Do You Just caps successful run for Carlaw Park
Richard Edmunds - Raceform • May 22nd, 2025 3:57 PM • 3 min read
Carlaw Park has enjoyed a series of successes on the racetrack and in the sale ring over the last few months, culminating in a six-length runaway by Do You Just in the Listed Champagne Stakes at Ellerslie.
Do You Just is an exciting two-year-old colt by So You Think, trained by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott for an ownership group headed by Waikato Stud. Saturday’s heroics made him only the fourth two-year-old stakes winner in So You Think’s illustrious stud career.
Carlaw Park bought Do You Just for A$150,000 from the 2023 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale on the Gold Coast. They later offered him as a yearling in their Book 1 draft at Karaka 2024, where Wexford Stables bought him for $250,000.
Carlaw Park’s Nick Fairweather and Nicole Brown took special satisfaction from Do You Just’s heroics on Saturday, and they believe there could be a whole lot more in store.
“It capped off a good few months of our graduates winning in New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong,” Fairweather said. “Do You Just’s win on Saturday was a fantastic result. It was a super-impressive performance from a colt that Lance and Andrew have always had a huge opinion of. He just hadn’t quite put everything together on raceday until then, but he went to Ellerslie and really showed what he’s made of.
“He’s a pinhook that we bought for A$150,000 in Australia, and we always had a lot of time for him. He was very forward, straightforward and just a lovely colt. He was a classic type of So You Think. He had a good gait, was very athletic and walked beautifully. Those are big traits when you’re looking at weanlings.
“He was passed in originally at Karaka, and then Wexford bought him afterwards. Lance, Paul (O’Sullivan) and Andrew are great judges who know a good horse when they see one.
“You’re always hopeful when you sell your pinhooks to a respected stable like Wexford, but it was a bit more than just hope with that colt. We always felt he really had something about him.
“We’re excited about his prospects as a three-year-old. Lance has spoken about some high aspirations for him as an older horse. So You Think’s progeny often get better with a bit of age and maturity, so the sky’s the limit for what’s obviously a very exciting horse. We’re thrilled for Wexford, for Waikato Stud and the whole ownership group.”
Carlaw Park has had stakes-winning graduates in both the two-year-old and three-year-old age groups this season. Three-year-old colt Public Attention has won two of his eight starts, headed by the Gr. 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes at Randwick in February. Runner-up Linebacker won the Gr. 1 Randwick Guineas a month later.
Public Attention has also run second in the Gr. 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude, third in the Gr. 2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint, fourth in the Gr. 2 Hobartville Stakes and fifth in the Gr. 1 Caulfield Guineas. The son of Written Tycoon ventured across the Tasman in March and finished eighth after jumping from the outside gate in the inaugural NZB Kiwi.
Public Attention was bought by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $150,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2023, where Carlaw offered him on behalf of his breeder, the late Sir Patrick Hogan.
“We’re very proud of Public Attention too, especially since he was one of the last consignments we did for Sir Patrick,” Fairweather said. “He’s shown a lot of class and ability, and Mick (Price, co-trainer) has told me that he rates the horse highly.
“He obviously comes from the Katie Lee family. He was always a big, raw colt who was going to take time. I’m looking forward to following him as an older horse.”
Carlaw Park has had plenty to celebrate in the sale ring in recent times too, including a Wootton Bassett colt that sold for A$625,000 during last month’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney.
“We originally had three yearlings entered for the sale, but one was withdrawn and retained by the owner,” Fairweather said. “We sold a Home Affairs colt to Jamie Richards for A$350,000, and then the Wootton Bassett was a huge result for us at A$625,000.
“He’s a very athletic horse and a nice dark colour. He paraded extremely well over there. The ball fell in our court a little bit with a couple of Wootton Bassett’s progeny making a lot of money early in the sale, but this colt caught the eye of buyers like Boomer Bloodstock, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and a few others. In the end it was Cody Mo who came out on top and bought him.
“We’re hoping he’ll do a great job in Hong Kong. He’s a lovely horse from a good international family. He was owned by the Sunlight Trust, who are great clients of ours and still have the mare. Hopefully this colt will put some strong performances on the board for that pedigree page.”
But this is no time to be resting on laurels, with attention quickly shifting to this year’s weanling sales.
“We’ve already bought three weanlings in Sydney,” Fairweather said, referring to a Street Boss colt that cost A$110,000, a Stay Inside colt that Carlaw secured for A$90,000, and a colt by Acrobat that they picked up for just A$15,000.
“We’re heading over to the Gold Coast on Thursday, and then we’ve got Melbourne and Karaka coming up after that. We’ll see what we end up with. It’s always a hard game with a few variables. All we can do is try our best. It’ll definitely help if our graduates keep performing like Do You Just did on Saturday.”
