Star $825,000 colt could signal turning point for NZB’s Ready to Run Sale
Asian buyers to the fore as two-year-olds by All Too Hard and Super Seth sell well on day two
The concerted investment made by New Zealand Bloodstock to fly in a large contingent of buyers from Asia paid off for the auction house yesterday, as the company’s Ready to Run Sale broke multiple records over two days of trade and turned over more than $10 million than it did 12 months ago.
The Karaka extravaganza – something not thought possible only weeks ago with a struggling economy domestically and internationally – was evident from the first horse offered on Wednesday to the last lot yesterday as demand for stock predominantly sourced to race in Hong Kong proved unwavering.
The appetite sent the prices of top-end horses soaring, the NZB Ready to Run record broken three times this week, and two of the major highlights occurring inside the final hour of the two-day sale as a colt by Vinery’s Star Turn (Star Witness) made a record price of $825,000 when selling to Hong Kong owner Pato Leung.
With the bidding undertaken by Leung’s trainer Benno Yung, who came out second best on a juvenile by Star Turn’s barnmate All Too Hard (Casino Prince) earlier in the afternoon, with the gelding eventually selling for $800,000 to the sale’s most active buyer, Hong Kong owner Yeung Kin Man, the smartphone entrepreneur who races the “Patch” horses at Sha Tin and Happy Valley.
A Ohukia Lodge-consigned Deep Field (Northern Meteor) colt, who breezed up in 10.38 seconds, also captured numerous buyers’ interest late in the day, eventually selling to Magnolia Bloodstock for $750,000 as the third last lot through the ring, while the Super Seth (Dundeel) half-sister to Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Kovalica (Ocean Park) fetched $700,000 yesterday, to close out a buoyant market.
The sustained activity followed Wednesday’s record session in which a Harry Angel (Dark Angel) colt was secured for $800,000 and a son of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) realised $725,000, setting a strong foundation for the second day of sales ring competition.
John Foote and Magus Equine’s Willie Leung were among the numerous players to bid strongly on the eventual sales topper with Foote losing out to Yung, putting aside his earlier disappointment to land the striking son of Star Turn, who breezed in a quick 10.24 seconds with ease.
Samantha Yung, representing her father Benno, who was bidding from the buyers’ box at Karaka, said: “We’ve looked at a lot of good horses at the sale today, and the Star Turn really stood out to us. He’s a really nice mover and has a very strong build.
“He has a great temperament from what we’ve seen so far. The amount that we paid may have been a little more than we were expecting, but we feel that he will do well for the owner.”
Star Turn has had seven runners in Hong Kong for five winners, including Group 3 winner Cordyceps Six and Samantha Yung said the stallion’s record in the Asian jurisdiction was another reason why they were so adamant to secure the KB Bloodstock-consigned two-year-old.
“Star Turn has been doing well in Hong Kong, and that’s another reason why we were interested in buying this horse.
“We do think that he’ll be a powerful sprinter, but with time, he may be able to go further as well.”
The colt who was bought out of the Fairview Park Stud draft at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale by Solari Bloodstock for $120,000. He is out of the winning mare Commonwealth (Foxwedge), who is from the family of Sir Owen Glenn’s Group 1-winning pair Criterion (Sebring) and Comin’ Through (Fastnet Rock).
“He is a big, strong colt who is straightforward and who does everything easily and is a pleasure to work with, so while I was surprised to a degree by his price, I am also not surprised [he was popular],” KB Bloodstock’s Kit Brooks said.
“Our client had him on the market at $250 as we thought he could make $300. The bidding kept going way longer than we were expecting.”
| Leading Vendors by Average (with three or more lots sold) | ||||
| Vendor | Sold | Average (NZ$) | Aggregate (NZ$) | Top Price (NZ$) |
| Kilgravin Lodge | 16 | 300,781 | 4,812,500 | 800,000 |
| KB Bloodstock | 7 | 255,000 | 1,785,000 | 825,000 |
| Ohukia Lodge | 22 | 233,318 | 5,133,000 | 750,000 |
| Riversley Park | 26 | 205,192 | 5,335,000 | 800,000 |
| Phoenix Park | 3 | 200,000 | 600,000 | 500,000 |
| Cheltenham Stables | 9 | 191,944 | 1,727,500 | 450,000 |
| Woburn Farm | 11 | 175,909 | 1,935,000 | 550,000 |
| Regal Farm | 4 | 170,000 | 680,000 | 380,000 |
| Pertab Racing | 14 | 160,000 | 2,240,000 | 440,000 |
| Kiltannon Stables | 10 | 137,000 | 1,370,000 | 400,000 |
Smartphone billionaire Yeung adds All Too Hard gelding to haul
The sale’s leading buyer Yeung Kin Man made the most of his first trip to New Zealand, buying 12 two-year-olds for $2.465 million and the group was headed by a gelding by All Too Hard (Casino Prince), who he secured for $800,000.
