Karaka Sale reflections

Earlier this month, we asked a range of buyers and vendors for their post-sale thoughts on the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Today we give the same treatment to New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale at Karaka.

David Ellis (Te Akau Racing)

Just like he has every year for more than a decade, David Ellis reigned supreme on the buyers’ bench at Karaka. Ellis, who has bought all of the last four winners of the Karaka Million 2YO, claimed leading buyer honours with 28 purchases in Book 1 for a total of NZ$6,500,000. His average purchase price was NZ$248,400.

TDN AusNZ: What were your overall impressions on the market?

DE: I thought it was a very successful sale. The catalogue featured a high number of progeny of first season sires, which can sometimes be difficult, but I think New Zealand Bloodstock should be very proud of the sale.

It drew a huge cross-section of buyers from all around the world. The catalogue was full of good-quality yearlings – very nice, well-built, athletic types. I think that probably reflected the very good growing conditions that we’ve had in New Zealand this year.

With a couple more yearlings bought on the first day of Book 2, we’ve secured 30 yearlings at Karaka this year and we’re very happy with our purchases.

I think the sale could only be classified as a major success.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any horses that you bought for particularly good value?

DE: I think the Savabeel filly out of Baby Shacks (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}) was very good buying at NZ$325,000. She’s a lovely filly who I could see running in the Karaka Million next year.

Savabeel leaves lovely types of horses, and that filly is a great example of the sire’s progeny. Jamie (Richards, trainer) does a great job of training the Savabeels, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with this filly.

Watch: Savabeel x Baby Shacks (NZ) filly parade

TDN AusNZ: Were there any yearlings that you were disappointed to miss out on?

DE: That can happen in auctions, but we were fortunate to come out of the sale with pretty much all of the horses we really wanted to buy.

TDN AusNZ: Did any first season sires particularly impress you with the quality of their progeny?

DE: There was a really good range of first season sires from New Zealand, which I thought was a really good sign for the future of the breeding industry in this country.

I was the underbidder on a few of the progeny of Turn Me Loose (NZ). I thought his horses were nice, athletic types who should be able to run early.

Vadamos (Fr) also impressed me. His yearlings were very nice horses, and there was very good demand for them from the buyers.

There were also some really nice horses by Preferment (NZ). They struck me as the types of horses who could win some good staying races on both sides of the Tasman.

Andrew Williams (Andrew Williams Bloodstock)

Sydney-based bloodstock agent Andrew Williams made his mark on the buyers’ bench at Karaka. In various partnerships with Lindsay Park Racing, BK Racing & Breeding, Andrew Forsman and Konj, Williams signed for six yearlings for a total spend of NZ$1,335,000. His average price was NZ$222,500.

TDN AusNZ: What were your overall impressions on the market?

AW: I thought it was a little bit patchy. There were a lot of horses that we all liked and everyone followed them through to the ring together. Those horses were quite hard to buy.

But we were lucky enough to secure a few horses that we liked for pretty good prices.

It’s been great to be over in New Zealand. The hospitality’s been fantastic, and it’s been good to be home.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any horses that you bought for particularly good value?

AW: We bought a Hinchinbrook colt for NZ$400,000 that I thought was a lovely horse, and that was a good result when you consider how those were selling at the Magic Millions, compared to Karaka. We tried hard to buy them at the Magic Millions and it was very difficult.

I also thought Hallmark’s colt by Toronado (Ire) was an exceptional cut of a horse – a great athlete, and very good buying at NZ$200,000. Those were probably the two standouts, with the Toronado just ahead of the Hinchinbrook in terms of great value.

But another of my favourite purchases was a Pins filly from Waikato Stud that we bought for NZ$270,000. She was an absolute star.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any yearlings that you were disappointed to miss out on?

AW:A few of the Savabeels were very hard to buy. It’s a bit of a cliché with that sire, but he really does leave big, strong horses that would be great to get your hands on, but that wasn’t easy at this year’s sale.

Phill Cataldo (Phill Cataldo Bloodstock)

A respected judge who has secured a number of future stars from the Karaka sale ring, Cataldo bought eight horses in Book 1 for a total of NZ$1,172,500. His average spend was NZ$146,563.

TDN AusNZ: What were your overall impressions on the market?

PC: I thought New Zealand Bloodstock did a really good job putting together the buying bench. Australia is such an important market for us, and those buyers were out in force.

I noticed in particular that a lot of younger Australian trainers were making their presence felt and buying really well, which has to be a good sign for the future – guys like Michael Kent Jnr, Mitch Freedman and Henry Dwyer.

It was also great to see Team Hawkes out in force again, along with others like Danny O’Brien and Adrian Bott.

Australia was very strong on the buyers’ bench, which really propped it up and made the middle part of the market a whole lot stronger. The clearance rate finished up around 80 per cent, which New Zealand Bloodstock will be very pleased about.

I think they were marvellous results for vendors, which is what they needed.

