New Zealand Bloodstock savours ‘remarkable’ Ready to Run Sale
$700,000 Savabeel two-year-old takes sale day honours late on final day at Karaka
The undoubted success of this week’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, which was capped with a record late-session $700,000 Savabeel (Zabeel) colt and five other lots breaking the $300,000 mark yesterday, has given the company immense confidence heading into 2021.
Andrew Seabrook, NZB’s managing director, last night was elated with the outcome of the two-day juvenile sale in which overseas buyers and a tight-knit community of local agents helped the auction house achieve “remarkable” results.
After ten horses were traded for $200,000 or more on day one, headlined by a $525,000 Sacred Falls (O’Reilly) colt, the bidding competition remained strong on day two in which a son of Exceed And Excel (Danehill) ($525,000) and a Tavistock (Montjeu) colt ($450,000) both made big sums.
The surge in sales yesterday, which continued on from a strong start on Wednesday, led to 185 horses changing hands at an average of $95,349, up on the same sale last year, at a clearance rate of 77 per cent. The median of $60,000 was the same as 2019.
“It’s been an amazing success and I can’t quite believe it, actually,” Seabrook told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Up until last week we were apprehensive, but we started to get cautiously optimistic when we started to get all the registrations to bid online. We were still very nervous about how it was all going to unfold, so it exceeded all expectations.
“We had people bidding online and if they weren’t bidding online, they were bidding through their counterparts here. It was quite remarkable.”
Australian auction houses Inglis and Magic Millions had ramped up their digital presence significantly and encouraged greater use of online bidding at their respective yearling, breeding stock and two-year-old sales.
While the backend platform was already available, NZB elected to build its own bespoke online bidding service and the investment paid off at the two-year-old sale and Seabrook believes its effectiveness will boost buyer and vendor confidence at company’s Karaka Yearling Sale in January.
The NZB Sale, it could be argued, faced greater uncertainty than its Australian counterparts with the international border closure and its weaker domestic market but was able to achieve the highest-priced lot of the three recent auctions, the second-highest average and the highest clearance rate.
“It proved that you don’t actually have to be here on the ground to buy and you don’t need to take the horses to the buyers,” he said.
“The bidding platform, combined with all the transparency and information now that the buyer is being blessed with from the vendors, I think it is only going to get better going forward.
“Even I was bidding on horses because some of our agents were so busy. I normally flick one onto them but they were so busy I ended up bidding on horses, which i haven’t done for ages.
“Sometimes there were four bidders online and another four in the ring. It was quite amazing.”
The NZB sale, according to Seabrook, sold horses to buyers who had never bought a horse out of New Zealand before.
“I think that there is no doubt that is going to be the way of the future. I still don’t think you can beat being on the grounds here, but I think people are going to be more akin to and happier to bid remotely when they have to,” he said.
“These results definitely give us confidence at a time when the industry definitely needed it but there’s a bit of positivity around the moment.
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel and the sale just adds to the news of Avondale, Ellerslie and Counties racing clubs (merging into a super centre) during the week and the betting turnover is flying.
“The pinhookers are also going to walk away after the past couple of days with a bit of confidence, which is good heading into the yearling sales.”
Savabeel colt sells for $700,000
When the highest-priced lot of the sale was sold in the Karaka twilight, sale supremo David Ellis was not in his customary seat, but he was still calling the shots from the car via Te Akau’s trainer Jamie Richards who fended off a number of parties to land the Riversley Park-consigned $700,000 colt, the most expensive horse sold at a NZB Ready to Run Sale.
“We thought he was the colt of the sale,” Richards said.
“He was a Savabeel that is medium-sized, very athletic, moved really well and I couldn’t fault his attitude every time that we looked at him up here (Karaka).
“He has been bought to hopefully develop into a stallion. He has got the pedigree behind him that we think he is able to do so.”
Richards, so often in the shadow of Ellis at the Karaka sales ring, was left in charge with the Te Akau principal having left the complex prior to the horse going through the ring.
“He had to get down to Te Rapa for Karyn’s (Fenton Ellis) last AGM as chairman of the Waikato Racing Club, so I had him on the phone,” Richards said.
“We were getting towards the end of it, so it was great to get him for $700,000 and hopefully we can develop him into a stallion that the New Zealand industry can be proud of.”
Dean Hawthorne, Andrew Seabrook and Kane Jones, acting for clients over the phone, were all bidding on the horse, as was Cambridge trainer Roger James, the eventual under bidder.
“I honestly don’t know if we would have gone again,” Richards said.
“Dave was pretty clear on the phone that that was the last bid.”
Catalogued as Lot 298, the colt was to be offered through the Henley Park draft at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale earlier this year but, like most of the New Zealand-consigned lots, were withdrawn after being unable to fly into Australia for the Sydney auction.
The colt was bred by the Smithies family’s Monovale Farm in Cambridge.
“We knew from the interest leading into the sale that we had a pretty good horse on our hands, how good we weren’t sure,” an overwhelmed Joe Smithies said.
“We were keen to get him on the market relatively early and it turns out that was a good move.
“It was great to see two New Zealand guys going at him, and there was plenty of interest from bidders online.
