Plenty to cheer about ahead of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Weanling and Broodmare Sale
New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2023 National Weanling and Broodmare Sale takes place tomorrow, featuring 170 weanlings (after withdrawals).
It will be a full day of trade and the weanling numbers alone represent an increase of 60 lots compared with the 2022 sale which turned out to be quite buoyant.
Broodmares, which haven’t been part of this sale since 2019, make up a further 65 lots.
While the business of trading and selling is paramount, the sale also serves as an opportunity to discuss the state of the industry and talk to stud masters about stallion bookings for the upcoming season.
Proisir to lead
It’s safe to say that the 11 weanlings by Rich Hill Stud’s Proisir (Choisir) will command the most attention, and why not? He has had a phenomenal season. There would appear to be little between his star Australian Group 1 fillies, Prowess and Legarto, and the running of the Karaka Million 3YO Classic left an answered question as to which is superior. However, as advertisements go, they have provided the stallion with a great foundation. Bidding is likely to be very keen.
In particular, Haunui Farm are to offer several Proisir lots which look to have good upside, especially for traders, starting with Lot 33, a colt from a Savabeel (Zabeel) three-quarter sister to 2021 New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) victor, Noverre (Savabeel).
Lot 125, a colt, is from a Medaglia D’Oro (El Prado) daughter of Veloce Bella (Volksraad), a fine racemare who scored at Group 1 level in the International Stakes (2000m) and added five further Group races among her 12 wins.
Lot 137 is an opportunity to invest in one of New Zealand’s best families. The filly is from a three–quarter sister to Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Jon Snow (Iffraaj) and represents Richard Moore’s wonderful Soliloquy (Sobig) line.
From HGT Bloodstock, Feilding, is Lot 56, a filly from a Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) half-sister to Tourbillon Diamond (Olympic Glory), a dual Group 3 winner and Group 1–placed in Hong Kong.
Cambria Park in Pukekohe will offer Lot 175, a colt from the talented mare Tip The Wink (Stravinsky), a two-time Listed winner who finished third in the 2011 Railway Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m).
Little Avondale Stud’s Per Incanto (Street Cry) has five lots entered and the stud will offer Lot 173, a filly from Tinkalicious (Nadeem), the winner of six including the Cuddle Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m).
Lot 99 is a colt from a half-sister to the dams of eight stakes winners and is a grandson of Group 2 winner Dopff (Tights). This is, of course, Haunui Farm’s prolific Foxona (Foxbridge) family.
Highline Thoroughbreds, who sold Proisir’s Group 1 winners Legarto and Dark Destroyer, have two weanlings by the champion sire elect within their five-strong draft. Lot 67, a filly, is the first living foal out of dual winner Jazamour (Azamour), while Lot 89 is a colt out of Mifflin (Street Cry), herself a half-sister to stakes winners Gamay (Pierro) and Meidung (Bernardini), as well as the dam of Australian Group 1 placegetter Dirty Work (Written Tycoon).
“Last year was fantastic for us, and we’ve brought up a really nice draft of weanlings again for the sale this year,” said Eva Heron, who along with her husband Cam runs Highline Thoroughbreds. “I can’t wait to see how they all go on Friday.”
“Proisir is an amazing stallion. He’s achieved so much this season and still seems to be on the up and up. We’re delighted to have two very, very nice weanlings by Proisir in our draft and of course we have sold a top-liner by the sire in Legarto ($90,000 Karaka Book 2 Yearling Sale in 2021).
“We also have a lovely Vadamos from a quality international family (Lot 28). I really, really like him. And then the other two weanlings in our draft are two really nice ones by Embellish. So I’m really rapt with our draft right across the board.”
Novara Park’s Sweynesse (Lonhro) is riding high via the deeds of perhaps the world’s leading sprinter, Lucky Sweynesse. The stallion is represented by three lots and all have good credentials. Lot 15, a colt, is from dual Ellerslie winner and twice Group 3–placed mare Bella Court (Per Incanto).
Lot 75 is a granddaughter of Yorkshire Oaks (Gr 1, 12f) winner Key Change (Darshaan), while Lot 122 is from a half-sister to NZ Bloodstock Filly of the Year, the classic-placed Dijon Bleu (Burgundy) whose six wins included three at Group level.
Gordon Cunningham’s Curraghmore is consigning six weanlings for the 2023 edition of the sale, including a colt and a filly, a three-quarter sister to Group 1 winner Lion’s Roar, by Contributer (High Chaparral), as well as the colt by Sweynesse out of Bella Court.
“It’s a smaller draft this year, just six horses, but I’d describe it as a very good, genuine draft,” Cunningham said. “I’d have hopes that there’ll be some good racehorses among them.
“There’s also a Contributer colt from that great Hallmark Stud family of Katie Lee, Banchee and Gee I Jane (Lot 158). He looks like a nice prospect to me.
“I’m very happy to be offering such a nice bunch of horses at the sale this year.”
Of the six lots on offer by exciting young sire Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact), Lot 68 is the sister to Sydney winner Hokkaido. Their dam, Justlikeyasister (Gold Centre), won five and is a half-sister to three-time Listed winner Wazawatsyn (Tuscany Flyer).
