Cover image courtesy of Trish Dunell
At A Glance
At the close of selling, Day 1 grossed a record NZ$16,206,500, up from NZ$11,329,500 last year. The 2021 sale, which was held virtually, grossed NZ$10,344,000 on the opening day.
The clearance rate settled at 68 per cent, which is marginally up on the past two years (65 per cent).
The Day 1 average of NZ$157,345 was a huge increase on last year’s corresponding figure of NZ$124,500 and the 2021 figure (NZ$129,300).
The median improved to NZ$90,000, after finishing at NZ$80,000 12 months ago. It was NZ$100,000 in 2021.
Tartan Meadow Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) paid a record NZ$800,000 for a Harry Angel (Ire) colt out of the stakes performer Monrecour (NZ) (Zacinto {GB}). Earlier, Blandford Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock went to NZ$725,000 for a colt by Written Tycoon from the stakes performer Fromparis Withlove (Smart Missile). Both colts were consigned by Kilgravin Lodge.
The top-priced filly was Lot 175, a daughter of Super Seth and the Group 1 heroine Perfect Fit (NZ) (Elusive City {USA}). She made NZ$525,000, with Shailer Racing/Hughes Bloodstock acquiring her from the Lilywhites Lodge draft.
Seven 2-year-olds realised at least NZ$500,000.
Hong Kong-based buyers were particularly active, spending NZ$6.55 million. Among those on the buyers’ list were Australian Mark Newnham and New Zealander Jamie Richards.
Hong Kong’s Yeung Kin Man was the leading buyer spending NZ$970,000 on five 2-year-olds at an average of NZ$194,000.
Contributer (Ire) had six juveniles sell for a combined NZ$1,035,000 (an average of NZ$172,500), while Justify (USA) topped the sires’ average list, with his three 2-year-olds averaging NZ$266,667 (a aggregate of NZ$800,000).
Ohukia Lodge topped the vendors’ list, with 11 horses making a combined NZ$2,845,000 at an average of NZ$258,636. Kilgravin Lodge sold seven 2-year-olds, with the aggregate NZ$2,287,500 and the average NZ$326,785.
Record-breaking Harry Angel colt Hong Kong-bound
Soon after a sale-record price of NZ$725,000 was paid for Lot 45 - a Written Tycoon colt, Tartan Meadow Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) went to a NZ$800,000 to secure Lot 143 - a colt by Harry Angel (Ire) out of the three-time winner and Group 3 runner-up Monrecour (NZ) (Zacinto {GB}). Both colts were offered by Kilgravin Lodge.
Those prices surpassed the NZ$700,000 David Ellis spent on the Savabeel-Miss Opulence (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}) colt, which was subsequently named Zeitaku (NZ), in 2020.
Wednesday’s sale-topper clocked 10.47s for his breeze. He will remain in New Zealand to be educated, before heading up to Hong Kong.
Lot 143 - Harry Angel (Ire) x Monrecour (NZ) (colt) was purchased by Tartan Meadow Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) for NZ$800,000 | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
The colt was initially sold by Inglewood Stud to RTR Partnership and McKeever Bloodstock for NZ$150,000 at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale (Book 1).
“He was one of the stars of the breezes,” Williams told The Thoroughbred Report.
“He’s by a stallion that’s now a Group 1-winning sire in Australia.
“He was a lovely yearling and he’s flourished into a real athlete.
“He (Lot 143) was a lovely yearling and he’s flourished into a real athlete.” - Andrew Williams
“He was highly recommended by the breeze-up vendor and Eion Kemp (of Kilgravin Lodge), who has done a fantastic job this year.
“He will go to an existing client in Hong Kong.”
The colt is Monrecour’s first foal and she is a half-sister to Speedy Grey (NZ) (Thorn Park), who began his career in New Zealand, before winning a Group 3 as Fifty Fifty in Hong Kong.
Other stakes winners on his page include the Listed scorer Udiditagain (NZ) (D’Cash) and the Group 2 victress Kelly O’Reilly (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}).
“He’s (the colt) a real New Zealand product, being born in the South Island,” Williams added.
“He’s a horse we’ve been following from the start of the whole breeze-up process.
“He’s (Lot 143) a horse we’ve been following from the start of the whole breeze-up process.” - Andrew Williams
“His dam is a Group performer that’s a half-sister to a Group 1 performer in Hong Kong, so that helps.”
Williams said the colt will do his pre-race education in New Zealand with Debbie Sanders.
“He will probably get up to trialling stage and then head up to Hong Kong,” Williams commented.
Gallery: Purchasers of the top lot on Day 1 of the NZB Ready to Run Sale
Williams was bidding online on Wednesday. He was unable to be at Karaka as his wife, Lily, is set to give birth to the couple’s first child any day now.
