‘Results like last Saturday in the Australian Derby keeps you in the business’
Henry Plumptre believes the exodus of New Zealand-bred yearlings to Australian sales, a trend hastened this year by the prolonged international travel ban caused by the pandemic, will be reversed in the coming years.
Fresh from buying five fillies for a total of $1.75 million on behalf of Brendan and Jo Lindsay at last week’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, the Cambridge Stud chief executive says sustained racecourse success by New Zealand-bred horses across the Tasman was the key to remaining at the forefront of buyers’ minds.
“I think New Zealand Bloodstock did an amazing job holding that sale (in January) and getting the results that they did,” Plumptre said from Melbourne Airport yesterday.
“They probably lost 150 of their best yearlings from the K1 sale to Australia this year, so it was a big result and it shows what can be done.
“If we do return to normal next year, hopefully the sale will improve on the results of this year. But I think it does take performance on Australian racetracks and we need to continue to perform on Australian racetracks with New Zealand-bred horses.
“Results like last Saturday in the Australian Derby, running first, second and third, keeps you in the business. It keeps people focused on that catalogue in January.”
The all-important reminder came courtesy of the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Explosive Jack (Jakkalberry), Young Werther (Tavistock) (Danny O’Brien) and Lion’s Roar (Contributer) (John O’Shea) in a Kiwi-bred Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) trifecta.
Cambridge Stud was one of the New Zealand vendors who sold yearlings in Australia, one of the reasons being to showcase stock by its first season shuttler Almanzor (Wootton Bassett), but Plumptre suspects many of his peers will look to offer more of their stock at Karaka in 2022.
He said: “I would be surprised if they didn’t. Looking across the board, and I haven’t analysed it in detail, but I don’t think the results would have been any better in Australia than they would have been at Karaka.
“I think the New Zealand thoroughbred is fairly unique and I think people tend to associate it with the Karaka sales and that is why the National Yearling Sale is so important.”
Plumptre took advantage of the impending travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand in order to attend the Easter sale and he will be at Randwick on Saturday to watch the Lindsays’ prized mare Probabeel (Savabeel) in the Coolmore Legacy Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and Bavella (Snitzel) in the Sapphire Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
“We will certainly race Probabeel on next season as long as she is sound,” Plumptre revealed.
“I am touching wood as I say this, but she is one of those very rare race mares who is clean-winded. We’ve done a little bit of work on her joints, but that’s fine. It was just care and maintenance, more than anything.
“When you have got one like her – she is such a flagship for Cambridge and Brendan and Jo – if she can keep running for one more year, then that is great, but if she tells us she’s had enough after this preparation, then we’ll send her to stud.
“Our preference is to give her one more year as a five-year-old.”
The Lindsays black and yellow checks, armbands and sleeves are colours Australian racing observers can expect to see on a regular basis for the foreseeable future and not just by Probabeel.
“I think it is very important to keep our focus on Australian racing. The New Zealand industry is rebirthing itself at the moment, but it is five years away from where we need it to be,” he said.
“In the meantime, we absolutely need to concentrate on Australian racing with our better fillies and mares, not just from a prize-money level, but because it gives you a lot more pedigree in the catalogue which is an unfortunate reality at the moment.
“I don’t think the gap between New Zealand’s elite Group-level racing and Australia’s is as big as they think it is, but by the same token, on a pedigree page currently it is (a big gap).”
While Cambridge Stud added five fillies to its racing division from the Easter sale, by sires Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Zoustar (Northern Meteor), Savabeel (Zabeel) and Pariah (Redoute’s Choice), it is unlikely the operation will be active at the upcoming breeding stock sales being conducted by Inglis and Magic Millions.
“We’ll certainly be there at the mares’ sales, but more from the point of view of showing our face after 15 months of not being able to, which is one of the main reasons why we wanted to be at Easter this year,” Plumptre said.
“The yearling sales and mares sales are important as it is where the thoroughbred industry’s focus is when everyone is in the same place.
“It’s important to be there and talking to other breeders and other studs about where the industry is heading.
“But we don’t need any mares. We bought 53 two years ago and a few last year and we’ve got all these beautiful fillies on the track at the moment.
“The ones coming into the broodmare band this year are stakes-placed metropolitan winners, so we’ve got plenty going on in that space without buying any more.”
Cambridge Stud’s Easter fillies
Lot 107 Pariah – Sultry Dreamer (Dream Ahead) Arrowfield Stud $280,000
Lot 230 Snitzel – C’Est Beau La Vie (Bernardini) Arrowfield Stud $400,000
Lot 268 Zoustar – Define (Lonhro) Kia Ora Stud $340,000
Lot 289 I Am Invincible – Eleonora (Makfi) Bhima Thoroughbreds $450,000
Lot 383 Savabeel – Landslide (More Than Ready) Lime Country Thoroughbreds $280,000
Plumptre on …
Talented Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young Group 2-winning filly Letzbeglam (Snitzel)
“She has had a horror run since that trial on March 9. She pulled up with a bit of a stone bruise and unfortunately it turned into a bit of a corn that we couldn’t get rid of,” he said.
“Our vet Ben Mason has interrogated the area trying to get her right. She is currently down at Ben’s farm trying to get that foot right. She is sound this morning and we will possibly take her up to Brisbane just so she has that last crack against her own age and sex.
“She has had a terrible run, that filly, since she won the Blue Diamond Prelude. Nothing has gone right with her. It is frustrating when they win a trial at Cranbourne on their ear and then can’t get to the races.”
Book full sign on stallions Almanzor and Hello Youmzain
“We got some fantastic momentum for Almanzor at the yearling sales and I think the fact the Australian buying bench embraced him so much, it was a really, really good endorsement for the stallion and what we are doing at Cambridge.
“We are not far away in relevance with Waikato’s line-up in terms of what is happening over here in Australia, but there’s nothing like a good yearling sale when purchasing a stallion to put his name up in lights.
“The other stallion, Hello Youmzain, got momentum on the back of Almanzor by the fact that we can promote him as a really good type. Our breeding right holders were really enthusiastic about our horses this year and that’s why we went to the marketplace with the house full sign on March 23 or 24, which is fantastic.
“It’s an endorsement for us and we think, long-term, it shows signs that the industry has a bit of spring in its step.”