IT’S KARAKA TIME!

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The 99th edition of the Karaka Yearling Sale gets underway on Sunday and, despite the unsettled global economy, New Zealand Bloodstock’s managing director Andrew Seabrook is confident the sale will hold up ‘pretty well.’

Over the past few days, local and international buyers have descended on the complex to hunt for the next Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) or Prowess (Proisir). 

Twelve months ago, Australian buyers spent NZ$34,900,500 on 209 yearlings, equating to 44 per cent of the market share, and Seabrook is buoyed to see the return of regular buyers from across the Tasman, as well as some who have made the trip for the first time in a number of years. Meanwhile, he was also encouraged by the number of UK-based buyers such as Jamie McCalmont, Emma Pugsley, Sam Haggas, Stuart Boman and Martin Buick, who had also made the trip to Karaka this year. 

“We’re really happy with the Australian buying bench we have assembled,” he said. “I went through the hotel bookings this morning which confirmed our thinking for the last few weeks that we’re going to get more Australians here than we have for a while, so definitely the Australian buying bench is looking really good, better than last year and there are some buyers here from Australia that haven’t been for a few years, which is good to see.”

The presence of Australian buyers has come as no surprise to the team at New Zealand Bloodstock given the strong recent racetrack performances of Kiwi-bred horses in some of the most iconic races in Australia. 

“We had a really good spring and with New Zealand-breds winning three Group 1 mile races with Antino and Ceolwulf and Mr Brightside landing three proper Group 1 mile races and in Sydney and Melbourne, the spring was a big help,” said Seabrook. 

“In the last five years New Zealand-breds have averaged eight per cent of the racing population and won 21 per cent of the Group 1 races – so it has been a fairly easy sale to promote this year based on those statistics. The Australian appetite for our horses seems to be as strong as it’s ever been, so that gives us a little bit of confidence ahead of the sale.”

The Karaka auction comes hot off the heels of the Magic Millions yearling sale, which delivered results that had many industry participants concluding there was a slight softening in the market. On the Gold Coast, the Book 1 median remained static from 2024, at $200,000, while the average dropped marginally, from $275,675 to $269,388. But the clearance rate fell significantly, from 87.88 to 82.94 per cent. 

Last year’s Book 1 recorded an aggregate $79,585,500, up 14 per cent on the $70.063 million traded in 2023, while other key metrics such as the average, which was recorded as $168,257, was also up 11 per cent and the median closed at $120,000. 

At the back end of 2024, the Ready To Run Sale posted a ten per cent aggregate rise on its old record set in 2023, a strong 78 per cent clearance rate and median price of NZ$90,000, and a southern hemisphere record of $1.65 million for its highest lot and Seabrook believes that sale’s success will also have a positive effect on the outcome of the yearling sale. 

“We’d be thrilled if we could hold last year’s figures, remembering that we were the only sale last year that actually increased turnover and averages and I’d like to think that the lower to middle market can hold up fairly well given that the Ready To Run Sale was such a success so that should give the pinhookers the confidence to go again. And secondly our racing industry is going as well as it’s ever been in my career.”

Despite the economic uncertainty, the New Zealand racing industry has never been in better shape, with Entain’s major prize-money injection and, excitingly for New Zealand, Ellerslie will play host to two World Pool meetings this year, starting with three races on Saturday’s Karaka Millions card. 

The second meeting to be included in the World Pool is Champions Day on March 8, which will feature the southern hemisphere’s richest three-year-old contest, the $4.5 million The NZB Kiwi (1500m).

Leading agent Phill Cataldo is of the opinion the sale will prove to be a buyers market, but at the same time is buoyed by the good feeling surrounding the industry in New Zealand. 

“I reckon it will be a buyers market but having said that, all the big hitters are here,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News

“I have been impressed with the first season sires Noverre and Sword Of State and I think the pinhookers could help prop up the middle market.

“Regarding the domestic market, Entain has been a godsend – first it was the Karaka Million races and now trainers and owners can set their horses for some really worthwhile money with expansion into The NZB Kiwi instead of just two races at the end of the season. 

“The options for three-year-olds are much better now so the locals have reasons to get involved. Things are improving – it was only a few years ago maidens were racing for $7,000.”

Haunui Farm’s Mark Chitty also applauded Entain’s investment and the development of the Karaka raceday and believes it will widen the sale’s appeal.

“There are things in place to bring new people into our industry as owners but it takes time,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News. “Entain have done a great job of reaching beyond the traditional lines and are promoting to the masses.

“They are bringing in new bettors and it’s our job to convert bettors into owners and that starts with providing racing facilities where people want to spend their leisure time, the best cafe in town, sort of thing. The upgrade to Ellerslie is part of that effort to provide a good experience.

“The Karaka Million races are now well established and now we have The NZB Kiwi plus the Champions Day meeting. Such incentives have been necessary to attract new owners. The future looks very promising but it takes time to develop these ideas into realities.”

Go Racing’s Albert Bosma said the increases in prize-money and the general feeling around racing in New Zealand means he will be buying horses to stay in the country.

“Entain and the improved stakes have had a major influence on our operation,” he said. 

“Previously, we bought horses to race in Australia simply because of the level of stakes on offer there. Now, we can buy them to race in New Zealand. I hope trainers can see that and be here and buy a few. We are upping our numbers thanks to these new measures.”

David Ellis, Karaka’s leading buyer for 16 out of the last 19 years, rates the industry to be in a good spot and said he was looking forward to being active at Karaka again this year. 

“There is no doubt that Entain’s involvement has been big, as has the slot race,” he said. “Those two factors are behind our Gold Coast activity where we purchased 21 lots and we plan to be active here at Karaka. 

“I hate to think where we might be without Entain’s involvement but we are also fortunate that we have a receptive government and a racing minister who understands the racing and breeding industries – put all that together and the future looks very exciting.”

As always, the sale is bursting with some of the best related and reliable families in the New Zealand Stud Book. 

Kilgravin Lodge will offer a brother to four-time Group 1 winner Lucky Sweynesse (Sweynesse) (Lot 93), while a sister to New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) and Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Orchestral (Savabeel) will go up as Lot 345 from Haunui Farm, and a sister to another two-time trans-Tasman Group 1 heroine in Prowess (Proisir) will be offered as Lot 564 from Hallmark Stud.

Also on offer are siblings to up-and-comers in Australia in Gringotts (Per Incanto) – whose half-sister by Proisir (Choisir) is catalogued as Lot 113 from Highline Thoroughbreds – and Globe (Charm Spirit), who has a half-brother by Ace High (High Chaparral) as Lot 494 from Cambria Park.

“Prize-money continues to increase and there is a good positive feeling out here about our racing industry going forward – I think that’s going to help,” said Seabrook. 

“Hopefully those, along with the strong Australian buying bench, can offset the weak economy. It is also good to see a lot of buyers from the UK. 

“If the sale is down, it’s not going to be because there’s a lack of Australians here. How much money they’ve got to spend is the unknown, and whether that’s as much as last year or previous years, we’ll wait and see, but I’m really happy with the Australian buyers we have here this year. 

“Everything’s pretty positive from a New Zealand racing point of view. If we had the economy we did say two, three or four years ago, I’d be confident that the sale would be very strong, but given that it’s not, that is out of our control, but I’m still hopeful that we can hold it up pretty well.”