Cover image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
It was in 2017 that the Ohaupo-based farm took a Queensland-bred son of Medaglia d'Oro (USA) to the sale, having purchased him with Enigma Farm for $120,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The $300,000 received was a nice profit and the horse just kept on giving, racing as Golden Sixty proving himself to be one of the best horses to grace the Hong Kong turf.
Three times earning the title of Hong Kong Horse Of The Year, the recently retired gelding won 26 of his 31 starts with 10 of his successes coming at Group 1-level.
Riversley Park's Sam Beatson admits that he did not at the time think Hong Kong a good fit for the bay who he describes as “a quirky bugger!”
Golden Sixty | Image courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
“He was a bit hot and I didn't think that Hong Kong would suit him but sometimes those sort of horses can be real routine horses.”
Meaning that the routine lifestyle of horses trained in a more restricted environment than Australia or New Zealand suits better.
Loads of ability
“He took a bit of time to get going,” Beatson said of Golden Sixty, “but he came on quite nicely at the end. We knew he had loads of ability but you never know just how far they are going to get.”
As that horse's career came to an end, another one was starting with Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) another high-class Riversley Park Ready To Run graduate.
Bred by Cambridge Stud's Lindsay family, he was spied by his trainer Joe Pride at the 2022 sale where he fetched $170,000.
Ceolwulf (NZ) | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Fast forward to the spring of 2024 and the 4-year-old has won four of his 14 starts, going to the paddock on the considerable high of having won the G1 Epsom H. and the G1 King Charles III S. with a prizemoney tally in excess of $4.75 million.
Beatson laughed as he noted the similarities between Ceolwulf and Golden Sixty, noting that “he was quirky as well.”
“He was a colt at the time and I had to work at keeping his head in the right place. We didn't do much with him leading to the sale, a couple of three-quarter gallops. I remember telling his rider that and he looked at me a bit funny!”
“He (Ceolwulf) was a colt at the time (of Ready To Run Sale) and I had to work at keeping his head in the right place. We didn't do much with him leading to the sale, a couple of three-quarter gallops. I remember telling his rider that and he looked at me a bit funny!” - Sam Beatson
“But after the breeze up he got off and said 'this is a pretty good horse.'”
Beatson is looking forward to following Ceolwulf through his career, happy that he is in the capable hands of Joe Pride.
“He seems to get that longevity out of them; whatever he does, he does it right.”
“He (Joe Pride) seems to get that longevity out of them; whatever he does, he does it right.” - Sam Beatson
“The horse is still untapped and I thought on breeding he'd be a 2000 metres sort of horse so to see what he is doing against high-class milers like Fangirl and Pride Of Jenni is pretty exciting.”
Beatson was confident about both of those horses leading to the sales and this year he is on a similar high with a 45-strong draft he describes as “very even.”
A racehorse for everyone
“It's our biggest draft to date and there is a racehorse there for everyone,” he said.
“I have been asked who my stand-out lots are but I could name 20 of them, and I think that's a good thing.”
Beatson sources his horses from a variety of sales with those in this year's draft coming from weanling sales in Australia and New Zealand and yearling sales such as New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka (Book 1 and 2), Magic Millions Perth, Inglis Premier, Inglis Classic and the Magic Millions Gold Coast.
Sam Beatson | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Whilst searching for pinhooking types he always has in mind to buy the sort of horses a trainer will want.
“I like good moving, athletic horses,” he said.
“It is nice to have a bit of fashion on the page but I will forgive a lack of that if the horse is a nice athlete who looks like a racehorse.”
“It is nice to have a bit of fashion on the page but I will forgive a lack of that if the horse is a nice athlete who looks like a racehorse.” - Sam Beatson
When selecting horses for the Hong Kong market, he does like to keep in mind that buyers from that vicinity like stallions and families they know; meaning that a bit of local form on the page never goes astray.
“It just makes those horses a bit easier to sell,” he said.
Whilst a young horse's preparation can vary a bit depending on which sale they are purchased at, Beatson likes them to have four to six weeks off before a light breaking preparation followed by “a lengthy break.”
“We have them in for four weeks in June, hardening up their joints and their bones and we put them out over July.”
The youngsters are back in work in August ready for the breeze-ups which take place in October with Beatson always wanting to produce horses who still have plenty to give their new trainers.
Not over galloped
“I am really careful not to over gallop them,” he said, wanting trainers to have a horse they can work with, do well with and hopefully come back for more.
“This is our business, it's not a hobby so we want happy customers and their repeat business,” he said.