By the same sire as Hong Kong’s Group 1-winning sprinter Wellington, the gelding breezed up in a slick 10.34 seconds to stamp himself as well above average, prompting a bidding duel not seen at a Karaka Ready to Run Sale until this year.
Long-time agent Leung, who assists a number of Hong Kong trainers and owners including Yeung, believes the son of All Too Hard is more in the mould of Wellington than Australia’s Group 1-winning miler Alligator Blood, another top-line gelding by the Vinery Stud-based stallion.
| Leading Buyers | |||
| Buyer | Bought | Spend (NZ$) | Top Price (NZ$) |
| Mr KM Yeung | 12 | 2,465,000 | 800,000 |
| Laming Racing/John White Bloodstock | 4 | 1,485,000 | 700,000 |
| Jamie Richards Racing/Andrew Williams Bloodstock | 3 | 1,250,000 | 450,000 |
| Shailer Racing Pty Ltd/Hughes Bloodstock | 4 | 1,235,000 | 525,000 |
| Mr Pierre Ng | 3 | 1,025,000 | 425,000 |
| Blandford Bloodstock/Andrew Williams Bloodstock | 2 | 935,000 | 725,000 |
| HY Investments | 10 | 910,000 | 400,000 |
| Mr Pato Leung | 1 | 825,000 | 825,000 |
| Tartan Meadow Bloodstock/Andrew Williams Bloodstock | 1 | 800,000 | 800,000 |
| Magnolia Bloodstock | 1 | 750,000 | 750,000 |
Manfred Man will train the expensive Riversley Park-educated and sold gelding, who was initially a $100,000 purchase by Sam Beatson and media personality Mick Guerin from the Baramul Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale at the beginning of the year.
He is the fourth foal out of the unraced Tuscany Lady (Mossman), a half-sister to the stakes-placed Metonymy (Hotel Grand).
“All Too Hard is a very consistent and useful sire in Hong Kong and the Group 1 winner Wellington has performed really well in Hong Kong and on grass and synthetic,” Leung said. “This one looks really precocious and so hopefully we can get him going to Hong Kong early next season.”
Yeung also bought a Dubious (Not A Single Doubt) gelding for $340,000, a Frosted (Tapit) colt for $300,000 and a Super Seth gelding for $260,000 during his two-day spending spree.
“Mr Yeung has about ten horses racing in Hong Kong already and he is a genuine racing fan and he would love to have more good horses in Hong Kong and that’s why he wanted to go for some stock here, so we can go through the selection process to find a Group 1 horse,” Leung said.
“They will be here for education and training and then we’ll do some assessment. They will probably be ready to go, but some will need to be qualified as a PP for Hong Kong and so we’ll keep them racing here.”
Riversley Park was the leading vendor by aggregate, selling 26 horses for $5.335 million, ahead of Ohukia Lodge which sold 22 two-year-olds for an aggregate of $5.133 million.
| Leading Vendors by Aggregate | ||||
| Vendor | Sold | Aggregate (NZ$) | Average (NZ$) | Top Price (NZ$) |
| Riversley Park | 26 | 5,335,000 | 205,192 | 800,000 |
| Ohukia Lodge | 22 | 5,133,000 | 233,318 | 750,000 |
| Kilgravin Lodge | 16 | 4,812,500 | 300,781 | 800,000 |
| Westbury Stud | 33 | 2,269,000 | 68,758 | 400,000 |
| Pertab Racing | 14 | 2,240,000 | 160,000 | 440,000 |
| Woburn Farm | 11 | 1,935,000 | 175,909 | 550,000 |
| KB Bloodstock | 7 | 1,785,000 | 255,000 | 825,000 |
| Cheltenham Stables | 9 | 1,727,500 | 191,944 | 450,000 |
| Riverrock Farm | 14 | 1,575,000 | 112,500 | 250,000 |
| Lilywhites Lodge | 15 | 1,455,000 | 97,000 | 525,000 |
NZB compiled a bigger catalogue in 2023 compared to last year as the Covid hangover dissipated, with 308 horses achieving a gross of $35.107 million over the past two days at an average of $156,031, the aggregate climbing 39 per cent year on year, while the average was up 21 per cent.
The median of $90,000 was also up $10,000 year on year while the clearance rate was last night at 73 per cent.
