Meet the agents

Bloodstock Agent Profile - Phil Cataldo

From rough times to multiple Group 1 successes

Phill Cataldo survived a tough apprenticeship before establishing himself as a successful bloodstock agent.

The first decade was a financial struggle, but hard graft and perseverance have subsequently been rewarded with multiple Group 1 victories across New Zealand, Australia and Asia.

“I was broke for about the first 10 years of doing it and got a little bit of traction by chasing every lead and was then lucky enough to get an introduction to Terry Henderson through Lee Freedman around the late 1990s, early 2000s,” Cataldo said.

“At the same time, I managed to get into the Waterhouse camp and that was definitely my big break.

“I think the second or third horse that they bought through me was Coco Cabanna, who won the Oaks and the Metropolitan.

“That has continued to this day and this year we had the Brisbane Cup winner Campaldino.”

In between times, Cataldo has sourced top-flight winners including Descarado (Caulfield Cup, Caulfield Stakes) and Herculian Prince (Metropolitan) for the stable.

“It’s been a long, ongoing successful association, and it’s a pleasure working with Rob and Gai Waterhouse,” he said.

Cataldo grew up in Wellington with his interest in racing sparked at an early age.

“My Dad Johnny owned horses in partnership with the Muollo brothers, so I was a regular racegoer,” Cataldo said.

“In the school holidays I would go to the stables wherever the horses were trained and work there and do race day duties.

“My Dad was in the fishing business with the Muollos and they’ve gone on to bigger and greater things with their sons Luigi, who has Novara Park, and Tony is one of the biggest private owners in Australia.”

After finishing his education, Cataldo joined the family firm before changing career tack.

“I got an introduction to some guys from Hong Kong that were looking for horses in New Zealand, and it really went from there,” he said.

“I established my bloodstock business in 1995 and at that stage I was married and living on the Kapiti Coast. My father-in-law was Bill Wyllie and he was a big help in getting me started.”

In 2015, Cataldo made the decision to move north to Cambridge to further his imposing record of having, so far, bought 28 individual Group 1 winners of 45 Group 1 races.

“Normally, I would buy between 20 and 30 yearlings a year for clients, but the tried horse market through trials and racehorses, is my core business,” he said.

“It’s more difficult now, the tried horses are harder to find and much harder to buy. The people that own the horses now have been through the hard times, there was a period when the stake money was low and costs were high.

“There were less horses coming into the system, more syndicated horses which are harder to buy and the foal crop has dropped.

“When I was coming up to the Waikato 10 years ago to a big trial day at Cambridge or Te Aroha, there might be between five and 10 horses available to buy on the day and now you might be lucky if there’s one or two.”

Technology has also had a major effect on doing business in the tried horse market.

“On race day and trial day now, the races are on the internet within 15 minutes and there’s buyers from Australia and Asia on the websites and as soon as something puts its hand up, they are straight on the phone to the owner or trainer,” Cataldo said.

“Of course, when they’re doing that, they can’t see the horse in the flesh and that’s to my advantage.

“I’m Johnny on the spot and I’ve built up a lot of contacts and have a proven track record.”

Q & A

Do you remember the first horse you bought? “It was called Superfluous off Allan Sharrock and he went to Hong Kong and won three or four races up there.”

Do you have any sale day superstitions? “Not really, it’s all about the athlete for me and I buy on type rather than pedigree. When you look at the horse, you have to weigh up whether will they stand up to vigorous training and stay sound and have some longevity.”

Best horse you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “Definitely it’s Mr Brightside with his record and I think I’m Thunderstruck was every bit as good as him, but he got cut down in his prime.”

Best value for money purchase? “Probably Gingernuts, I paid $5000 for him as a weanling and Mr Brightside was $22,000 so I should have kept him for myself!”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “I love High Chaparral in a pedigree, whether it be the sire line or dam line, that’s something I tend to gravitate to.”

Favourite current sire and of yesteryear? “At the moment I’m a fan of Ace High and I think the best is yet to come for him. Of the younger brigade, I think Circus Maximus is a really good chance.”

