NZB eyes new records with 480-strong Ready To Run catalogue
New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) has unveiled a catalogue of 480 two-year-olds which will come under the hammer at the 2025 Ready To Run Sale, with the two-day auction scheduled to kick off at Karaka on November 12.
The catalogue has grown significantly on last year’s edition, which offered 404 juveniles, with the bigger catalogue another sign of the sale’s upwards trajectory in both size and quality.
Last year, NZB set a new southern hemisphere record when Te Akau Racing went to $1.65 million for the I Am Invincible colt out of Group 1 winner Shillelagh (Savabeel), now named Hostility, who has already been placed at Group 1 level for the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson stable. The 2024 sale concluded with an aggregate of $38.59 million, a ten per cent increase on the 2023 record edition, and a strong clearance rate of 78 per cent, while the average and median were in line with the previous year.
Managing director Andrew Seabrook told ANZ News the weight of expectation is high heading into the 2025 edition off the back of last year’s record breaking results.
“It wasn’t going to be easy last year to match the previous year’s figures, so we were delighted to do that and even increase turnover by four or five million,” Seabrook said.
“I’m not saying we’ll necessarily be able to repeat that this year, and the pressure is certainly on, but geez, the results keep coming, don’t they? Already, the buyers we’ve got confirmed from Asia and Australia is really heartening.
“It’s fantastic – we’ve got a big catalogue, the biggest we’ve had for a few years, so there’s going to be plenty to choose from. This sale has been the fastest-growing for NZB and for the industry here over the past decade, and we’re really looking forward to another strong edition.”
Not only has the sale been one of great financial results for buyers and vendors, it has also seen epic results on the track, having produced Hong Kong stars Lucky Sweynesse (Sweynesse) and Golden Sixty (Medaglia d’Oro).
Ready to Run Sale graduates also won another ten individual Group 1 races and 12 stakes races last season alone and the roll of honour includes Antino (Redwood), Ceolwulf (Tavistock), Feroce (Super Seth), Gringotts (Per Incanto), Mr Brightside (Bullbars) and War Machine (Harry Angel).
This year’s catalogue features more than 90 siblings of black-type performers, including relations to War Machine, Lucky Patch (El Roca), Amphitrite (Sebring), Coeur Volante (Proisir), Jungle Magnate (Tarzino), Globe (Charm Spirit), and La Crique (Vadamos).
It also offers progeny of Group 1-winning mares such as Miss Sentimental (Reliable Man), Consensus (Postponed), Foxplay (Foxwedge) and Anabandana (Anabaa), while two-year-olds out of 76 stakes-performing mares, including Do Ra Mi (Savabeel), Invincible Star (I Am Invincible), Lilikoi (Charm Spirit), Miss Admiration (Sebring) and November Rain (Stravinsky), will also come under the hammer.
The catalogue also features the progeny of a range of proven and emerging stallions, with 114 represented including Savabeel (Zabeel), Proisir (Choisir), Per Incanto (Street Cry), Super Seth (Dundeel), Zoustar (Northern Meteor), I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) and Frankel (Galileo).
Seabrook believes the group of horses they have assembled includes something for everyone.
“One hundred and fourteen stallions says it all,” he said. “You’ve got to think of a top stallion that’s not represented. I don’t think there’s an Australasian stallion there that’s not represented. So plenty there for everyone – from sprinters to milers to stayers, colts, fillies and geldings, as I say, 480 horses.
“It’s going to make us work harder, for sure, the team’s going to have to be really on it and really work hard to get even more buyers than we’ve had for the last couple of years given the size of the catalogue.”
The growing strength of the NZB Ready To Run Sale is also evident in the vendors, with many breeders now retaining stock to be sold as two-year-olds, alongside the continued strong support from the pinhooking market.
“It’s not just the pinhookers – it’s breeders targeting specific horses for this sale,” Seabrook said. “The days are gone when a mare has a foal and it goes straight to the yearling sale.
“It’s become a really viable alternative for commercial breeders. Last year’s average was only slightly below Book 1 – something that would have been unheard of a few years ago. This sale attracts buyers who don’t always attend the yearling sales, so it’s an increasingly attractive option to showcase two-year-olds.”
The sale is expected to attract a strong roster of both international and domestic buyers, continuing the trend of previous years.
“Hong Kong has been our largest market buyer for a few years and they spent just over $17 million last year. Australia has been a growing market and have been targeting some of our fillies, which is great,” Seabrook said.
“We were concerned when we lost to Singapore and Macau Market, but geez, Malaysia, particularly the Selangor Turf Club, have stepped up fantastically. Last year they bought 40 horses, I think it was for over $3 million. We had Mongolians buy, and they’ve had two starters for two winners in the Danny O’Brien stable, so fantastic to see a new market in Mongolia developing.
“It’s just such a wide and varied market, and I think people’s appetite for buying horses that are ready to go to the track and earn some money within a relatively short period of time for the sale is rather appealing.”
More than two dozen of the two-year-olds in the Ready to Run Sale catalogue are eligible for the lucrative TAB Karaka Millions Series, while any horse purchased at the Sale can compete in the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (Listed, 1500m).
The 2025 edition of the Ready to Run Sale will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from 10am (NZT) on November 12 and 13, with Breeze-Ups to be held at Te Rapa Racecourse on October 13 and 14.
View the catalogue online here, or via the Equineline app for tablets or Thoroughworks app for mobile.
International buyers wishing to physically attend the 2025 Ready to Run Sale can enquire about accommodation options and travel assistance by emailing travel@nzb.co.nz.
For any general sale enquiries, contact the NZB Bloodstock team here.