“It’s a huge result for the mare, Savabeel, Riversley and Monovale and everyone at NZB as well.
“We are just over the moon. You are always optimistic but half the time when you are optimistic you probably get caught out a little bit. We went into it hoping it would go well but $700,000 is beyond optimistic.
“It is a family we have had a long time now and one that has been very good to us.
“Miss Opulence is a six-year-old mare and is carrying her fourth Savabeel. She has a yearling filly, a filly foal and is back in foal to Savabeel. She is a very exciting broodmare for us going forward.”
Darci Brahma colt to take up residence in sire’s former box
Ellis also has a special place for Group 1 winner Darci Brahma (Danehill), a horse his syndicate raced before he was retired to stud, and yesterday the Te Akau Racing principal was determined to buy a colt by the underrated stallion.
He paid $1.1 million for Darci Brahma as a yearling in 2004 out of the Karaka sales ring but did not have to go that high when purchasing a talented son for $350,000 on the second and final day of the ready to run auction.
“I bought Darci Brahma, his sire, here at the sales and he was a champion two-year-old, champion three-year-old, and champion four-year-old, and he has been a fantastic success at stud,” Ellis said.
“I have been waiting to buy what I thought was a really top Darci Brahma yearling and I had to go to the Ready to run sale.
“I was here three days ago and I thought ‘that’s the best Darci Brahma I have ever seen and I am going to buy him’.
“It is pretty exciting to have him. I am going to give him Darci Brahma’s box which he had when he was a racehorse.”
Not offered at public auction as a weanling or a yearling, the Darci Brahma colt, who is by the same sire as the Clayton Chipperfield-trained Catalyst, caught the eye with a 10.94-second breeze-up at Te Rapa last month.
“I paid a bit more than I thought I would have to but to buy these top horses you have got to pay a bit more,” Ellis said.
“I don’t take too much notice of the breeze-ups, but he did breeze-up very well and he impressed everybody that has been involved with the horse,” Ellis said.
“It is the individual, their attitude, and type, which are more important to me.”
Catalogued as Lot 219 and offered by Lilywhites Lodge, he is the first foal out of the winning mare Granadilla (Encosta De Lago) who is a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Lilikoi (Charm Spirit).
“We are just over the moon about the result. The look on breeder Rob Tunnicliffe’s face was priceless,” said Lilywhites Lodge’s Derek Nolan who was acting as a vendor for just the second time.
“We are so excited for him and also that he has gone to Te Akau. We could not be happier.
“We have had terrific support and guidance from Mark Chitty of Haunui Farm so we are lucky indeed to be going forward with them as clients. Seeing the fruits so early in our business is very gratifying.”
Ellis bought nine two-year-olds for a combined spend of $1.52 million to again claim the leading buyer title at Karaka.
Kelt back with a bang at Karaka
Seven lots after the sale-topping Savabeel colt was sold, there was also hot competition for a Tavistock colt offered by Curraghmore which signalled the return of former highflying New Zealand owner and breeder Sam Kelt.
Kelt, who outlaid $450,000 for Lot 305 under the guidance of agent Bruce Perry, was blunt when asked about his notable absence from New Zealand racetracks.
“We have come back and we are kicking some goals on the racing side, but we’re not going to get involved in breeding again and we came specifically to the sale to try and buy a Derby winner who could go on and stay in Australia,” Kelt said.
“We had the huge South Canterbury Finance fraud brought against us. It didn’t cost us much money, just $42 million, so it has taken us a little bit of time to recover from that and one of the things we did was get out of horses but we’re back.”
The colt, who breezed up in 11.92 seconds and was bred by Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, will be trained by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott.
“I thought he was a lovely horse, he was very well balanced and had a lot of presence about him,” Perry said.
“He just looked like a ripper. For me, he was the pick of the colts in the sale and he has been bought as a middle-distance Derby horse.”
The colt is the fifth foal out of the European stakes-placed mare Mourasana (Shirocco), who is already the dam of Brisbane winner The Golden Bear (Pierro), and is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Mouramara (Kahyasi).
Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Mourayan (Alhaarth) and UK Listed winner and Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) placegetter Mourilyan (Desert Prince) are both out of Mouramara.
Curraghmore’s Gordon Cunningham revealed the popular son of Tavistock was on the market from $100,000.
“He is full of quality and he completed an excellent breeze up, so combine that with his huge pedigree page, it matched his profile,” he said.
“I really hope that he will fulfil his new owners’ dream of winning a Derby, which is their fervent hope.”
Kelt and Perry also bought a Dundeel (High Chaparral) colt yesterday for $200,000 from the Lyndhurst Farm draft. He is out of Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) mare Ladore Falls and was offered as Lot 274.
“He was a lovely horse too. Not a big horse but in that Dundeel mold,” Perry said.
“He had a huge amount of presence and a great head.”
Exceed And Excel colt a stunning result for Lyndhurst Farm
An Exceed And Excel (Danehill) colt shared the honours for the most expensive horse of the sale for the majority of day two after being sold for $525,000.
New Zealand trainer John Bell signed for the colt on behalf of an overseas client.
