Cover image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2025 National Yearling Sale Book 1 included the progeny of 95 stallions, 37 of which sold three or more lots. With I Am Invincible selling only two yearlings and Snitzel just the one yearling who sold at Karaka, the stallion picture from the NZB 2025 sale paints a very different picture to the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale where those two Champion Australian sires dominated.
It's all about Wootton Bassett
Wootton Bassett (GB) sits in an interesting place in the market – technically he’s a second season sire down under for this crop of yearlings, while in Europe, he’s long established as a sire of Group 1 winners and has sons at stud such as Almanzor (Fr) and Wooded (Ire).
His first Australian conceived crop, currently 2-year-olds, have hit the ground running hot thanks to city winners Wodeton, Pallaton, and Gallo Nero (also third in the R-Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic), while West of Swindon ran second in the Golden Gift, Wiltshire Square ran second in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes and third in the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (f), and Yamashita’s Gold ran second in the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (c&g).
Throw in his four European Group 1-winning juveniles in 2024, and it’s not a surprise that his nine Karaka yearlings were aggressively sought after.
Wootton Bassett (GB) | Standing at Coolmore Australia
Off a 2022 fee of $65,000 plus GST, Wootton Bassett averaged NZ$361,700 in Book 1 putting him at the top of our estimated profit chart at NZ$246,000.
In second, with a profit of NZ$164,000 is exciting sire Too Darn Hot (GB) whose six yearlings averaged NZ$254,000 off an $40,000 plus GST fee. Once again, buyers eagerly pursued his stock, with demand driven even higher by his absence from shuttling. While perceived scarcity played a role, it’s his own standout results that truly make him hot property.
It’s not just Champion 2YO Colt Broadsiding, who returned at three to win the G1 Golden Rose, but the likes of exciting group winning 3-year-olds Too Darn Lizzie, and Too Darn Discreet, and stakes placed juveniles Hot Sea and Sword Of Legacy.
| Wootton Bassett | 10 | 9 | $ 3,255,000 | $ 361,667 | $ 65,000 | 5.56 | $ 246,667 |
| Too Darn Hot | 9 | 6 | $ 1,525,000 | $ 254,167 | $ 40,000 | 6.35 | $ 164,167 |
| Proisir | 53 | 42 | $ 9,620,000 | $ 229,048 | $ 17,500 | 13.09 | $ 161,548 |
| Savabeel | 46 | 36 | $ 10,120,000 | $ 281,111 | $ 100,000 | 2.81 | $ 131,111 |
| Satono Aladdin | 40 | 30 | $ 5,030,000 | $ 167,667 | $ 12,500 | 13.41 | $ 105,167 |
| Capitalist | 5 | 5 | $ 1,190,000 | $ 238,000 | $ 90,000 | 2.64 | $ 98,000 |
| Dundeel | 6 | 6 | $ 1,180,000 | $ 196,667 | $ 60,000 | 3.28 | $ 86,667 |
| Toronado | 6 | 5 | $ 975,000 | $ 195,000 | $ 80,000 | 2.44 | $ 65,000 |
| Ace High | 7 | 3 | $ 365,000 | $ 121,667 | $ 10,000 | 12.17 | $ 61,667 |
| Per Incanto | 29 | 22 | $ 3,545,000 | $ 161,136 | $ 50,000 | 3.22 | $ 61,136 |
Table: Top ten proven sires by profit
Note: All sale figures are in NZ$. Service fees are using the currency of where the stallion stood (for ease of calculation), and while the AU$ is higher than the NZ$, there are additional export and import costs involved in moving horses across the Tasman.
GST has been excluded from service fees to align with yearling knock-down prices, which are GST-exclusive.
To calculate profitability, $50,000 was added to costs as a rough approximate of the various costs to produce a horse and present it to the sales ring. It’s important to note that these figures don’t account for the mare’s capital value.
Champion Sires lead home the Kiwis
The leading New Zealand-based sire was Champion Sire Proisir, who saw 42 of his 53 Book 1 yearlings sell for an average of NZ$229,000. Conceived off a NZ$17,500 + GST service fee, these sales delivered vendors an estimated average profit of NZ$161,500. Maintaining such strong figures across a large draft is no small feat.
With six Group 1 winners from his 22 stakes winners, and the progeny from his best books yet to come through, the future looks very bright for Proisir. His best result in 2025 was the NZ$1.1 million spent on the sister to Prowess (NZ) who was purchased by Roger James and Robert Wellwood and sold by Hallmark Stud.