“I am really careful not to over gallop them. This is our business, it's not a hobby so we want happy customers and their repeat business.” - Sam Beatson
Beatson is pleased by “the variety of stallions” represented in Riversley Park's draft this week; amongst those 2-year-olds being the progeny of such proven sires as Savabeel, Toronado (Ire), Proisir, Deep Field, Snitzel, Per Incanto (USA), Capitalist and So You Think (NZ).
Joined by youngsters by up-and-coming stallions such as Written By, Ardrossan, US Navy Flag (USA), Zousain, Super Seth, Exceedance and Cosmic Force as well as members of the debut-crops of Wootton Bassett (GB), Bivouac, Farnan, Anders, King's Legacy and Circus Maximus (Ire).
Sale kicks off early
Riversley Park's sale kicks off early with the second lot through the ring, a Written By colt whose dam by Fastnet Rock is out of a half-sister to the speedy juvenile stakes winner Danehill Smile (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). And just two lots later is a Savabeel gelding whose dam is a three-quarter sister to the dual Group-winning sprinter Lost And Running (NZ) (Per Incanto).
A Wootton Bassett son of the stakes-placed Lazumba (Sebring) is another likely to draw attention as will a Bivouac colt out of the stakes-placed Lipstick Lover (I Am Invincible), half-sister to the Group 1 galloper Ilovethiscity and a Toronado three-quarter to the Group 1 sprinter Masked Crusader (Toronado).
And the Snitzel; Lot 121 hailing from a high-class international family whose members include Japan's big race winners Mikki Isle (Jpn) and Aerolithe (Jpn) (Kurofune {USA}).
Lot 134 (white cap) Super Seth x Queen Of Pop (gelding) and Lot 20 Ardrossan x Kissmekate (NZ) (gelding) | Image courtesy of Elsdon Park
Lots 134 and 300 are out of stakes producing mares; the former being a Super Seth half-brother to the G3 Rotorua S. winner Pop Star Princess (NZ) (Makfi {GB}) and the latter a So You Think half-brother to the G2 Hot Danish S. winner Reelem In Ruby (Pierro).
There are also several nice types out of stakes winners including Lot 166, an Anders gelding out of the Listed Strutt S. winner Sebring Sally (Sebring) and Lot 176, a Super Seth gelding out of the Listed Pegasus S. winner Silver Eclipse (NZ) (Darci Brahma).
Other highlights of the draft include close relations to the Group 1 winners Nashville (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}), Palaisipan (So You Think) and Ocean Park (NZ) as well as Il Quello Veloce (NZ) (Captain Rio {GB}) whose grandson by Star Turn is Lot 222.
Lot 276 (blue cap) - Encryption (NZ) x Ardoyne Road (gelding) and Lot 222 (white cap) Star Turn x The Quick One (gelding) | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Plus one related to one of the best of them all; Lot 79 being a gelded son of Proisir from the family of the mighty Winx (Street Cry {Ire}).
Hong Kong references
In regards to horses with Hong Kong references, Lot 88 is a Deep Field colt out of a half-sister to the two-time Hong Kong Horse Of The Year Fairy King Prawn (Danehill {USA}) and Lot 343, a gelding by Embellish (NZ) is also from that family whilst Lot 179 is a Capitalist gelding whose Group 2-winning dam Sister Madly (Redoute's Choice) is a half-sister to the superstar sprinter Silent Witness (El Moxie {USA}).
Meanwhile Lot 299 by Embellish has on his page last year's Listed Hong Kong Classic Cup winner Super Sunny Sing (Nicconi) whilst Lot 359 is a Merchant Navy gelding whose dam's three stakes winners include the Hong Kong winner Almababy (NZ) (Savabeel).
Last year's sale was a successful one for Riversley with their sale topper being an $800,000 All Too Hard gelding Patch Of Stars who just recently made a nice debut for the Manfred Man stable at Sha Tin. Also with that trainer is the promising Patch of Cosmo (NZ) (Super Seth) who won two in a row at Sha Tin.
Other graduates of the 2023 Riversley draft include the lightly raced and promising Sandown winner Giddy Up Warrior (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), the last start easy Ellerslie winner El Arish (NZ) (Embellish) and the Cranbourne winner Truth Or Dare (NZ) (Vanbrugh) as well as the recent trial winners Top Laird (Territories {Ire}), Moussaka (NZ) (Time Test {GB}) and Penman (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}).
Located on 50 acres in the heart of Waikato's thoroughbred country at Ohaupo, south of Hamilton, Riversley Park has been designed to provide the perfect environment for educating young horses and the success of Beatson and his team is the culmination of “plenty of time and hard work.”