In late September and early October, NZB’s director of business development Mike Kneebone and New Zealand Thoroughbred marketing’s Andrew Birch went on an extended tour of Asia, canvassing buyers in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and the overtures certainly worked.
“It’s an amazing team effort to get so many Asians down. I guess with Singapore finishing racing next October, there is an added incentive there to really go out of our way to really try and fill that void,” NZB managing director Andrew Seabrook told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Not only Mike and Andrew, but myself and various other staff members have been up to Hong Kong and various other Asian countries and we’ve also appointed Ian Sham, who is based in Hong Kong and he’s been doing a wonderful job in assisting in getting the trainers and the owners down for this sale.
“To have that owners’ group here was the icing on the cake, to have all those permit holders here sitting alongside their trainers.
“We’ve never really had that before and when you can get the owner in the ring and bidding with their trainers alongside, you could see the action, it really added to the sale, so that was a really important factor.”
Hong Kong buyers were credited with purchasing 69 two-year-olds, Malaysian owners and trainers, mainly from the Selangor Turf Club, bought 17 horses while the Korean buying bench filled their shipment with nine horses, the two smaller Asian racing jurisdictions playing an important role in purchasing juveniles in the often harder lower to middle segments of the market.
This week’s results, declared by Te Akau principal David Ellis as the strongest sale he’s ever witnessed at Karaka, also left Seabrook in no doubt that the country’s Ready to Run offering can lay claim as Australasia’s best sale in the breeze-up space.
He credited a consistent surface on turf at Te Rapa over two days as a pivotal selling point for buyers who want to more easily compare the relative merits of breeze up times produced by the horses.
“It comes down to the product really – it was a very, very easy sale to promote,” Seabrook said. “We couldn’t decide who to put on the front cover of the catalogue. Do we put Lucky Sweynesse, Golden Sixty, Mr Brightside or Sharp ‘N’ Smart? that’s the success out of the sale and that’s recognised now.
“We have just seen this sale average more than Book 1 [at a Karaka National Yearling Sale]. A few years ago that talk was unheard of.
“You would have been laughed out of the room if you had suggested a Ready to Run sale could average more than Book 1.”
Patience pays off as Kovalica’s half-sister provides plenty of happy returns
Earlier in the day, the half-sister to Group 1 winner Kovalica (Ocean Park) also came in for immense competition as Richard and Bevan Laming landed the daughter of Super Seth for $700,000, the sixth highest price of the NZB sale.
Agent John White co-signed the docket alongside the father-and-son trainers to continue the stunning success at the Ready to Run Sale for vendors Eion and Megan Kemp of Kilgravin Lodge whose misfortune earlier this year turned into gold with the well-bred filly.
She was bought as a foal for $85,000 by the Kemps at the 2022 NZB National Weanling Sale out of the Curraghmore draft.
“We identified the filly as a weanling. She was a nice leggy type and we bought her for $85,000, which is a popular number for many of our purchases,” Kemp said.
“The plan was to sell her as a yearling and I was hoping that Kovalica would do something. She was not quite ready as a yearling and was passed in, but we knew we had the Ready to Run as a back-up, plus Kovalica duly obliged.
“She has excellent residual value. We always liked her even though she can be a bit sassy at times, but that’s OK.”
David Ellis underbid the filly, the third living foal out of Vitesse (Makfi), a winning half-sister to the Group 1 winner The Bostonian (Jimmy Choux) and Group 3 Cheval D’Or (Almanzor). She breezed up in 10.49 seconds.
“She was a standout on looks. She was one of my top picks. We valued her at around four to six and had to go a little bit more than that, but we’ve got a really nice filly,” Richard Laming said.
“She’s a proper horse. She’s got a nice action, she breezed up great. She has a very good attitude and was nice and relaxed in the ring, so we’re very happy to get her.”
The filly is from the second crop of Waikato Stud’s Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Super Seth, who has sired two individual winners from just five runners so far.
“We’ve got a couple we bought as yearlings that go well,” Laming said of the Super Seths.
“We came over here to buy another nice one, and she’s got a great pedigree, great residual and she’s an outstanding individual. She’s a half to a Group 1 winner who is a very good horse, so she’s got that scope to hopefully show some of her brother’s ability.”
During the sale, the Lamings and White also bought the Contributer (High Chaparral) half-brother to star Hong Kong sprinter Lucky Sweynesse (Sweynesse) $550,000, an Ace High (High Chaparral) filly for $200,000 and a daughter of Reliable Man (Dalakhani) for $35,000.
