Best Yearling Crop For Many Years

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30956, 12 January 1966, Page 4

Best Yearling Crop For Many Years

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON. Yearlings to be sold at the National Yearling Sales at Trentham on January 21, 25, and 26, are collectively the best crop to be offered for many years.

This is the view of auctioneers’ representatives currently visiting studs throughout New Zealand. There is a narticularly strong catalogue of fillies—22o in an over-all entry of 508 lots. It is expected that in the end about 450 yearlings will oass through the ring during the three days.

A bay colt by Agricola from the imported Sunbride, a chestnut colt by the highly successful sire. Summertime, from the Cimbrone mare. Lady Letty, and a chestnut colt by Agricola from the Triumvir mare, Triennial, are tinned to be among the highest-priced lots. The Sunbride colt is certain to be keenly sought by Australian buyers, of whom about 100 are likely to be present, as he is a half-brother to the

Melbourne and Sydney Cups winner, Straight Draw (£37,629) and to the Caulfield Cup winner, Ilumquli, twice placed in the Melbourne Cup. In all, Sunbride, which is owned by Mrs Alister Williams, of the Te Parae Stud, Masterton, has left seven winners of nearly £64,000 and she has proved herself one of the most noted broodmares imported to New Zealand. Ziema Brother

The Summertime—Lady Letty colt, bred by Mr W. Alexander, of Te Awamutu, who has sold many high-priced yearlings at Trentham, is a threequarter brother in blood to the successful Australian performer, Ziema, a South Australian Derby winner and narrowly beaten into second place in both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups last year. The Triennial colt should, apart from the Sunbride yearling, be the highestpriced lot among the 11 in the catalogue by the English-bred Agrioola, which stands at the Te Parae stud, and was the leading first-season sire in the 1964-65 season. Last year the prices for the progeny of the American-

bred Bourbon Prince were not up to expectations, but the success of Prince d’Amour, unbeaten in six starts, and of Rag Doll, the Australasian record-holder for five furlongs, in two-year-old events in the last few months will result in keen competition for this sire’s yearlings.

Seventeen new sires will be represented at the sales, among them Test Cast (Supreme Court—Tessa Gillian), the leading two-year-old colt of his year in England, and Golden Plume (Golden Cloud —Perennial), unbeaten in his first five starts and winner of seven races in all in the United Kingdom.