JC Thoroughbreds’ pair set the pace on opening day of New Zealand breeze-up session
Juveniles by Lonhro and Telperion stop the clock in 10.11 seconds with a further session to go
The decision to delay the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale breeze-up sessions by a fortnight has been vindicated with a fair Te Rapa track surface turned out on day one as more than 140 juveniles were officially put through their paces yesterday.
The key hit-outs ahead of the November 16 and 17 Karaka sale, the first sale open to all international visitors since 2019, took place a month out from the auction with geldings by Lonhro (Octagonal) and Telperion (Street Cry) (Lots 270 and 275 respectively) from the draft of JC Thoroughbreds running the fastest time at 10.11 seconds.
The Riversley Park-consigned geldings by Grunt (O’Reilly) and Turn Me Loose (Iffraaj) (Lots 311 and 30) ran 10.15 and 10.16 seconds respectively while an Iffraaj (Zafonic) gelding (Lot 35) from Lilywhites Lodge ran up in 10.24 seconds for the 200-metre turf breeze.
A No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) colt (Lot 142) from the draft of Riverrock Farm also breezed up in 10.24 seconds.
NZB chose to delay the breeze-ups by a fortnight owing to the wet weather at Te Rapa, a wise decision with yesterday’s session completed on a Soft 5 track.
Similar weather and track conditions are expected for today’s final breeze-up session. There were 148 two-year-olds who breezed-up yesterday and a similar number is expected to do so today.
“The weather certainly played its part. It was overcast all day but there was no wind, so it was spot on for a good day of breeze-ups. The track was probably spot on for all these horses. The jockeys said it was playing beautifully, nice and fair across the board,” NZB bloodstock executive Kane Jones told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“It is going to be overcast again overnight but we’re looking like we’re going to have another good day tomorrow, so fingers crossed.
“That is what we were really aiming for, a consistent track, if we can have it consistent on day one and day two.
“It was put back two weeks, which was definitely the right decision, as we would have been running on a bog track two weeks ago and the track was beautiful today, nice a fair, and we were just desperate to breeze-up on the turf track because that’s what all our buyers, agents and key people want and demand from the sale and we were thrilled we could do that on a really good track today.”
New Zealand agents Phill Cataldo, Bruce Perry and Bryce and Ginger Tankard, all with extensive contacts in Australia and throughout Asia, were in attendance on day one, as was trainer Lance O’Sullivan.
“It is always fantastic to be able to see what the two-year-olds’ action is like and how they are striding out on the turf,” Bryce Tankard said.
“We have been able to see how the horses have developed since the yearling sales, so there are a lot of benefits from being here on course. There are a lot of really nice horses here and horses that you would expect from the sale, too.
“The vendors who have pinhooked paid a bit of money for them and we can certainly see that here today.”
Fellow agent Chris Rutten was also at Te Rapa to cast his eye over the juveniles who breezed-up yesterday.
“It’s great to see the horses and how they parade during the day. You can actually go and see them in the tie ups here at Te Rapa and check out their demeanour as they walk around the mounting yard,” Rutten said.
“It’s a good gauge to see how they’re going to perform on a raceday. They are going to be racing on a turf surface, so it’s great to see how they will handle it, as well as their action and how they pull up after.
“It’s actually very insightful to see them when they come off the track and evaluate how settled and relaxed they are post-breeze.”
Cataldo has previously purchased 2018 New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Vin De Dance (Roc De Cambes) out of the NZB two-year-old sale for Terry Henderson’s OTI, while he also had a hand in buying Saturday’s Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) contender Mr Brightside (Bullbars), a NZ$22,000 purchase who also went through the 2019 auction.
The agent was another who was an advocate of horses breezing up on turf.
“We’re all hoping they’re Group-class horses, or certainly Saturday horses, and they’re all racing on the grass,” Cataldo said.
“I think the horses stretch out on the grass and seeing them in full flight is an obvious advantage.”
NZB’s Jones added: “After a tricky two years, it was really encouraging to see so many of our agents and trainers here on site and watching these horses breeze-up.”
Inglis conducted its Ready2Race Sale last week where a new company record of $750,000 for a Dundeel (High Chaparral) colt was set, while the Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YO’s In Training Sale will take place next Tuesday.
Footage of the NZB breeze-ups, parade footage and additional footage of horses captured near the Te Rapa 600-metre mark before they reach their full gallop is expected to be available by Friday.
Day two of the NZB breeze-ups will begin at 10am local time today.