New Zealand Bloodstock releases bumper catalogue for 2022 Ready to Run Sale
New Zealand Bloodstock expects to welcome an influx of buyers from key overseas markets in Australia and Hong Kong, as well as further afield, for its Ready to Run Sale in November for the first time in three years.
The thoroughbred auction house, which last night released a catalogue of 329 lots for the two-day sale, will also host buyers from Singapore, Malaysia and Korea at Karaka on November 16 and 17 in a signal that “things are getting back to normal” after more than two and a half years of upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
NZB’s director of business development, Mike Kneebone, said the scale of the Karaka two-year-old sale set it apart from its competitors, offering the buying bench a diverse range of horses across all ends of the market.
“The two-year-old sales tend to get more withdrawals than a yearling sale and if you have got people coming over from various countries to attend the sale, you need numbers (to attract them) and that’s one thing we’ve got going for us, apart from the wonderful [graduate] racetrack results,” Kneebone told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“It’s been a very strange few years, to say the least, but we’ve had really good sales and handled the situation the best we can. The horses sold really well (last year) and I think a lot of that came down to the quality of the sale and the way the graduates have done themselves proud over the past five or six years and even before that, really, and that’s why people keep coming back.”
For comparison, last year’s New Zealand sale, which was forced to be relocated to Te Rapa without horses physically going through an auction ring due to government restrictions, drew a catalogue of 322 two-year-olds.
Australian rival Inglis has already released a one-day, 289-lot catalogue for its upcoming October 11 two-year-old sale, while Magic Millions is soon expected to release a catalogue for its one-day October 25 Gold Coast sale.
The Hong Kong market has traditionally been a stronghold for the NZB two-year-old sale and Kneebone has had assurances from owners, trainers and agents that they will be out in force in 2022.
“The quarantine [requirements] going back into Hong Kong is a lot less than what it has been, so it’s a case of them itching to get out and about and back into the game, if you like,” Kneebone said.
“Most of the agents and trainers that we’ve spoken to over there, and even owners who have been to Karaka previously, [have indicated their want to attend], so we’re expecting to have very good numbers from over there and the same with Singapore and also Malaysia.
Kneebone added: “That’s where the numbers game comes into the Ready to Run aspect a lot because if you haven’t got the numbers at the sales, it makes it very hard for all markets to get a go at the horses available.
“That’s something we’ve found over the years, that we’ve been able to cater for the Koreans, the Singapore and the Malaysian markets as well as the top-end markets [of Australia and Hong Kong].
“We haven’t had the horses go up to Malaysia and Singapore in the numbers like we used to, but we’re getting really good enquiry from both of those countries, so we’d expect them to be here in force as well.”
NZB is also preparing to welcome back representatives from the Korean racing industry after a group participated in the 2019 sale.
“The Koreans haven’t been down in the southern hemisphere buying in any numbers for quite a while since Covid but we had that one sale where we sold them 11 horses,” Kneebone said.
“Those horses went well and so they’re very keen to get back down here this year. Getting the horses back to Korea has been a bit of a logistical issue, but it’s something that we’ve got on top of at this stage and we think our (NZB) Air Freight team will have something worked out in the next couple of months to alleviate any problems there.”
This year’s catalogue has progeny by 90 different stallions including two-year-olds by Hong Kong’s reigning champion sire Deep Field (Northern Meteor), Exceed And Excel (Danehill) and Per Incanto (Street Cry), whose progeny have also succeeded in the Asian racing mecca, as well as New Zealand’s champion Savabeel (Zabeel), Tivaci (High Chaparral), Sacred Falls (O’Reilly), Medaglia D’Oro (El Prado) and The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice).
“I think it’s a really good mix of sires and there’s not just one or two of them, there’s plenty of them entered and I think that’s going to sway people to have a look through there and see that there’s something for everyone,” the Sydney-based NZB representative said.
“We say it all the time, but Karaka is the undisputed best two-year-old sale (with 17 Group 1-winning graduates in the past five seasons) and I think it’s a justified description.”
Breeze-ups will be conducted at Te Rapa racecourse across two days, October 3 and 4.
Online bidding will be available for all prospective purchasers via bidonline.nzb.co.nz.
Related links
Click here to view the 2022 NZB Karaka Ready to Run Sale catalogue
Karaka hotel open for business
New Zealand Bloodstock’s new hotel precinct at the Karaka complex will be operational for the first time at an auction in November. Guests will be able to stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka hotel throughout the sale, allowing buyers and sellers the luxury of not having to travel to and from the site each day.
“The hotel is booking out really quickly and it’s going to be great to be going back to the ‘old days’ when we could entertain clients [on site],” NZB’s Mike Kneebone said.
“However, we’re also finding a lot of people who have always stayed in the city still want to stay there whereas some people who just want to come in for two or three days want the convenience of the Karaka hotel.
“The hotel has become another part of the sales system, but certainly Auckland’s ready and waiting for everybody come sales time.”
Interesting lots catalogued
Day 1
36 – Deep Field-Bubbly Duchess (Duke Of Marmalade) colt
61 – Tivaci-Costume (Savabeel) colt – brother to the stakes-placed filly Outfit
76 – Savabeel-Elusive Nature (O’Reilly) colt – brother to Listed-winning filly Shezzacatch
81 – Exceed And Excel-Epitomise (More Than Ready) colt – out of a half-sister to VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Personal (Fastnet Rock)
101 – Savabeel-Gallwitz (Bernardini) gelding
140 – Medaglia D’Oro- K P Pergoliscious (Declaration Of War) colt
144 – Turn Me Loose-Lady Kipling (Savabeel) colt – half-brother Moonee Valley Group 2 winner Fascino (Charm Spirit)
162 – Tivaci-Magic Time (Volksraad) – half-brother to champion New Zealand sprinter-miler Kawi (Savabeel)
Day 2
231 – Deep Field-Ra Ra Epic (Drumbeats) – out of a half-sister to Incentivise (Shamus Award) and he is a three-quarter sister to Waikato Stud stallion Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice)
235 – The Autumn Sun-Real Stolle (Elusive Quality) – three-quarter brother to stakes winner Nomothaj (Snitzel) and promising three-year-old Latvian (Pariah)
278 – Savabeel-Sofia Rosa (Makfi) colt – out of Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Sofia Rosa.