Five things we learned at Karaka Day 1 in 2026

Cover image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock

At A Glance

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The new format of Day 1 of the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale led to an aggregate of NZ$38,197,500, which was up from both 2025’s figure of NZ$22,605,000 and 2024’s record of NZ$30,725,5000. At the conclusion of Sunday’s trade, the clearance rate with 207 lots sold sat at 76.7 per cent, was higher than the 164 lots sold in 2024 at 73.6 per cent, so vendors are meeting the market.

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Sunday’s average of NZ$184,529 was significantly up on 2025’s day 1 average of NZ$172,557. The median finished up at NZ$140,000 compared to 2025’s NZ$120,000, down from 2024's record of NZ$150,000.

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Lot 265 was the Day 1 sale-topper selling to Chris Waller Racing / Mulcaster Bloodstock for NZ$850,000. The Snitzel colt was sold by Cambridge Stud.

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Te Akau’s David Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) was the leading buyer by aggregate on Day 1, spending NZ$3.1 million on 11 yearlings at an average of NZ$286,364. This was up on his Day 1 leading spend of NZ$2.2 million in 2025. The leading buyer by average (two or more) was Astute Bloodstock who averaged NZ$425,000 on two yearlings.

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On Day 1, the leading vendor by aggregate was Cambridge Stud, who sold 27 lots for a gross of NZ$6.1 million at an average of NZ$226,111. The leading vendor on Day 1 by average (2 or more sold) was Little Avondale Stud with six yearlings sold at an average of $289,167.

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The leading sire by aggregate is Proisir whose 23 yearlings on Day 1 sold for NZ$4.46 million, while the leading sire by average (two or more sold) was Snitzel, with two yearlings averaging NZ$705,000. The leading first season sire was Anamoe, whose three sales on Day 1 grossed NZ$1.45 million at an average of NZ$475,000.

Snitzel colt heads to Waller after topping Day 1

A quality Snitzel colt out of New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year and G1 New Zealand Oaks winner Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) emerged as the headline act on Day 1, with Lot 265 topping the sale on Day 1 at NZ$850,000 after a spirited bidding duel.

In the end, it was Guy Mulcaster, bidding alongside Chris Waller Racing, who landed the prize offered by Cambridge Stud. The combination of elite bloodlines proved too hard to resist and the colt ultimately signed off as the day’s top lot.

“He is a beautiful colt by Champion Sire Snitzel, out of a New Zealand Bloodstock filly of the year, Amarelinha,” Mulcaster said.

Mulcaster said the colt had made a lasting impression from early inspections and was a clear target for a client keen to secure a top-class male.

“I had a really good client that wanted to buy a good, good colt today and he's hopefully going to buy some good fillies tomorrow. So fingers crossed, but, you know, he was a horse we saw early, and he just stayed in my mind, and we're lucky enough to take our client to see him today, and he behaved really well.”

Purchasing from Cambridge Stud added another layer of confidence.

“Buying off Cambridge, you can't go wrong,” he said.

The colt was one of several successful purchases on the day for Mulcaster, who said the strategy had been selective rather than speculative.

“We have picked and chosen what we've been buying today and we've done pretty well. I think we've got half a dozen so far, and we've got quite a long list, so we'll see how we go tomorrow.”

Adding further significance to the purchase, the Snitzel colt is the final foal out of Amarelinha, one of the standout fillies of her generation. Her breeders have retained her first foal, an Almanzor (Fr) colt who is now a 2-year-old and has been named Amarzon (NZ).

With pedigree, physique, and provenance all aligned, the Day 1 topper now heads into the care of Chris Waller, carrying both expectation and the legacy of an outstanding racemare.

Standout Super Seth colt added to the Wanless portfolio

Ron and Judi Wanless continued a red-hot run on the track, with a couple lovely purchases on Day 1 as they secured one of the standout colts of the sale, going to NZ$675,000 for Lot 93 - a Super Seth colt out of the unraced Almanzor mare Rozala (NZ).

Purchased through KPW Bloodstock, the colt was signed for by Milly Walls, acting on behalf of the Wanlesses, who enjoyed a memorable midweek double at Kensington on Wednesday with Prince Charge (NZ) (Hello Youmzain {Fr}) and Castagnola (So You Think {NZ}) for trainers Chris Waller and Bjorn Baker respectively.

Walls said familiarity with the family, combined with the colt’s physical presence, made the decision a confident one.

