Remarkable breeding partnership ends with Gavelhouse Plus action

Classy mare Rondinella. Photo: Bradley Photographers

A trio of high-quality mares will be offered on Gavelhouse Plus next month, bringing the curtain down on a decorated breeding and racing partnership that has spanned two decades.

Rondinella (NZ) (Ocean Park), Sudbina (NZ) (Almanzor) and Tinnelly (NZ) (O’Reilly) are being put on the market by Haunui Farm and Frantic Bloodstock.

“It’s the end of an era,” Haunui Farm’s managing director Mark Chitty said. “We’re putting up three mares that we own in partnership with Cathy Franich from Frantic Bloodstock.

“We’ve had a really successful racing and breeding partnership that started all the way back in 2006 with Valpolicella (NZ) (Red Ransom). We’ve raced a number of fantastic horses together over the years, like Floria (NZ) (Savabeel), Misstrum (Stratum), Rondinella and Sudbina. We’ve bred many others, including a NZB Filly of the Year in Fix (NZ) (Iffraaj).

“Cathy has decided that she no longer wants to be involved with the breeding side of things and would rather concentrate on racing.

“Rondinella and Sudbina are both in foal to Super Seth, and with everything that’s happened with him this year (relocating to Coolmore in Australia and no longer being as directly accessible to New Zealand breeders), we thought the best way to handle things is to take these mares to the marketplace. The mares all have 2025 foals that will head through to the Karaka yearling sales in January of 2027.

“It’s hard from a valuation point of view – we’ll let the market decide on that. But Gavelhouse Plus has worked well for premium broodmares in the past. We’re mindful of the mares being in foal, so not having an on-site element to the sale is an advantage in that sense, and we’ve seen that broodmares can sell extremely well on the online platforms.

“There’s obviously mixed feelings with it being the end of an era, but it gives buyers an exciting opportunity to secure these three lovely mares.

The two mares in foal to Super Seth are Rondinella and Sudbina.

Rondinella is a daughter of the partnership’s foundation mare Valpolicella, who herself won at Group Three level and is the dam of stakes winners Vavasour (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice), Vilanova (NZ) (Commands) and Celebrity Dream (NZ) (Thorn Park).

Rondinella won four times on the racetrack and was a nine-time stakes placegetter including in the Group One Tancred Stakes (2400m), New Zealand Stakes (2000m) and Sydney Cup (3200m).

She has made a stellar start to her broodmare career, with her first foal He Who Dares (NZ) (Snitzel) selling to Te Akau’s David Ellis for $825,000 in Book 1 of Karaka 2024. He has already earned that back from a nine-start career that has produced placings in the Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1400m), the $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), the $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), the Gr.3 Matamata Slipper (1200m) and the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m). He Who Dares also ran fifth in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m).

“The fillies have been dominant in New Zealand this season, but He Who Dares is arguably the best of the male three-year-olds in New Zealand,” Chitty said. “He made significant money in the sale ring and has gone on to do a very good job on the track so far.

“Rondinella has a colt foal by Super Seth and is back in foal to him again.”

Sudbina is by Almanzor out of Destined (Danehill), which makes her a half-sister to the triple Group Two winner and Group One placegetter Fix. In a 12-start career, Sudbina won on three occasions including the Gr.3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m).

“She’s a lovely young mare, her first foal is by Super Seth and she’s in foal to him again,” Chitty said.

“She’s a half-sister to the NZB Filly of the Year Fix and from an outstanding international Juddmonte family. It’s also notable that she beat the subsequent multiple Group One winner Grail Seeker (NZ) (Iffraaj) when she won the Desert Gold Stakes.”

The unraced Tinnelly is by O’Reilly (NZ) and is a half-sister to Sudbina and Fix. Her two named foals include the highly promising two-race winner Chilling Out (NZ) (Savabeel), and she has subsequently produced fillies by Per Incanto and Paddington.

“Tinnelly is the dam of the exciting Savabeel filly Chilling Out, who ran fifth in the Karaka Millions 3YO and is held in high regard by her trainer Andrew Forsman,” Chitty said.

The auction of Rondinella, Sudbina and Tinnelly will run from May 13 to 20 on Gavelhouse Plus.