Bidding with conviction, Bell outlasted agent Bevan Smith to land the high-priced colt who breezed up in 10.74 seconds.
“There’s a touch of Julius to him and another very good horse Mosse. That type of horse is what we go for,” Bell said.
“He was the horse that we just had to have and I would have got him for $75,000 cheaper if it wasn’t for Steve Davis. He is a hell of an auctioneer.”
The horse’s future lays in Hong Kong, but first he will continue his education at Bell’s Cambridge base with the colt likely to barrier trial before boarding a flight.
“I have bought him for a friend in Hong Kong who has raced a number of good horses, including Fellowship, who was a very good horse up there by O’Reilly,” he said.
“I am not quite sure who the trainer will be up there yet but he will be well prepared when he goes.”
Under bidder Smith said: “I really loved him and really wanted him. Obviously, I am disappointed but also pleased for the Treweeks who are such great people. I had $450,000 for him but John Bell had no limit, it would appear.
“We went one more but it didn’t work. I did my best but that’s an auction.”
By the same sire as star Godolphin sprinter Bivouac, who won the Darley Sprint Classic (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington on the last day of the carnival, he was purchased at the 2019 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale for $100,000 and was withdrawn from the Easter sale in April when Covid-19 hit.
He is the sixth foal out of Chateau D’Yquem (Pins), herself a three-quarter sister to champion New Zealand filly Katie Lee and a half-sister to Gee I Jane (Jahafil), and a brother to the Melbourne city-placed two-year-old Sauternes. He was catalogued as Lot 169.
“John Bell visited us a bunch of times over the last couple of days, so we had a good idea that he would sell very well. The interest has been enormous,” Lyndhurst Farm’s Mark Treweek said.
“On the way up I thought we might get $200,000 or more and that was going to be my reserve. The interest combined with the way the sale went on day one convinced me that we could up the ante, so he was on the market at $300,000.”
Treweek said it was harder to judge the market in the lead-up to the sale given the number of buyers who were operating online.
“On other years, you come to the sale thinking you have a $400,000 to $450,000 colt all day, but under these conditions it’s hard to gauge being quiet on parades but he’s been popular with all the top buyers,” he said.
“He’s just all quality. From the day we broke him in, we’ve had a very high opinion of him. He’s one of those horses who when you first ride him he just gets you. He’s a next-level type of horse and I am just rapt that he found his value.”
Treweek and his wife Shelley are regular buyers at the Australian weanling sales and the son of Exceed And Excel is the latest example of Lyndhurst Farm’s ongoing pinhooking success.
“He was a bit weak and was a lightly framed colt, but he had a great walk on him then and had a lovely figure about him which is what we look for,” he said.
“Also, being an Exceed And Excel, we’ve done out of them over the years and we had Mr Stunning a few years ago who was a champion in Hong Kong.
“We know a little bit about the sire, so when you can get one for that we were absolutely ecstatic.”
Bell praised the comradery of the New Zealand industry who have banded together to assist the international buyers to participate in the auction.
“The Asian market has a lot of confidence in the relationships with the agents they have got over here,” Bell said.
“There are so many guys who know each other well and they trust each other.
“The content that has been put out promoting the horses with videos, photos, and run-ups, it’s just incredible.
“They don’t have to come down with all the information that is supplied and with them trusting their agents down here.
“You can cross your Ts and dot your Is probably more so than previous years.”
Laming looks to Karaka for next stable star
Melbourne trainer Richard Laming will train a gelding by Bobby’s Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) after being purchased for $320,000 midway through day two of the Ready to Run Sale yesterday.
Agent John White handled the bidding for Laming, who has in the past enjoyed success out of the NZB two-year-old sale when paying $300,000 for Master Montaro (Toronado) in 2018.
After winning a maiden earlier this year, Laming on-sold the gelding to a client of David Hayes for about $1.5 million.
By Twin Hills Stud’s one-year shuttler Bobby’s Kitten, the gelding breezed up in 10.81 seconds at Te Rapa.
Offered by Jim Collett’s JC Thoroughbreds as Lot 247, he was a $55,000 purchase at the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale from the Glastonbury Farms draft. He is the third foal out of seven-time winner Just A Girl (Not A Single Doubt), whose second foal Nantucket (Rubick) won at Bendigo recently.
“The breeze-up did it for me. According to Trudy Thornton he could have gone quicker. She was swinging on him. He did it on his ear,” White said.
“I believe he came from the Adelaide Yearling Sale and was purchased specifically for this sale. He will go to Richard Laming in Melbourne.
“His half-brother is in Melbourne and set a track record at Bendigo recently.”
Collett said: “He’s a smart gedling. I’ve had him for four or five months after he was purchased for $55,000 out of the Adelaide sale and I have been impressed.
“I have ridden him and I am looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future.”
A Siyouni (Pivotal) colt, from the Ohukia Lodge draft, also sold well yesterday, bought by a Hong Kong owner for $350,000 after breezing up in 10.42 seconds. Out of European-bred mare Hidden Gem (Shamardal), a three-quarter sister to dual Victorian Listed winner Haripour, he was catalogued as Lot 230.