‘Must have’ filly tops Wong’s buying-spree

[Wandering Eyes]

Hong Kong buyer Nancy Wong made her presence felt at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Weanling & Broodmare Sale on Friday with seven purchases.

Under her Dungowan Racing banner, she signed for four fillies and three colts at Karaka along with Bryce Tankard’s Waikato Bloodstock.

Wong’s most expensive buy at $115,000 was a daughter of young Waikato Stud stallion Ardrossan from the draft of Wentwood Grange, who had several under-bidders.  

Catalogued as Lot 172, the Ardrossan filly is out of the Group Three winner Ticket To Ride, and was the final offering from the estate of the late Peter Setchell, founder and former proprietor of Millfield Stud.

“She was beautiful and she ticked every box and for somebody like me from Hong Kong it’s very hard to find the right filly,” Wong said.

Bryce Tankard and Nancy Wong at Karaka this week
Photo: Trish Dunell

“I really like her and paid a bit more than I wanted to, but she was such a cracker I had to have her.”

A son of Cambridge Stud’s newcomer Hello Youmzain also took Wong’s eye and she went to $60,000 for the colt presented by Brighthill Farm.

“I like to give the new sires a try because it’s an unknown and it makes the game a bit more interesting,” she said.

Offered as Lot 23, the Hello Youmzain filly is out of the Lonhro mare Claudine who is a half-sister to the Gr.2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) winner Gallatin.

Wong made a successful return to Karaka today after an enforced hiatus.

“Obviously, due to COVID I got out of it for a while but now everything has opened up I was ready to come back,” she said.

Wong has previously enjoyed good success with Karaka graduates, most notably the Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winner Fay Fay who was purchased for just $13,000 as a yearling in 2009.

Having purchased four weanlings at Karaka last year, Wong was again happy to take the long-term approach.

“Sometimes the yearling sales are a little overpriced for what I want to do so I would rather take the gamble at the weanling sales and I give them time,” Wong said.

“The next Sale I like to go to is the Ready to Run because they show a little bit more.”

Wong utilises the services of respected horsemen Carl Henderson and Tony Pike, and was happy to source both colts and fillies.  

“I think I have a good system going and Carl has done a great job for me over the years with all the pre-training and breaking in and Tony is a great trainer to work with, I can’t get a better team than that,” she said.

“The weanlings we picked out here today we really liked on type and I like to do more racing around this side of the world and fillies are a good way to get into it.”

View the full article