Throughout the catalogue, they were really nice horses and well-grown. We had a mild winter and a great spring. New Zealand’s great growing conditions really came to the fore.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any horses that you bought for particularly good value?

PC: I managed to buy a Snitzel filly out of Echezeaux (NZ) (Encosta De Lago), from the great Pencarrow family of Grand Echezeaux (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), Darci Brahma (NZ) (Danehill {USA}) and those sorts of horses.

Watch: Snitzel x Echezeaux (NZ) filly parade

I was thrilled to buy that filly for NZ$450,000. It’s a hard family to buy into, and especially since this filly is by Snitzel and had vetted so well. So that was a real highlight of this year’s sale for me.

I also bought a beautiful Vadamos (Fr) for OTI Racing that will remain in New Zealand and will be trained by Roger James.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any yearlings that you were disappointed to miss out on?

PC: We missed out on a few, but that’s the beauty of auctions.

Probably the main one was a beautiful Toronado (Ire) from the draft of Hallmark Stud. We desperately wanted him and actually went well beyond our budget to try to get him, but we missed out. That’s the way it goes!

TDN AusNZ: Did any first season sires particularly impress you with the quality of their progeny?

PC: New Zealand’s first season sires were really well presented by the vendors. I was impressed by Vadamos (Fr), Turn Me Loose (NZ) and Tivaci. They were very nice horses and looked like typical, scopey New Zealand stayers – the types of horses Australian buyers have traditionally come over here to buy.

Dean Hawkins (Wentwood Grange)

The Hawkins family’s Wentwood Grange enjoyed a landmark sale at Karaka. They finished third on the vendors’ table by aggregate, with 26 horses selling for a total of NZ$4,200,000 and an average price of NZ$161,538. The highlight was their very first half-million-dollar yearling – a filly by Savabeel out of their Group 1 winner Valley Girl (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), sold to Chris Waller and Mulcaster Bloodstock for NZ$500,000.

TDN AusNZ: What were your overall impressions on the market?

DH: It was a fantastic sale for us, a real cracker. Overall, the market appeared to me to be very strong. There was a great buyers’ bench assembled, and they were very strong on the horses that they liked. A lot of people will be very happy with how the sale went.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any horses in your draft that you thought the buyers got for particularly good value?

DH: We don’t really want to single any horses out. Our draft sold very well right across the board, and we’re just so pleased with the results that we achieved – not only for us, but for all of our great clients as well. They’ve gone to great homes and we can’t wait to follow their progress.

John Thompson (Rich Hill Stud)

Rich Hill had a strong sale, amassing an aggregate of NZ$1,960,000 from 16 yearlings sold with an average of NZ$122,500. A particular highlight was their first season sire Vadamos (Fr), who performed strongly with 21 yearlings selling for a total of NZ$2,640,000, averaging NZ$125,714.

TDN AusNZ: What were your overall impressions on the market?

JT: I think we were very lucky that the Australian buyers came over in such big numbers. New Zealand Bloodstock did a great job in assisting them with travel and accommodation.

It was a strong sale. A lot of horses sold really well and a lot of vendors will come out of it very happy with their results.

To me, a particular highlight was that it was great to see that they were back buying the staying types. There was great demand for those sorts of horses, including our stallion Shocking, whose progeny averaged NZ$145,000.

It was also great to see our first season sire Vadamos (Fr) so well received.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any horses in your draft that you thought the buyers got for particularly good value?

JT: I thought the Vadamos (Fr) filly out of Bluegrass (Fasliyev {USA}) was very good buying by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr at NZ$90,000.

There was also a Vadamos colt out of Shaheen (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) that Henry Dwyer got for NZ$60,000.

On the whole, our horses sold really well throughout our draft. Those two Vadamos yearlings were probably the only two that possibly didn’t quite reach my expectations. But they were really well bought and should be lovely horses for those buyers.

Craig Rounsefell (Boomer Bloodstock)

Craig Rounsefell and Bruce Harvey form The Hong Kong Jockey Club buying team, who successfully secured four purchases in Book 1 on behalf for a total of NZ$1,240,000 at an average price of NZ$310,000.

TDN AusNZ: What were your overall impressions on the market?

CR: I thought the market was solid across the board for the nice horses and the sale held up very well considering the high number of first season sires. The money was definitely there for a nice horse although in saying that we found it much easier to buy the ones we wanted than earlier in the month.

Watch: Savabeel x Candelabra (colt) parade

TDN AusNZ: Were there any horses that you bought for particularly good value?

CR: Our final purchase of the sale, Lot 483 a Savabeel colt from Waikato was one that we identified early and would have been very disappointed if we didn’t get him. We thought he would be a great fit for Hong Kong and given what the other nice Savabeel’s were making we considered him good value.

TDN AusNZ: Were there any yearlings that you were disappointed to miss out on?

CR: We were extremely disappointed to miss out on the Pierro colt from Westbury (Lot 155). We gave it a decent swing but just fell short. I guess we weren’t the only ones as he topped the sale but were disappointed all the same.