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The New Zealand Ready to Run sale kicked off in resounding fashion at Karaka on Wednesday with two colts reaching $NZ300,000 ($274,000) on a day when 36 two-year-olds fetched six-figure sums.
The statistics had the owners – New Zealand Bloodstock – ecstatic and declaring their ready to run process is by far the best in Australasia.
There was a tremendous international bench on hand at Karaka with the NZB group also making available a direct link to the Macau Jockey Club to allow their members to share in the excitement of purchasing a horse.
A total of 200 lots were catalogued for day one but this was reduced by 48 withdrawals.
The top price lot was $NZ340,000 for a colt by Sebring late in the day.
The purchaser was Mauro Poletti, co-trainer with Amanda Turner at Warwick Farm. They have been buyers at the past four Ready to Run Sales at Karaka and on Saturday two of their graduates – More To Gain and Bring Luck – scored at Rosehill.
Both winners were sired by Sebring. Poletti paid $NZ200,000 for Bring Luck in 2013 and $NZ280,000 for More To Gain last year.
He also bought juveniles by Foxwedge and Postponed for $NZ145,000 and $NZ65,000 respectively.
A $NZ300,000 Savabeel colt is heading to Hong Kong where he will be trained by Chris So.
The Hamilton-based Mana Park, who sold Poletti the two Sebring gallopers, started the sale in emphatic fashion with two Savabeels – lot 4 and Lot 23 – hugely popular. Lot 4 was purchased by Gai Waterhouse in conjunction with NZ bloodstock agent Phil Cataldo for $NZ200,000 while lot 23 was the $NZ300,000 seller.
Waterhouse's racing manager Adrian Bott was on hand at Karaka and said afterwards that Gai was on the lookout for Derby prospects and declared the $NZ200,000 colt fit the bill perfectly.
The big Hong Kong buyers were once again strong and three of the regular sales visitors – Manfred Man, Ricky Yiu and Willie Leung – bought eight two-year-olds between them for just on $NZ1.5 million.
Both Man and Yiu took a strong fancy to the two Smart Missile colts that were offered on Wednesday and bought one each at $NZ260,000.
The Mongolian connection, which bought multiple group 1 winner Mongolian Khan out of the Karaka sale ring, were heavily involved again, buying as Rider Horse Club. Their biggest outlay was $NZ180,000 for a Sepoy colt. All told they signed for 11 two-year-olds.
Buyers were keen to get new stable additions sired by the big-name stallions. Smart Missile's performance was tremendous while Savabeel's followers profited strongly with five of his progeny averaging $NZ216,000.
Tavistock, who sired the Victoria Derby winner Tarzino, was in great demand and had six lots average $NZ136,666. Per Incanto, whose oldest progeny are three years old, had eight sell for a $NZ109,687 average. Pentire, the sire of Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance, had two lots sell at a $NZ200,000 average.
Not A Single Doubt had one lot fetch $NZ270,000 while Choisir and Hinchinbrook's only representatives both sold for $NZ220,000.
Racing owes debt to Ross Cribb
NSW racing owes a great debt to Ross Cribb who passed away last weekend after a lengthy illness, aged 83. Cribb's business acumen saw him appointed to two of the most important roles in the racing industry – chairman of the NSW TAB and also the Racecourse Development Fund.
He enjoyed a highly successful career as a thoroughbred breeder including group 1 winners Heat Of The Moment and La Caissiere. I was a director of the Sydney Turf Club for 22 years and Cribb's financial assistance to NSW clubs allowed them to make racetrack facilities much better for the punter.
Overseas wrap
- Chris Waller has continued his European purchases with a €90,000 ($135,000) buy – the Aga Khan-bred Zourkhan – at the Arqana Sales at Deauville on Monday. The galloper is a half-brother to Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava, who won five group 1 races. Zourkhan has won one race with two placings from his only three starts.
- Elvstroem has been sold to French interests and heads off for the 2016 breeding season at the Haras Du Petit Tellier farm. The stud has had a taste of Australian stallions with Testa Rossa standing there in 2003 and 2004. Elvstroem, a five-time group 1 winner, raced at Longchamp during his international career, running second in a top-line race.
- Coolmore's freshman stallion Zoffany notched his 30th individual winner for 2014 with the success of Kordeston at Frankfurt on Sunday. The talented racehorse has been a superb success in both hemispheres, covering 220 mares in Ireland this year and more than 150 mares at their Hunter Valley base.
- Uncle Mo, another of Coolmore's freshman sires, recorded his seventh stakes winner at Laurel Park for Todd Pletcher last weekend in the Smart Halo Stakes. He has 24 individual winners and is the Champion First Crop Sire of Two-Year-Olds in America, which has seen his service fee rise to $US75,000 ($105,500) in 2016. Uncle Mo has 12 yearlings selling at the Magic Millions in January.
- Still on Coolmore, one of their stallions, Fame and Glory, was the busiest sire of 2015, covering an amazing 346 broodmares. He is a son of Montjeu and is regarded as a National Hunt stallion. Galileo, Europe's most expensive sire, served 181 mares with first season sire Australia covering 178 mares. Others to cover big books were Dubai (160) and Invincible Spirit (149).
