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Lyndhurst Making Ready to Run an Art Form
Mark and Shelley Treweek’s Lyndhurst Farm has enjoyed another stellar result at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run
Sale of 2YOs which has seen them continue their reign as the leading vendor at this unique Sale.
The leading vendor by aggregate and average for the sixth year running, Lyndhurst Farm presented another outstanding
draft of youngsters at this week’s Sale and as with previous years, their draft attracted steady interest leading into
the Sale and plenty of competition in the ring.
The Treweeks have been preparing Ready to Run style horses for over a decade and have continued to refine their methods.
When asked how the process of preparing Ready to Run Sale horses begins, Mark Treweek outlined the comprehensive
research that goes into identifying future prospects.
“It’s a very thorough process,” commented Mark. “First we analyse the yearling sales catalogues, looking for the sires
that are dominating the premierships and any young sires that we hear are performing well with their trainers. We then
assess their conformation, concentrating on physical specimens that are going to attract attention to our draft.”
As well as offering their own draft of horses at the National Yearling Sales Series at Karaka, the Treweek’s also carry
out inspections of the other yearlings on offer and purchase horses they believe are the correct types to take to the
Ready to Run Sale. After the horses have been selected and purchased, stage two of the process begins.
“We like to get them home and broken in as quickly as possible, giving them two or three light preparations before we
get them ready to Breeze Up at Te Rapa,” explained Mark.
The professionalism the Lyndhurst Farm prepared two-year-olds display at the Breeze Ups has become a trademark of their
draft and is one of the many reasons for the stud’s continued success.
Among the horses sold by Lyndhurst Farm at this week’s Ready to Run Sale was the Dubawi colt at Lot 192. Purchased as a
yearling for $65,000, the colt was knocked down to the bid of Michael Stedman Bloodstock for $250,000. Another highlight
came at Lot 251 with their Exceed and Excel colt who was purchased as a yearling for $60,000 and sold to Me Tsui of Hong
Kong for $350,000.
Lyndhurst Farm boasts a number of successful Ready to Run Sale graduates including Linton (Galileo), a 2008 graduate who raced in the colours of prominent Melbourne Cup winning owner Lloyd Williams. Linton won
the Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes as a three-year-old before winning the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes at four and
finishing second in the Group 3 Lexus Stakes in the lead up to the 2010 Melbourne Cup.
Another on the Stud’s honour role is St Culpe (Rock of Gibraltar) who topped the sale in 2007, selling for $500,000, and went on to win the Great Northern Foal
Stakes at Listed level as a two-year-old. More recently the stud saw Glorious Days (Hussonet) win last Sunday’s Group 2 Jockey Club Mile in Hong Kong, beating dual Hong Kong Horse of the Year and fellow
Karaka graduate Ambitious Dragon (Pins).
Looking to the future, Mark feels that the Sale can continue to grow.
“The horses are readymade, you’re able to watch them breeze, assess their action and potential ability which results in
a final product that is well ahead of the game.
“We are continually trying to buy the right type of horse while also looking for more depth on the pedigree page which
can only lead to a stronger Sale. We hope that other consignors are constantly doing the same to ensure the success of
this Sale in future years.”
ENDS