Most memorable day at the races? “Probably the day that Vin DeDance won the New Zealand Derby. Jason Waddell’s family and mine have been lifelong friends and Terry Henderson was there as well.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile- Ed Stapleton

World Cup trip a winner for Stapleton

A social trip to New Zealand proved to be memorable on the personal front for Irishman Ed Stapleton and the forerunner for his career in the bloodstock world.

He ventured Down Under for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and during an extended stay met future wife Katherine and was subsequently drawn back to the thoroughbred business.

“A six-week trip turned into three years, I met my now wife and she then moved to Cambridge in the UK where she did her PhD,” Stapleton said.

“Obviously, Cambridge is next door to Newmarket and that’s when I got back into the racing industry full-time.”

While Stapleton didn’t have family ties to racing, his formative years were spent in a rich thoroughbred environment.

“I was brought up on a farm in County Carlow in Ireland, very much horse country and Willie Mullins country. I was surrounded by racing but nothing personally in my own family,” he said.

“I rode out as a teenager at one of the local yards, but that said I didn’t pursue a career until later.”

Stapleton was involved in business development in software before he made the transition to thoroughbreds in 2014, and three years later launched his bloodstock agency.

“I started in the Northern Hemisphere under my own name in 2017 and concentrated primarily on horses in training and it’s continued that way,” he said.

“For example, the main Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale offers 1600 horses over five days and the last four years in a row I’ve been the main purchaser numerically, I’ll buy 25 or 30 out of that sale.

“They will go to all corners of the globe, all around Europe, the Middle East, the US and hopefully a couple back down here.

“That’s essentially the main business there, high volume and middle of the road value.”

Now based in Auckland, Stapleton remains a frequent traveller to the other side of the world where his agency has retained representation in England and Ireland.

“We spend the majority of the year here, but I do a considerable amount of travelling to the European sales,” he said.

“My wife is a New Zealander and lectures in art history at the University of Auckland, and I lined up with the Bloodstock Agents’ Federation in the year gone past as I’ve now become a permanent resident of New Zealand.

“Down here, my business model is slightly different, we do a lot of pinhooking of weanlings into yearlings and yearlings into two-year-olds and Ready to Run types.

“I would be involved in some that we take through to trials and that’s because we don’t have so many exits points from here for horses that are in training.

“In Europe, there’s about 20 or 25 different jurisdictions that you can sell on to or downgrade to, so the business model here has to be different.”

Stapleton enjoys the close-knit thoroughbred industry in New Zealand and marketing it abroad.

“I think everyone realises that you have to connect and get along to get ahead, my angle down here is promoting New Zealand to international markets and endeavouring to bring in international stock for racing and breeding,” he said.

“There’s a lot of good quality shuttle stallions coming down here and that opens up a bigger market for fillies and future broodmares that can be imported here for people to then utilise with those stallions.”

Q & A

Do you remember the first horse you bought? “The first in New Zealand was from Gordon Calder at the weanling sale in 2020 and Gordon and I became good friends. It was a horse by Niagara who unfortunately broke down in the paddock, but it did spawn a very good relationship with a man I have a lot of respect for.”

Do you have any sale day superstitions? “No, I’m not superstitious, but I do love trying to buy the first and last lot in every sale. It hasn’t been that successful down here, but at many of the horse sales in Europe it’s worked well.”

Best horse you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “The best I horse I hope I’ve bought down here is Precambrian (A$60,000) from the Great Southern Weanling Sale. He’s by So You Think and is still coming through the ranks with Mark Walker in Australia. Te Akau were taken by one of his trials at Avondale and purchased him from us. I did bring in a stallion which I’m quite excited about as well, Ancient Spirit for White Robe.”

Best value for money purchase? “We bought a $16,000 Portland Sky colt that was subsequently bought by Bryce Tankard at the yearling sales for $100,000. In Australia, we had a Toronado colt that was purchased as a weanling for $60,000 that made $400,000 as a yearling.”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “While I do use stats on nicks and buy into that to a certain extent, I’m more a buyer on type.”