New Zealand industry stalwart Savabeel had another strong sale, providing the sale-topping $2.4 million full sister to Orchestral (NZ), and coming in with a solid result for breeders who put up the NZ$100,000 plus GST service fee for the multiple Champion Sire. With 46 yearlings catalogued in Book 1, Savabeel sold 36 for an average of NZ$281,000, giving vendors an average profit of NZ$131,100.
Gallery: New Zealand-based sires that performed well at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka 2025 sale.
Proisir’s stablemate Satono Aladdin (Jpn) rounded out the top five of the proven sires, with 30 of his 40 yearlings in Book 1 selling at an average of NZ$167,700 for an estimated profit of NZ$105,000. The Group 1-winning son of Deep Impact (Jpn) has ten stakes winners led by Group 1 winner Pennyweka (NZ), while Group 2 winning juvenile filly Too Sweet (NZ) has been making headlines this summer.
Sword Of State dominates
Cambridge Stud’s Group 1 winner Sword Of State led the market at Karaka in Book 1 for the first-season sire cohort, selling 20 of his 23 catalogued lots at an average of NZ$201,000, at 13 times his debut service fee of NZ$15,000 plus GST, giving vendors an average profit of NZ$136,500.
His highest priced lot was the colt Lot 628 who was sold by Cambridge Stud to Mulberry Racing for NZ$540,000. Out of Listed winner Fuld’s Bet (I Am Invincible), the colt is a half-brother to 3-year-old colt I'm All In (Zoustar) who ran third in the G3 Northland Breeders Stakes earlier this spring.
Fellow Kiwi freshman sire Noverre (NZ) had a similar 13.5 multiple of average to service fee as Sword Of State, with his 16 sales at an average of NZ$135,000 coming off an introductory fee of NZ$10,000 plus GST. This gave vendors an average profit of NZ$75,000; a rather tidy result, adding to his massive returns at Magic Millions.
| Sword of State | 23 | 20 | $ 4,030,000 | $ 201,500 | $ 15,000 | 13.43 | $ 136,500 |
| St Mark's Basilica | 11 | 9 | $ 1,890,000 | $ 210,000 | $ 40,000 | 5.25 | $ 120,000 |
| Wild Ruler | 3 | 3 | $ 500,000 | $ 166,667 | $ 35,000 | 4.76 | $ 81,667 |
| Noverre | 21 | 16 | $ 2,170,000 | $ 135,625 | $ 10,000 | 13.56 | $ 75,625 |
| Pinatubo | 5 | 4 | $ 545,000 | $ 136,250 | $ 50,000 | 2.73 | $ 36,250 |
| Acrobat | 7 | 5 | $ 442,500 | $ 88,500 | $ 12,500 | 7.08 | $ 26,000 |
| Palace Pier | 5 | 3 | $ 370,000 | $ 123,333 | $ 50,000 | 2.47 | $ 23,333 |
| Home Affairs | 15 | 10 | $ 1,620,000 | $ 162,000 | $ 90,000 | 1.80 | $ 22,000 |
| Armory | 10 | 8 | $ 540,000 | $ 67,500 | $ 10,000 | 6.75 | $ 7,500 |
Table: Top first season sires by profit
St Mark’s Basilica headlines for Coolmore
A Group 1 winner at two who trained on to win four Group 1 races at three, St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) is a son of Siyouni (Fr) who is already successful down under thanks to the likes of Amelia’s Jewel. He was popular in his first season at Coolmore Australia, with 98 live foals at a fee of $40,000 plus GST.
Plenty of those ended up in New Zealand and he was represented by 11 yearlings in Book 1 with nine of them selling at an average of NZ$210,000, giving vendors an average profit of NZ$120,000.
His top lot was Lot 595, a colt who sold for NZ$360,000 to Patella Bloodstock from the Jamieson Park draft. Out of Express Fantasy (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}), he is the first foal for the winning half-sister to Listed winner Raghu (NZ) (Showcasing {GB}).
Lot 595 - St Mark's Basilica (Fr) x Express Fantasy (NZ) (colt) | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Ardrossan leads by multipler
One of the ways to measure return on investment is to look at the ‘fee multiplier’ or the ratio of the yearling average to the fee at time of conception. At the 2025 NZB National Yearling Sale in Book 1, it was Ardrossan who dominated this factor, with a fee multiplier of 19.34.
