$400,000 Red Ransom Colt Tops RTR Day One

18 November 2008

The first day of New Zealand Bloodstock's Ready to Run Sale of two-year-olds has showed resilience�to recent�economic pressures with results holding up well against those posted�at�last year's record�Sale.

With 212 lots catalogued for�Day One of the two-day Sale the average was $61,128 ($61,134 in 2007) by the close of play, with a $32,500 median ($36,000 in 2007) and 61% clearance rate (70% in 2007).��Turnover is currently $6,907,500 for the 113 horses sold today.

Lot-62

�Today's sale-topper Lot 62 breezing up at Te Rapa on 20 October.

The top lot of the day came at Lot 62, a Red Ransom colt purchased by Singapore-based trainer Stephen Gray for $400,000. From Lady Circles (Ascot Knight), a half-sister to Elvstroem and Haradasun, the colt consigned by Esker Lodge breezed up in a speedy 10.66 seconds.

Ex-pat Kiwi Gray was delighted with his purchase, "He's a good looking colt with a strong stallion pedigree and was�great value at the price.

"We'll send him down to my parents place (in Palmerston North) to mature and will race him in New Zealand before we look at taking him to Singapore. We're in no hurry with him and will look to start him as a late two-year-old/early three-year-old."

The second highest price of the day�came at Lot 93 with the Zabeel colt from Macanudo (Kingdom Bay)�bought by Graeme Rogerson for $320,000. From a half-sister to the dam of Queensland Oaks winner Vouvray, the colt offered by Phoenix Park did not breeze up.

Rogerson was also the leading buyer of the�day with four horses bought for $965,000.

New Zealand Bloodstock Managing Director Sales & Marketing Petrea Vela said the sale company was�pleased with�the results posted at Karaka today.

"This is our first sale since�world financial pressures have come to bear and we are very pleased by how well the market here is holding up. We are by no means immune but certainly today's results are�heartening under the current circumstances.

"There is clear strength at the top of the market but as we anticipated buyers are selective in their purchasing and the clearance rate reflects this.�We've seen good competition on the sought after lots but it's a buyers' market�and there is still plenty of opportunity to acquire some good quality young stock over the�course of tomorrow."

Today's Sale received a notable boost from�the large turnout of international buyers active ringside at Karaka, in particular from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Korea. The Seoul Racehorse Owners Association has been amongst the most prolific international buyers with ten two-year-olds purchased so far.

2008 Ready to Run Sale Day 1 Statistics

2008 Day 1 2007 Final
AVERAGE $61,128 $61,134
MEDIAN $32,500 $36,000
CLEARANCE 61% 70%
AGGREGATE $6,907,500 (113 Lots Sold) $15,100,000 (247 Lots Sold)
TOP LOT $400,000 (B.C. Red Ransom x Lady Circles)� $500,000 (B.C Rock of Gibraltar x Run and Hide)

Top Ten Lots

Lot Type Breeding Vendor Purchaser Price
62 BR.C Red Ransom / Lady Circles ESKER LODGE� MR S GRAY (Singapore) $400,000
93 B.G Zabeel / Macanudo PHOENIX PARK ROGERSON BLOODSTOCK (Hamilton) $320,000
39 B.C Keeper / Jazzmatazz PHOENIX PARK MR C MCANULTY (QLD) $300,000
143 G.C Galileo / Our Heather LYNDHURST FARM ROGERSON BLOODSTOCK (Hamilton) $275,000
29 B.C Zabeel / I'm in Heaven MANA PARK ROGERSON BLOODSTOCK (Hamilton) $260,000
74 B.C Encosta de Lago / La Veine REGAL FARM JOHN FOOTE BLOODSTOCK (QLD) $260,000
107 B.C Dehere / Miss Candy PHOENIX PARK MR C MCANULTY (QLD) $250,000
212 B.G Gold Mine / Shaayil BREMNER BLOODSTOCK MR CP BEH (Malaysia) $185,000
204 B.C More Than Ready / Sapphire Girl ESKER LODGE� MR ONG TIONG SENG (Singapore) $180,000
156 B.C Viking Ruler / Pastel CHEQUERS STUD WAIKATO BLOODSTOCK (Hong Kong) $170,000

Leading Buyers by Aggregate

Purchaser Bought Aggregate Average Top Price
ROGERSON BLOODSTOCK 4 $965,000 $241,250 $320,000
NEW ZEALAND BLOODSTOCK 15 $717,500 $47,833 $100,000
MR C MCANULTY 2 $550,000 $275,000 $300,000
MR S GRAY 2 $485,000 $242,500 $400,000
MR CP BEH 3 $385,000 $128,333 $185,000

Leading Sires by Average (3 or more sold)

Sire Sold Average Aggregate Top Price
Keeper 4 $121,500 $486,000 $300,000
Pins 4 $81,000 $324,000 $105,000
Volksraad 3 $65,833 $197,500 $82,500
Golan 3 $62,500 $187,500 $110,000
Handsome Ransom 4 $61,250 $245,000 $100,000

Leading Vendors by Average (3 or more sold)

Vendor Sold Average Aggregate Top Price
PHOENIX PARK 10 $141,150 $1,411,500 $320,000
ESKER LODGE LTD 6 $140,417 $842,500 $400,000
CHEQUERS STUD 3 $98,333 $295,000 $170,000
LYNDHURST FARM 6 $94,333 $566,000 $275,000
MANA PARK 7 $79,286 $555,000 $260,000

Leading Vendors by Aggregate

Vendor Sold Aggregate Average Top Price
PHOENIX PARK 10 $1,411,500 $141,150 $320,000
ESKER LODGE LTD 6 $842,500 $140,417 $400,000
LYNDHURST FARM 6 $566,000 $94,333 $275,000
MANA PARK 7 $555,000 $79,286 $260,000
CHEQUERS STUD 3 $295,000 $98,333 $170,000

A list of the day's Passed Lots can be viewed online. For further information on any Passed Lot contact New Zealand Bloodstock.

A further 212 two-year-olds are catalogued for sale from 11am tomorrow at Karaka. The Sale will also be streamed live online at http://www.nzb.co.nz./

For more information visit the New Zealand Bloodstock website�or contact Marketing Executive Haylie Martin (haylie.martin@nzb.co.nz).