Smith sold in the top seller of the session Lnot 139 last year brought a Bettor’s Delight colt out of Group One performer Imagine Me to Kentuckiana Lodge for $270,000, adding to her sale total of $1.36 million, which more than doubled her nearest rival.
While she is proud of her sales results, Smith said her loyal customers are the biggest contributing factor.
“It comes down to having fantastic owners who have given us some pretty impressive bloodlines to work with and who in turn have some standout types,” she said.
“Most of them are born and raised on the farm now, so it’s fun to see them from start to finish, from newborn foal to walking around the sales ring.”
Todd and Fleur Anderson, who operate under the Taffy Ltd banner, have been Smith’s biggest clients in recent years, and Smith has enjoyed their blossoming relationship.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to work with people like Todd and Fleur, who are known as Taffy,” said Smith.
“Todd came to the farm a few years ago and we seemed to get on well and understand things in a similar way, and communication was always very good.
“It turned out he knew my uncle through the sheep farming business, so there were a few other connections. It was very easy and quite smooth.”
More recently, Yabby Dam Farms came on board as a customer, while Smith has a number of long-time supporters to her name.
“Luckily over the last few years we’ve had a few places to do a few for Pat Driscoll and Yabby Dam Farms, and I’ve had my regulars who have been with me since the beginning like Graeme Iggo, Brent Smith and a few others,” Smith said. “I received good help.”
This year, Smith will have more skin in the game as she offers her own yearling through the ring Lot 158a Captain Crunch filly out of the American ideal mare Porscha, who is out of multiple Group 1 winner De Lovely.
“We went out on our own and acquired a few broodmares,” Smith said. “It’s generating more interest and we’ve got three more to go next year, which is quite exciting.
“We got a beautiful Captain Crunch from a nice mare that comes from De Lovely. It is a slightly later foal, but a nice type and nice to work with.”
While she is 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 bulk of her draw.
Their quota includes Lot 289a Captaintreacherous colt from 2024 NZ Pacing Mare of the Yar Imaginary Bet. He is a full brother of the double winner of Group 1 Captain’s Mistress and half-brother to 2024 NZ Pacer of the Year and three-time Group One winner Merlin.
“He’s a beautiful colt, nice and correct,” Smith said. “He holds himself well and is very similar to Captains Mistress in terms of attitude and type. He has a nice size and is very well put together. He is a quite intelligent foal, he picks up things very quickly and likes to work with you.”
Their offering also includes yearlings from notable racing mares, including six-time Group One winner The Orange Agent (Lnot 193) and Spanish Armada (Lnot 173), and Group 1 winners Rocker Band (Lot 163), Supersonic Madam (Lot 179), Ideal Belle (Lot 284), Missandei (Lot 320).
“The Orange Agent was quite impressive on the track and we got a nice colt (Bettor’s Delight) out of her this year who is a little bigger than what she has had in the past,” Smith said. “He is sweet and light-footed, can move well and is a quite 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 in motion and run around. She has a nice stride and looks beautiful.
“The Rocker Band is very strong and has a lot of charisma. He is a nice type.
“We have a very beautiful Supersonic Miss colt (Lot 179). In terms of type he is one of the better ones she has had. He has a good size and is nice and correct. It should sell quite well.
“The ideal beauty (Lot 284) is a beautiful moving filly (Bettor’s Delight). In the round garden she is very light on her feet and likes to get up and go.
“The Missandei foal (Lot 320 – Tactical Landing) has a good size, but it is strong and powerful with it. He has a bit of charisma.”
Smith will also bid on behalf of the Andersons Lot 213a Captaintreacherous full brother of the six-time winner of Group 1 Millwood Nike; Lot 153a Bettor’s Delight colt out of Platinum; Lnot 148a Captaintreacherous colt from Perfect Bet, a half-sister of Ideal Belle; Lnot 221 an Art Major colt out of Amazing Me, a full sister of a three-time Group One winner Beautiful thunderstorm; Lot 263an Art Major filly out of Female Assassin; Lot 253a 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 Christian me; Lof 250a Captaintreacherous colt out of Group One performer Delight In Me; And Lot 273a Bold Eagle half-sister to Group One artist Happy mother.
“Millwood Nike’s full brother was bred in the Northern Hemisphere, not that he looks like that in terms of type,” said Smith. “He is very mature and will become a very strong colt. He has a bit of spirit. He loves to run in the paddock, he is always active and has fun. He has a smart manner.
“The Platinum colt is the oldest in our design, he was born in August. He is already about 18 months old so you would think he will leave early. It is very difficult to fault him, he is a large and impressive colt.
“I like the Perfect Bet very much. She did very well with him as the first foal, he is a bit of a powerhouse. He is not the biggest, but very strong.
“Female Assassin’s first foal will be worth watching for people and the Dream On Me pedigree is fantastic.
“The Delight In Me has a lot of presence and his full brother (War Chief) looks like he could play the role. He looks a lot like him so I think he should be well received.
“We had a full brother or sister to the Girls On Film filly from the sale last year. It sounds like this may be the last of the Bold Eagles. She is a beautiful type, very athletic, has great movement and has a bit of presence.”
Continuing the trotting theme, Smith will offer two yearling trotters for Yabby Dam Farms, including Lot 142an EL Titan filly out of Group Two winner Parisian Opera, and Lot 258a Walner filly out of double Group Three winner Egee Money.
“The Walner filly is a beautiful, striking type, has a good attitude and is very difficult to fault. She is lovely,” said Smith. “The EL Titan is also a beautiful filly.”
Smith will offer two other trot-bred yearlings Lot 168a full brother of the winner of Group One Princess SadieAnd Lot 201a King Of The North filly out of Valander Miss.
“Princess Sadie was a beautiful filly herself and this colt looks the same, but probably bigger and stronger,” Smith said. “He has a good attitude and can move well. He looks good.”
Smith sold the Group 1 winner BD Joe through her 2019 design and she is pleased to offer his half-brother to Captain Crunch as Lot 186 next week.
“BD Joe was quite an impressive horse, he was a standout in his day,” Smith said. “We have a brother who continues. He is a Captain Crunch and her (Tact Aunty) foals are always quite hard to fault and they generally have a pretty good heart rate and good attitude. They are always a pleasure to have around as they don’t give you too much grief.”
Smith’s four other yearlings in the sale include Lot 241a full brother of four-time Group One winner Amore Vita; Lot 297a Stay Hungry filly out of Keisha; Lot 309an Always B Miki colt from Manzini Art; And Lnot 314, a sweet guy from 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 some interest,” said Smith. “He’s really hard to criticize. He’s got a really cool personality.”
“We also have a nice big Stay Hungry filly. I haven’t had much to do with her, 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. They can often be big and slim and take a bit of time, but this guy, who is a first foal, is quite nuggety. He is well put together and I can’t fault him much for conformation.”
Smith is buoyed by the parades on the farm and is looking forward to the start of the Christchurch session of the NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sale on February 18.
“We had a great turnout at the parade at the farm and we’ve had plenty of other groups and a few more coming this week,” Smith said. “There is definitely a lot of interest in it and that is always promising.”
NZB’s 2026 National Standardbred Yearling Sale will take place this summer on the Karaka Sales center on Monday, February 16 from 1 p.m. and in the RDA building Christchurch on Wednesday, February 18 from 11 a.m.
All horses purchased at the Sale are eligible for the lucrative NZB Standardbred prize Take advantage of the Million Sales Race Series. The Series consists of the premier two- and three-year-old races for colts and geldings, fillies and trotters individually, where NZB Standardbred graduates can compete for their share of a $1 million prize pool.
By NZB Standard bred
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