Top Mares First Foals at Karaka 2010

The 2010 National Yearling Sales Series - due to start in just over a week - will see a plethora of young stakes-winning racemares represented by their first foals headed for auction.

These young horses should hold plenty of appeal given recent evidence into the success rate of first foals. Research conducted by Renee Geelen of Dekabat Bloodstock revealed that first foals born since 1998 have won 52 Group 1 races in Australasia to date, or 12% of the Group 1 races contested.

In Australasia in 2009 alone, first foals have won the Group 1 Australian Cup and Futurity Stakes (Niconero), the Group 1 VRC Oaks (Faint Perfume), the Group 1 VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes (Headway), the Group 1 South Australian Derby (Rebel Raider), the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes (Ekstreme), and the Group 1 Easter Handicap (Prince Kaapstad).

The Karaka Premier Sale alone will see 78 first foals represented with 14 of these from stakes-winning mares.

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�Lot 289, the first foal of Group 1 WATC Railway Stakes winner Belle Bizarre

Heading the list from Trelawney Stud is the first foal of 13-time winner Belle Bizarre (Dauberval, by Danzig) (Lot 289) whose victories included the Group 1 WATC Railway Stakes over the David Hayes duo of Confectioner and Niconero.

The winner of over $1,000,000 on the racetrack, Belle Bizarre was sent to leading international miler Starcraft (Soviet Star) in her first season at stud, producing a bay filly.

First foals from Group 2 winning mares include a Zabeel colt out of Sarajay (Danasinga), a Fastnet Rock colt out of Shikoba, and a Fusaichi Pegasus colt out of Astrodame.

Sarajay was good enough to win on nine occasions with her Group 2 Gasmate Stakes and Group 2 Travis Stakes victories the highlights of her career. Sarajay at her ultimate start was also good enough to finish fourth in the Group 1 Zabeel Classic behind the likes of Xcellent and Sir Slick. Her colt by Zabeel will be offered by Cambridge Stud at Lot 144.

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�Lot 144, the first foal of Group 2 winner Sarajay������������������ photo: Jenny Kain

New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year winner in 2006, Shikoba (Chief Bearheart), won three Group 2 races and produced two Group 1 placings. Her Group 2 wins came at 1600m - 2000m as a three-year-old in the Eight Carat Stakes, the Sir Tristram Fillies Classic, and the Royal Stakes, with her Group 1 placings coming in the Levin Classic (1600m), and the New Zealand Stakes (2000m) against older horses.

From a wonderful family which has produced Zeditave and this season's leading Australian two-year-old Military Rose, Shikoba's first foal will be presented by Curraghmore Stud at Lot 162.

Astrodame (Flying Spur) raced competitively for four seasons and won over A$500,000 on the racetrack. Her highlight win was the Group 2 MVRC WH Stocks Stakes (1600m) over Brockman's Lass and Belle Bizarre. Astrodame was fourth or better in a total of 14 Group and Listed events when racing strongly against the likes of Divine Madonna, Seachange, Rewaaya, Hollow Bullet, Alinghi, Niconero, Dizelle, and Ballet Society. Her first foal in the Trelawney draft is catalogued as Lot 278.

Four Group 3 winning mares will have their first foals offered at the Karaka Premier Sale including Leigh Valley (Bianconi) through Wentwood Grange, Rhysess (Pins) through Waikato Stud, Senorita Dane (Senor Pete) through Trelawney Stud, and Chant (Traditionally) through The Oaks Stud draft.

Early in the Sale at Lot 13 a Dehere filly from Leigh Valley will be presented. Leigh Valley won five races and over $100,000 in prize-money. Her Group 3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m) victory by two lengths was a stellar performance as was her fourth placing in the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes at her penultimate run.

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�Lot 13, the first foal of Group 3 winner Leigh Valley�������������� photo: Adrian Clark

Rhysess (Pins) similarly won five races and close to $100,000 in prize-money with her highlight victory also the Group 3 Cuddle Stakes. Lot 127 will see her first foal, a colt by Group 1 Cox Plate winner Savabeel, go under the hammer.

Senorita Dane was the leading South Island three-year-old filly of her generation and she trekked north to grab her highlight race, the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m), in 2005. Also the winner of the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes and the Listed Gore Guineas, Senorita Dane was mated with O'Reilly at her first season at stud and the resulting filly will be sold at Lot 151.

Chant was a juvenile of exceptional ability, winning the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes and Listed Fairview Ford Slipper before placing second a neck behind Joker's Wild in the Group 1 Diamond Stakes. Champion racehorse and Karaka 2010 first season sire Darci Brahma was chosen as her first mate and the resulting bay colt will sell at Lot 330.

Listed winning mares with their first foals set to sell at Karaka Premier 2010 include Anne Carina (Rock of Gibraltar filly at Lot 271), Ballymore Lass (Pins colt at Lot 285), Hasta La Ciao Ciao (Darci Brahma filly at Lot 443), Mary Lavelle (Flying Spur colt at Lot 42), Polish Princess (Encosta De Lago colt at Lot 101), and Ritzy Lady (Anabaa filly at Lot 130).

New Zealand Bloodstock's National Yearling Sale Series (1-8 February) is set to start on Monday, 1 February, at 11am.

Visit http://www.nzb.co.nz/ for more information or contact [email protected] for hard-copy catalogues.