Written by Bren O'Brien
New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) has opted to revert to a January sale date for its iconic 2023 National Yearling Sales Series from 2023.
The 2022 Sale was held in March in a bid to facilitate greater participation, with hopes that the New Zealand border would be open by that time. Restrictions did ease to allow New Zealand citizens to return home to attend the Sale, but there was no possibility of Australian citizens to attend the week-long Sales Series.
The schedule shift had prompted discussions from several vendors on whether the Sale should permanently move to the March timeslot, given the benefit many of the yearlings took from an extra six weeks of development and the break it gave many of those working on preparation over the Christmas period.
The 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Sale-topper, Savabeel x Chandelier (NZ) (colt) purchased for NZ$1 million by Annabel Neasham Racing and Tony Fung Investments | Image courtesy of NZB
However, while New Zealand Bloodstock received feedback from both vendors and buyers, Managing Director Andrew Seabrook said January stood out as the obvious time to sell.
“Thought had been given to making the move to March permanent, however it is such a congested time of the year with Australian sales and racing,” he said.
“A post-Sale canvas of some key Australian buyers supports our view that a January sale will be more beneficial to NZB, its vendors and buyers."
“A post-Sale canvas of some key Australian buyers supports our view that a January sale will be more beneficial to NZB, its vendors and buyers." - Andrew Seabrook
Indeed, it was the lure of getting those Australian buyers back to Karaka next January that proved decisive as well as the availability of staff in the late summer holiday season.
“We believe we will get more Australians to a Sale in January, whilst at the same time having the advantage of being the second, rather than sixth, yearling sale in the season.
“From a logistical perspective, we received a lot of feedback from our vendors that it is far easier to get staff in January than in March, and of course, it’s beneficial having the Karaka Million Twilight Race Meeting as an entrée to the week of selling,” he said.
“From a logistical perspective, we received a lot of feedback from our vendors that it is far easier to get staff in January than in March, and of course, it’s beneficial having the Karaka Million Twilight Race Meeting as an entrée to the week of selling." - Andrew Seabrook
International investment has been key to the success of the National Yearling Sale on pre-COVID times, traditionally making up between 55-65 per cent of total spend. However, since the onset of the COVID pandemic, it has been the local buying bench which has been to the fore, buying 60 per cent of the horses on offer in 2022 and spending 57 per cent of the gross.
The Book 1 aggregate in 2022 grew from NZ$51 million at the heavily COVID-impacted 2021 Sale to NZ$63 million at the less-restricted 2022 edition, up 24 per cent.
NZB is confident those numbers can increase again in 2023, which will be held on the following dates:
Book 1 Sale – Sunday, January 29 to Tuesday, January 31
Book 2 Sale – Wednesday, February 1 to Friday, February 3
The 2023 Karaka Million Twilight Meeting will be held on Saturday, January 28.
