Tauranga Lotto winner's big splurge

A man who won millions on Lotto Powerball spent $705,000 on the horses this week - not on betting, but buying.

In his "biggest indulgence", Tauranga Lotto winner Lou Te Keeti and his wife Val bought four racehorses in the New Zealand thoroughbred sales, held in Karaka on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

"It is definitely our biggest indulgence to date, but we got what we wanted and Val and I are going to have a lot of fun with them," Te Keeti told the Bay of Plenty Times.

The 70-year-old kaumatua of Wairoa Marae in Tauranga scooped $10.3 million in the Lotto Powerball draw on July 8 this year.

He told the Bay of Plenty Times racehorses were a passion he and Val shared and he had been eyeing up potential horses in the auction since the beginning of the month.

"I shortlisted it to about a dozen but I got the ones I wanted. They are superbly well bred."

On Wednesday, the couple spent $70,000 on a Showcasing colt and $125,000 on a brown Jakkalberry filly. On Thursday, they paid $350,000 for a brown Smart Missile colt and a further $160,000 for a brown Bernardini filly. Te Keeti said the horses would initially be trained with Graham Richardson in Matamata before transferring them to Tauranga.

"Initially we will get them winning some races ... and then in the future, who knows, the Melbourne Cup."

Te Keeti said he had spent almost $3m of his Lotto win since July, with this week's splurge his biggest single spend up.

Initially, he had donated $300,000 to Tauranga charities.

He "looked after his family", with further koha to wider whanau and his hapu, as well as upgrades to his marae and its surrounds.

He also purchased a Suzuki Swift and is upgrading his home to an architecturally designed dwelling overlooking the Wairoa River.

The four horses

Lot 125 Showcasing (GB) – Fly Silca Fly (IRE), Chestnut Filly $70,000
Lot 147 Jakkalberry (IRE) – Goody Two Shoes, Brown Filly $125,000
Lot 305 Smart Missile (Aus) – Queen of Troy (Ire), Brown Colt $350,000
Lot 408 Bernardini (USA) - Tsutsumi (AUS), Brown Filly $160,000

Source: www.nzb.co.nz