Fireworks flew early on Sunday’s opening day of the Karaka Yearling Sale with a colt by boom stallion Wootton Bassett headlining a number of lots who went through early that achieved good results.
Michael Freedman teamed up Michael Wallace and Coolmore ‘s Tom Magnier to pay NZ$725,000 for Curraghmore’s colt by the Coolmore stallion out of Il Affare, who went through as Lot 6.
Wootton Bassett has had an outstanding start to his Southern Hemisphere career, producing the likes of Wodeton, Gallo Nero and Pallaton, the latter being in the care of Freedman.
“He was just a lovely athletic type (and) reminded me a bit of the horse I’ve got at home at the moment, Pallaton,” Freedman said of his Karaka colt.
“We liked him the first time we saw him and we got here a few days ago and went and re-looked at him again this morning and was keen to buy him.
“It was good that we were able to team up with Coolmore and buy him.
“Tom and I have been discussing for a while about trying to team up on a filly or a colt, obviously he liked the horse, and it’s by one of their stallions, so it worked out well.”
The colt is the first foal from Il Affare, a Group 2-placed daughter of Dundeel who ran fourth in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m).
He was one of two $600,000-plus lots for Wootton Bassett in the first half of Day 1 with Mick Price going to that amount for a colt out of the High Chaparral mare Matagouri.
Freedman’s buy went through the lot before a colt by Toronado sold for $350,000, while earlier David Ellis paid $320,000 for a filly by Satono Aladdin out of If Perhaps.
Continuing the good early results, Lot 11 – a colt by Savabeel out of Indecision – sold to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for $625,000, while the Proisir colt that was Lot 18 sold to Hong Kong interests for $450,000.