High-priced Written Tycoon colt to race in Australia
The Written Tycoon colt (Lot 45) is from the three-time winner and Listed placegetter Fromparis Withlove (Smart Missile) and was knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock for NZ$725,000.
He is a half-brother to the Matt Laurie-trained Count Of Toulouse (Lonhro), and the colt’s grandam, Umaquest (Umatilla {NZ}), was a Listed winner who has produced the Group 3 victress Yattarna (Exceed And Excel).
Lot 45 - Written Tycoon x Fromparis Withlove (colt) was purchased by Blandford Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) for NZ$725,000 | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Kilgravin Lodge and McKeever Bloodstock went to $90,000 for the colt at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale when offered by Morningside.
The 2-year-old, who breezed in 10.56s, will race in Australia, with Annabel Neasham to train him.
“We have been working the breeze-up sales in Europe extensively for many years now and we’ve built up a good record up here and we’ve been watching the New Zealand Ready to Run Sale from afar for a couple of years,” said Blandford Bloodstock’s Stuart Boman.
Stuart Boman | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
“I have been involved with a few purchases and advising a few clients from afar, but we wanted to take it to the next level this year and we’ve put a group together, some European clients, to try and buy a couple with the intention of racing them in Australia.
“With the great prizemoney available in Australia and the potential trade opportunities and a vibrant breeding industry, we’re looking at this colt in particular to hopefully get ourselves a potential stallion which is what you hear at the yearling sales regularly and I often cringed when I have read that.
“But I feel the breeze-up sales, the Ready to Run sales, the degree of information and confidence in our processes and systems, we worked this as a team.
“With the great prizemoney available in Australia and the potential trade opportunities and a vibrant breeding industry, we’re looking at this colt (Lot 45) in particular to hopefully get ourselves a potential stallion.” - Stuart Boman
“Richard Brown, my colleague, has worked this very closely and we have also enlisted the services of Andy Williams to inspect the horses and be at the breeze-ups, so it was an extensive project that we’ve worked on and he was the one we came up with.”
Boman is hoping this colt follows in the footsteps of some purchases made in Europe, including the highly successful Dream Ahead (USA) - a five-time elite-level winner and Group 1-producing sire.
“They’re (the clients) all European-based. We have a similar group up here put together and we buy breeze-up horses to have with David Simcock. We’ve been quite successful with that partnership,” Boman commented.
Dream Ahead (USA) | Standing at Bearstone Stud
“We bought the (2018) French Thousand Guineas winner called Teppal and, looking through the horses here, we also had Dream Ahead who came through the breeze-ups and was trained by David. He was a champion sprinter up here and obviously a stallion.
“There’s been others, Perfect Power, so we’ve built up a fairly good record up here at the breeze-up sales and hopefully we can bring a bit of know-how of how we do it up here.
“We are not arrogant in thinking we’re doing anything revolutionary, but we have confidence in what we do and we’ve got the people who want to back us and our opinion.”
“We are not arrogant in thinking we’re doing anything revolutionary, but we have confidence in what we do and we’ve got the people who want to back us and our opinion.” - Stuart Boman
Boman said he would talk to Neasham to discuss the plans for the colt.
“I’ve booked a flight to Australia and asked if she wants the horse to go straight into work, so we’ll find out,” he said.
“We can feel with this horse, from the descriptions from Andy and our observations and as a lot of the Written Tycoons can be, he’s probably going to be more of a 3-year-old type but we’d be hopeful he’d be up and running in the autumn.”
Annabel Neasham | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Williams said he was honoured to be given the opportunity to work with Blandford Bloodstock.
“It’s exciting that there’s new and fresh blood wanting to play in Australia. It’s obviously very exciting to be associated with Blandford Bloodstock and this particular horse,” he said.
‘It’s huge, just unbelievable’: Kilgravin Lodge team over the moon
Eion Kemp, who owns and operates the Matamata-based Kilgravin Lodge alongside wife Megan, was elated, telling TTR AusNZ it’s “the best day we’ve ever had at a breeze-up sale”.
Eion Kemp of Kilgravin Lodge | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Kilgravin Lodge offered 10 2-year-olds on Day 1, with seven changing hands for a combined price of NZ$2,287,500 at an average of NZ$326,785.
The two top lots on Wednesday were offered by Kilgravin Lodge and it also had one make NZ$425,000.
“We’ve had a huge day, the best day we’ve ever had at a breeze-up sale,” a jubilant Kemp said.
“We’ve had a huge day, the best day we’ve ever had at a breeze-up sale.” - Eion Kemp
“We’re probably in our 20th year now, so we’re absolutely stoked. It’s a great achievement for both the farm and the staff.
“It’s a big job to get them through to this stage in one piece… it’s a huge result for everyone.”
Kemp admitted the sale price of Lots 45 and 143 exceeded his expectations.