Favourite current sire and of yesteryear? “I have huge respect for So You Think, he was phenomenal and will be massively missed. Here, I think Almanzor is exceptionally good value, and I’ve always been a big fan of the late O’Reilly.”

Most memorable day at the races? “When I was 14 my parents allowed me to travel from Ireland to Cheltenham and stayed with family in Birmingham. I backed a horse in the first race called Sausalito Bay, I had 100 pounds for the four days and put 20 pounds on him and he won at 20 to 1.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile - Bruce Perry

Perry following proud family tradition 

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Bruce Perry’s long-standing involvement in the bloodstock industry was a done deal from the outset.

The die was cast when the Masterton-based identity was born into a racing family and never considered an alternative career path after growing up on the outskirts of Feilding where parents Herrick and Judy owned and operated Highden Stud.

“They were breeders and at the end stood Hula Town, who they also bred, so I got the bug very early on,” Perry said.

At the end of his high school education, he worked for 12 months for the late Joe Yorke, a respected breaker, pre-trainer and bloodstock agent, before furthering his experience in Australia at Widden Stud and with leading trainer Neville Begg.

Perry then travelled further afield to Europe and on his return worked at Haunui Farm before settling in the Wairarapa with wife Anna, whose parents owned and operated Riddlesworth Stud.

“In 1987, I set up my bloodstock business and I had a lot of help from Ginger Tankard and Ken Sheeran, who were Waikato Bloodstock at the time, and a number of Australians like Kieran Moore,” he said.

“It was a lot of hard work and I came into it just before the sharemarket crash, so it was interesting times and very few people buying horses.”

In the early 2000s, Perry met Lib Petagna and they have since enjoyed a highly successful association with Perry managing the Wellington businessman’s bloodstock portfolio.

“Lib was involved with Clean Sweep, who won the 2000 Guineas in 2004 and I managed Ambitious Owner for a Hong Kong client, and he ran second,” he said.

Petagna, who now also owns Elsdon Park, has been involved in multiple Group One winners with Perry sourcing many of his elite level success stories.

Earlier this year, Bruce Perry Consultancy was launched and runs independently from the bloodstock side of the business.

It offers impartial advice to breeders, owners, farms, and prospective investors.

“I try and support new people and those already involved with insights, views and different opinions,” Perry said.

“There’s definitely a place for it and it’s been well received. As bloodstock agents, we see all sides of the industry, and I try to help navigate people through it and make a success of it and not repeat the mistakes we all make on the journey.”

Perry has served as President of the Masterton Racing Club, the New Zealand Bloodstock Agents’ Federation, a councillor on the NZTBA, the NZTR Members’ Council and a Board member of NZTM.

Daughter Becca has also followed in the family tradition and is fully immersed in the industry.

“She works part-time for me and is the main principle in her insurance business, Taylor Perry Consulting, which she took over from Cherry Taylor, and they’ve got a very good client base,” he said.

Q & A

Do you remember the first horse you bought? “It was Rising Gown, a broodmare I bought in a private deal and she went on to leave three winners.”

Do you have any sale day superstitions? “No, I’m not superstitious and just go about the business and trust my gut feeling. If there are any doubts then walk away, that’s rule number one.”

Best horse you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “On the world stage, it has to be Ambitious Dragon. On his day, he was as good as any horse in the world.”

Best value for money purchase? “Ambitious Dragon again, he won more than $10 million and was a $50,000 purchase and Lucia Valentina won over A$4 million, and she was a $60,000 purchase.”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “Not really, but I do love the Last Tycoon blood.”

Favourite sire? “Being involved in the purchase of Savabeel was pretty special and I’ve got huge satisfaction out of the purchase of Per Incanto with Sam Williams.”

Most memorable day at the races? “Without a doubt it was being at Randwick on Champions’ Day when Lucia Valentina won the Queen Elizabeth and Sofia Rosa won the Australian Oaks within the space of an hour. Lucia was a $60,000 buy and Sofia Rosa was $65,000.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile- Kane Jones

Perfect timing launches NZB career

Kane Jones’ timing was on the money when he sounded out employment possibilities with New Zealand Bloodstock.

