Carlaw Park offer quality consignment at Karaka

Media Release - Thursday March 3

Nick Fairweather and Nicole Brown are looking forward to offering their sixth draft at Karaka next week under their Carlaw Park banner.

The couple founded the business in 2016 in partnership with Brown’s parents, Peter and Roslyn, and they have enjoyed building on those foundations and will offer their largest consignment of 18 yearlings in the Book 1 session of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling sale.

Carlaw Park principals Nick Fairweather and Nicole Brown. Photo: Michael Rist

“We have been operating for just a tick over five years and this is our biggest consignment that we have had,” Fairweather said.

“We are really excited and we have got a really nice, consistent draft that we are really proud to present this year.”

From their boutique operation, they already boast a number of promising graduates.

“We just really wanted to focus on yearling preparation and spelling. We still want to keep to a smaller boutique draft,” Fairweather said.

“From the small numbers that we have had, we have had Lady Maroal, who is a stakes winner for Nigel Tiley, and Scribe, who is looking to be very promising.

“We are getting a lot of winners in Australia and locally. As long as the product keeps delivering, we will be very happy.”

Advertisement

Fairweather is also looking forward to continuing his association with his former boss, Sir Patrick Hogan, at this year’s sale.

“We are preparing four yearlings for Sir Patrick Hogan, three fillies and one colt,” he said.

“Having worked for him for a number of years, a lot of our preparation style and techniques are effectively based on his way. It is a privilege and honour to prep horses for him.”

One of the four that Fairweather is particularly interested in watching go through the ring is lot 583, the Iffraaj filly out of Simogramor.

Lot 583.

The filly has received plenty of interest from potential buyers, including Graeme Rogerson, who earlier this week labelled her the best filly he had seen in the sale to date.

“She is a lovely filly and he (Rogerson) has obviously got ties with that family with (dual Group One winner) Katie Lee being the grandam,” Fairweather said.

“She is all quality. A lovely, loose walking filly that has got good bone and substance. She really catches the eye and has been really popular.”

Fairweather is also looking forward to offering lot 229, a U S Navy Flag half-brother to Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) winner Etah James.

“He is a very powerful, forward colt who has a nice, loose walk,” Fairweather said.

“He is by first season sire U S Navy Flag, who has been extremely well received. He sold quite well in Australia.

“Being a half to Etah James, he is going to really appeal to some of those Australians looking for a Classic-Cups horse. He has been very popular and has been well-received.”

Fairweather highlighted lot 181, the Headwater filly out of a half-sister to Group One winner Headway, and lot 363, the Exceed and Excel colt out of Lady Krovanh, as two other leading lights from his draft.

“The Headwater filly is an outstanding individual, one of the nicest fillies Nicole and I have pinhooked,” he said.

“She is a half-sister to Scribe, who was trained by Tony Pike and won two races before being sold to Hong Kong for huge money.

“She has been very well liked in the early stages of inspections.

“The Exceed and Excel colt is a half-brother to Dragon Pride who has won three of his four starts in Hong Kong, the most recent being last (Wednesday) night.

“He is a very dominant sort of horse - very strong and athletic.”

Fairweather said the sentiment on the ground at Karaka has been good, with Vendors having experienced a similar situation last year with international buyers unable to be physically present at the sales complex as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

“The feeling has been very good,” he said. “A lot of the vendors have put a lot of time and effort into the videos and photos. NZB have marketed them accordingly and I think we have given Australian and International buyers a really good insight into the quality that we have to offer this year.

“Last year was a real unknown and it was successful, so I think that gave everyone a bit of confidence going into this year.” – NZ Racing Desk

Advertisment
More Reading...
Prima Park Perfect Clearance at Ready to Run
Prima Park has accrued an enviable record with their New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale graduates, and farm principal Kelly Van Dyk is hoping they can add another to that list from their 2024 draft.
TAB Racing Club Fillies Making Debut at Ellerslie
The newly-established TAB Racing Club will have their first juvenile runners to the races at Ellerslie on Saturday, including Proisir filly Dorothea for trainer Pam Gerard and a Snitzel filly sourced from Inglis Easter for $400,000.
G1 Winning Stallion to Be Offered on Inglis Digital December Sale
The Inglis Digital December Sale scheduled for early next month is set to feature the winner of the 2023 Group I MRC Caulfield Guineas (1600m).
Juvenile Trial Watch - Randwick and Wyong
There were some interesting juvenile heats at the Randwick trials on Tuesday morning with Magic Millions eligible youngsters out in force including several colts from the Waterhouse Bott stable, a blueblood filly with a full brother entered for MM 2025 and at Wyong first season sire Anders had a stylish winner trained by Sara Ryan that is also MM eligible.
Karaka 2025 – The Sire Break Up
NZB have released an outstanding catalogue of 1088 for their Karaka Book 1 and 2 Yearling Sales in January, so we’re taking a look at the leading sires and vendors to form a better picture of just what will be drawing the Aussie contingent across the Tasman in the New Year.
Catalogue Online for the Southern Hemisphere Session of the Tattersalls Online December Sale
The catalogue of initial entries for the Southern Hemisphere Session, an innovative collaboration between Tattersalls Online and Inglis Digital, has now been published on the Tattersalls Online website.
Pencarrow Homedbred Filly Chasing Black Type on Thursday
Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie will bid to continue their hot run of form since moving their operation to a new property with another trip to the Central Districts this week.
Value Packed 2025 Tasmanian Yearling Sale Catalogue Online
Renowned by buyers for its quality and value, the Tasmanian Yearling Sale has a proud history of producing racetrack stars right across Australia and with a quality catalogue this coming February that tradition looks set to continue.
Top Sellers at Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale
The Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale had plenty of drama when the dam of Goliath, who runs in the Japan Cup on Sunday, was passed in at €5miliion, but there were other high profile sales including Fastnet Rock's Epsom Oaks winner Qualify.
Record 900,000 Guineas Filly at Tattersalls December Yearling Sale
The DARK ANGEL half-sister to Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère winner CAMILLE PISSARRO sold for 900,000 guineas at a record-breaking renewal of the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale that also saw Yulong purchasing under the name of Willingham.