Four more for the Green barn - buying weanlings a ‘no-brainer’ for Lincoln Farms

Given Lincoln Farms’ previous success with buying weanlings, it wasn’t surprising the powerhouse was active again at Karaka this week.

Lincoln Farms’ boss John Street signed for four lots at New Zealand Bloodstock’s annual weanling sale, two colts and two fillies costing him $74,000.

The last time Lincoln Farms bought weanlings it spent $64,000 on five horses, coming up with:

• Tommy Lincoln, who cost $10,000 and has so far won eight races and $93,515
• Larry Lincoln, who cost $7000 and won nine races and $58,351 before his sale to the United States
• Billy Lincoln, who cost $16,000 and won three races before his high priced sale to the States
• Hilary Barry, who cost $17,000 and was sold to the States and
• Joey Lincoln, who cost $14,000 and was sold in Australia.

Of course Lincoln Farms’ trainer Ray Green and his wife Debbie can claim even more impressive results with their own weanling buys, stable star Copy That a $7000 bargain who is now ruling the roost with 19 wins and $463,000 and Hard Copy, a $4000 weanling who was sold to Perth and retired with 27 wins and earnings of $1.27 million.

“It’s a no brainer for us to buy weanlings,” says Green. “It’s money in the bank. Lincoln Farms has the facilities to look after them, it’s not as if we have to pay agistment fees. It’s just a bit of feed then you’ve got the same result.”

Green says come yearling sale time, they’d have been lucky to buy one horse for the $74,000 outlaid on Monday.

Lincoln Farms’ star three-year-old American Dealer features in the family of this showy Sweet Lou filly.Green cites the Sweet Lou - Jessie’s Cullen filly they bought from Woodlands Stud’s draft on Monday as a prime example.

“She was cheap at $14,000 and is a lovely big filly. John paid $200,000 for her (Bettor’s Delight) half brother at the yearling sales earlier in the year and he has just broken in really well.”

The filly is the sixth foal of nine race winner Jessies Cullen.

Her first two foals to the races Princess Jessie and Rosies Delight have both won and second dam Jessie Grace was a prolific producer of 11 winners including Nad, Pazam, Chatham Grace and Pacing Grace.

It’s the family of big winners Pacing Major, All U Need Is Faith and (Our) Amazing Art, and features recent top three-year-olds Aladdin and Lincoln Farms’ own star American Dealer.

Lincoln Farms raced this Art Major colt’s relative Alta Intrigue.Street’s priciest buy on Monday was $27,000 for an Art Major colt out of Alta Valencia, a family Lincoln Farms is well familiar with.

His dam is a sister to fast juvenile Alta Intrigue who won four races for Lincoln Farms and was placed in the Northern Derby before his sale to Perth.

“He’s a nice enough colt. Someone else obviously thought so because we had to pay a bit more than we thought to get him. He’s not big but it’s a good, go-early family.”

This Art Major filly is out of the good mare Fizzi Lizzi.Lot 89, an Art Major filly, not only caught Green’s eye for her good looks, but her pedigree, which featured two horses he remembers well.

Her dam Fizzi Lizzi won eight races for Waikato trainer Rod MacKenzie, who also prepared her half-sister Averils’ Quest, a fast mare who won nice races.

“It’s a fillies family and she’s a good looker,” said Green of the filly who cost $18,000 from the draft of Alabar Stud.

This Vincent colt is from a Brigade of big winners.Street’s quartet was rounded out by a well-credentialled Vincent colt out of Tristar Brigade.

“He’s a nice looking little colt, with good conformation. He was a good buy at $15,000.”

Tristar Brigade has left Parmesan, a 14-race winner in Perth who is a sister to Trigirl Brigade, a seven race winner who produced the topliner Classie Brigade (19 wins, $496,244) and Delight Brigade (13 wins).

Green also bought one weanling for himself for $9000, taken by the looks of lot 90, a Downbytheseaside colt out of the six race winner Idealistic, a half sister to 14-race winner Just On Dusk.

“They were all good buying. You couldn’t breed any of them for what we paid.”

Auctioneers New Zealand Bloodstock were delighted with the sale which saw 113 of the 130 weanlings sold for $1,265,500 with an average of $11,199 and a clearance rate of 92%.