Toward the end of his student days, he contacted the Karaka company who responded positively, and he’s since risen to the senior position of Bloodstock Sales Manager.

“I went to Hawera High School and then to Massey University in Palmerston North, I knew my limitations early in the piece and that I didn’t have the capacity to be a vet, so I chose Animal Science and got a degree in that,” Jones said.

“One of the best things I ever did was to email Andrew Seabrook at NZB about six months prior to graduating and asked if he could keep me on the radar.

“To his credit he did, and it was fortuitous that a position became available in air freight just as I was completing my final exam.

“I got an email from the manager Greg Northcott who asked me apply. I did and a few days later I had the job.”

That was in 2009, and Jones was a quick and willing learner during his nine years in the role.

“It was a great base, and I worked under and with some really good people and met a lot of our clients and people we deal with on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

“I looked after all of Asia and the Northern Hemisphere, except for Hong Kong, and that was when Singapore was very, very busy.

“We had flights there every few weeks and also sent a lot of horses to Malaysia, Macau, mainland China and South Korea.

“It was a very busy logistics job and very thankful that I did get on the planes now and then and visited all those countries.”

Fourteen years later, Jones jumped at the opportunity to join NZB’s bloodstock department.

“Andrew (Seabrook) knew I had a desire to be in the bloodstock team and when a position became available, I was given first option,” he said.

“I started as a bloodstock rep working under Danny Rolston and was involved in yearling inspections and selections, promoting the sales and assisting clients with their purchases, portfolio management, advice and touched on valuations and various other aspects of bloodstock.”

In 2023, Jones was appointed Bloodstock Sales Manager following Rolston’s departure to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

“I’m very, very grateful to have worked under Danny and have all the respect in the world for him, both professionally and personally,” he said.

“When he told me was leaving it was a bit of a shock, but jt certainly opened a door for me and I’m really enjoying the challenge.

“I’m still involved in the same tasks and oversee the bloodstock team, which is a small core until with my team of Andrew Buick and Patrick Cunningham.

“In the wider bloodstock team, we’ve also got John Cameron and beyond that a number of agents and reps around the country and the world.

“My role on the Bloodstock Agents’ Federation is different to the independent members, in that I represent the sales company and the other bloodstock agents at NZB who all do an outstanding job.”

Jones hails from Taranaki where he developed an early passion for the thoroughbred game.

“I was born and raised in Hawera where my parents Wayne and Liz had a small farm, I grew up around horses, and they always had a racehorse or broodmare in a paddock,” he said.

“I always enjoyed helping Dad out and going to trackwork with him.

“I’ve had a passion for horses from a young age and have ridden, but never really had that desire and felt much more comfortable on the ground.”

As soon as he turned 18, Jones furthered his involvement.

“I started to breed and race horses with the family and that always makes it more special,” he said.

Q & A

Do you remember the first horse you bought? “It was Alpha Pukeko with my father and we bought him as a yearling in Australia for A$31,000, he won six of his 24 starts and was stakes placed.”

Do you have any sale day superstitions? “Not as such, but when I’m inspecting horses I write certain characteristics and features in certain parts of the catalogue page, I don’t know if that’s a superstition or bordering on OCD.”

Best horse(s) you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “During COVID, I did recommend and buy Tokyo Tycoon ($50,000) as a weanling for an Australian-based client. He went on to win the Karaka Millions and was champion two-year-old. My family also bred Lim’s Solitaro under the Onyx Thoroughbreds banner and sold him out of the trials, he won the Singapore Triple Crown and beat the older horses in the Raffles Cup.”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “Not really, but I like to see a yearling out of a good broodmare sire and successful broodmare sires right down the page.”