Waikato Stud could hardly have wished for a better start with their young sire Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice) who has three stakes winners in his initial crop. Lot 172 is a daughter of Riccarton Group 3 winner Ticket To Ride (Shocking), who won nine times during her career.
In the up and coming sire category are Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) with seven lots, including three from Cambridge Stud.
Further up-and-comers are Turn Me Loose (Iffraaj), with six lots, U S Navy Flag (War Front), with two, and Ribchester (Iffraaj), who will have six.
One of the most eye-catching pedigree updates of the sale is that of Lot 12, a Tivaci (High Chaparral) colt out of Bad Habits (Power), who is out of a half-sister to the dam of Robert Sangster Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Ruthless Dame (Tavistock).
The colt is one of 13 weanlings presented by Nick King’s Brighthill Stud.
“Leading into the sale, we’ve been really buoyed by the level of interest from a good cross-section of buyers. Some are looking for horses to pinhook as yearlings next year, but we’ve also had a number of end users who are wanting to buy good racehorse prospects,” King said.
“Our draft is made up of a really mixed bunch of sires – good young ones, proven ones and first-season sires as well. That’s the sort of thing this market is looking for.
“Ruthless Dame has been fantastic, and that’s a lovely pedigree update for our Tivaci colt. He comes from such a great family anyway, but to have fresh horses in it makes a big difference.”
New kids on the block
The annual weanling sale is always interesting as we get a first look at the progeny of first crop sires.
This year, Waikato Stud’s Banquo (Written Tycoon), Windsor Park Stud’s Circus Maximus (Galileo), Cambridge Stud’s Hello Youmzain (Kodiac) and Novara Park’s King Of Comedy (Kingman) fit that category.
Banquo, a son of leading sire Written Tycoon (Iglesia), was a Listed winner at Flemington and twice Group 2 placed. His sister, Booker, was a fine sprinting mare who landed the Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m).
Banquo will be represented by five lots. Lot 98, a colt, is from a half-sister to Listed winner and Classic–placed Chambord (Zabeel). His grandam is a half-sister to Hong Kong Group 1 winner, The Duke (Danehill) and to Laravissante (O’Reilly), the dam of Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Sky Field (Deep Field). This is also the family of current sprint star Think About It (So You Think).
Lot 109, a colt, is from a sister to Group 3 winner Showbeel (Savabeel) and whose third dam is dual Group 1 winner Showella (Lord Ballina) and a direct descendant of the champion Show Gate (Gate Keeper).
With four lots is triple Group 1 winner (at Royal Ascot and Longchamp), Circus Maximus, a son of all-conquering sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells). Lot 141, a colt, has plenty of appeal being from a three-quarter sister to multiple Listed Perth winner Angelic Miss (Savabeel). The colt represents a foundation Windsor Park Stud family that produced the top class miler Golden Sword (Kaapstad).
Hello Youmzain was a high class sprinter who landed two of the UK’s premier sprints including the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) at Royal Ascot. He is represented by five lots including Lot 17, a filly and first foal of the well-performed Belle Fascino (Per Incanto). The mare bagged ten wins including two Group 3s at Riccarton and Wingatui and was six-times stakes-placed.
Lot 23, a colt, is from half-sister to Tulloch Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) winner Gallatin (Street Cry); Lot 77, a filly, is a half-sister to Semari (Sebring), winner of the Epona Stakes (Gr 3, 1900m) and Lot 111, a filly, is a granddaughter of So Pristine (Zabeel), a Group 2 winner in Adelaide.
King Of Comedy, a Listed winner at Sandown, gave Circus Maximus a fright in the St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m). A son of burgeoning sire Kingman (Invincible Spirit), King Of Comedy was only a half–head in arrears after a massive finishing run. He has three for sale including Lot 82, a colt from a Fastnet Rock (Danehill) daughter of Bhandara (Zabeel) who was twice a Group 3 winner in New Zealand and a Listed winner in Sydney.
Apart from those already mentioned, several well–related lots should attract some attention, starting with Lot 5, a Contributer filly who is a half-sister to Waikato Guineas (Gr 2, 2000m) winner Tokorangi (Redwood).
Lot 46, a filly, is a Darci Brahma (Danehill) three-quarter sister to Catalyst (Darci Brahma), the Champion 3YO of 2019-20 and brilliant winner of the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas.
Lot 49, a Belardo (Lope De Vega) colt, is a half-brother to Bonecrusher Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Opalescence (Showcasing) and Lot 58, a Vadamos (Monsun) colt, is a half–brother to Dunedin Gold Cup (Listed, 2400m) winner Sureasyouwereborn (Lucky Unicorn).
Lot 74, a filly by Embellish (Savabeel), is a half-sister to She’s Alight (Tavistock) who won eight in Western Australia including the Jungle Dawn Classic (Listed, 1400m) and Lot 96, a filly, is an Ocean Park (Thorn Park) half-sister to Riverton Cup (Listed, 2147m) winner Lil Miss Swiss (Rip Van Winkle).
Lot 174, a filly, is a Time Test (Dubawi) half-sister to Cuddle Stakes winner Tinkalicious, and Lot 180, a filly, is a Flying Artie (Artie Schiller) half-sister to the Flemington Listed winner Wine Bush (High Chaparral).