His current yearlings were conceived off a NZ$6,000 plus GST fee, and his Book 1 average was NZ$116,000 across 11 yearlings sold.
The Waikato Stud based sire is fashioning a solid record from small books with six stakes winners from less than 100 named foals, headlined by exciting 3-year-olds Yaldi (NZ), Ardalio (NZ), and Beau Dazzler (NZ).
Of note, his 11 yearlings in Book 1 sold from NZ$60,000 to NZ$200,000, meaning that even his cheapest yearling made a profit (of NZ$4,000) by our measures.
| Ardrossan | 15 | 11 | $ 1,280,000 | $ 116,364 | $ 6,000 | 19.394 | $ 60,364 |
| Vanbrugh | 4 | 3 | $ 320,000 | $ 106,667 | $ 6,000 | 17.778 | $ 50,667 |
| War Decree | 4 | 4 | $ 380,000 | $ 95,000 | $ 7,000 | 13.571 | $ 38,000 |
| Noverre | 21 | 16 | $ 2,170,000 | $ 135,625 | $ 10,000 | 13.563 | $ 75,625 |
| Sword of State | 23 | 20 | $ 4,030,000 | $ 201,500 | $ 15,000 | 13.433 | $ 136,500 |
| Satono Aladdin | 40 | 30 | $ 5,030,000 | $ 167,667 | $ 12,500 | 13.413 | $ 105,167 |
| Proisir | 53 | 42 | $ 9,620,000 | $ 229,048 | $ 17,500 | 13.088 | $ 161,548 |
| Sweynesse | 5 | 3 | $ 340,000 | $ 113,333 | $ 9,000 | 12.593 | $ 54,333 |
| Ace High | 7 | 3 | $ 365,000 | $ 121,667 | $ 10,000 | 12.167 | $ 61,667 |
| Acrobat | 7 | 5 | $ 442,500 | $ 88,500 | $ 12,500 | 7.080 | $ 26,000 |
Table: Sires by ratio average/fee
Second season vibes
It’s always tricky for a vendor to take a second crop yearling to the sales. The first crop have been educated and trainers have formed an opinion on them, but very few have raced so buyers are judging stallions on vibes.
Technically, in Australia, in 2024/25, only 573 2-year-olds have faced the starter (as at February 2025) from a crop of 13,311 foals, merely 4.3 per cent of the foal crop.
Wootton Bassett (GB) is technically a member of this group, despite being proven in Europe, and it’s almost unfair to compare him to the true second season sires who don’t have collection of European Group 1 winners to assist in his value.
Lot 141 - Ole Kirk x Narumi (colt) | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Of the remainder, Ole Kirk sold all three of his yearlings in Book 1 at an average of NZ$136,700 at a profit for vendors of NZ$31,700. His top lot was a NZ$200,000 colt, Lot 141 purchased by Laming Racing of Queensland. Having the R-Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner O’ Ole and ill-fated Group 3 winner King Kirk in his first crop has helped his popularity.
New Zealand shuttle stallion Hello Youmzain (Fr) had a big cohort of yearlings in Book 1 with 34 of his 43 catalogued horses selling for a gross over NZ$3.2 million. He returned his vendors an average profit of NZ$15,000, thanks to the racecourse deeds of European group winners Electrolyte (Ire) and Misunderstood (Fr), and local winners Remala (NZ) and Hello Romeo (NZ).
| Wootton Bassett | 10 | 9 | $ 3,255,000 | $ 361,667 | $ 65,000 | 5.564 | $ 246,667 |
| Ole Kirk | 3 | 3 | $ 410,000 | $ 136,667 | $ 55,000 | 2.485 | $ 31,667 |
| Hello Youmzain | 43 | 34 | $ 3,240,000 | $ 95,294 | $ 30,000 | 3.176 | $ 15,294 |
| North Pacific | 3 | 3 | $ 240,000 | $ 80,000 | $ 20,000 | 4.000 | $ 10,000 |
| Bivouac | 8 | 5 | $ 550,000 | $ 110,000 | $ 60,000 | 1.833 | $ - |
| Circus Maximus | 9 | 3 | $ 190,000 | $ 63,333 | $ 17,500 | 3.619 | -$ 4,167 |
Table: Second season sires