Most memorable day at the races? “When Alpha Pukeko won his first race, it was a midweek race at New Plymouth and I don’t think I’ve ever screamed so loud, I’ll never forget that day. Also, when Tokyo Tycoon won the Karaka Millions was so memorable for different reasons, but very proud.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile- Dean Hawthorne

Experience gives Hawthorne winning hand

Thoroughbreds dominated Dean Hawthorne’s life from an early age and his subsequent multi-faceted involvement had him expertly placed to make his mark as a respected bloodstock agent.

From working with stallions, pre-training and breaking-in to sales preparations, he had put together a deep and varied CV before launching Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock.

His background also includes an international three-day eventing career that earned him New Zealand representation.

Horses were in Hawthorne’s blood as father Norm operated Paramount Stud, home to leading Group 1 stallions In The Purple and Diplomatic Agent among others.

“Paramount was in its heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I was brought up there in Hastings and went to Rathkeale College in Masterton,” he said.

“When I left school, I wasn’t clever enough to do the university thing, so I went to the freezing works for a while and rode showjumpers and worked on the farm.

“I was going pretty well eventing and went and worked for Mark Todd in England in 1987 and during that time Paramount got caught up in the share market crash.”

That outside force resulted in Hawthorne returning to New Zealand.

“We had to sell the farm and most of the stock and relocated to Cambridge and my brother and I leased Middle Park Stud,” he said.

“We formed a company and got hold of a couple of stallions to lease, Half Iced was one, and then Patrick Hogan bought Middle Park.

“We moved to Fieldhouse Stud and leased that for about five years before I went out on my own and got a contract to break in horses for Peter Keating and Ra Ora Stud, about 30 of them.

“I got some cash together and leased a breaking and pre-trained operation off Cherry Taylor back in the early 1990s.

“I did that for about 15 years and bought another farm at Matangi, which we used as a spelling block, and was riding eventers at the same time and made the Olympic squad for Barcelona.”

While that sadly didn’t eventuate, Hawthorne’s business did take off.

“The horse did a tendon, so I didn’t get on the plane in the end and carried on breaking in horses and we got to probably be the biggest breaker in the country for years,” he said.

“We helped pioneer the modern day Ready to Run Sale, there were probably five of us at that time and I did the breeze-ups from the early 1990s through to about four or five years ago.”

Hawthorne traded as Anzac Lodge, a Waikato property purchased through the success of his two-year-old sale involvement and led to another major event in his career.

“That’s how I sold Show No Emotion to Jonathan Munz, I had bought him for $10,000 and sold him for good money and he ended up winning the Ascot Vale, which is now the Coolmore,” he said.

Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock was subsequently launched and continued his successful association with Munz’s GSA Bloodstock, which has its headquarters at Pinecliff on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.

“I have been managing his portfolio for 20 years now, the bloodstock side of the business got that big and fortunately Sam Beatson, who does a great job, came along and sent all the breaking side of the business to him.

“I have three major jobs now, Jonathan has about 100 mares so that’s full on and manage that side of it and do all the sale work for him.

“Lindsay Park is probably my next biggest client and do all the yearling sale and two-year-old sale work for them and I’m also the New Zealand representative for William Inglis and I’ve probably looked at 450 yearlings this year to go to Australia.”

Q & A

Do you remember the first horse you bought? “It was a funny story, I sold a showjumper to Japan in the mid-90s and I had three rides at the one-day event championship at Pukekohe and I fell off all of them. There was no showjumping the next day, so I went to the weanling sale and bought a Success Express colt for $5000 and took him to the yearling sale and he made $55,000.”

Do you have any sale day superstitions? “No, I’m not superstitious at all.”

Best horse(s) you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “I purchased Super Seth (A280,000) for Jonathan and he won the Caulfield Guineas and Little Brose (A$200,000) who won a Blue Diamond for the Hayes boys.”

Best value for money purchase(s)? “I bought a broodmare for Jonathan called Purely Spectacular for A$300,000 carrying a sister to Stratum Star, who had already won a Group 1, and we sold about A$4 million worth of horses out of her. I also bought Derryn for A$110,000 and he won A$800,000 and turned out to be a very handy stallion.”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “They come and go, you’ve got Zoustar/Snitzel and Zoustar/Fastnet Rock, but I’ve always been internationally partial to Dubawi over Sadlers Wells blood.”

