The proprietors of Woburn Farm Hannah Kettlety and Adrian Stanley are optimistic and excited about the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales, following their success at the Ready to Run Sale last November.
Woburn Farm sold the top selling lot at that sale, the Shamus Award (AUS) colt out of Exchanges (AUS), and that gives them the confidence that their philosophy for buying and preparing horses is working for them.
“We try and get particular types and it helps if they have a good pedigree. It is easy to sell a strong balanced horse, you have to back your own judgement on what you are selling,” Adrian Stanley explained to Bluebloods when discussing his draft.
“It’s going to be a great sale, we have a lovely draft with lots of impressive types, with plenty of black type through their dams.”
Woburn Farm is based in Mystery Creek, located between Cambridge and Hamilton in rich Waikato horse country. It specialises in sales preparation, racehorse agistment and rehabilitation, with a specialist water treadmill included in the facilities.
It is also home to about 30 broodmares and each year they foal down around 20 mares.
The couple established the farm about seven years ago and named it in honour of Adrian’s favourite horse Woburn who was owned by his father Noel Stanley and his Uncle Ron. Adrian was from Taranaki and has been around horses all his life, and Hannah was originally from Cheltenham in England. Hannah was also involved with horses as a youngster and graduated from Hartpury College in England as a veterinary nurse and in New Zealand trained as an equine dental technician.
“Dad bought Woburn off Lady Tavistock, and he was my favourite horse, he ran third in the New Zealand Derby to St Reims and third in the South Australian Derby, but he had no luck in either Derby.
“Dad, Allan Sharrock and Uncle Ronnie, bought Woburn (Groom Dancer(GB)-Harriet) for $30,000 – he won eight races and over $200,000 – and half an hour later they bought Grout (Gold Brose (AUS)-Kaapstad Glamour) for $20,000 and he was the Champion two year old of his year.”
And it was from these gentlemen that Adrian learned to spot a good type of horse.
“What they look for in a horse is a good walker with a good attitude, and one that is correct. They never parade a horse out of a box at the sales, they just sit in the inside sale ring and watch them walk past.
It’s been successful for them in the past. They believe if their attitude is good in the ring that will carry through to raceday.
“Hannah and I find it hard to sell unless we both believe in it. We want buyers to keep coming back so it’s important to have a reputation for quality and performance. Our pin-hooks that we buy we think look like racehorse types, we concentrate on that, not so much pedigrees.
“We had a good sale last year at Karaka, and believe we can improve on that. We first sold in Book One in 2017, we had one colt by Tavistock, out of Shamrox and he sold for $200,000 so that was a good start to our Book One selling. Before that we started with Festival horses, then starting pin-hooking with good Book Two horses, and they have gone on and done well on the track.
“We have a stakes-placed graduate in She’s A Thief who has won three races, she was placed at group two and three at two and again at three. In 2018 we also sold a lovely Dundeel colt out of Lady Who to Bjorn Baker, called Mystery Trick who won his first start, and we are hoping Bjorn will come back and look at his full-brother.”
This year Woburn will present a draft of 22 yearlings in Book One, and seven in Book Two. This is an ideal number of yearlings for the size of their farm, and the couple believe in focusing on quality not quantity.
“Hannah is big on attention to detail,” Stanley stressed “and every horse we keep on the farm is treated as an individual.”
In Book One they have 14 colts and eight fillies to present from their own stock and from various clients. The draft features yearlings by the proven sires Tavistock, Dundeel, Choisir (AUS), Iffraaj (GB) and Ocean Park, along with a number of first season and young sires including Turn Me Loose, Astern (AUS), Furnaces (AUS), Pride of Dubai (AUS).
From his Book One draft Stanley rates Lot 252 the colt by Pride of Dubai (AUS) out of Sarvon, as one of his best.
“He has the stamp of his old man about him, he is a strong nice type with a good walk, a lovely colt bred by Bob Emery.
“Sarvon is already the dam of three winners including the stakes placed Swords Drawn, and Savont the dam of the Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders Stakes winner Vigor Winner.”
Sarvon is a winning Zabeel mare who is a half-sister to the group one winning two-year-old Onemorenomore, and dual listed winner Dr Green, as well as the stakes performers Fury and Roussay. Their dam Palia won the Gr.3 AJC Emancipation Stakes.