Kilgravin Lodge were the leading vendors by average, selling 16 lots at $300,781, turning big profits on day one, when they sold a $800,000 Harry Angel colt, a $725,000 son of Written Tycoon and a $425,000 Hellbent (I Am Invincible) gelding.
| Leading Sires by Average (with three or more lots sold) | ||||
| Sire | Sold | Average (NZ$) | Aggregate (NZ$) | Top Price (NZ$) |
| Zoustar | 3 | 466,667 | 1,400,000 | 500,000 |
| Capitalist | 3 | 355,000 | 1,065,000 | 550,000 |
| Hellbent | 3 | 341,667 | 1,025,000 | 450,000 |
| Justify | 4 | 306,250 | 1,225,000 | 425,000 |
| Savabeel | 3 | 300,000 | 900,000 | 400,000 |
| Ardrossan | 3 | 288,333 | 865,000 | 440,000 |
| Deep Field | 7 | 287,857 | 2,015,000 | 750,000 |
| Super Seth | 8 | 286,875 | 2,295,000 | 700,000 |
| Proisir | 7 | 185,714 | 1,300,000 | 380,000 |
| U S Navy Flag | 3 | 166,667 | 500,000 | 180,000 |
Whyte makes noise at Karaka with $500,000 Zoustar colt
Meanwhile, champion Hong Kong jockey turned trainer Douglas Whyte had to wait until day two to make his presence felt at the Karaka sale, but the Sha Tin horseman hopes his $500,000 investment is a pointer to the future of his stable.
Whyte and agent Sam Wright teamed up with Kiwi Bevan Smith, who provided some local knowledge and expertise, to strike early on day two, securing a Riversley Park-consigned Zoustar (Northern Meteor) colt for half a million dollars.
“I have been to [Karaka], but I haven’t bought here before. I haven’t been training for that long, so it’s the first time I’ve stuck my neck out and purchased horses here – it’s been good,” Whyte told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“This is where it all starts, really, you’ve got to get the young ones to keep the yard ticking over. I’ve got a nice crop of young horses now who just have to get them to develop the right way. I’ve got a couple of older horses at the moment who are close to the end of their tether and the young ones are what you’re here for and they’re going to make or break my yard.”
Wright has been a friend of Whyte’s since he was a young boy and he has become an integral part of the trainer’s fledgling operation of which Smith has also become an important font of knowledge.
“We work together on pretty much everything, we’re very close friends. We run what I like to think is a tight ship,” Wright said.
“Through the years of being on the grounds at the sales and meeting different people in the industry, it’s a small network and you make friends, and Bevan and I have been working together now for at least the better part of the year and it’s working well.
“It’s very much a team approach to try and get the best results we can for our owners back in Hong Kong. It’s not a one-man ship and we share the love.”
Out of the winning Swiss Ace (Secret Savings) mare Reconstruct, the dam of three winners from as many foals to race, the Zoustar colt was a $150,000 purchase by Riversley Park’s Sam Beatson from the Westbury Stud draft at the NZB Karaka National Yearling Sale earlier this year. He breezed up in 10.88 seconds.
“Sam Beatson’s as good as anyone in the industry at doing these breeze-ups and preparing horses and, from day one, I’ve stayed in contact with Sam and he was saying, ‘this is the horse, this is the horse’, so it gives you confidence buying off someone like Sam when he gives you a nudge for a horse,” Smith said.
“He sold Golden Sixty and hopefully this horse can live up to that kind of tag.”
Beatson said: “The colt never missed a beat. He’s shown us plenty all the way through. Douglas has bought a really nice colt with a great attitude.”
The Riversley Park principal sold Hong Kong’s champion Golden Sixty (Medaglia d’Oro) for $300,000 at the NZB Ready to Run Sale in 2017.