Favourite current sire and of yesteryear? “Super Seth has to be the favourite at the moment and      In The Purple stood at Paramount. He was a great sire of stayers and always had runners in the big Cups in Australia, he was good to our family.”

Most memorable day at the races? “When Super Seth won the Caulfield Guineas and we had Groundswell who was third and Southbank just got beaten in the Thousand Guineas.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile- John White

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Iconic stallion makes his mark on agent

Sir Tristram could be a mean and unpredictable character, but a forgiving John White will always be in debt to the superstar stallion.

The multiple champion sire possessed a notoriously nasty streak and always required vigilance and careful handling.

“I went to Cambridge Stud when it first opened and I was Sir Tristram’s groom for five of the six years I was there and he was a bastard, but he made me a horseman,” White said.

“I was very happy go lucky, but you had to be on your toes. He was tough, but at the same time I’ve got a photo by Brian de Lore of me leaning over the gate and giving Sir Tristram a kiss.”

Experience gained at the iconic nursery was a forerunner to the success he was later to enjoy after opening John White Bloodstock in Cambridge nearly three decades ago.

 White was born and grew up in Christchurch where the first racing seeds were sown.

“My grandfather used to take me to the trots at Addington on Saturday afternoons when I was a little fellow. I had to sit with Nana while he went down and had a beer with his mates,” he said.

“Later on when I was about 12 or 13, I worked first thing in the morning and took one or two horses to the track at Riccarton for Bill Beck and after that I did weekend work and holidays with John Barr.”

On finishing his education at Lincoln High School, White worked in the standardbred industry at Roydon Lodge Stud and at the freezing works.

“In 1972, I went to Melbourne and worked for Angus Armanasco for four months, Keith Hawtin was there at the same time,” he said.

“I came home and went back to the freezing works was still going to races before I came up north and worked for a year at Blandford Lodge, David Benjamin employed me and when he left, I went to Pirongia Stud for Jack Macky for a year.”

Cambridge Stud was to follow before White and wife Jan ran a dairy.

“The Allen brothers at Allegra Park headhunted me to work for them and I sold the shop not long after and was their yearling manager for six years,” he said.

White set up his bloodstock business in 1998, drawing on the numerous contacts made through previous years across New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong.

“That was the key to it all, I did pre-inspection work at all the sales in Australia for Graeme Rogerson and the like, and Bevan Laming has been buying horses off me for 20-odd years,” he said.

 “I did horses for the Tai brothers in Hong Kong for 20-odd years, William Tai died 18 months ago and he was my main man and found all the people who had permits there.

“We worked in together and bought horses for Dennis Yip and they went to other places, to David Hayes and Gary Moore, who was in Macau at the time.”

White, who also bred the 1984 Group 1 South Australia Oaks winer Neliska, has sourced more than 150 individual winners for Hong Kong and is now taking a more laid-back approach.

“I’ve still got clients, but I’m 71 now and enjoying a quieter life and racing a couple of horses as well,” he said.

Q & A

Do you remember the first horse you bought? “It was a horse called French Connection who went to Hong Kong. He was by Catrail and I bought him off Murray Baker and he was the first winner Dennis Yip trained. I had bought and raced horses for myself before that.”

Do you have any sale day superstitions? “No, not really but I went to take a photo of one of my horses before a race and my wife said you can’t do that, but what will be, will be.”

Best horse you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “Hill Of Grace (G1 Australia Stakes), I bought her (85,000) as a yearling for Terry Jarvis.”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “Not really, I look for all the top sires in the pedigrees and anything out of a Zabeel or Sir Tristram mare.”

Favourite current sire and of yesteryear? “At the moment Savabeel and Super Seth is the best young chance and then Sir Tristram and Le Filou.”

Most memorable day at the races? “Any day you have a winner is a good one.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile-David Ellis

Social outing lit fuse for decorated career

A day at the races more than half a decade ago proved the catalyst for David Ellis to immerse himself in the bloodstock world.

