Half million refused for Altitude

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 22

Half million refused for Altitude

By

J. J. BOYLE

An offer of $500,000 has been made for the brilliant three-year-old, Altitude, but Mr Nelson Bunker Hunt’s colt is not for sale at that price. The offer was made on behalf of a syndicate of New Zealand breeders before he won the New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas last Saturday. Altitude was also the subject of a $200,000 offer after he won the Ryder Stakes at Levin in July. Mr Jim Shannon, who represents Altitude’s owner, Mr Nelson Bunker Hunt, in the Southern Hemisphere, said that if the Magnesia colt went on to win the $lOO,OOO Levin Turf Classic and the

New Zealand Derby, it would be hard to put an estimate on his value, but it could run into millions. “He could be worth $2 million as a New Zealand Derby winner, that considered along with his spring record,” Mr Shannon said yesterday. “If breeders continue to show interest in him for syndication as a sire Mr Hunt would be interested in retaining a substantial number of shares and would jump at the chance of standing him at his Waikato Stud.” Mr Shannon, a New Zealander who has lived in Melbourne for many years, is an old friend of the veteran Riccarton trainer, Clarrie McCarthy.

It is a friendship that extends beyond the time McCarthy took Dalray to Australia to win the Melbourne Cup. When he flew into Christchurch before the NewZealand Two Thousand Guineas Mr Shannon phoned Clarrie McCarthy and advised him to make sure he went to Riccarton. "I think you might see another Dalray if you do,” Mr Shannon told him. Mr Shannon will remain in New Zealand to see Altitude run in the $lOO,OOO Levin race. He hopes to return from Melbourne to see the colt run in the New Zealand Derby.