Smith seeking to retain leading Vendor crown

Laura Smith will head to Canterbury Agricultural Park next week with a strong hand to retain her leading vendor crown at the Christchurch session of NZB Standardbred’s National Yearling Sale.

Smith sold the session’s sale topper in Lot 139 last year, a Bettor’s Delight colt out of Group One performer Imagine Me, to Kentuckiana Lodge for $270,000, which contributed to her $1.36 million sale aggregate, more than doubling her nearest rival.

While proud of her results at the sales, Smith said her loyal clients are the biggest contributing factor.

“It comes down to having fantastic owners that have given us some pretty impressive bloodlines to work with and in turn having some standout types,” she said.

“Most of them are now born and bred on-farm, so it’s nice to see them from start to finish, from being a newborn foal to walking through the sale ring.”

Todd and Fleur Anderson, who operate under their Taffy Ltd banner, have been Smith’s biggest clients in recent years, and Smith has enjoyed their burgeoning relationship.

“It is an absolute pleasure to work with the likes of Todd and Fleur, who are known as Taffy,” Smith said.

“Todd came out to the farm a few years ago and we seemed to get along and understand things in a similar way and communication has always been very good.

“It turned out that he knew my uncle through sheep breeding, so there were a few other connections. It has been very easy and pretty smooth-sailing all the way through.”

More recently, Yabby Dam Farms has come onboard as a client, while Smith has a number of longtime supporters on her books.

“Luckily we have had a few spaces over the last couple of years to do a couple for Pat Driscoll and Yabby Dam Farms, and I have had my regular clients who have been with me from day dot, with the likes of Graeme Iggo, Brent Smith and a few others,” Smith said. “I have been well supported.”

This year Smith will have more skin in the game when she offers her own yearling through the ring in Lot 158, a Captain Crunch filly out of American ideal mare Porscha, who is out of multiple Group One winner De Lovely.

“We have ventured out ourselves and got a couple of broodmares,” Smith said. “It gives us more of an interest and we have got three to go through next year, which is pretty exciting.

“We have got a nice Captain Crunch out of a nice mare who is out of De Lovely. She is a slightly later foal but she is a nice type and great to work with.”

While excited to offer her own yearling, Smith is looking forward to putting 24 of her clients’ yearlings through the sales ring, with the Andersons’ 16 yearling offering making up the majority of her draft.

Their contingent includes Lot 289, a Captaintreacherous colt out of 2024 NZ Pacing Mare of the Yar Imaginary Bet. He is a full-brother to dual Group One winner Captains Mistress and half-brother to 2024 NZ Pacer of the Year and triple Group One winner Merlin.

“He is a lovely colt, who is nice and correct,” Smith said. “He holds himself well and looks a lot like Captains Mistress in both attitude and type. He has nice size and is really well put together. He is quite an intelligent colt, he picks things up really quickly and he is happy to work alongside you.”

Their offering also comprises yearlings out of standout racemares, including six-time Group One winners The Orange Agent (Lot 193) and Spanish Armada (Lot 173), and Group One winners Rocker Band (Lot 163), Supersonic Miss (Lot 179), Ideal Belle (Lot 284), Missandei (Lot 320).

“The Orange Agent was pretty impressive on the track and we have got a nice colt (Bettor’s Delight) out of her this year that is a little bit bigger than what she has had in the past,” Smith said. “He is lovely and light on his feet, is a nice mover and he is quite a powerful colt.

“The Spanish Armada (Captaintreacherous) is an athletic filly. She is one of the nicer ones she has had, she is not too heavy. She likes to be on the move and have a run around. She has a nice stride on her and looks a lovely type.

“The Rocker Band is very strong and has got a lot of presence about him. He is a lovely type.

“We have got a really nice Supersonic Miss colt (Lot 179). Type-wise he is one of the better ones she has had. He is a good size, and is nice and correct. He should sell quite well.

“The Ideal Belle (Lot 284) is a lovely moving filly (Bettor’s Delight). In the round yard she is very light on her feet and likes to get up and go.

“The Missandei colt (Lot 320 – Tactical Landing) is a good size but he is strong and powerful with it. He has got a bit of presence.”

