Emerging Sires Shine in Online Yearling Sale

Buyer demand for freshman and emerging talent was evident throughout New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2022 National Online Yearling Sale, with the highlight prices all secured by exciting young New Zealand sires. 

For the second year, the digital postscript to NZB’s National Yearling Sales Series took place on premium online subsidiary Gavelhouse Plus on Wednesday 20 April.

The highlight of the Sale came in the middle of the online session when Lot 49 was purchased for $34,000 by NZB Agent Alex Teng on behalf of an internationally-based client.

The Lot was the only progeny to be offered by in-form emerging sire, Turn Me Loose, out of Lady Grace (NZ) (Sir Percy) and was sold by astute breeder Gordon Cunningham under his Curraghmore banner.

Cunningham was delighted by the sale of his colt in the online format.

“He was a good colt and was bought very well. Timing can be everything and with his sire (Turn Me Loose) going so well at the moment, the price he made really didn’t surprise me.”

“I hope he will be a great horse for his new owners.”

Agent Alex Teng also commented on the purchase on behalf of the new owners.

“This colt was bought by a client based in Hong Kong who also races lots of horses in Macau too,” he said.

“The horse was on my list. He was a big, strong colt by the rising flying sire Turn Me Loose. He has a big frame and will probably take a bit of time, which is great, because he is destined for Asia. He will be a nice horse in the making,” Teng said. 

Cambridge Stud was responsible for selling the second highlight of the Sale in Lot 39 for $33,000. The colt by sire of the moment Almanzor out of Montjeu mare Game Duchess (NZ) was purchased by Central Districts-based trainer Raymond Connors and is a half-brother to Group Three winners Dark Princess (NZ) (Cape Blanco) and Exquisite Jewel (NZ) (Lucky Unicorn). 

Also offered by Cambridge Stud was Lot 32 selling for $22,000. The colt is by first season sire Embellish out of Johar mare Fazzle (NZ). 

Cambridge Stud Sales and Nominations Representative Cameron Ring was pleased with the demand for Embellish’s stock. 

“He was a well-proportioned, balanced colt out of a Group Two-winning mare. He appears to be very typical of what the sire is leaving and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him up and running early.”

Ring also commented on the rationale behind offering lots digitally.  

“We specifically held all four lots back for the Sale for various reasons. So it is good to see them make nice prices.”

“We always want to provide our buyers with plenty of comprehensive information and to display the horses as best as possible. We actively use NZB’s gavelhouse.com and Gavelhouse Plus subsidiaries because we feel the horses tend to get a lot of exposure. We see the online format as a great way to trade horses in this current climate,” he said.

Robert Wellwood, who trains in partnership with Group One-winning trainer Roger James under their Kingsclere Stables banner, secured the third-highest priced lot in the online session for $32,000. Lot 69, a colt by emerging sire Satono Aladdin out of Sir Percy mare Precious Jade (NZ) was bought by the duo from Rich Hill Stud’s draft. 

Wellwood commented on the digital purchase.

“We looked at a few of the horses that we liked in the Sale and thought he was the standout. His pedigree goes back to a family that Roger has had a fair bit of involvement with.”

“He thought he has good depth, a great pedigree and we really like what Satono Aladdin is doing at the moment. He definitely ticked a few boxes for us.

“We still have a few shares in him left to sell and people can give either myself or Roger a call if they are interested,” Wellwood said. 

Bloodstock Executive Kane Jones commented on the digital sale action.

“We saw spirited competition for the quality yearlings on offer tonight, with the total turnover surpassing $442,000.”

“The online format has been adopted well by our buyers, with an abundance of information supplied by our vendors, to provide full transparency and confidence in the product on offer.

“It was extremely encouraging to see local young and emerging sires, like Almanzor, Turn Me Loose, Satono Aladdin and Embellish feature prominently in the results.

“The team is working tirelessly behind the scenes and we fully expect to sell more horses over the coming days.”

All lots purchased from the National Online Yearling Sale are eligible to be nominated for NZB’s lucrative Karaka Million Series. Just nine short months after they make their virtual sale-ring debut, graduates of the online sale can compete for a share of the $1m Doubletree by Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1200m), followed by the $1m Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) in their three-year-old season, and then the $100,000 CollinsonForex Karaka Cup (2200m) for the remainder of their careers.

To make enquiries about Passed Lots contact Kane Jones on +64 27 274 4985 or email kane.jones@nzb.co.nz or Regan Donnison on +64 21 512 466 or email regan.donnison@nzb.co.nz.

View the full 2022 National Online Yearling Sale results here.