Karaka Graduate Tops Hong Kong’s International Sale
18 March 2015
Kiwi thoroughbreds starred in Hong Kong over the weekend with success both in the sale ring and on the track.
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Pins gelding (Lot 5) tops Hong Kong International Sale at NZ$1,225,919 (HK$7,000,000). |
The 2015 Hong Kong International Sale took place at Sha Tin on Saturday with a New Zealand-bred gelding by Pins fetching the highest price of the Sale.
The Hong Kong International Sale had 24 lots catalogued, four of these were purchased at Karaka as yearlings. The total aggregate of the Sale concluded at NZ$16,619,965 (HK$94,900,000) at an average of NZ$692,499 (HK$3,954,167), an increase by over NZ$194,000 (HK$654,167) from the 2014 International Sale.
Topping the Sale was the New Zealand-bred Pins gelding (Lot 5), purchased by Alan Cheng Kin Sang for NZ$1,225,919 (HK$7,000,000). Sourced from NZB’s 2014 Karaka Premier Sale, he was purchased at Karaka by The Hong Kong Jockey Club for NZ$260,000 from Little Avondale Stud.
The two-year-old is by Waikato Stud’s stallion Pins and is out of unraced mare Savamour (Savabeel). He is from the same family as top-class Hong Kong stakes winners Billion Win (Coronation Day) and Unique Jewellery (O’Reilly).
The second-top price of the Sale was also sourced from Karaka with Allen Shi Lop Tak purchasing Lot 9, a gelding by Exceed and Excel for NZ$963,222 (HK$5,500,000). Allen Shi Lop Tak took home a second New Zealand purchase, Lot 14, an O’Reilly gelding for NZ$665,499 (HK$3,800,000).
Lot 3, a High Chaparral gelding, was also sourced from Karaka and was purchased for NZ$823,117 (HK$4,700,000) by Ping Kwok Cheung at the Sale.
These four New Zealand horses were all graduates of Karaka’s 2014 Premier Sale, with the exception of the O’Reilly gelding (Lot 14) who was bought at the 2013 Karaka Premier Sale. They were all purchased by The Hong Kong Jockey Club, with the highest purchase at Karaka being NZ$320,000 (Lot 3).
After being purchased at Karaka, the horses were consigned to Bruce and Maureen Harvey’s Ascot Farm, where they were broken in, educated and prepared for the 2015 Hong Kong International Sale. Prior to the Sale, each horse is breezed up, still under the guidance of Ascot Farm.
The horses were purchased at Karaka for a total of NZ$1,080,000, averaging NZ$270,000 which resulted in a return of NZ$3,677,757, averaging NZ$919,439 – almost NZ$227,000 over the average price for the overall Sale.
Kiwi-bred horses featured further at the Sale with a second Pins gelding (Lot 18), out of O’Reilly mare Lucida, was sold for NZ$910,683 (HK$5,200,000) to Hung Chan Kam, and a New Zealand-bred Commands gelding was purchased for NZ$735,552 (HK$4,200,000) by Vicky Tang.
“Even though there were only four horses purchased from Karaka in the Sale, I think they stood out on type,” commented NZB’s Director of Business Development Mike Kneebone who attended the Hong Kong Sale.
“The top price being by Pins would have been highlighted by the recent winners like Ambitious Dragon and Aerovelocity, trained by Tony Millard and Paul O’Sullivan, which would have given that sire a good push up there at the moment.
“I think it is good to see the Hong Kong trainers and owners are aware of the quality that they can get from New Zealand and they proved that by the prices that they paid.”
New Zealand sire Pins has seen a glorious run of feature race success in Hong Kong, particularly with the likes of Aerovelocity (NZ) and Ambitious Dragon (NZ). Aerovelocity, the winner of this season’s Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint who is trained by Paul O’Sullivan, flew to Japan on Tuesday in his quest to win the Group 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m), which takes place at Chukyo Racecourse on 29 March.
The Tony Millard-trained Ambitious Dragon has had a stellar racing career to date, twice being crowned Hong Kong Horse of the Year. His wins include the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth ll Cup and the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile along with victories in five HK-1 races.
The success of the Kiwi-bred horses continued on Sunday with six winners at Sha Tin’s racemeeting which featured the HK-1 Hong Kong Derby.
Kick-starting the winning way in the first race of the day was Fortune Territory (NZ) (Danroad) followed by All My Gain (NZ) (Any Suggestion), Rouge Et Blanc (NZ) (High Chaparral), Top Act (NZ) (O’Reilly), Righteous (NZ) (Coats Choice) and Super Talent (NZ) (Keeper), the last three kiwi winners were all purchased at Karaka.
To view the results of the Hong Kong International Sale, click here.