Plenty of positives for Mapperley Stud heading into Karaka

Cover image courtesy of Mapperley Stud

Mapperley Stud's Simms Davison has kicked off parades at Karaka and reported a constant flow of inspections, giving him, and vendors across the complex, a confidence boost. Davison says he now has an awareness that the buyers are coming and the vibe is good for a positive Sale after months of uncertainty.

“We are going to see even more people here than what we have so far I think. As a result of our government finally letting the Kiwis home, hopefully we get to see a lot of our expats getting here from Australia, especially some of the agents,’’ Davison said.

“Anyone who can get over from Australia, especially those major agents who base themselves in Australia for most of the year, having them back will have a real positive effect on the Sale.

“Unfortunately, it is not all of what we were hoping to get,’’ Davison said. “We were hoping the Australian and New Zealand border would be open for Australians to come over… I don’t get why double-vaxxed Kiwis can come home with no isolation but the Aussies aren’t allowed to. That doesn’t make much sense to me…. But we just deal with the cards we’ve been drawn.’’

Playing the cards they’re dealt

Davison predicted a strong New Zealand Bloodstock Nataional Yearling Sale, which had been shifted from its usual January timing to next week in the hope that COVID travel restrictions into New Zealand would be lifted, allowing a strong contingent of Australian buyers in.

Though, he added, it could have been a huge Sale had the Australians been afforded the same freedom of movement into New Zealand as expats.

“Without Aussies on the ground it is a bit of a 'who knows how the Sale will end up',’’ he said. “Last year our Sale held up to the year before but we’ve seen massive growth in Australia.

“The Aussies didn’t buy here last year, which was positive for us (that our Sale held up). Everything was in lockdown last year so the only way Australians could buy was by going online,’’ he said.

Davison said he hopes the Australian buyers, who have been able to attend their own sales, will be able to get online and use the relationships they have with agents.

“We’re very hopeful here and everyone is pretty positive,’’ he said. “At the end of the day, we’re probably pretty lucky with what is going on over here with Corona kicking off in the past couple of weeks. We are probably pretty lucky to have this Sale at all. We have to look at those positives.

“When this happened in Australia, you guys went back into lockdown. We haven’t been put into lockdown even though there are 20,000-plus cases a day. It could be worse.

“We are able to showcase our horses and the Kiwis based in Australia can come back across the ditch. It could be a lot worse.’’

Sale reschedule has mixed outcomes

There had been some bonuses to come out of the Sale date being pushed to the March timeframe, but Davison isn’t convinced it is the best thing to make it a permanent new fixture, at least not for the team at Mapperley Stud, which he oversees with wife Margaux.

“I think everyone did, with the Sale being pushed back, to enjoy a holiday during the summer, over Christmas, so let’s hope that little bit of taking a holiday and family time is all worth it with getting some good results come Sale day,’’ he said.

“The horses have come along really well and I think people are going to get a very nice surprise,’’ Davison added. “That’s why I think it is a shame the borders aren’t open because I think there would be plenty of Australians who have not seen our horses a couple months later.

“For the agents here who have been seeing our horses over the past couple of months on the farm parades, it won’t be a big deal but it’s a real shame the Aussies are not here because they would have got a real surprise.’’

Davison said he had been getting 'itchy feet' for sale day over the past few weeks as his 17 yearlings in the Mapperley Stud draft had been ready to go.

“Whether the Sale stays at this same date will be an interesting discussion,’’ he said. “I know everyone back in January thought it was a great idea because it gave us a couple of long weekends off.

“For the first time in a long time, all our staff got to have a week off around Christmas and New Year, so that time we thought it was great. But now, getting to the end of February and you’ve still got yearlings and you’re getting underway with weaning, it does get a bit hard.’’

The 17 yearling-strong Mapperley Stud draft is, not surprisingly, dominated by progeny of Mapperley-standing sire Contributer (Ire), with eight in the draft, but also features fellow sires such as Tarzino (NZ), Sacred Falls (NZ), Pride Of Dubai, Ace High, Time Test (GB) and Charm Spirit (Ire).

Contributer also plays a strong role in Davison’s top picks of the Mapperley Stud draft.

At Lot 46 is a Contributer colt out of the Australian-bred mare Victory Parade (Street Sense {USA}) coming from Sledmere Stud and sold for $40,000 in the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

“She’s an Australian-bred mare, the Aussies would know the family well. He’s a really nice, well-balanced, magical colt who is well put together. We targeted the mare to send to Contributer so we’re really happy with the result we got,’’ said Davison.

Another colt by Contributer from Keeper mare In A Frenzy (NZ) at Lot 314 may have a 'slightly weak' pedigree by Davison’s own assessment, but is a great type.

“He’s a big, strong physical type, he’s got a great action on him and he’s got a great temperament,’’ said Davison.

And at Lot 358 is a Time Test colt from Golan (Ire) mare L’Accord (NZ).

“Time Test is obviously a young sire that’s doing a good job over in Europe and we have a really nice colt by him out of a mare that left a recent stakes winner. He’s a really good article for the stallion and he’s a nice, strong colt, well-balanced and a good mover.’’

He is a half-brother to Llanacord (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}), winner of the G2 Lowland S. and Group 1-placed.

“We also have some really nice fillies, a couple to mention would be at Lot 622, a Contributer from Sultry Assassin,’’ Davison said.

“She’s a good, strong filly, the type of filly that’s going to get up and run earlier. She’s got a huge rear end on her and a lovely shoulder. She’s got plenty of power there so as long as she knows what to do with it, she’s going to be up and going like an early Guineas type of 3-year-old filly,’’ he said.

And a mother and daughter have fillies in the draft, both by Contributer.

Gallery: Some of Mapperley Stud's yearlings being offered at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale, images courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock

At Lot 210 is a filly from Dosh (NZ) (Danske {NZ}) and at Lot 453 another Contributer, from Nomisma (NZ), Dosh’s daughter by Thorn Park.

“Lot 210 is probably one of our favourites,’’ said Davison. “It’s a really old mare and we know that a lot of Australians won’t look at horses out of older mares but she’s done a great job for us.

“For an older mare she has popped out an absolute dish. She’s a very elegant, stylish filly. She’s an Oaks filly, she’s not going to be up and going as an early 3-year-old but the family has done well and she’s just a nice, classical, elegant filly.

“We've got a daughter out of Dosh, Nomisma, with a filly at Lot 453, and she’s up there as a favourite as well. They have left lovely, elegant, well-balanced fillies… the type that Australians come over here to buy. They still need a bit of time to furnish and fill out but you can see what they’re going to look like in 12 months.’’