Less sentimental Breckon offers quality yearlings in sale
IT’S NEARLY 20 years since Ken Breckon and his late brother Peter bought a horse at the Karaka yearling sale, then looked round wondering what they were supposed to do with it.
Tomorrow morning he will return to the south Auckland saleyard, marshall his 17 troops, and single-handedly prop up the Australasian Classic Sale by offering 35 yearlings, one quarter of the entire catalogue.
Twenty of the lots are his own, with the rest owned by syndicates or clients, but don’t think that Breckon will stop there. As the number of serious and hobby breeders continues to drop away, the Aucklander is getting ever bigger.
He signalled he meant business in 1995 when he bought the top lot Megaera, who went on to win eight of her 16 starts and $250,000, after seeing the filly featured in a newspaper preview.
And he showed he was in for the long haul when in 2007 he bought the Ohaupo property where Megaera was foaled from breeding guru Sandy Yarndley.
Today, after pouring millions into the property and its stock, Breckon Farms is firmly established as the north’s industry leader.
And now that Breckon has decided it’s time to stop letting sentimentality rule his heart, the quality of his broodmare band is set to get even better.
‘‘There are some mares that I should have culled a lot earlier,’’ Breckon says. ‘‘But they had a lot of sentimental value through Peter and Megaera. But you’ve got to take sentimentality out of racehorses and keep the mares who are performing.’’
Breckon admits to having long held a soft spot for Megaera’s progeny, the reason he’s been so sad that three of the four foals her daughter Dale Elinor produced died through misadventure one way or another.
Breckon expects plenty of interest tomorrow in an Art Major colt (lot 82), whose grand-dam is Dale Elinor.
Breckon is breeding from 23 mares but is steeled to keep culling from the bottom, replacing those who don’t produce winners with others who have been stars on the racetrack.
‘‘Sandy did a great job with this farm and we want to keep raising the bar. I’m looking at buying Group I winning mares, buying them from people who aren’t into the breeding side.’’
Breckon said he had no concerns about expanding his business when a lot of others were dropping out.
Most of his reinvestment has come in the last five years, as he has ploughed stakes won by champion trotter I Can Doosit, in particular, into new stock or farm development.
His Ohaupo property, run by Yarndley’s son Scott, now boasts new races, two irrigation ponds, and they’re two-thirds of the way through finishing all new postand-rail fencing.
More than 1000 new native plants have taken and are already drawing new wildlife into the area.
‘‘The time is right. There’s no better time to breed horses. There’s a lack of racehorses out there, particularly in the North Island, and with the smaller fields have come better stakes.
‘‘The Auckland Trotting Club’s announcement of a 20 per cent rise in stakes is very timely.’’
Breckon said he planned to syndicate more horses this year, because it was a great way to bring new people into the industry at an affordable level.
He formed the Good Sports syndicate late last year and is pleased that six of their eight fillies have already qualified as two-year-olds, three of them debuting last Friday.
Breckon said he had initial concerns that the imminent sale round might suffer from the strong New Zealand dollar.
‘‘ I know the thoroughbred people used that as an excuse at their sale but I think the Australians have no choice but to come because our horses are doing so well in Australia.’’
With Christen Me
having
just won the Hunter Cup and Maxim and Sky Major routing the Victoria Derby, Breckon believes there will be no shortage of Australians here.
‘‘I’m hearing that there will be quite a few from Perth as well as the East Coast and that they’re chasing the Bettor’s Delights in particular.’’
Breckon is sure lot 126 will see plenty of action in the ring, the Bettor’s Delight colt being the last foal from Matter Of Fact who died this year. The half brother to $ 500,000 winner Cincinnati Kid was a strong type, he said.
A Bettor’s Delight colt out of Syriana (lot 22) should also be well found, being from the family of star filly Lauraella, as will lot 34 a Bettor’s Delight filly out of The Blue Lotus, whose dam Zenterfold left the speedy Tintin In America.
But Breckon is equally excited about his trotting bred yearlings.
Lot 14, by Love You out of Rock’n Rhonda is a brother to the ill- fated juvenile star You Rock, and lot 90, is a filly by Pegasus Spur out of the talented mare Fear Factor.
Breckon will also offer the showiest colt tomorrow. Lot 74, named Tough Love, is a chestnut with an almost bleached mane and tail, by Love You out of Classic Armbro, who was looking to be one of the best of champion Merinai’s progeny before being struck down by injury.
Breckon Farms has also prepared a cracking Mach ThreeBraeside Lady colt ( lot 66) for owners Braeden and Caroline Whitelock named Sexton who, as a half brother to top juvenile O Baby, is sure to command a high price.
But one to top them all could be lot 78, a powerful Christian Cullen colt out of Coburg. He is from the family that has left topliners Stunin Cullen, Il Vicolo and Gotta Go Cullen, who now all stand at stud.
‘‘ I’m pretty excited about tomorrow,’’ Breckon says. ‘‘It’s the best draft we’ve had.’’
And Breckon, now with 19 years experience after his initial Karaka sortie, promises to take care of any newcomers who don’t know what they’re doing.
Yearlings parade at Karaka today at 2.30pm with the sale starting tomorrow at 11am.
The NZ Premier sale at Canterbury Agricultural Park is on Tuesday and Wednesday at 1pm.