Sale statistics
2023 2022
Catalogued 383 329
Offered 308 257
Sold 225 (73%) 195 (76%)
Aggregate $35,107,000 (+39%) $25,186,000
Average $156,031 (+21%) $129,159
Median $90,000 (+12.5%) $80,000
Top Lot $825,000 $625,000
| Leading Sires by Aggregate | ||||
| Sire | Sold | Aggregate (NZ$) | Average (NZ) | Top Price (NZ$) |
| Super Seth | 8 | 2,295,000 | 286,875 | 700,000 |
| Deep Field | 7 | 2,015,000 | 287,857 | 750,000 |
| Zoustar | 3 | 1,400,000 | 466,667 | 500,000 |
| Proisir | 7 | 1,300,000 | 185,714 | 380,000 |
| El Roca | 10 | 1,295,000 | 129,500 | 400,000 |
| Justify | 4 | 1,225,000 | 306,250 | 425,000 |
| Contributer | 9 | 1,215,000 | 135,000 | 550,000 |
| All Too Hard | 2 | 1,080,000 | 540,000 | 800,000 |
| Capitalist | 3 | 1,065,000 | 355,000 | 550,000 |
| Hellbent | 3 | 1,025,000 | 341,667 | 450,000 |
| Star Turn | 2 | 1,025,000 | 512,500 | 825,000 |
| Purchaser Location | |||
| Location | Bought | Spend (NZ$) | % share |
| HK | 69 | 16,684,000 | 47.5% |
| NZ | 60 | 6,692,000 | 19.1% |
| VIC | 36 | 4,187,500 | 11.9% |
| QLD | 13 | 3,100,000 | 8.8% |
| NSW | 11 | 1,280,000 | 3.6% |
| UK | 2 | 935,000 | 2.7% |
| MYS | 17 | 795,000 | 2.3% |
| KOR | 9 | 475,000 | 1.4% |
| WA | 3 | 450,000 | 1.3% |
| SGP | 2 | 280,000 | 0.8% |
| CHN | 3 | 228,000 | 0.6% |
| Top Lots – Day 2 | ||||||
| Lot | Sex | Sire | Dam | Vendor | Purchaser | Price (NZ$) |
| 376 | c | Star Turn | Commonwealth | KB Bloodstock | Mr. Pato Leung | 825,000 |
| 289 | g | All Too Hard | Tuscany Lady | Riversley Park | Mr KM Yeung | 800,000 |
| 381 | c | Deep Field | Criquette | Ohukia Lodge | Magnolia Bloodstock | 750,000 |
| 298 | f | Super Seth | Vitesse | Kilgravin Lodge | Laming Racing / John White Bloodstock | 700,000 |
| 203 | c | Zoustar | Reconstruct | Riversley Park | Equine Investments & Bevan Smith Bloodstock | 500,000 |
| 304 | c | Hellbent | We Have Lift Off | Ohukia Lodge | AP Chan | 450,000 |
| 333 | c | Capitalist | Arrowette | Kilgravin Lodge | Shailer Racing Pty Ltd / Hughes Bloodstock | 450,000 |
| 341 | g | Exceed and Excel | Barbadine | Cheltenham Stables | Jamie Richards Racing / Andrew Williams Bloodstock | 450,000 |
| 198 | g | Ardrossan | Queen of Pop | Pertab Racing | Mr Me Tsui | 440,000 |
| 251 | f | Justify | Special Memories | Cheltenham Stables | Flag Bloodstock | 425,000 |
| 358 | g | Shamus Award | Caesour’s Promise | Woburn Farm | Mr. Pierre Ng | 425,000 |
| 360 | c | Russian Revolution | Calvados | Riversley Park | Boomer Bloodstock | 425,000 |
| Top Lots – Overall | ||||||
| Lot | Sex | Sire | Dam | Vendor | Purchaser | Price (NZ$) |
| 376 | c | Star Turn | Commonwealth | KB Bloodstock | Mr. Pato Leung | 825,000 |
| 143 | c | Harry Angel | Monrecour | Kilgravin Lodge | Tartan Meadow Bloodstock / Andrew Williams Bloodstock | 800,000 |
| 289 | g | All Too Hard | Tuscany Lady | Riversley Park | Mr KM Yeung | 800,000 |
| 381 | c | Deep Field | Criquette | Ohukia Lodge | Magnolia Bloodstock | 750,000 |
| 45 | c | Written Tycoon | Fromparis Withlove | Kilgravin Lodge | Blandford Bloodstock / Andrew Williams Bloodstock | 725,000 |
| 298 | f | Super Seth | Vitesse | Kilgravin Lodge | Laming Racing / John White Bloodstock | 700,000 |
| 107 | c | I Am Invincible | Lope de Lope | Ohukia Lodge | N & P Balia Family Trust | 580,000 |
| 114 | c | Capitalist | Madame Veuve | Ohukia Lodge | Mr. Wing Keung So | 550,000 |
| 116 | c | Contributer | Madonna Mia | Woburn Farm | Laming Racing / John White Bloodstock | 550,000 |
| 175 | f | Super Seth | Perfect Fit | Lilywhites Lodge | Shailer Racing Pty Ltd / Hughes Bloodstock | 525,000 |
| 106 | c | Zoustar | Lombardia | Phoenix Park | Waikato Bloodstock | 500,000 |
| 203 | c | Zoustar | Reconstruct | Riversley Park | Equine Investments & Bevan Smith Bloodstock | 500,000 |