“I knew the Written Tycoon colt would sell well, but I didn’t quite think he would get to that price,” the former amateur jockey explained.
“I knew the Written Tycoon colt (Lot 45) would sell well, but I didn’t quite think he would get to that price.” - Eion Kemp
“The Harry Angel, no, I thought he may get to NZ$600,000, but definitely didn’t see that for him. I was shocked. In saying that, he was our most popular horse, he had a lot of x-ray hits.
“It’s just sensational.”
Kemp revealed there would be time for a quiet celebratory drink on Wednesday night, but with another 10 horses to go through the ring on Thursday, festivities would have to be tempered.
“We will have one or two (drinks) tonight (Wednesday), then somehow we will function tomorrow (Thursday),” he added.
Metrics make for good reading
Wednesday’s aggregate was a record-breaking NZ$16,206,500, which is NZ$4.8 million more than the corresponding figure from 12 months ago.
The clearance rate (68 per cent) was marginally better than 2021 and 2022 (65 per cent), while the Day 1 average of NZ$157,345 is far better than the corresponding figure from 12 months ago (NZ$124,500).
The median was a healthy NZ$90,000, which is NZ$10,000 more than Day 1 in 2022.
Furthermore, between Lots 104-118, six juveniles made at least NZ$300,000, with four of those realising a minimum of NZ$500,000.
Kane Jones, bloodstock sales manager of New Zealand Bloodstock, was understandably delighted with the day’s trade
“We’re really pleased. The results, compared to Day 1 last year, are strong and exceeded expectations,” Jones told TTR AusNZ.
“We’re really pleased. The results, compared to Day 1 last year, are strong and exceeded expectations.” - Kane Jones
“We went into the sale cautiously optimistic. Our expectations were tempered, but we knew we had a very strong buying bench, particularly from Hong Kong, and that reflected today (Wednesday). And we knew we had some horses on offer.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on the other sale results, but we know that our sale is by far and away the strongest of its kind in Australasia, if not the world. The results and graduates out of this sale have certainly taken us a long way.
“We’re thrilled for the team at Kilgravin Lodge. Eion and Megan have been wonderful supporters of this sale in particular, but New Zealand Bloodstock on a whole for a good number of years now.”
Kane Jones | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
More than 170 2-year-olds will be offered on Thursday, and Jones is confident of a repeat performance on Day 2.
“We expect the momentum to be sustained and continue well into tomorrow (Thursday),” he said.
“There’s some lovely horses on offer and we do expect a bit of a late flurry at the end of the day. Just the way it falls, there’s some seriously good horses late in the day.”
“We expect the momentum to be sustained and continue well into tomorrow (Thursday).” - Kane Jones
Big pinhook result for Ohukia Lodge
Lot 107 - a colt by I Am Invincible out of Lope De Lope (Lope De Vega {Ire}) - sold for NZ$580,000, providing a significant profit for the 2-year-old’s vendor Ohukia Lodge, who paid $100,000 for him from Yarraman Park Stud’s draft at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
The colt - the third-most expensive horse sold on Day 1 - was secured by N & P Balia Family Trust.
Lot 107 - I Am Invincible x Lope De Lope (colt) was purchased for NZ$580,000 by N & P Balia Family Trust | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
He is the first foal of a mare that won three races and she is a daughter of the dual Listed victress Litter (Catbird), herself a half-sister to the stakes performer Golden Oasis (Rahy {USA}).
Sadler’s Roar (Arg) (Roar {USA}) - a Group 1 winner in Argentina - also features on the colt’s page.
Lucky Sweynesse’s half-brother makes NZ$550,000
Laming Racing and John White Bloodstock paid NZ$550,000 for Lot 116 - the Contributer (Ire) half-brother to Hong Kong’s triple Group 1 hero Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse). The colt, from the Listed winner Madonna Mia (Red Clubs {Ire}), was consigned by Woburn Farm and breezed in 10.49s.
He was one of two juveniles to fetch NZ$550,000, the other being Lot 114 - a Capitalist colt out of the unraced Dissident mare Madam Veuve - who was offered by Ohukia Lodge and bought by Hong Kong’s Wing Keung So.
Lot 116 - Contributer (Ire) x Madonna Mia (colt), the half-brother to Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), was purchased for NZ$550,000 by Laming Racing and John White Bloodstock | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Lot 114 is closely related to the stakes winners Media (Gilded Time {USA}), Timbourina (Timber Country {USA}) and Cardinal Virtue.
Ohukia Lodge paid Newgate Farm $190,000 for the colt at this year’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
The second and final day of trade commences 9am AEDT (11am local time) on Thursday with Lots 191 to 383.