While the Te Akau supremo always had a love of animals, his head wasn’t turned by thoroughbreds until a social outing in 1971.

“In my first year out of school I went to Flock House, an agricultural school nine miles out of Bulls, and the principal there was JJ Stewart who was the All Black coach,” Ellis said.

“He said you can have your first weekend off this year so go home for Easter.

“In those days you wrote letters, no emails or texts back then, and I wrote to my girlfriend in Auckland and said I’m coming up and what would you like to do.

“She said why don’t we go to the movies one day, the Easter Show and go to the races one day. I went with $12 in my pocket and that was enough in those days for a few bets, lunch and a few beers.

“I went home with $84 and I thought this is the greatest game in the word, I was just hooked from that day on.”

Ellis’ choice of career path was a unique one, given his background.

“I was born and bred and went to school in Auckland and am the only one in racing in my family,” he said.

After Flock House, Ellis gained a Diploma Degree in Agriculture, which required three years practical farming experience, from Massey University in 1975.

“I finished uni and bought my first farm in 1979 and subsequently bought eight neighbours out,” he said.

“It went from 500 acres to 4000 and now we winter 2200 cattle, 2600 breeding ewes, 900 ewe hoggets and about 150 horses.”

The racing side of the powerful Te Akau operation was spawned following a solitary celebration.

“When I won my first race in 1978 (Magnum), I raced the horse on lease with my trainer Bill Ford,” Ellis said.

“Afterwards, he said he had to saddle up his next runner and I was there having a drink on my own and thought this isn’t much fun, I would much rather race horses with other people and that’s how I did it.

“I bought my first property in Matamata in 1986, and appointed Roger James as my first trainer.”

Ellis and his Te Akau operation have enjoyed remarkable success across New Zealand and Australia and in the now defunct jurisdiction of Singapore.

“We’ve had 406 black type wins and 103 Group 1 wins and all bar five I’ve either bred or bought,” he said.

Ellis’ achievements were acknowledged in 2017 when awarded New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s Outstanding Contribution to Racing Award, in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) and in 2025 was inducted into the NZ Racing Hall of Fame.

He has dominated the buying bench at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale for the last two decades, which has translated into an extraordinary record in the juvenile event attached to the sale.

Te Akau has won eight of the last nine editions of the Listed Karaka Millions 2YO Classic.

“One of the other things I love most is seeing young people that have got talent be given opportunities,” he said.

“Mark Walker came to work for me when he left school and there’s also been Jamie Richards and now Sam Bergerson, Reece Trumper and Hunter Durant, who runs our South Island stable.”

Q & A

Do you remember the first horse you bought? “It was a Sovereign Edition filly called Te Akau Princess and Bill Ford told me it was the slowest horse he’d ever trained. I bought her for $60,000 and sold her for $450,000 because she was such a beautifully bred filly.”

Do you have any sale day or race day superstitions? “No, not at all.”

Best horse(s) you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “Imperatriz (A$360,000), Melody Belle ($57,500) and Avantage ($210,000) won 33 Group 1 races between them. Then there’s Probabeel ($380,000) and Te Akau Shark ($230,000). Gingernuts ($42,500) would have gone to the next level too if hadn’t hurt himself and he’s still enjoying life on the farm.”

Best value for money purchase(s)? “King’s Chapel was a $35,000 purchase and was the Horse of the Year and Te Akau Nick was $40,000.”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “I do a lot of research on crosses and love a broodmare sire like Fastnet Rock.”

Favourite current sire and of yesteryear? “We’ve had more success winning Group races with Savabeel than anyone else and Encosta De Lago is an old favourite.”

Most memorable day at the races? “When Distinctly Secret won the Kelt and one day in Sydney we won two Group 1s in half an hour with Probabeel and Te Akau Shark.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile-Chris Rutten

Expert eye for young equine talent

Chris Rutten established his bloodstock agency after more than three decades operating a successful breaking-in and pre-training operation.

