Catalogue released for significant New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale
Rolston confident Karaka juvenile auction can maintain market-leading status
New Zealand Bloodstock management is confident that the company’s reputation as the provider of arguably the leading Australasian two-year-old sale can be maintained when the auction house presents a smaller catalogue of juveniles compared to past years at Karaka.
Danny Rolston, NZB’s bloodstock sales manager, was not shying away from the importance of the Ready to Run auction, which has attracted 311 two-year-olds for the November 18 and 19 sale.
“We’re back on numbers, which is probably a good thing considering the times that we’re in, and that will make it a little bit easier to get good results for vendors while still having a good selection for purchasers,” Rolston told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“It’s the most significant sale we’ve had since the impact of the coronavirus. We’ve had the weanling sale, which we managed completely online, but we’re looking forward to having a full live sale at Karaka, the first one for a while.”
The breeze-up sale features the progeny of 98 stallions, including standout sires such as Savabeel (Zabeel), Per Incanto (Street Cry), Ocean Park (Thorn Park), Tavistock (Montjeu), Charm Spirit (Invincible Spirit), Not A Single Doubt (Redoute’s Choice), Zoustar (Northern Meteor), Exceed And Excel (Danehill), Pierro (Lonhro), No Nay Never (Scat Daddy), Iffraaj (Zafonic), Dundeel (High Chaparral), Deep Field (Northern Meteor), More Than Ready (Southern Halo), Pins (Snippets) and Rubick (Encosta De Lago).
There is also a selection of two-year-olds by strong first-season sires Belardo (Lope De Vega), Preferment (Zabeel), Puccini (Encosta De Lago), Rageese (Street Cry), Tarzino (Tavistock), Telperion (Street Cry), Tivaci (High Chaparral), Turn Me Loose (Iffraaj), Vadamos (Montjeu), Vanbrugh (Encosta De Lago) and Wrote (High Chaparral).
Progeny of Maurice (Screen Hero), Shalaa (Invincible Spirit), Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) and Star Turn (Star Witness) are also catalogued.
The scheduling of the Australasian two-year-old sales has had a shake-up this year, with Magic Millions moving from its spot as the opening auction for broken-in stock to November 10, leaving the Inglis Ready2Race Sale to start on October 20.
How the market holds up at the two Australian sales, which like New Zealand almost certainly will not have international buyers on the ground, will be of interest to all stakeholders.
Rolston said: “I think our sale is definitely the benchmark, but we will obviously take a line out of things like clearance rate at those two sales. Ultimately, however, our sale tends to be the sale with the better results with the more robust buying bench … and it’s our sale where we think a lot of the buyers will be holding out for.”
The strength of the international market, particularly Australia and Hong Kong, will be pivotal to the success of the NZB sale while smaller buying benches from Korea, Macau and Singapore will play a role in providing a competitive market place.
NZB has invested in a purpose-built online bidding platform to help cater for those buyers who cannot be at Karaka.
“There wouldn’t be many Hong Kong buyers and a lot of Australian buyers who wouldn’t have some connection or relationship with either a NZB rep or an independent bloodstock agency in New Zealand or the vets for the matter,” Rolston said.
“The relationships in the main are there and it’s our responsibility to ignite any connections that aren’t quite as solid and to assist buyers to ensure that they have got someone on the ground here in New Zealand who they can work with with confidence.
“From our canvassing, we know that the relationships are existing and it’s just up to us to firm those up.”
Kilgravin Lodge’s Eion Kemp will present 27 two-year-olds at the Karaka sale and he says vendors are being proactive ahead of the two-day sale in order to attract buyer attention.
“We’re just taking a different tact this year, more so with the selling of the horses. We’ve got to do a lot of our own marketing and come up with different strategies to try and promote our horses to the buyers who can’t make it to the sale,” Kemp said yesterday.
“It’s targeted marketing and more so using guys who have bought off us in the past, using our contacts that we do have in Australia and through Asia to try and target specific horses to the guys who we know have bought off us in the past.”
October 12 and 13 has been set aside for the breeze-up sessions at Te Rapa and Kemp will increase the workload on his two-year-olds in the coming weeks.
NZB will provide extended footage of the breeze-ups to include vision prior to the 200-metre mark where gallops have previously been filmed from. The last 200 metres of their work will also be timed.
Colts by Vancouver (Medaglia d’Oro) and Pierro and a filly by Zoustar, who is out of US Listed-winning mare Queen Of The Creek (Theatrical), have caught Kemp’s attention during their early education.
“They are all just going through the early stages progressing through their paces now, but we’re really happy with the way they are coming along,” he said.
“I have got a very, very nice Vancouver colt out of Maddie De Belle and he’s shown us plenty so far and we’ve got a nice Pierro colt out Crystal Fairy. Both horses are definitely putting their hand up and we’ve got a very nice Zoustar filly.
“She’s just a nice moving filly. He’s a stallion who is doing a great job, so to have a nice well-bred filly in the draft definitely helps.”
Last year’s NZB sale achieved an average of NZ$91,772 with a median of NZ$60,000. The clearance rate was 74 per cent, but how this year’s sale pans out, Kemp is not yet prepared to make any predictions.
“It’s probably a little bit too early to start thinking about that, but I’d say 30 to 40 per cent of horses have been bought for this sale,” he said.
“So, bearing in mind that the guys who have purchased the horses don’t want to be losing money either, it’s a case of balancing the books at the end of the day and keeping your head above water to go again in future years.”
He added: “It’s a great sale and there’s been a lot of proven horses who have come out of it and I think everyone’s getting their head around online sales this year.
“The NZB Ready to Run Sale is not the only one that’s been online. The Aussies can’t travel interstate at the moment, so it’s no different buying interstate to internationally as long as it’s a proven product and that tends to be what they’re looking for these days.”
NZB Read to Run Sale of 2YOs
Breeze-ups at Te Rapa Racecourse, Monday and Tuesday, October 12 and 13
NZB Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs at Karaka, Wednesday and Thursday, November 18 and 19
Potential sale highlights
- Group 1 winner Rollout The Carpet (Holy Roman Emperor) features prominently as both a dam (Lot 43, a colt by Sebring) and a half-sister (Lot 13, a colt by Pierro).
- Lot 31 is by Zoustar filly out of stakes-winning mare Queen Of The Creek.
- Lot 72 is a gelding by Savabeel out of a stakes-performed daughter of multiple Group 1 winner Daffodil (No Excuse Needed).
- Lot 230 is a rare southern hemisphere offering by the outstanding Siyouni (Pivotal), leading sire in France in 2020 and a three-time champion sire of two-year-olds. The colt comes from the family of the Aga Khan’s Derby winner Harzand (Sea The Stars).
- Lot 310 is a Pins (Snippets) half-brother to Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Sentimental Miss (Reliable Man).
Related links
NZB Ready to Run Sale
https://www.nzb.co.nz/sales/sale.cfm?ordered=lot&sort=asc&sale_id=218