Photo: Glenys Randell
For the second year in a row, Hallmark Stud has struck seven-figure gold at Karaka with a yearling filly by Proisir out of Donna Marie.
The Baker family’s Te Kauwhata operation topped the Book 1 sale 12 months ago with a filly that fetched $1.6 million, and they were in the spotlight again on Tuesday with $1.1 million for Lot 564.
The remarkable double comes from a mere $20,000 purchase price to secure Donna Marie from the 2014 National Broodmare Sale at the same Karaka sale ring.
“We had this filly on the market at $300,000 and we were very excited when she went past the million,” Denny Baker said.
The million-dollar fillies are full-sisters to the multiple Group One winner Prowess, who herself was a $230,000 yearling purchase at Karaka in 2021. She went on to earn more than $1.5 million in stakes and was sold for $1.45 million in an online auction on Gavelhouse Plus last year.
Donna Marie is a daughter of Don Eduardo, who still holds the all-time record with his own $3.6 million purchase price as a yearling at Karaka in 2000. Donna Marie has now earned her own slice of Karaka history, becoming the fourth broodmare to be represented by multiple million-dollar yearlings.
She joins a list that is headed by Grand Echezeaux, who had three of her progeny break the seven-figure mark (Darci Brahma for $1.1 million in 2004, Saperavi for $2.2 million in 2006, and Burgundy for $1.3 million in 2010). Marquise had two (Shower Of Roses for $1.45 million in 2001 and Mutheer for $1.05 million in 2002), and so did Popsy (Maciano for $1.45 million in 2008 and Rock ‘N’ Pop for $1 million in 2010).
Tuesday’s million-dollar yearling was bought by Cambridge trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood, who bought Prowess and guided her through a 12-race career that produced eight wins including the Gr.1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m), Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2050m) and $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m).
“From the first time I saw this filly, I thought she was exceptional,” James said. “They just don’t come as balanced. I couldn’t fault her.
“Orchestral’s owner (Colin Litt) asked me to rate her out of 10, and I said 10. I couldn’t knock her in any respect, and so you shouldn’t be able to at that money. We weren’t keen to keep going, but I’m glad we got her.
“Prowess was a big, rangy filly that we had to wait for. This one is so balanced – you could imagine her doing things at the tail end of her two-year-old year and then being very competitive as a spring three-year-old.
“Her attitude is bombproof. I saw her the other day. She was tired and almost dead on her feet, she’s been so popular, but the minute she was asked to walk, she had an overstep of about 9 inches. She’s one filly that’s just going to give her guts for you.”
The sale has produced some special moments for James, including seeing a full-sister to his stable star Orchestral set a record price for a yearling at Karaka with a sale-topping $2.4 million. But he has endured a frustrating few days from a purchasing perspective.
“We’ve found the sale very tough,” he said. “I think it’s probably a reflection on the New Zealand prize-money. We were trying to buy three to syndicate, and normally we’d look at $200,000 to $250,000 and we didn’t even get a bid in. We don’t think we’re usually wrong with values, but we were this year, and I think it’s a reflection on our increased stakes.”
Orchestral’s heroics in the $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Saturday provided a timely boost to the buying power of owners Colin and Helen Litt, who will race Tuesday’s million-dollar filly.
“It certainly helped,” Wellwood said. “It was good prize-money on Saturday. Colin, Helen and the whole family have been such big supporters of the stable, and they all love Orchestral, and that has egged them along to find the next Orchestral.
“We are absolutely chuffed to buy this filly. To be honest, we thought she was the best filly on the grounds. We loved Orchestral’s sister, but she was a bit over our budget. But we are really stoked to have the support from Colin and Helen to get this filly. To be able to buy her and have her come home is amazing.
“It is always hard to know how much these high-end fillies are going to make. Obviously she’s a full-sister to Prowess, who we won a couple of Group Ones with. They are always competitive, people all around the world are looking at them, so it’s very hard to value those fillies. We were very fortunate to be able to get her on what was our last bid.
“She has the same athleticism as Prowess, but she was probably a bit bigger than this filly and she might come a little bit earlier than Prowess did. This filly, Prowess and the filly that sold last year are all a bit different, but all lovely fillies and I’m sure the Baker family are happy with the family too.”
