For someone that won $10 million in a Lotto haul, Lou Te Keeti still rues the day he let a homebred yearling slide for $20,000.
Hindsight is an amazing thing in bloodstock and the reason Te Keeti’s mind regularly returns to those lonely minutes in the COVID-affected Karaka ring in 2020 is that the horse in question turned out to be pretty good.
His name is Bold Soul and, off the back of Stakes wins in the Launceston Guineas, Tasmanian Derby and Chairman’s Stakes, the three-year-old will go in search of Group One success in Saturday’s Gr.1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville.
Te Keeti, who breeds and trains from Tauranga in New Zealand, has vivid memories about the young colt her nurtured and eventually presented in Book 2 at Karaka.
Hamish Auret paid $20,000 for the colt, who would eventually find a home with Patrick Payne in Victoria.
“I remember him well because I had three foals by Embellish on the ground at the time and he was probably the scallywag of them,” Te Keeti said.
“He was the more dominant one in the paddock but he was nicely put together and very athletic looking compared to the others, who were quite short coupled and very strong.
“He had a little bit of length about him so I quite liked him.
“Unfortunately when I took him to the sales it was in the COVID years so there were no crowds – no visitors from Australia or the Asian countries.
“We just had to make do and I thought I better let some (yearlings) go to pay for the expenses.
“You kick yourself a bit later, don’t you.”
While he can’t enjoy Bold Soul’s success as an owner or trainer, Te Keeti has been chuffed about the way Bold Soul has franked his methods and though process as a breeder.
Te Keeti paid a mere $5500 for Bold Soul’s dam Twin Soul at the 2019 NZB Karaka May Sale when he was expanding his broodmare band shortly after his $10.3 million windfall.
A daughter of Singspiel that was a three-time winner over 2400m in the UK, Twin Soul finished her racing career with Mick Kent in Victoria before a short lived career as a broodmare, that yielded only two named foals.
As well as the mare, he also bought a share in Embellish, a Group One-winning son of Savabeel that was standing his first season at Cambridge Stud.
“She (Twin Soul) was an English mare, by Singspiel, that someone had bought into the country and she was going up in a dispersal sale so I bought her there,” he said.
“I’ve got shares in Embellish so I put her to that stallion.
“Twin Soul won three races at a mile-and-a-half.
“Unfortunately she died on me so this horse is her last foal.
“I hope he can do it because if he can, it will tick off one of the boxes for me in breeding a Group 1 winner.
“I’ll be over the moon if he can do that.”