*Please note all tables are in NZ$
Top lots
| 143 | Harry Angel | Monrecour | C | Kilgravin Lodge | Tartan Meadow Bloodstock/Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) | $800,000 |
| 45 | Written Tycoon | Fromparis Withlove | C | Kilgravin Lodge | Blandford Bloodstock/Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) | $725,000 |
| 107 | I Am Invincible | Lope De Lope | C | Ohukia Lodge Ltd | N & P Balia Family Trust | 580,000 |
| 114 | Capitalist | Madame Veuve | C | Ohukia Lodge Ltd | Mr. Wing Keung So | $550,000 |
| 116 | Contributer | Madonna Mia | C | Woburn Farm | Laming Racing & John White Bloodstock | $550,000 |
| 175 | Super Seth | Perfect Fit | F | Lilywhites Lodge | Shailer Racing Pty Ltd/Hughes Bloodstock | $525,000 |
| 106 | Zoustar | Lombardia | C | Phoenix Park | Waikato Bloodstock | $500,000 |
| 146 | Hellbent | My Dear Friend | G | Kilgravin Lodge | Mark Newnham Bloodstock Pty Ltd | $425,000 |
| 1 | El Roca | Daly River | C | Westbury Stud | HY Investments | $400,000 |
| 80 | Savabeel | Joyous Thunder | C | Kiltannon Stables Ltd | Busuttin Racing Pty Ltd/Group One Bloodstock (FBAA) | $400,000 |
Top buyers
| Mr KM Yeung | 5 | $194,000 | $970,000 |
| Tartan Meadow Bloodstock/Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) | 1 | $800,000 | $800,000 |
| Laming Racing & John White Bloodstock | 2 | $375,000 | $750,000 |
| Blandford Bloodstock / Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) | 1 | $725,000 | $725,000 |
| HY Investments | 5 | $123,000 | $615,000 |
| N & P Balia Family Trust | 1 | $580,000 | $580,000 |
| Shailer Racing Pty Ltd/Hughes Bloodstock | 2 | $282,500 | $565,000 |
| Mr. Wing Keung So | 1 | $550,000 | $550,000 |
| Waikato Bloodstock | 1 | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| Mr DC Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) | 3 | $156,667 | $470,000 |
Vendors by aggregate
| Ohukia Lodge Ltd | 11 | $258,636 | $2,845,000 |
| Kilgravin Lodge | 7 | $326,786 | $2,287,500 |
| Riversley Park Ltd | 14 | $154,286 | $2,160,000 |
| Riverrock Farm | 10 | $125,000 | $1,250,000 |
| Kiltannon Stables Ltd | 7 | $151,429 | $1,060,000 |
| KB Bloodstock | 5 | $189,000 | $945,000 |
| Lilywhites Lodge | 6 | $143,333 | $860,000 |
| Westbury Stud | 10 | $84,500 | $845,000 |
| Woburn Farm | 4 | $187,500 | $750,000 |
| Pertab Racing | 6 | $94,167 | $565,000 |
Vendors by average (2 or more sold)
| Kilgravin Lodge | 7 | $2,287,500 | $326,786 |
| Phoenix Park | 2 | $560,000 | $280,000 |
| Ohukia Lodge Ltd | 11 | $2,845,000 | $258,636 |
| KB Bloodstock | 5 | $945,000 | $189,000 |
| Cheltenham Stables | 2 | $375,000 | $187,500 |
| Woburn Farm | 4 | $750,000 | $187,500 |
| Riversley Park Ltd | 14 | $2,160,000 | $154,286 |
| Kiltannon Stables Ltd | 7 | $1,060,000 | $151,429 |
| Regal Farm | 3 | $450,000 | $150,000 |
| Lilywhites Lodge | 6 | $860,000 | $143,333 |
Sires by aggregate
| Contributer | 6 | $172,500 | $1,035,000 |
| Zoustar | 2 | $450,000 | $900,000 |
| Harry Angel | 2 | $442,500 | $885,000 |
| Super Seth | 4 | $216,250 | $865,000 |
| El Roca | 4 | $202,500 | $810,000 |
| Justify | 3 | $266,667 | $800,000 |
| Written Tycoon | 1 | $725,000 | $725,000 |
| Charm Spirit | 5 | $141,000 | $705,000 |
| Proisir | 4 | $145,000 | $580,000 |
| I Am Invincible | 1 | $580,000 | $580,000 |
Sires by average (2 or more sold)
| Zoustar | 2 | $900,000 | $450,000 |
| Harry Angel | 2 | $885,000 | $442,500 |
| Justify | 3 | $800,000 | $266,667 |
| Super Seth | 4 | $865,000 | $216,250 |
| El Roca | 4 | $810,000 | $202,500 |
| Contributer | 6 | $1,035,000 | $172,500 |
| Ace High | 3 | $490,000 | $163,333 |
| Almanzor | 3 | $485,000 | $161,667 |
| Proisir | 4 | $580,000 | $145,000 |
| Charm Spirit | 5 | $705,000 | $141,000 |
