One of harness racing's greatest pin-hooking stories could help increase interest in tomorrow's weanling sale at Karaka.
The annual autumn sales are on for weanlings and all aged stock tomorrow and then in Christchurch on June 2, the day before the Jewels.
It was a man on his way tolast season's Jewels who provided the story of this sale 12 months ago when Ken Breckon stopped in at Karaka to pay $44,000 for a brother to his next day Jewels winner Partyon.
Named Kokomo Beach, Breckon onsold the colt 10 months later at the Karaka yearling sales for $187,500, one of the biggest pin-hooking jobs in New Zealand harness racing history.
While the practice of buying weanlings and growing them for the yearling sales is long-established in thoroughbred racing, it is still relatively rare in harness racing.
The biggest seller will be all-powerful Woodlands Stud, who have 60 lots going under the hammer including 25 by first season stallion Sweet Lou.
"Quite simply we breed so many horses we don't want to hold on to them all until the yearling sales for economic reasons," says Woodlands principal Andrew Grierson.
"So we are happy to put some through here and if people go on to make a big profit like Ken did this year then that is great."
The sale has seen group one stars such as Partyon, Besotted and Hard Copy go through the ring cheaply so it's one of the cheaper ways to get into racehorse ownership.
The Woodlands lots aside Alabar will put through one of the more sought after weanlings, with a Sunshine Beach colt half brother to recent WA Oaks winner Maczaffair.
