Foote finishes Karaka with a flurry

[Wandering Eyes]

Bloodstock agent John Foote was busy on the final day of the Book 2 Sale at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale at Karaka, signing for eight lots.

Among the purchases were colts by Proisir and Ribchester for $160,000 apiece which shared the honours as top-price for the day.

Presented by Seaton Park, the Proisir colt from Savvy Walk was much admired while Adrian Stanley’s Woburn Farm sold the Ribchester colt from The Grey Lady.

“Six of the horses I purchased today are destined for Hong Kong, including those two colts,” Foote said.

“Proisir is doing a good job and I think Ribchester is a horse that is on the way up,” Foote said.

Foote also purchased a filly by Ribchester for $80,000 for Queensland trainer Tony Gollan and linked with SCT Syndications to secure fillies by Ocean Park and Reliable Man for $30,000 and $55,000 respectively.

“Ribchester has made a great start in Australia and Europe, but I’m not here just to buy them, I’m here to buy nice horses and they fitted the bill,” Foote said.

A regular visitor to Karaka, Foote was pleased to be able to secure quality offerings at reasonable value.

“We like to purchase horses in this price range and it was a bit difficult to buy at the Gold Coast,” he said. “At Karaka you can buy a nice horse for a pretty sensible price.”

Haunui Farm stallion Ribchester was also represented by a colt from Sapphire Lass which fetched $115,000 to the bid of Paul Chow and Alex Olivera’s Tartan Meadow Bloodstock, while a colt from Snitz Of Time was snapped up by Sophia Orting and Derek Nolan of Lilywhites Lodge for $70,000 and is set to be re-offered at the Ready To Run Sale.

“He was a really nice and correct horse and had a lovely walk on him,” Olivera said of the Sapphire Lass colt.

“I’m a bit of a sucker for walkers. We have had one Ribchester through the stable that has shown a lot of promise. He is out of Miguelita and won a trial the other day and looked really good.

“This colt was a very nice, well grown horse. He is a client horse and we are going to educate him and take him through to the trials and if he makes the cut he will go to Hong Kong.”

Haunui Farm’s Mark Chitty was pleased to the stock of Ribchester, an outstanding miler by the farm’s former successful shuttle sire Iffraaj, make a favourable impression on buyers.

“He’s was a high-class racehorse. He’s a four-time Group One winner,” Chitty said.

“He’s 60 percent winners to runners with a very small crop of three-year-olds in Australia, that’s our major market, and people have recognised that.

“I’m just delighted he’s had a really good strong crop of yearlings, both colts and fillies.

“We all know about Iffraaj and what he’s done and we’re just really excited to have Ribchester.

“He’s still not going to have massive numbers, but he’s left a type that people have really warmed to in the market.”

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