Ormsby set to present top RTR draft

[Wandering Eyes]

Chad Ormsby has been preparing two-year-olds for New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready To Run Sale for the last decade and he believes he will be offering his best draft at Karaka next week.

Ormsby, who operates under his Riverrock Farm banner, has produced some handy graduates out of the sale, most notably Sakura Girl. The daughter of Iffraaj was a $260,000 purchase out of his 2021 draft by Upper Bloodstock and went on to win the Gr.3 Sunline Vase (2100m) and was runner-up in the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m) and Gr.2 David and Karyn Ellis Fillies Classic (2000m) as a three-year-old for trainer Ben Foote.

Ormsby will present a 17-strong draft at Karaka this year, including lot 247, a Ten Sovereigns half-sister to Sakura Girl and Group Three performer Knight Mariner.

The Matamata horseman is an early fan of Ten Sovereigns, and he said the filly is a more precocious type than her now four-year-old sibling.

“We sold Sakura Girl through the lockdown sale at Te Rapa and she has flown the flag in recent times,” Ormsby said.

“We have a half to Sakura Girl by Ten Sovereigns in this year’s draft. He (Ten Sovereigns) is a pretty exciting stallion and I like what I see from his progeny.

“Everything we have had from that mare (Soltina) has produced the goods and are the sort of horses that you can rely on. Sakura Girl was a big staying filly whereas this filly isn’t quite as tall but is a lot stronger.”

Ormsby is also excited about the prospects of lot 260, the Savabeel colt out of Subatomic, a half-sister to Group Two winner Worldly, stakes winners Donativum and Nice Danon, and stakes performer Comeback Queen.

Lot 292 (Preferment gelding) and Lot 260 (Savabeel colt, inside) breeze at Te Rapa
Photo: Trish Dunell

Ormsby pinhooked the colt out of Cambridge Stud’s New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft earlier this year for $140,000 and he is hoping for a strong result next week.

“We have got one by a Champion sire in Savabeel, it is not easy to get your hands on one of those. He has looked good all the way through his preparation,” Ormsby said.

“We were lucky to get our hands on this colt. He was one that was a little later in the sale and maybe went under peoples radar.

“We were excited to buy him and he has kept up that excitement all the way through.”

Ormsby is upbeat about the sale and believes the quality catalogue should attract a diverse buying bench.

“We have got a bigger draft than we normally would. We tend to stick around that 10 mark, but we have found ourselves a few more this year which met the requirements to take along to the sale,” he said.

“This year I am excited because it comes down to what we are producing. I feel there is a little buzz about the sale this year. I think the book in general is a strong catalogue and it’s a credit to the vendors who have gone out there and bought quality from the yearling sales.

“They should be selling well.”

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