It proved to be a seamless transition and from limited budgets can boast an excellent strike rate with his purchases, including top-flight winners Vespa and Yourdeel who were both awarded champion New Zealand juvenile status.

Vespa triumphed in the G1 Diamond Stakes off the back of claiming the Listed Karaka Millions 2YO Classic while Yourdeel won both the G1 Diamond Stakes and G1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes and finished runner-up in the Karaka Millions.

Scott Base was another major success story who landed the thick end of the stake in the Karaka Millions 3YO Classic and was a multiple Group 2 winer.

Born and schooled on the Kapiti Coast, Rutten hasn’t strayed far from his roots.

“I’m still here and it’s a beautiful property, we’ve got 110 acres and we love the lifestyle,” he said.

Rutten isn’t from a racing family but was quicky hooked from an early age.

“I did pony club and was showjumping and doing equestrian to a good level with a few national titles,” he said.

“I didn’t go overseas and decided to make a career here when I started working with thoroughbreds.

“I became very good friends with John Norwood, I was working his horses and he asked me to set up a pre-training and breaking-in establishment, so I did that for about 10 years.”

Rutten subsequently gained an insight into the movie world before resuming his thoroughbred career.

“I got approached to train the horses for the Lord Of The Rings movie and did that for two and a-half year or three years,” he said.

“I got back into racing after that and got busy with it straight away. There were a lot more horses in the Central Districts then, we had Murray Baker, Bruce Marsh and Noel Eales and they all had big stables.

“Bruce was a major client and one of my first, I spent a lot of time with him and picked up a lot from him and those guys along the way.”

He made the decision around 2010 to pursue a different path in the industry and subsequently established Chris Rutten Bloodstock and quickly earned a reputation as a respected judge of yearlings.

“I’ve pre-trained and broken in an awful lot of horses over 33 years, it was a big operation and always had around 65 or 70 horses here,” he said.

“About 15 years ago, I decided to get the numbers down, it was time to back my own judgment and buy, sell and trade horses and specialise that way.

“I didn’t want to be so busy all the time, it was time to take things a bit easier and looking at and selecting horses is something I really, really enjoy.

“It’s what I’ve been doing all my life really, when you’re riding and working them, you’re looking at them all the time and seeing all the different types of horses and pick up on it all.”

Rutten has also forged a successful association with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, with G3 Gloaming Stakes winner Raf Attack among his purchases for their Sydney stable.

He attends all New Zealand sales and international sales on request and buys across all budgets.

“I’ve had a lot of clients over the years and made a lot of contacts in the game,” Rutten said.

“I like to look at nearly every horse and if I like it, then look at the breeding, weighing up the stallions and dams on the pedigree page and black type performers in the family.

“I can be forgiving at times if I really like the horse and can see it’s not going to be an issue in the future.”

Q & A

Do you have any sale day superstitions? “No, certainly not, not into any of that.”

Best horse(s) you’ve ever bought or being associated with? “Vespa ($34,000), Yourdeel ($100,000) and Scott Base ($70,000). I’ve worked with and broken in a lot of very good horses, including Jimmysstar (multiple Group 1 winner of more than A$6 million).”

Gai Waterhouse Raf Attack

Best value for money purchase(s)? “Probably have to be Vespa who ended up winning more than $970,000.”

Do you have a favourite nick/cross when sourcing yearlings? “Not as such, I do look at type first and then assess the pedigree. We all know that good horses can come from anywhere.”

Favourite current sire and of yesteryear? “Savabeel is one of the best, Satono Aladdin’s doing a good job and Sword Of State and Noverre among the younger ones, we’ve got a good group of competitive stallions here. Dundeel was, and still is, a very good sire.”  

Most memorable day at the races? “John (Norwood) and I raced Touche and when he ran third in the Karaka Million and it was like winning it to us. Vespa did win it the following year, so that was obviously a huge thrill.”

Bloodstock Agent Profile- Michael Otto

Coming soon

Bloodstock Agent Profile-Bryce Tankard

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