“I’ve been buying on type,” Walls said. “We actually bought the half-brother to this colt last year (for NZ$100,000). He’s won a jump-out for us and I know he goes pretty well.

“I thought this was just an outstanding colt, one of the best-moving colts on the complex. Ron wanted to keep putting his hand up. I said no, but he kept on going.”

Rozala continues to enhance her profile as a producer. She is a half-sister to Legramor (NZ) (Commands), the dam of Public Attention (NZ) (Written Tycoon), and earlier this month at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Legramor's Satono Aladdin (Jpn) filly sold to Sheamus Mills for $575,000 from the Widden Stud draft.

The pedigree also taps into a powerful New Zealand family, being part of the extended line of Champion 3YO Katie Lee (NZ) (Pins), whose career highlights included victories in both the G1 2000 Guineas and the G1 1000 Guineas.

Walls was active elsewhere on the day, stepping up to NZ$300,000 earlier in the session to secure Lot 17 - a filly by Sword Of State from the Trelawney Stud draft, out of the Ocean Park (NZ) mare Oceans Eight (NZ).

The filly boasts a deep page, with her second dam Ruud Van Slaats (NZ) (Van Nistelrooy {USA}) a dual Group 2 winner and now the dam or granddam of four black-type performers.

“She’s a filly from another family I know well,” Walls said. “I thought she was a lovely, lovely filly. Fillies from that family are hard to get, so Judi’s going to have a lot of fun racing her.”

Second season sire Sword Of State sells super

Cambridge Stud’s Group 1-winning Snitzel colt Sword Of State has been one of the most talked-about stallions of the season, and his momentum in the early 2-year-old races on both sides of the Tasman translated directly to the Karaka sales ring.

Headlining his first crop are the unbeaten Warwoven, two-from-two before being an unlucky morning scratching as a red-hot favourite for the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic, the Listed winner Torture (NZ), who ran a brave third in Saturday’s R. Listed Karaka Millions 2YO, and the promising State The Obvious (NZ). With that level of juvenile performance already on the board, buyer confidence was high.

That confidence was reflected in strong demand for his stock across Book 1, where 23 lots were offered, with a further 13 catalogued later in the sale. Off a 2023 service fee of NZ$15,000 plus GST, Sword Of State is already delivering a compelling return on investment.

His standout offering on the day was Lot 103, a filly out of Savvy Dreams (NZ) (Savabeel), herself Group 3-placed and G1 New Zealand Oaks-placed on the track. Consigned by Milan Park, the filly drew strong interest as buyers keyed in on pedigree depth paired with early-running appeal. Ultimately, Ben Kwok emerged victorious in the sales ring, paying NZ$425,000 for the filly.

Another eye-catcher was Lot 60, a colt from Milan Park out of Pussy O’Reilly (NZ), a Listed winner and Group 1-placed performer. The mare has already proven her worth at stud, producing the three-time Group 3 winner on both sides of the Tasman and G1 New Zealand Oaks-placed Positivity (NZ) (Almanzor {Fr}), who remains in training with Andrew Forsman. Edward Hi Tak Hung secured the colt for NZ$360,000.

Scott Calder of Cambridge Stud said the market response came as little surprise given what breeders and buyers have been seeing on the ground.

“He's a horse everyone has been talking about. A lot of his horses that we have seen at the parades and the farms have been really nice, so there has been a bit of confidence around.”

Calder was particularly pleased to see the results achieved by long-time supporters of the farm.

“To see the likes of Trelawney and Milan Park get some really good results has been fantastic. As they are great supporters of the farm and especially of Sword Of State,” he said.

When measured against the stallion’s opening service fee, the figures stack up even more impressively.

“There has been some great results on their own, but when you judge off the service fee it’s even better.”

And with more quality still to come through the ring, the Sword Of State story looks far from finished.

“We have some Sword Of States that are belters tomorrow, some have been some of our more popular yearlings including a half to Ceolwulf, so there is a bit to look forward to.”

The Well Written duo strike early

It didn’t take long for Stephen Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock to make their mark on Day 1 of the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, securing Lot 1 — a strong, athletic Harry Angel (Ire) colt out of the Testa Rossa mare Name Of The Rose (Testa Rossa) from the Hallmark Stud draft, which the duo secured for NZ$180,000.

The purchase followed hot on the heels of a scintillating victory by Well Written (Written Tycoon) in the R. Listed Karaka Million 3YO - a colt the duo had snapped up for NZ $80,000 from the Brighthill draft via the 2024 National Online Yearling Sale.

