Cover image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Do You Just (So You Think) proved to be a shrewd pinhook sale for Carlaw Park, the 2-year-old gelding leading from start to finish in a stunning 6.5l victory in the $100,000 Listed Champagne Stakes.
Carlaw Park, based at Ohaupo, near Hamilton in New Zealand, made a tidy $100,000 profit on the galloper who ran a very impressive time of 1:36.89 in the 1600-metre feature.
They paid $150,000 to Yarraman Park Stud at the 2023 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale, and sold him for $250,000 to Wexford Stables at last year’s New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka National Yearling Sale.
Do You Just as a yearling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Saturday was his maiden victory, and big things are now expected of Do You Just, who has earned his spell, and is expected to run further than a mile when he returns.
But Fairweather downplayed his knack for spotting horses with pinhook sale potential: “If you find the answer to that, can you let me know? There are so many variables!”
“You’ve got to have the right sire, but more importantly you’ve got to have the type. We put a lot of emphasis on type.”
“You’ve got to have the right sire, but more importantly you’ve got to have the type. We put a lot of emphasis on type.” - Nick Fairweather
“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. It’s sort of like breeding. We like our sires and broodmare sires, and we like type.
“Type has taken us a long way. That’s our strategy. A lot of research is done.”
It was Carlaw Park which also sold 3-year-old colt Public Attention (NZ) (Written Tycoon) for $160,000 to Coolmore at the 2023 NZB National Yearling Sale.
Public Attention saluted in the G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes at Randwick on February 8, and now has over half a million in prizemoney, with two wins from eight starts.
Public Attention (NZ) winning the G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“We put a lot of time and effort into our pinhooking. We’re just very fortunate that we’ve had some very good judges buy them as yearlings,” Fairweather said.
“He (Do You Just) is closely followed by Public Attention, so we’ve had a pretty good past few months.
“We've had some nice horses bought by some nice stables, and that’s all we can do at the end of the day.
“If we can pinhook and make a bit of money, and they go to the right stables, it gives us the highest confidence they can buy off us and produce a good racehorse on the track.”
“If we can pinhook and make a bit of money, and they go to the right stables, it gives us the highest confidence they can buy off us and produce a good racehorse on the track.” - Nick Fairweather
Ideal type for Wexford
Fairweather noticed some early natural athletic traits about Do You Just, and he was delighted top New Zealand training partnership Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott acquired him into their Wexford Thoroughbred Racing operation.
“To be fair, throughout his prep he was a lovely, strong forward-walking horse, which I think that suits Wexford Stables,” Fairweather said.
“To be fair, throughout his prep he (Do You Just) was a lovely, strong forward-walking horse, which I think that suits Wexford Stables,” - Nick Fairweather
“They tend to like those sorts of horses. He had a bit of a hind on him.
“He’s by a cery good sire in So You Think, when they bought him, they happened to come across Mark Chittick after they purchased him.
“Mark and the team at Waikato Stud looked at him, and bought the majority share in him.
“He was a very straightforward, easygoing horse.
“Colts tend to have little quirks in them. But what he did (on Saturday) looked like raw ability, and I’m really excited to see how he continues on as a 3-year-old.”
“Colts tend to have little quirks in them. But what he (Do You Just) did (on Saturday) looked like raw ability, and I’m really excited to see how he continues on as a 3-year-old.” - Nick Fairweather
Fairweather added Do You Just’s dam, Estijmaam (Exceed And Excel), was capable of developing into a quality broodmare.
Her gelding Zestiman (Zoustar) winning his first start, the $148,000 All Jockeys Dash 2YO Handicap at Flemington on January 13 last year, was perfect timing before Carlaw Park sold Do You Just a fortnight later.
Nick Fairweather | Image courtesy of Carlaw Park
Estijmaam now has four winners from four starters, with Do You Just her first to salute at stakes level.
“She had a winner just before we sold him, and it looked very promising,” Fairweather said.
