Over $250,000 for Orchidra

Press, 5 December 1981, Page 22

Over $250,000 for Orchidra

By

J. J. BOYLE

Mrs Sanders, with her brilliant home-bred filly in the background after Orchidra’s memorable first appearance at Riccarton in April, 1977. A few minutes earlier Orchidra had won the Warstep Stakes by four lengths.

The high-class race mare, Orchidra, has been sold at what is believed to be a New Zealand record price, in excess of $250,000. In the face of Australian competition, three Auckland businessmen, Messrs Michael Fay, David Richwhite, and Bob Linton, have purchased the eight-year-old Oncidium mare from Mrs Dorothy Sanders, of Clyde, Central Otago. Orchidra has won 19 races and $163,750. Her most recent success was in the Canterbury Gold Cup in race record time at the New

Zealand Cup meeting at Riccarton last month. Orchidra is now in the same ownership as Mellseur, another brilliant success in her racing for Otago interests. Messrs Fay, Richwhite, and Linton are aiming to set up a stud with a band of top mares which will be mated with leading stallions with the aim of promoting New Zealand thoroughbreds on the world market. Orchidra will remain in the Woodville stable of Noel Eales until next breeding season. Eales, who has prepared Orchidra for all her racing, will give her a carefully

selected programme before winding down her distinguished career. Orchidra has already won the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes at Te Aroha three times, and that race is likely to be on her programme again this season. She has also won three Galaxy Stakes, and in one of them, at Riccarton last autumn, she established a course record of 2min 01;37s for 2000 m. Her complete record at Riccarton was four wins and two seconds from six starts. The sale of Orchidra was negotiated by Mr Stan Allender, of Dalgety Bloodstock, Christchurch.