The Karaka sale ring provided countless major winners for Jamie Richards during his tenure at Te Akau Racing, and the four-time champion New Zealand trainer has returned to the same recipe for his fledgling stable in Hong Kong.
Richards, who trained 35 winners in his first Hong Kong season in 2022-23 and has added another 16 so far in 2023-24, has made his presence felt across the first two days of the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale on Sunday and Monday.
His two purchases on Sunday included a $725,000 colt by Zoustar, and he followed that up with another quality selection of colts on Monday afternoon.
The second of those was Lot 397, by Per Incanto out of the Redoute’s Choice mare She’s Apples. Richards paid $500,000 for the Riversley Park colt, whose dam is out of a half-sister to the multiple Group One winner and outstanding sire Tavistock.
Richards was delighted to secure a quality son of Per Incanto, who has made a huge impression in Hong Kong with 42 winners from just 53 runners. Richards also acknowledged the Little Avondale stallion’s feats in Australasia, which includes Group One-winning progeny Roch ‘N’ Horse, Shadows Cast, Belclare, Little Brose, Santa Monica, Dal Cielo and Bonham.
“Per Incanto is a wonderful stallion up in Hong Kong,” Richards said. “He’s a wonderful stallion everywhere, really.
“He does a good job in Australia – winning a Blue Diamond (Gr.1, 1200m) with Little Brose – and does a good job here. He had another good winner there on Karaka Millions night at Ellerslie with Belclare.
“This is a big, strong, powerful horse that should suit the Hong Kong environment. He’s already owned by a client up there in Hong Kong. We’ll just get him home and get him educated and we’ll see how things progress. Whether he goes up as a PPG (Privately Purchased Griffin) or whether he races here, I’m not sure. But he’s a horse that will appreciate a bit of time and should be a very nice horse up there as a three, four and five-year-old.
“If you can find the right type, by the right sire, it’s a big help for Hong Kong. This colt is out of a Redoute’s Choice mare. I’ve had a bit to do with this family previously – I trained a horse called Kabugee, by Satono Aladdin, when I was at Te Akau. It’s a good old family of the Duchess of Bedford’s, so I’m thrilled to get this horse.”
