Consistent Conditions Make Day One a Breeze

New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2022 Ready to Run Sale Breeze Ups took place at Te Rapa Racecourse on Monday 17 October, with 148 two-year-olds having the opportunity to gallop down the home straight of Waikato Racing Club. 

Ideal weather and track conditions saw a smart display of Breeze Up times throughout the duration of the first day, with NZB also opting to include an anemometer reading for the first year.

While each juvenile is expertly prepared by New Zealand’s leading consignors, there was plenty of action on course during Day One, with an array of key buyers, trainers and agents actively inspecting on the grounds.

Bryce Tankard of Waikato Bloodstock was pleased with the quality he saw on course during Day One of his analysis.

“It is always fantastic to be able to see what the two-year-olds action is like and how they are striding out on the turf.”

“We have been able to see how the horses have developed since the yearling sales, so there are a lot of benefits from being here on course.

“There are a lot of really nice horses here and horses that you would expect from the Sale too. The vendors who have pinhooked paid a bit of money for them and we can certainly see that here today,” he said.

Agent Chris Rutten also discussed the natural advantage NZB’s two-year-old graduates gain from breezing up at Te Rapa Racecourse and the benefits of Waikato Racing Club’s facilities. 

“It’s great to see the horses and how they parade during the day. You can actually go and see them in the tie ups here at Te Rapa and check out their demeanour as they walk around the mounting yard.”

“It’s a good gauge to see how they’re going to perform on a race day. They are going to be racing on a turf surface, so it’s great to see how they will handle it, as well as their action and how they pull up after.

“It’s actually very insightful to see them when they come off the track and evaluate how settled and relaxed they are post-breeze,” he said.

Day One Highlights

• This morning’s track conditions were recorded at a Soft 5 and the weather was overcast, changing to very light showers late in the day.
• The fastest pair of the day was Heat 39 who breezed up in a time of 10.11 from JC Thoroughbreds' draft. Lot 270 is a gelding by Lonhro out of Listed-winning mare Silver Eclipse (NZ) (Darci Brahma) while Lot 275 is another gelding by Telperion out of Showcasing mare Smile (NZ).
• Riversley Park prepared Heat 2, with Lot 311, a gelding by Grunt (ex Tuscadero), who ran in a time of 10.15, while Lot 30, a gelding by Turn Me Loose (ex Blumarji) clocked a time of 10.16.
• Lot 35, an Iffraaj gelding out of Redoute’s Choice mare Bronte Walk (NZ) breezed up in a time of 10.24, prepared by Lilywhites Lodge.
• While Lot 142, a No Nay Never colt (ex La Cicciolina) also ran in 10.24, prepared by Riverrock Farm.
• Ohukia Lodge prepared a pair of colts who breezed in smartly during the first Heat of the day. Hailing from Waikato Stud super sires, Lot 65 is a Savabeel colt out of Pins mare Daisy Chain (NZ) who breezed home in 10.85, while Lot 217, a Sacred Falls colt out of Savabeel mare Pleased (NZ) ran in a time of 10.84.

NZB is again offering extended Breeze Up clips, including additional footage near the 600 metre mark to capture horses before they fully extend into their gallop. As per usual, horses will also have the last 200 metres of their work individually timed.

Providing even more information for buyers, NZB has again recorded the mounting yard at Te Rapa, with vision of all two-year-olds being paraded prior to their Breeze Up.

The full Breeze Ups clips and parade footage will be made available for viewing on NZB’s website by Friday 21 October, as well as streamed on Trackside in New Zealand, plus Sky Racing and Racing.com in Australia.

Day Two of NZB’s Breeze Ups will commence at Te Rapa Racecourse on Tuesday 18 October at 10AM (NZT).

View Day One’s Breeze Up times here.

View the interviews and highlights from Day One here.