This new acquisition is out of a half-sister to dual Listed winner Nocturnelle (Elusive Quality {USA}), who herself has produced the Group 3 winner and emerging sire Dracarys, giving the colt both pedigree depth and early promise.

“Just a nice well put together colt," said Marsh. "The stallion's going really good with his colts, he is really putting his hand-up. He is a tidy, forward type and being early in the sale I thought he was good value, we were keen to strike and he was very high on the radar.”

The duo struck again with Lot 39, a Hello Youmzain (Fr) filly out of Perform A Miracle (More Than Ready {USA}), purchased for NZ$140,000 from the Westbury Stud draft.

“She is a lovely filly, by a stallion on the improve, has a nice pedigree and we liked her being out of a More Than Ready mare.”

Rounding out their Day 1 purchases was Lot 252, a Proisir colt out of Agent Provocateur (NZ) (Shocking) for NZ$150,000 from the Brighthill draft.

“We loved him, he is a classic New Zealand style of colt, he has a tough New Zealand pedigree, and he looks the type that won't let you down, by a New Zealand Champion stallion in Proisir.”

Riding the wave of recent success, Stephen Marsh currently sits second in the New Zealand Training Premiership, just two wins behind Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, and has already trained 12 stakes winners this season.

In total, the duo invested NZ$470,000 for three lots on Day 1, continuing a strong trend from last year’s 11 Book 1 purchases, which totalled NZ$1,930,000 at an average of NZ$175,454 - headlined by the 2-year-old colt now named Perfect Pour (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}), purchased from the Curraghmore draft for NZ$450,000.

Payne crosses the Tasman and strikes again

David Payne doesn’t make a habit of coming to Karaka these days - but when he does, it tends to matter.

A standout colt by Satono Aladdin proved enough to lure the veteran horseman back across the ditch on Sunday, marking his first purchase at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka Sale in more than a decade.

The South African-born, Sydney-based trainer last raised his hand at Karaka in 2013, going to NZ$150,000 for a High Chaparral (Ire) colt. That buy was just another chapter in a relationship with the sale that stretches back to the 1980s.

“I haven’t been here for at least 10 years,” Payne said. “I used to come in the 1980s, including the old days when it was at Trentham. I’ve bought a lot of good horses from here over the years, like Petrava, Take A Walk, Hoeberg – they all won Group 1 races.”

Those memories aren’t rose-tinted - they’re backed by serious racetrack results.

Fast forward to Sunday’s opening session of Book 1 at Karaka 2026, and Payne was back in familiar territory, announcing his return in decisive fashion when he stretched to NZ$450,000 to secure Lot 24.

Consigned by Little Avondale Stud, the colt is out of the twice-winning Snitzel mare On Yer Feet (NZ), herself the dam of four winners from four runners, including G3 J Swap Sprint winner Faithful Feat (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}). The pedigree runs deeper still, with close ties to dual Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Hiflyer (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}).

For Payne, the motivation to return was as personal as it was professional.

“I’m 78 years old, so I thought I might slow down, but it looks like I’m back in business,” he quipped. “My owner wanted me to come. This owner, Wayne Shelton, is keeping me in racing. I’d have 20 horses in training and he must have a share in about 15 of them.

“He’s also got a 20% in Ceolwulf, so maybe he’s spending some of the winnings from that horse. He’s raced quite a few horses with me and we’ve been successful with a lot of cheap horses, but now he’s stepping up after Ceolwulf. Before I go out, he wants to give me a Group 1 winner for him.”

The colt didn’t take long to sell himself.

“I wanted a Satono Aladdin, because I think he can give you a Classic horse,” Payne said. “I looked at them all, and I saw this one and I said, ‘Jeez, he’s just an athlete.’ He’s a lovely horse and has a lovely, fluent action. Satono Aladdin is doing well and he’s out of a Snitzel mare, so it’s all there. I just thought, ‘This is the one I’d love, if I can get him.’

“He should be a 1600-metre horse, which is what you’re looking for. I’m hoping we can try to win a Guineas or something like that.”

While Payne now operates with smaller numbers from his Rosehill base, his strike-rate at the top end remains formidable since relocating to Australia in 2002.

“You can still compete,” he said. “I’ve had Ace High, Montefilia, Criterion, all those top horses. So you just need one. I’ve always been lucky and found one, and I hope this is the next one.”

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