Karaka 2022 up on quality and numbers as New Zealand Bloodstock prepares for March sale

By Tim Rowe

More than 1100 yearlings catalogued for national sale as Kiwis stand by national auction

The date was already locked in and now so too is the catalogue of more than 1100 horses for next year’s New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale, the country’s week-long showcase of the Kiwi thoroughbred.

The catalogue for next year’s sale, pushed back from its traditional late January date to March 7 to 12 because of uncertainty over domestic and international travel restrictions, appears to have a more traditional look to it with numbers up and fewer of New Zealand’s drawcard horses lured to Australia to be auctioned than in 2021.

There will be 636 lots in the three-day Book 1 sale, up from 579 lots catalogued at this year’s sale, while Book 2 will also have more horses to choose from, with 467 yearlings catalogued compared to 339 at Karaka this year.

As expected, Cambridge Stud will have a strong hand at Karaka with owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay once again backing the NZB sale in 2022 as they did earlier this year despite international buyers not being on the ground.

“To be fair, we probably treated this year like any other year and supported Karaka heavily. We had a presence at the Australian sales but with the view of Almanzor having his first (southern hemisphere) crop and, likewise with the Tavistocks, it’s nice to be able to spread them out a bit more,” Cambridge Stud’s sales and nominations manager Scott Calder told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.

“Looking at next year, again, much the same philosophy was taken. We’ve got a couple of Almanzors going to Magic Millions, we’ll have a small draft at the Melbourne sale and Easter as well, but Karaka is our national sale and that’s where our focus is primarily, so we’re taking our strongest group of horses by numbers there, as we normally do.”

Cambridge Stud has 43 Book 1 yearlings catalogued including seven lots from the last crop of the farm’s late sire Tavistock (Montjeu) who had ten Australian stakes winners last season.

Among the Cambridge haul of Tavistocks is the half-sister to the Brendan and Jo Lindsay-raced Group 1 winner Marky Mark (Makfi) while it will offer 12 lots of the 42 yearlings by Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) in the Book 1 auction.

“Unfortunately, it’s Tavistock’s final crop, which is a smaller one because he was hurt part way through the season, but his progeny are going as well as they ever have,” Calder said.

“He had ten stakes winners in Australia last season and he’s already had five this season, so we’re expecting that to be a real key part of the catalogue in general at Karaka, but in particular our draft we’ve got a nice line of horses by him.

“I’d say they’re the kind of horses that buyers are coming to New Zealand to look for because Tavistock has shown time and again that he can get those Classic three-year-olds, the staying type of horses which we pride ourselves on here in New Zealand.”

Calder also expects buyers to circle in on the second crop of Almanzors after his yearlings of 2021 created much sales ring fanfare across Australasia.

The early signs from his southern hemisphere-bred two-year-olds have been positive with the Bruce Perry-purchased colt Andalus (NZ$420,000 from Waikato Stud) finishing an encouraging third in the Wakefield Challenge Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.

“The first season with Almanzor was just such a positive experience,” Calder said.

“They started off well at the Gold Coast (selling to $800,000) and it was lights out from there, really, and certainly looking at Karaka this year he was a massive part of that sale and I can’t see why that wouldn’t be the case next year again.

“We’ve got some really exceptional types by him in our draft and he had a stakes performer on Saturday.

“There’s a lot of nice horses out there in stables and from everything we hear, they are naturally going to be more three-year-old types, but they’re really pleasing the trainers and I would expect, particularly as he leaves such a nice line of yearlings, that they are going to be on a lot of people’s short-lists again.”

Many New Zealand breeders chose to offer more yearlings in Australia this year than they normally would because the international border was likely to be closed, as turned out to be the case, while Milan Park’s Tony Rider elected to sell all his draft of young horses in Australia in 2021 to ensure they were in front of the biggest buying bench possible.

However, Milan Park will return to Karaka in March with a draft of 11 Book 1 lots, while Waikato Stud will have a draft of 49 yearlings, an increase of 13 on the 36 which were offered by the Mark and Garry Chittick-run farm this year.

Potential Karaka highlights include the second foal out of Thorndon Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Thee Auld Floozie (Mastercraftsman), a filly by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), and she will be offered at Karaka by Jamieson Park, one of 11 Book 1 yearlings the stud will consign in 2022.

Thee Auld Floozie’s first foal, also by I Am Invincible, sold to the Newgate Farm-China Horse Club colts syndicate for $550,000 at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and, now named The Cross, he is in training with Anthony and Sam Freedman.

The half-sister to this year’s Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Derby king Explosive Jack (Jakkalberry) by Novara Park’s young shuttle sire Staphanos (Deep Impact) will also be offered under the Phoenix Park banner.

A Tarzino (Tavistock) half-brother to VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Miami Bound (Reliable Man), who has recently been retired and purchased by Japanese breeding interests, will be offered by Westbury Stud while Blandford Lodge will offer a Savabeel (Zabeel) colt out of Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Sofia Rosa (Makfi).

A brother to dual Group 1-winning entire Mo’unga (Savabeel) and a Coolmore-bred sister to Unforgotten (Fastnet Rock) and a Tivaci (High Chaparral) half-brother to Catalyst (Darci Brahma) are also tipped to capture attention at Karaka in 2022.

A half-brother to Tavago (Tavistock) by Arrowfield Stud’s first season sire The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) will be consigned by Woburn Farm, meanwhile Westbury Stud has a half-sister to Group 3 winner Chaillot (Testa Rossa) by the same sire, while Milan Park has a first-crop Justify (Scat Daddy) half-brother to Group 2 winner Oceanex (Ocean Park).

Pencarrow Stud’s Sir Peter Vela will offer the Savabeel (Zabeel) half-sister to this year’s NZ$800,000 sales-topping Zoustar (Northern Meteor) filly out of Scintillula (Galileo) who was purchased by David Ellis for Te Akau Racing. A Group 3 winner in Ireland, Scintillula is already the dam of the Jonathan Munz-owned Group 2-placed filly Butter Chicken (Savabeel).

NZB is pushing government to allow the company to fly-in up to 120 vaccinated Australian buyers to the March sale, using its soon-to-be opened on-site hotel to house them under strict Covid protocols, and Calder and the Cambridge Stud team are confident the March sale can be a success regardless of what restrictions are in place.

“It is unfortunate that we are in the same position again, by the looks of it. There were so many unknowns this year, but we’ve all been through it and we know what information we need to put out there to ensure the buyers are comfortable,” Calder said.

“It would be great to have people on the sales ground, but if we can’t we’ll still present those horses and do what we need to do (to get them in front of buyers).

“Certainly our best marketing tool is success on the track and the New Zealand-breds in the past few seasons have been hitting their straps in Australia and that helps us sell our horses, no doubt.”

NZB was forced to navigate the challenge of being unable to access its Karaka complex to conduct its two-year-old sale in November, instead holding virtual auction at Te Rapa, but is looking forward to being back in Auckland in March with a strong catalogue.

“It has been a really good year for New Zealand-bred horses, particularly in the Derbies which has been amazing,” NZB bloodstock manager Danny Rolston said.

“It is really the young stallions coming onto the map at the moment – Sacred Falls, Ocean Park and now Tivaci coming up behind him, which will just keep that Waikato Stud powerhouse rolling on.”

NZB Karaka Yearling Sale schedule

Book 1: Monday, March 7, to Wednesday, March 9 – Lots 1 to 636

Book 2: Thursday, March 10 to Saturday, March 12 – Lots 637 – 1103

Selling starts at 11am (NZT) each day

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Karaka 2022 up on quality and numbers as New Zealand Bloodstock prepares for March sale