On behalf of the Andersons, Smith will also offer Lot 213, a Captaintreacherous full-brother to six-time Group One winner Millwood Nike; Lot 153, a Bettor’s Delight colt out of Platinum; Lot 148, a Captaintreacherous colt out of Perfect Bet, a half-sister to Ideal Belle; Lot 221 an Art Major colt out of Amazing Me, a full-sister to triple Group One winner Magnificent Storm; Lot 263, an Art Major filly out of Female Assassin; Lot 253, a Captaintreacherous colt out of Dream On Me, a full-sister to eight-time Group One winner Dream About Me, and half-sister to six-time Group One winner Christen Me; Lot 250, a Captaintreacherous colt out of Group One performer Delight In Me; and Lot 273, a Bold Eagle half-sister to Group One performer Lucky Mum.

“The full-brother to Millwood Nike is northern hemisphere bred, not that he looks like that on type,” Smith said. “He is very mature and he is going to be a very strong colt. He has got a little bit of spark. He loves to run in the paddock, he is always active and enjoys himself. He has got a smart way about him.

“The Platinum colt is the oldest in our draft, he was born in August. He is already pretty much 18 months old so he is going to go early you would think. He is very hard to fault, he is a big and impressive colt.

“I quite like the Perfect Bet. She has done him really well for a first foal, he is a bit of a powerhouse. He is not the biggest but is very strong.

“The first foal out of Female Assassin will be worth a look for people and the Dream On Me pedigree-wise is fantastic.
“The Delight In Me has a lot of presence and his full sibling (War Chief) looks like he could be the part. He is a very similar looking colt to him, so I think he should be well received.

“We had a full sibling to the Girls On Film filly through the sale last year. It does sound like this is potentially the last of the Bold Eagles. She is a lovely type, very athletic, is a great mover and she has got a bit of presence.”

Continuing with the trotting theme, Smith will offer two yearling trotters for Yabby Dam Farms, including Lot 142, an E L Titan filly out of Group Two winner Parisian Opera, and Lot 258, a Walner filly out of dual Group Three winner Egee Money.

“The Walner filly is a lovely standout type, has a good attitude and is very hard to fault, she is lovely,” Smith said. “The E L Titan is a lovely filly as well.”

Smith will offer two other trotting-bred yearlings in Lot 168, a full-brother to Group One winner Princess Sadie, and Lot 201, a King Of The North filly out of Valander Miss.

“Princess Sadie was a lovely filly herself and this colt is similar in looks but probably bigger and stronger,” Smith said. “He has a good attitude and is a lovely mover. He does have a good look about him.”

Smith sold Group One winner B D Joe through her 2019 draft and she is delighted to offer his half-brother by Captain Crunch as Lot 186 next week.

“B D Joe was quite an impressive horse, he was a standout type in his era,” Smith said. “We have a brother going through. He is a Captain Crunch and her (Tact Aunty) foals are always pretty hard to fault and they generally have pretty good heart rates and good attitudes. They are always a pleasure to have around because they don’t give you too much grief.”

Smith’s four other yearlings in the sale include Lot 241, a full-brother to four-time Group One winner Amore Vita; Lot 297, a Stay Hungry filly out of Keisha; Lot 309, an Always B Miki colt out of Manzini Art; and Lot 314, a Sweet Lou colt out of Mashika.

“We have a really nice big Art Major out of Castellina Lover. His full-sister Amore Vita was a bit of a superstar, so hopefully he gets a bit of interest,” Smith said. “He is really hard to fault. He has a really cool personality.

“We also have a nice big Stay Hungry filly. I haven’t had a lot to do with them but she is very powerful, correct and it will be interesting to see how she goes.

“The Sweet Lou out of Mashika is hard to fault, and we have a slightly smaller Always B Miki. Quite often they can be big and rangy and take a bit of time, but this fella, who is a first foal, is quite nuggety. He is well put together and I can’t really fault him conformation-wise.”

Smith has been buoyed by the on-farm parades and she is looking forward to the commencement of the Christchurch session of the NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sale on February 18.

“We had a great turnout at the on-farm parade and we have had plenty of other groups through and still have a few more coming through this week,” Smith said. “There is definitely a lot of interest there which is always promising.”

NZB’s 2026 National Standardbred Yearling Sale is taking place this summer at the Karaka Sales Centre on Monday 16 February from 1pm, and at the RDA Building in Christchurch on Wednesday 18 February from 11am.

All horses purchased at the Sale are eligible for NZB Standardbred’s lucrative Harness Million Sales Race Series. The Series consists of principal two-year-old and three-year-old races for colts and geldings, fillies and trotters individually, where NZB Standardbred graduates can contest for their share in a one million dollar prizepool.

From NZB Standardbred