The 2007 Premier Yearling Sales are to be held at the Canterbury Agricultural Park on the 19th and 20th of February. We have 12 yearlings up for sale in this Years sales, all of which you can view here on our Website simply by clicking on the Yearling Brochure page.

They say that you are only as good as the company you keep, so we are very proud to have sent forth numerous quality performers and a high percentage of winners overall from our drafts at the Premier Sale over the years.

The winners in total are too numerous to mention and worry about here, but in the decade prior to the current one, the class performers included Defoe, Lavros Star, Lenin, London Express, London Pride, All Systems Go, Areeba, At Your Service, Backinmyday, Falling Star, Lady of Grace, Meniscus, Paris Metro, Premium Reserve, Royal Consent, Silver Lined Pocket and Written In The Stars.

The 2001 Premier Sale marked a banner year however, when no less than 15 winners resulted from the consignment of 21 yearlings bred, raised and/or sold by Studholme Bloodstock.

These were headed by Anvilanunoit (9 NZ wins, $73,027, US1.52.6), London Legend (14 NZ & 1 Aus win, $340, 214), Our First Falcon (Sales NHT 2yo Pace, US1.50.4) and the Group One $150,000 Fremantle cup winner Money Magnet (20 Aus wins, $248, 576), who were sold for $8000, $20,000, $5000 and $15,000 respectively.

The others were E Type, Gotapickapocketortwo, He’s No Fake, No Fakem Anvil, Risk and Reward, Stop Pickin On Me, The Travelling Man, Wholigan, Winning Grin, Winter Palace and Zeppelin, with only Gotapickapocketortwo at $36,000, not selling somewhere between $5000 and $20,000.

The 2002 sale has resulted in 12 winners to date, namely Beyond A Dream, Big Flirt, Class Action, Dream Role, High Calibre, It’s Only Money, Mainland Countess, Matter of Money, Ruby Bay, Smart Art, Stiff Upper Lip and The Majorcan along with three others to race, while the 2003 sale has so far produced another 19 winners in Crescendo, De Garis, Fake Rattle N Roll, Farr Jones, Flirt Alert, Head West, Iraq Attack, Lifes A Ball, Loyal Royal, Secret Rendezvous, Sharealike, Slippery MacKenzie, Smart Operator, So Pretty, Sparks Under Fire, Staged Event, Tux, VC and Bar and Wingandaprayer. Current 4-year-olds to come from our 2004 consignment are headed by Superstars winner Report For Duty (11 starts, 7 wins, $69,080 to date) and also include the winners Annabelle Me, Atom Bomb Angel, Gone Bush, Republican, Ride The Tide, Thrills Ahead.

This is a very impressive strike rate indeed and it underlines the fact that Studholme yearlings have the foundation to succeed.

Studholme Bloodstock breeds mainly for the middle market, often patronising proven sires with strong maternal families while also breeding to young sires that have the credentials and are of the right type for a mare, and then focusing on feeding the basics of racehorse production.

It has been a “no frills” approach which has worked by providing value for our buyers. More recently, we have been scaling back and this year at the Premier Sale we will only be offering a consignment of 12 yearlings which are either owned entirely or partly by Studholme Bloodstock.

For conformation and type, we are confident this more select draft represents our best group of youngsters to date and we will be very pleased to present them.

They are headed by two magnificent McArdle colts and a handsome Mach Three cold, along with two standout colts by Badlands Hanover and a stunning one by Washington VC, not to mention the brother to Martina H, Tony H and Lleyton H who is developing into another wonderful individual.

Our first yearling will be away early as Lot 10 and will also be the first McArdle to be offered in New Zealand.

A colt from the Soky’s Atom-Belle Jane mare Resonance, McKellar is a three-quarter brother to Another Blinder (1.55.2f) and half-brother to High Calibre, Crescendo and Ratzinger, a recent 2-year-old qualifier.

The second lot is a Badlands Hanover who is the first colt from Shezaoperator, an Armbro Operative daughter of Resonance, who continues to breed true to her fine Birdie family.

A little later is the Sundon colt who is a brother to top mare Martina H and the good colts Tony H, Lleyton H and Oscar Dela H, while soon after is perhaps the best colt on type of them all in the McArdle from Soky’s Atom mare Stage Talent.

Moonee Valley winner Slippery MacKenzie is the first colt from the mare and About Ambition is the second.

Our second Badlands Hanover colt is the first foal from Absolute Obsession, a qualified Falcon Seelster-Bellisimo mare who is a sister to big U.S. winner Alert Falcon and half-sister to good Australian performers Black Flash and Torbello and the fillies Asabella and Star Belle.

There will be just four lots to come on the second day, but they include a likely looking 2-year-old colt by Mach Three from the fine Vance Hanover racemare Faye’s Image, and a truly lovely Washington VC who is the first colt from a mare who recently left her first winner in Commissioned.

His Walton Hanover dam is also a half-sister to the dam of top Australian pacer The Warp Drive and top filly Turkana.

Another Report For Duty or Retail Therapy perhaps?

Anyway, we look forward to greeting visitors on the upcoming Yearling Bus Tour around Canterbury vendors and preparers, along with welcoming any enquiries at all.

See you at the Sales

Brian West