Three quality fillies for Karaka sale

An extra overnight stay on the way to Auckland with three fillies for the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling sale is not concerning Wayne Stewart, the manager of the stud operation of White Robe Lodge.

''It is not the worst. It is good education for them. The usually settle well at Karaka (the sale venue) after the trip,'' said Stewart.

There is now an overnight stay in Blenheim on the way north due to re-routing resulting from Kaikoura earthquake.

WRL has fillies by Reliable Man - Ortem Fire; Gallant Guru - Inferno and Zacinto - Of The Essence entered for the Select Sale from February 1-3.

The trio began the trip with Wayne from North Taieri on Sunday (22/1/2017) with the first stop in Christchurch for an overnight stay. It is then on to Blenheim for an overnight stay and from there to Picton, a ferry crossing of Cook Strait and on to Bulls. There is another stop-over before a seven hour trip to Karaka.

"We used to travel from Christchurch to Bulls in one day. It is not too big of a change,'' said Stewart.

WRL bypassed the Karaka session the NZB yearling sales last year in favour of the South Island session at Christchurch in April. The topped that sale with a Raise The Flag -Legal Note colt sold for $52,500. A Gallant Guru - Emerald Fire filly fetched $36,000.

"We have three nice fillies for Karaka this year," said Stewart.

Zacinto is a "hot young sire" said Karen Stewart and the filly out of Of The Essence is a lovely well grown filly. Zacinto has sired the NZ Two Thousand Guineas winner, Yugo Foscolo from his first crop. The filly is the second foal of Of The Essence, winner of 10 races. Of The Essence is out of Bonnie Jay, a half-sister by Yamanin  Vital to A Gordon For Me, whose 26 wins  included  the group three White Robe Lodge Handicap twice.

Brian Anderton has an eye for the daughter of Gallant Guru - Inferno. "She is very nimble on her feet,'' he said.

Gallant Guru is the sire of well performed fillies Include (Dunedin and Southland Guineas and South Island Breeders' Stakes), Coulee (SI Breeders' Stakes) and Ortem Fire and Tommy Tucker who won the listed Timaru Cup for the second time last month. Inferno won the group three Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m) twice. This is her second foal. The other is a 2yr-old.

Ortem Fire, the dam of the Reliable Man filly is a half-sister by Gallant Guru to Inferno. The progeny of Reliable Man were in demand at the Karaka sales last year when his first crop was offered. Ortem Fire was joint top filly over 1600m+ in the 2012 -13 Free Handicap. This is her first foal and a quality type.