Anderson’s optimistic ahead of CHCH sale

The New Zealand harness racing sales head to Christchurch tomorrow with around 200 yearlings set to go under the hammer at the latest instalment of the NZB Standardbred sales.

For Todd and Fleur Anderson of Winton, the 2025 edition comes on the back of having recently been crowned Breeder of the Year at the HRNZ Awards for the 2024 season.

Trading under the name Taffy Ltd, the sheep and cattle farmers have made good stead of their foray into the Standardbred sector and after close to a decade of quietly refining their bloodstock portfolio, the couple are starting to realise the fruits of their investment.

In what Todd’s estimates to be their eighth consignment at the Canterbury Agricultural Park under the expert preparation of North Canterbury horsewoman, Laura Smith, you get the sense that he and Fleur are becoming seasoned professionals when it comes to the emotional rollercoaster that is selling yearlings.

“You just want to present them as well as possible, and Laura does an amazing job at that,” said Anderson of his eight horse draft.

“Hopefully, they’re well received and find good homes. This is the end of a long process in terms of breeding, and you get just a couple of minutes in the sun to try and sell them before moving on to the next one.

“There’s definitely a bit of adrenaline involved, but it’s usually manageable. In the end, you just hope the horses are well received,” he said.

Anderson was encouraged by what he saw at Karaka on Saturday where Australasian records were smashed and key sale indicators increased at the opening session, with the aggregate up 32% to $5,709,500 while the average reached an Australasian record of $62,742 (up 20%). The clearance rate also reached 73%.

“Yeah, definitely. It showed we have a strong domestic bench, the Aussie’s were heavily involved, and the averages are up, so those are all positive trends. There are also some exciting developments happening in the harness racing industry in New Zealand right now.

“The ‘Next Gen’ initiative means that every horse and participant in New Zealand has an opportunity to be involved. That adds an extra $600,000 on top of the stakes, thanks to the work Brad and his team have done to bring more money into the industry. It’s really encouraging to see.

“Trotters are also getting more opportunities now with separate stakes for different sexes, which is another step in the right direction. The industry seems to be embracing this momentum and saying, ‘Let’s have a go.’

“With geo-fencing and other advancements, I believe even more money will come into the industry. If you don’t buy horses and stock the barns now in preparation for that, you’ll miss out, because in this business, you can’t just decide to grab a good horse overnight—it’s a biological process. You have to plan ahead and invest in quality horses now so you’re ready when things take off,” he said.

Speaking of quality horses, Lot 134, the first of the Taffy Ltd draft seems to fit the bill quite nicely being a Captaintreacherous colt of out of the recently crowned Pacing Broodmare of the Year.

“It was a big thrill for Fleur and I obviously being crowned Breeder of the Year,” said Anderson.

“It was capped off in the best way with Imaginary Bet winning Pacing Broodmare of the Year. For her progeny to be acknowledged with Merlin and Captain’s Mistress also winning their respective categories and each claiming a Group One victory on Show Day. That kind of success is pretty rare—apparently, Scuse Me is the only other mare to have achieved that feat in the history of the NZ studbook.

“Getting a mare that leaves a Group One winner is special in itself, but to produce two is incredible. It moves her into that elite category. She consistently leaves quality types, and 100% of her progeny are race winners, which is an amazing statistic. Right now, we have a really nice colt who looks like a strong two-year-old type. We’re hoping he’ll be well received,” said Anderson.

“We also have a stunning Bettor’s Delight colt, which is a grandson of Scuse Me being out of Imagine Me, and he’s been out of the boxes quite a bit. Hopefully, he finds a great home,” he said.

“On the trotting side, we have a couple of nice European bred yearlings with one of only two Bird Parker yearlings in the sale, ours being the one out of San Diego Love. He looks like he is really stamping his progeny. Last year, Johnny Dunn bought a Six Pack colt from us out of the mare, and he qualified as a two-year-old just last Wednesday, so that’s exciting. And the Bold Eagle filly out of Girl’s On Film is a great looking type and might be the best she has left to date. Her daughter, Lucky Mum, has done a great job for her new owners in North America having won four from six over there with two second placings to boot,” he said.

“We also have Cheer The Lady’s, Stay Hungry, filly in the sale. Stay Hungry seems to be leaving some really nice types, and this filly is the best yearling we’ve had from her so far. Huge credit to Laura—she just won ‘Best Presented’ at the sale with her, which is a well-deserved recognition for all the incredible work she puts into preparing them,” said Anderson.

Selling begins tomorrow morning at 11am with buyers only having to wait four lots before seeing the first of the Taffy Ltd draft in the stunning Imaginary Bet colt.

To view the full list of Taffy Ltd yearlings catalogued in Christchurch consignment of Laura Smith, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink