Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis has an eye for quality horseflesh. Photo / Jason Dorday
The winker will be busy throughout New Zealand Bloodstock's National Yearling Sales at Karaka purchasing prime bloodstock for Te Akau Stud and Racing Stables.
David Ellis, principal of Te Akau Racing Stables, has a unique bidding style, preferring to wink to the auctioneering staff.
"I wink with my
left eye so nobody knows what I'm doing when I bid - and I can also see who the opposition is,"said Ellis.
Ellis did a lot of winking at the sales last year, spending $5.2 million to buy 23 yearlings.
"Three to four years ago when I was attending the yearling sales I was buying everything on spec and it was a massive financial exercise.
"Now things have changed. Because of the huge success Te Akau has had, people are ringing us to buy for them and it takes out a lot of the financial risk.
"I've got orders from clients in England, Hong Kong, Macau, the USA, Australia and New Zealand and it's an exciting time to be involved in the New Zealand industry."
New Zealand's leading trainer, Mark Walker, is in charge of Te Akau Racing Stables and has had an outstanding strike rate over the past 12 months. He has four starters in today's Karaka Million at Ellerslie and a fifth runner listed as a balloted runner.
"Mark's done an outstanding job as we qualified eight for the million dollar 2-year-old race and five of those made the final field.
"What it's telling me is that we're buying the right type of yearling at the Karaka Sales and it's a vote of confidence of the training skills of our organisation headed by Mark Walker."
Already this season Walker has won 11 2-year-old races throughout New Zealand and Ellis is intent on buying quality bloodstock to keep up that record.
Ellis will be the power player among the New Zealand buyers.
The outbreak of equine influenza in Australia has seen a massive increase in the number of Australian buyers this year.
Competition will be intense as Northern and Southern Hemisphere buyers start arriving en masse.
Ellis has inspected every yearling in the premier, select and festival sales and admits his left eye will be given an exhaustive workout over the seven days of selling.
