Day two at the 2020 NZ Bloodstock sales at Karaka will hold a special place in CatWalk history. It was the culmination of a story that began back in 2018 when a Brazen Beau stallion service donated by Darley was auctioned at our Remarkable charity dinner. The successful bidders were Kevin and Joanna Hickman of Valachi Downs Stud who chose to put the mare Stepanova to the stallion. The generosity did not stop there with Kevin and Joanna deciding to put the resulting filly through the 2020 Karaka sales with all proceeds coming to CatWalk for spinal cord injury research. What happened over the next few months continued to delight and amaze us as equine industry specialists joined the cause by covering her costs such as feeding, vet work, farrier, bodywork and supplementation. NZB waived all entrance fees and commission at the sales and Love Racing have waived all fees for her New Zealand racing career. The filly was beautifully prepared by the team at Valachi Downs and entered the ring on Monday at 1.30 pm with a large crowd of supporters in the audience. Bidding was strong with the hammer falling at a phenomenal figure of $200,000 to the buyers Brendan and Jo Lindsay of Cambridge Stud with strong CatWalk supporters, Tony Rider and Guy Lowry, as the underbidders. There were emotional scenes as the crowd clapped and the filly was led from the ring to start the next chapter of her life at Cambridge Stud under the guidance of Henry Plumptre and his team. We will be continuing to follow her progress as she grows and we look forward to seeing her lining up on the track in the future.
This is a story of overwhelming generosity and in the belief that funding the crucial research will lead to a cure for spinal cord injury – our sincerest thanks to everyone involved.
NRM, Matamata Veterinary Service, BetaVet, Savvy Touch, NZTB Marketing