“He was a factor when we sold him because Lance and Andrew were aware of the brother. Little things like that help, so you can get a little bit of current form when you’re selling.
Zestiman | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“It sounds like Estijmaam is a lovely-bred, beautiful mare. We underbid on one of her other foals last year. She throws good type.”
First signs of maturity in big win
For all his raw talent, O’Sullivan said Do You Just showed genuine maturity for the first time with his big win on Saturday.
“He’s a horse we do like, and it was probably the first time he’s ever got his act together, to be fair,” he said.
“He’s (Do You Just) a horse we do like, and it was probably the first time he’s ever got his act together, to be fair.” - Lance O'Sullivan
“I’ll be honest – what he did, it didn’t surprise us. I’m not just saying that.
“We thought to get him running in a mile, we gave him a couple of runs early on. He went to the paddock for six weeks, and came back out.
“It was very pleasing to see him do that. But we weren’t surprised.”
Lance O'Sullivan | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
O’Sullivan said when Do You Just returns from his spell, he will be challenged to run further than a mile.
“He kept up a good gallop... He’s run close to two seconds quicker than the other grade horses over the trip," he said.
“It certainly looked like he’s going to run a lot further. That was what it looked like to us.”
“It certainly looked like he’s (Do You Just) going to run a lot further. That was what it looked like to us.” - Lance O' Sullivan
O’Sullivan said majority-owners Waikato Stud would have loved for Do You Just to remain a colt.
But after recently gelding him, he added Do You Just now has the ability to develop into a consistent racehorse.
“They (Waikato Stud) took most of the horse with the idea of keeping him a colt,” O’Sullivan said.
“See what happens. It’s everybody’s pipedream, and for every one in a thousand you might get it right. That was the plan but he gave us the impression early on that he wasn’t going to make it as a colt.
“To be fair to the horse, he still hasn’t learned what it’s about. He’s got a long way to go.
“He’ll go to the paddock now, have a nice spell and he’ll be one of those 3-year-olds who can run a mile and further.
“It’s a matter of getting his act together. But he’s certainly got a lot of raw ability.
“It’s a matter of getting his act together. But he’s (Do You Just) certainly got a lot of raw ability.” - Lance O'Sullivan
Just give Do You Just some time
When O’Sullivan first laid eyes on Do You Just, he saw plenty of physical potential, but knew he’d have a steep learning curve in front of him.
“He’s just a very athletic horse. He’s a very big, tall and lean horse,” he said.
“He’s (Do You Just) just a very athletic horse. He’s a very big, tall and lean horse.” - Lance O'Sullivan
“He’s a very, very immature horse. If you looked at him now, you’d say ‘how the hell are you running him in a 2-year-old race?’
“He certainly doesn’t look like a 2-year-old. He looks like he’s going to make a nice racehorse when he’s four.
“So what he’s doing at the present time is just pretty much on raw ability.
“He (Do You Just) certainly doesn’t look like a 2-year-old. He looks like he’s going to make a nice racehorse when he’s four. So what he’s doing at the present time is just pretty much on raw ability.” - Lance O'Sullivan
“He’s certainly not a 2-year-old. If you went through our whole yard and looked at all our 2-year-olds and I said ‘that’s the one running a 2-year-old race next week’, you’d say ‘you’re kidding’.
“He looks like he just wants time now.”
O’Sullivan reserved praise for Carlaw Park for presenting Do You Just in top shape at the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale.
“Thrilled for them. They always produce a nice horse. And for quite a while now, they’ve been presenting their horses in fantastic condition,” he said.
“Thrilled for them (Carlaw Park). They always produce a nice horse. And for quite a while now, they’ve been presenting their horses in fantastic condition.” - Lance O'Sullivan
“You can buy horses off them with pretty good confidence. They’re hiding nothing, and they were very genuine when we purchased the horse.
“They certainly liked him a lot.”
