Karla Brunei: Another One For The Ugly Ducklings

It was difficult going trying to drum up interest in Saturday's Group 3 Winter Cup winner Karla Brunei (Pins-Cantante by Centaine) as a yearling. Part of the Little Avondale Stud draft at the 2009 Karaka Select Yearling Sale, she was on the small side and didn't have the most fluid of walks.

Passed in at $35,000, the filly returned to LA for a deserved break. LA's affable studmaster Sam Williams has some well honed salesmanship skills and a few months later they were used to good effect - helped no doubt by a glass or two of local Martinborough pinot noir - to convince his luncheon guest, trainer Roydon Bergerson, to take the little filly home to Awapuni and put a syndicate together to lease her from William's and local breeder Lorraine Jameson.

Anyone struggling with a successful yearling buying strategy could be well advised to wait until the Karaka Sales are complete and inspect the lots passed in by LA. In a unique set of circumstances, Karla Brunei joins Group 2 Brisbane Cup winner Tullamore (Savabeel - Trocair by Flying Spur), N.Z Oaks runner-up Can't Keeper Down (Keeper - Ashley Downs by Grosvenor) and last season's Listed winner Kekova (Elusive City - Racing Waters by Racing Is Fun) in a growing list of stakesperformers taken home by the Masterton nursery from Karaka in recent years.

LA were set to offer a Savabeel half brother to Karla Brunei in their Select draft at Karaka this year but he was withdrawn on sale eve with an injury. He was a physical standout, confidentially predicted to top LA's Select draft and well and truly exceed the best previous price for Cantante's offspring at Karaka, the $57,500 received for her Pentire colt at the 2005 Select Sale.

The colt has since been retained by Lorriane Jameson to race and recently began his first training preparation with Roydon Bergerson.

Co incidentally, the colt may need all of his physical prowess and more to overcome the extremely poor record his damsire Centaine has with his daughters bred to Savabeel. Given plenty of opportunity via Waikato Stud's enviable band of Centaine broodmares, the cross has only produced one of Savabeel's 20 plus stakeswinners, Group 3 winner Floria.

It remains to be seen what her good looking half brother may get up too but Karla Brunei is yet another reminder of the unpredictability associated with buying thoroughbreds. Often we curse it, but without it our wonderful pastime would not be the "box of chocolates" that delivers it's richness.