Plenty of positives for Westbury in Karaka countdown

Westbury Stud general manager Russell Warwick has no shortage of reasons to be upbeat ahead of the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales at Karaka.
Like many other industry participants, Warwick has been buoyed by the remarkable prize-money increases and innovations that have flowed almost non-stop since Entain began its strategic partnership with the TAB at the start of the season. That includes this Saturday’s Gr. 2 Westbury Classic, which Warwick has been a key part of since its inception as a $35,000 race in 2006. Its recent winners include Levante and Imperatriz, and its stake has this year soared to $500,000.
Another point of real pride for Westbury is an outstanding past 12 months of graduate successes on the racetrack. That list is topped by New Zealand’s reigning Horse of the Year, the triple Group One winner Sharp ’N’ Smart, who was bought by Rogerson Bloodstock for $55,000 from Book 2 of Karaka 2021.
But it has been far from a one-horse show. Westbury has also celebrated Group One success with Levin Classic heroine Romancing The Moon (bought for $50,000), while Renaissance Woman ($250,000) has been a Group Three winner and Group Two placegetter in Australia.
Tuchel ($130,000) has earned more than HK$18 million with six wins in Hong Kong, headed by the Gr. 3 Premier Plate. He was also runner-up in the Hong Kong Derby.
Current season three-year-olds Solidify (passed in with a $50,000 reserve), Viva Vienna ($100,000), Just As Sharp ($145,000), Dolphin Skin (passed in with a $20,000 reserve), Illicit Dreams ($30,000) and Renegade Rebel ($40,000) have all been Listed winners.
That all leads perfectly into Karaka 2024, where Warwick believes Westbury will offer a yearling draft that compares favourably with any of its predecessors.
“I think there’s a lot to be excited about,” Warwick told RaceForm on Monday. “Last season we had 12 stakes winners off the farm including Sharp ’N’ Smart who was Horse of the Year.
“Sharp ’N’ Smart is running in the inaugural $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic on the eve of the sales on Saturday. His class will take him a long way, but you have to be honest and say Legarto was hugely impressive the other day and will be difficult to beat. It’s a distance short of his best, but he has the class to foot it with them and we’ll walk away pretty happy if he runs in the top four.
“The general consensus around the sales complex at Karaka today was how good all these recent announcements have been for the New Zealand industry. Ideas like the new slot race bring a whole new dimension and make buying and racing horses in New Zealand an attractive proposition. It’s all been fantastic news, and we’d like to think that it’ll lead to an even more active buying bench at Karaka.
“One of the highlights for me will be seeing the Westbury Classic run for a $500,000 stake on Saturday. We started it off from scratch and it’s come a long way. It’s been won by some very good horses, and to see it at Group Two level and $500,000 is extra rewarding. There’s only one rung left in the ladder now. We’d love to try to make it a Group One race.”
The catalogues for Karaka 2024 feature 25 Westbury Stud yearlings in Book 1 and another 16 in Book 2.
“Rather than having one or two stars and a drop-off to the rest, I feel that we have a nice, consistent draft this year,” Warwick said. “There’s a large number of horses that will suit different markets and different people.
“I don’t think it would be hard for a buyer to mark down quite a number of our yearlings as being well worth coming back for another look. That’s the calibre of horse that’s there.
“At the end of the day, we take great pride in being measured at the winning post. We don’t have the most expensive horses in the sales, but the racetrack results of the graduates are much more important in our eyes.”
Westbury’s Karaka offerings include a dozen by their high-flying stallion El Roca, who currently sits in third on the New Zealand sires’ premiership with 26 winners from 82 runners and progeny earnings of more than $1.32 million. The only sires ahead of him are eight-time champion Savabeel ($1.59 million) and the late Zacinto ($1.34 million).
“El Roca is having a marvellous run,” Warwick said. “Savabeel is the only live stallion that’s ahead of him in the premiership at the moment. He’s had two new stakes winners in the last two weeks (Canheroc and Renegade Rebel), and Canheroc also ran third in the Wellington Cup.
“He has a presence in Asia, which is always positive from a sale point of view, and he’s just doing really well. He’s been in the top three or four on the premiership in all of the last three seasons, so this isn’t just a one-off year for him.”
While Warwick believes Westbury is offering an even and high-quality draft across the board, he singled out Lot 570 for particular praise. The colt is by Sharp ’N’ Smart’s sire Redwood and is out of a full-sister to the dam of Tuchel.
“He’s probably the one that appeals to me the most strongly,” Warwick said. “He’s by Redwood and is a seven-eighths brother to Tuchel, who was narrowly beaten in the Hong Kong Derby.
“This is a very nice colt. He’s strong, has a great walk on him and has a very masculine head. We’d like to think he’ll attract a fair bit of interest.”