There is also a filly from this family in the Book One draft, which is also owned by Bob Emery, and that is the Lot 261 the Sweynesse (AUS) out of Savont, making her a half-sister to Vigor Winner, and one of only two fillies by the promising young Lonhro (AUS) sire in Book One. Stanley describes her as a lovely strong athletic racey type of filly who is very well balanced.
In their draft Woburn Farm have the only representative of the young Japanese sire Mikki Isle (JPN) and it is Lot 419 a colt out of the Flying Spur (AUS) mare Accomplishment.
“The Mikki Isle -Accomplishment colt is a horse Sam Beatson and I purchased from the Gold Coast weanling sale earlier this year. He is an attractive athletic colt by a son of Deep Impact (JPN) who unfortunately has died since that sale.
“We both thought he was the type of horse that would appeal to the Asian market and we are more convinced of that with the way he has developed.
He is out of a Flying Spur (AUS) mare who is a daughter of Listed winning Success Express (USA) mare Class Success, who has left the Gr.3 Run To The Roses, winner and successful sire Squamosa.”
Another Japanese stallion, who stands alongside Mikki Isle at Arrowfield Stud in New South Wales is Maurice (JPN) and Woburn have one of the 5 colts by him in the sale. Catalogued as Lot 536 he is out of Darting, a Darci Brahma mare who is a half-sister to the stakes winners Art Beat and Perfect Start, and the stakes performer Smartly. Stanley believes that this strong nicely balanced colt, with a good walking action, is the type of colt that looks sure to get up and run early.
The colt by Waikato Stud’s young High Chaparral (IRE) stallion Tivaci (AUS) is another that Stanley believes will command attention. Catalogued as Lot 208, he is the property of Rosehill Farm who have nurtured this family for years. This is the second foal of the stakes winning O’Reilly mare Queen’s Rose who is out of the stakes winning Pins (AUS) mare Rosetti Bay.
“He is a solid foal for a November foal, strong with a bit of O’Reilly about him, and it’s a pleasure to sell him for good clients,” Stanley enthused.
“This year we also have the pleasure of presenting yearlings for Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan and have two lovely Tavistock fillies and two colts to sell for them. Lot 5 out of Joy’s Choice and Lot 34 out of Kitt Ann Miss They are both out of one of Sir Patrick’s best families tracing back to Tricia Ann, the Kitt Ann Miss filly is particularly nice, very light on her feet, a great walking filly with a good attitude.”
Tricia Ann is a stakes-placed winning Zabeel mare who is a three-quarter sister to Grosvenor, National Gallery, Kyrie Eleison and Garfunkel. Joy’s Choice, the dam of Lot 5 is her daughter by Redoute’s Choice (AUS) who was a stakes placed winner. Her half-sister is La Sizeranne a group one stakes winner mare who has left Za Moulin Rouge, while her sister Sara Ann is the dam of Tavago. Miss Kitt Ann the dam of Kitt Ann Miss is another half-sister. Kitt Ann Miss won three races and was placed in the Listed Newmarket Handicap.
Lot 350 the Tavistock colt out of The Nightingale is a full brother to the Singapore Horse of the Year and Singapore Champion Miler in 2017 Infantry, and the stakes-placed winning mare Night Nurse (6 wins), while The Nightingale is a half-sister to the stakes-winners Beat The Fade and Dawn Till Dusk.
The other colt Lot 508 out of Cinnadream, is a full brother to Tavidream who won the Gr.2 ARC Championship Stakes before being sold to Hong Kong where he continued to race successfully.
One of only four Ocean Park fillies in Book One Lot 54, is out of Lightning Spur. Ocean Park had an amazing spring in Australia, and his stock will be well sought after at this sale. Besides being the sire of the Gr.1 Epsom Handicap and The Golden Eagle winner Kolding, he also left the stakes winning mares Oceanex and Tofane.
The filly on offer is a half-sister to the group one placed stakes winner You’re So Good and the stakes performing Indrabeel, along with the 11 race winning gelding No Emotion. Lightning Spur is a winning half-sister to the Champion filly Melito, and the stakes-placed winners Across The Moon and Sister Declan.
“This filly is an athletic running type of horse she will be a nice three-year-old Oaks type of horse,” according to Stanley, who stressed again that he is excited about this draft, and thinks there is a horse in there to suit every level of the market, from Karaka Million types, three-year-old classic types, to good solid racehorses, and all prepared on fabulous Waikato horse country. In Book 2 Lot 833, we have a lovely filly by Tarzino out of the
mare Saraswati. ✦
