sands of Time and last weeks impressive Pukekohe debutant Coolcross, both out of the mare Cold War.

Recent Racetrack Performances and Pedigree Updates

O Reilly Rally’s
 most impressive win last Thursday in Hong Kong was a great boast for his mum, the LA broodmare Rivertaine. Backing up from a third at his racetrack debut in late April, the three year-old, despite starting from the prohibitive barrier 12, cleared out to win by 3 lengths, breaking 1.10 in the process for the 1200m. Rivertaine, already the dam of the highly rated Hong Kong sprinter Regency Horse -Coup Stravinsky, is in foal to Pins.

The value of the broodmare We Leica, purchased by LA at last months Sydney Easter Broodmare Sale continues to be enhanced. Following on from the Group win by her son Delbrae, less than a week after our purchase, her daughter Leica Light (Hennessy) ran third in a Listed 1400m race at Scone in NSW last week. We ll be cheering on Delbrae this weekend at Wanganui where he runs in the Weight For Age feature.

The LA owned The Fonz was an eight length winner - click here to see this incredible race  www.nzracing.co.nz/Images/Video/200705/20070527WHAK10_BB.asx 
at Whakatane last Sunday. Passed in at the Sydney Easter Sale two years ago, the Traditionally gelding spells now until the spring. Sadly we lost The Fonz’s mum, The World Is Mine after she had just four foals for us. LA retains her last foal a Zabeel filly, whom Steven Seabrook’s Sports Syndications are currently organising the leasing of, to race from Kris Lee’s Sydney stable. It’s a wonderful family with the grand dam Great Klaire a half sister to broodmare blue hen Eight Carat. Whatever the filly does for Kris’s, she’s going to make a fine broodmare for LA when her racing days are over. We own a Pins mare from The World Is Mine called Miss Moneytree. She has a Keeper filly at foot and is in foal to Stratum, with a visit to Darci Brahma on the cards for later this year.

Filly for Lease

Question: What is the common denominator with sire Keeper’s three most promising fillies, Keep the Passion, Shesakeeper and For Keeps? Answer: They are all from Sir Tristram line mares.

Here's an opportunity to race a Keeper filly out of a Sir Tristram line mare in LA’s bay filly from the winning Grosvenor mare Ashley Downs. She is a rising two year old and is currently being broken in by Dean Hawthorne.

The filly is from a well established LA family that’s produced stakeswinners, Fleur De Chine,Tully Thunder, Sneetch and Spurcent, the last mentioned from a sire son of Danehill, just like Keeper.

We have a few 10% shares available @ $50/week and 5% shares @ $25/week.

Please phone Sam on 0274 853400 for more details or to take a share

Efficient and prompt communication

Kieran Nally Owner/Breeder