Who Else Wants To Race a Derby type with Patrick Payne?

At the 2026 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale (Karaka), we went looking primarily for the progeny of Alamanzor, and specifically for a colt whose pedigree suggests that he could be a Guineas/Derby chance at three, and then develop into a Cups horse at four and beyond.

Almanzor is the best horse by the exceptional sire Wootton Bassett. On the track he was Listed winner at two, and a triple Group 1 winner at three. If you want a Derby horse, then it helps if he’s also by a Derby winner, and Almanzor won the French Derby beating a stellar field including the exceptional ZARAK. In the breeding barn, Almanzor currently stands for NZ$30,000, and speaking of Derbies, he’s already sired a VRC Derby winner in MANZOICE.

The colt we wanted was found in the Summer Session of the sale, and at NZ$65,000 we thought he was an easy buy, bearing in mind too, that the average price for this sale was only around half that (NZ$30,612).

So why this colt? Well, he simply fitted all the caveats of our buying criteria.

1. Type - He presents as a beautifully free moving colt with correct conformation and an air of natural presence about him. With a big stride and scope (a good bit of length about him), he shapes like a staying type, and that was the objective for the buying trip to NZ. We were looking for these well grown out and good boned horses that are bred and reared on the finest land that New Zealand is famous for.

2. Stallion – Almanzor has proven that he can do it all stud.  He’s produced big race two-year-old winners, classic winners at three, and cups winners as older horses. In fact, just days after we bought this colt, the 5yo mare MANZOR BLUE won the Wellington Cup over 3200m at Trentham, thus becoming the 30^th individual Stakes Winner for Almanzor!

3. Pedigree - Once we are confident in the product then we delve into the family and the effectiveness of the mating. On this colts pedigree page you have a raft of black type success that more often than now, always increases the odds of a getting a good racehorse. The dam Matuki was lightly raced and is a three quarter sister to the group winner Whistling Dixie. She’s by Pins-a prolific influence as a broodmare sire with the likes of Probabeel an example of this influence.

This cross is rated 20/20 on the highly regarded Group 1 Goldmine, with the matrix suggesting he’ll be most effective from 1600m to 2400m. An October foal, he’ll continue to physically improve, and on the evidence of the sales ring, he has a great brain and demeanour that will serve him well in his training and throughout his racing career.

When it came time to appoint a trainer, we wanted one who shows patience and knows how to develop a Derby winner, so this colt will head to the team of Patrick Payne. What a job Patrick did with Dunkel, the eight-time winner who landed both the Tasmanian and South Australian Derby for the team. Where was he purchased? At the Karaka Sale of course. In fact, Patrick was the leading buyer at the Summer Session at this years Karaka Yearling Sale, and his comments on this horse were “Nice colt with a good walk”.

Rarely does a Saturday go around without the Payne team being represented, and Patrick is renowned as one of the best placers of a horse in Victoria. Patrick rode 19 Group 1 wins as a jockey, and it’s fair to say he'd know a good horse when he sat on one.

Who will ever forget Patrick winning the 2002 Cox Plate on the legendary Northerly? We can but dream that we should be so lucky too….