Stakes-winning Te Akau pair headline fortnightly gavelhouse.com auction

[Wandering Eyes]

Freshly retired from the racetrack, Te Akau Racing’s black-type winners Fashion Shoot (NZ) (Savabeel) and Viva Vienna(NZ) (All Too Hard) are available for purchase on gavelhouse.com and have the credentials to be quality young additions to any breeder’s broodmare band.

The pair headline the latest fortnightly auction on gavelhouse.com, where bidding currently stands at $40,000 for Fashion Shoot and $20,000 for Viva Vienna.

“They’re two really nice mares that have quality pedigrees behind them and performed very well on the track, and now we’re looking forward to seeing what they do in this next stage of their careers,” Te Akau principal David Ellis said.

Fashion Shoot was bred by Waikato Stud in partnership with Howard and Pam Forbes. She is by Savabeel out of the dual Group Three winning mare High Fashion (NZ) (O’Reilly), whose only two foals to race have both been black-type performers – Fashion Shoot and her full-brother Savvy Valentino (NZ), who won seven times in Australia and placed in the Listed City Tattersalls Cup (2400m) at Randwick.

Ellis paid $320,000 to buy Fashion Shoot from Waikato Stud’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2019. She went on to earn $329,307 from a 36-start career that produced seven wins, five seconds and eight thirds.

Fashion Shoot’s biggest win came at Riccarton last November, where she produced a stunning last-to-first performance in the Group Three Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes (1400m). After jumping from a wide gate and dropping out to a distant last among a 16-horse field, the six-year-old produced a scintillating sprint down the straight to snatch victory by a neck. She ran the last 600 metres in 33.15 seconds.

Fashion Shoot later finished an unlucky fourth in the Group One New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m), where she was blocked until the 100-metre mark but made up late ground to get to within two and a half lengths of the winner.

“It’s hard to beat stakes-winning Savabeel mares as broodmare prospects, they have such enormous value,” Ellis said. “Fashion Shoot always showed a lot of promise, and her performance to win the Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes was absolutely stunning. Coming from two lengths last in a field of 16 to win the way she did, it was as good a win as we’ve seen by any horse all season.

“Winning a stakes race was very important for a mare like her. She’s exceptionally well bred and is a highly commercial proposition.”

Meanwhile Viva Vienna is by All Too Hard out of the unraced Snitzel mare Anna Of Austria, who is a three-quarter-sister to the Listed Geelong Classic (2200m) winner Milestone (Redoute’s Choice). Their dam Cannyanna (Canny Lad) was a multiple black-type winner and placed in the Group One Salinger Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.

Anna Of Austria is the dam of three winners from three foals to race, with Viva Vienna backed up by the Listed-placed Australian filly Divine Inanna (Real Impact)

Viva Vienna was bought by Ellis for $100,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2022. She recorded two wins and two placings from five highly promising starts as a two-year-old, performing strongly against standout juveniles such as Tokyo Tycoon (NZ) (Satono Aladdin), Impendabelle (Impending) and Ethereal Star (Snitzel).

The classy chestnut carried on in a similar vein as a spring three-year-old, scoring smart wins in both of her first two starts including the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton. She later stepped up in distance and ran a brave second in the Group Three Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) at Ashburton.

Viva Vienna finished her career with nine starts for four wins, three placings and $137,275 in stakes.

“She showed a huge amount of talent from day one,” Ellis said. “Our vet Chief Stipe Black bought a share in her, so he must have been very impressed with her as a type.

“Her dam is by an out and out champion stallion in Snitzel, who’s the broodmare sire of the likes of this season’s Doncaster Handicap and Randwick Guineas winner Celestial Legend (Dundeel) and Group One-winning juvenile Velocious (Written Tycoon).”

Bidding is open now on the 53-lot fortnightly sale, with the first lot closing from 7pm on Monday July 22.

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