Height does matter for John Dickie with his trotters, but there was room for a soft side when he went shopping at the New Zealand premier yearling sales in Christchurch yesterday.
Dickie went back to the progeny of Paramount Star on the first day of the two-day sale at Canterbury Agricultural Park for the third time in four years.
A yearling Pegasus Spur filly, Paramount Dream, was on offer from Studholme Bloodstock and Dickie snapped her up for $50,000 - the same price he paid for a Majestic Son filly out of the same mare last year.
The price tag was almost twice what he paid for another Pegasus Spur yearling out of Paramount Star in 2009 - but that yearling, Paramount Geegee, made more than 20 times his sale price of $26,000, earning $561,000.
Paramount Geegee died tragically in a paddock accident in May last year aged just 4, and Dickie admitted the similarity in height between Paramount Geegee and Paramount Dream was not the only reason for bidding.
''There's a bit of sentiment in there as well,'' Dickie said.
Paramount Geegee was a standout age-grade trotter, winning two Australian Breeders Crown trotting titles, as well as both trotting derbies in his 3yr-old year and the 3yr-old ruby division of the 2011 Harness Jewels.
A minor conformation issue did not put Dickie off Paramount Geegee when he bought him at the yearling sales in 2009. Therefore, after his resulting career, a similar issue was not going to stop Dickie from claiming the filly.
''She's a little bit back on one knee, but so was Paramount Geegee,'' Dickie said.
''She's very tall for a start and the tall Pegasus Spurs seem to be the better ones.''
While Dickie is best known for his trotters, he bought into an Otago pacing breed when he picked up In Full Flight (Panspacificflight-Scherger Rein) for $17,000 out of the Arden Lodge draft.
