Photo: Trish Dunell
As well as making an outstanding start to the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale as a vendor, Elsdon Park principal Lib Petagna added an exciting young prospect to his racing team with a high-priced Savabeel filly late on Monday afternoon.
Elsdon Park is in only its second year as a yearling vendor at Karaka, having sold 13 yearlings last year for a total of $2.3 million and an average price of $176,923.
The Waikato nursery will far surpass those figures in 2024, already selling 10 horses for $3.15 million at an average of $315,500.
But the purchase of Lot 479 for $620,000 on Monday put an extra spring in Petagna’s step. The filly was offered by Jamieson Park and is by Savabeel out of the Group One-winning mare Thee Auld Floozie.
The well-related filly received a notable pedigree update over the weekend. Her half-sister Just A Floozie, who had beaten Orchestral, Molly Bloom and Still Bangon in a form-filled juvenile race at Avondale last autumn, returned to action with an eye-catching finish for fourth in the Gr.3 Almanzor Trophy (1200m) at Ellerslie.
“Lib’s had a great sale as a vendor,” bloodstock agent Bruce Perry said. “I think one of the things that’s been noticeable is the comments around the fact that he’s got a lot of lovely young mares. It’s nice to be able to go back and keep purchasing some nice fillies for him. It’s exciting.”
Petagna’s distinctive apple green, dark blue and yellow colours have been carried by some outstanding daughters of Savabeel, most notably the triple Group One heroine Lucia Valentina and fellow elite winner Nicoletta.
“We’ve had a lot of success with Savabeel fillies in the past, and this filly reminded me a lot of some of those very best ones,” Perry said.
“We actually loved Orchestral when she came through this sale in 2022 and had a really good crack at her. I also really liked the half-sister to this filly that ran in the three-year-old race the other night, so we know the family well.
“I see quite a bit of James Chapman’s horses in the paddock throughout the year. I think, at one stage, I offered to him, ‘Will you take 600 for that filly in the paddock?’ And now that we’ve bought her in the ring, he reminded me. He said, ‘You offered me 600 in the paddock for that horse.’
“So, no, I thought she was a beauty, and I think she’s got residual value. The half-sister goes particularly well and ran a huge race the other night, so there’s a lot of upside.
“This filly will go back to the farm now and get broken in, and we’ll just see how she goes. With what’s happening here in the industry, there’s a big carrot now to retain more horses in New Zealand. It gives you the confidence, I think, to get these nice horses and have a go. And Australia’s always only three hours away, so I think it’s brilliant.”
