NZB Announces New March Sale
19 May 2006
New Zealand Bloodstock has this week announced that it will be adding a March Sale to its schedule of yearling sales in 2007.
New Zealand Bloodstock has confirmed that the Premier, Select and Festival Sales will keep their usual January start date, and a new 'Karaka Carnival Sale' will be scheduled for the Auckland Racing Club's Auckland Cup week in March.
New Zealand Bloodstock Marketing & Public Relations Manager, Petrea Vela, explains: "There are exciting times ahead in New Zealand, with much-needed regulatory changes about to come into effect and the domestic breeding and racing industries set to benefit enormously. As part of this it is our job to ensure that the breeders have every opportunity to maximise the benefits that these changes will bring."
"Part of this process has been for us to speak directly to buyers and vendors and gather feedback on how they think the sales structure could be improved. These discussions have taken place over the past weeks and months and, as a result, we have decided to make some key changes to the current yearling sales format."
"A wide selection of vendors had indicated to us that they were keen to have a yearling sale in March. With the huge success of the Auckland Racing Club's new Auckland Cup Carnival this year, it presented an ideal opportunity to offer the industry a Sale within that week."
The one-day Carnival Sale is therefore scheduled for Friday 9 March 2007.
Auckland Racing Club's Chief Executive, Chris Weaver, is thrilled with the addition to the Club's Carnival week: "Our goal is to make Cup Week the pinnacle event of the racing calendar, so for NZB to add a sale day within that week only heightens our ability to do that. I have no doubt that there will be huge interest from both Auckland City and the industry."
The plan is for the Carnival Sale to complement the existing National Yearling Sales Sessions, with the additional benefit of more prizemoney filling owners' pockets between January and March making it a timely opportunity for reinvestment.
Petrea confirms, "We envisage that this will be a sale for Select and upper-Festival Sale quality yearlings, and the entry fee will reflect this. The concept has received a lot of support from vendors so we hope to receive good quality entries to ensure the Sale is a success."
One of the country's leading vendors, Mark Chittick of Waikato Stud, is one such breeder in support of the new initiative: "With the first Auckland Cup Carnival such a success, and the potential to get even bigger over the next few years, there's a great opportunity to take advantage of the carnival atmosphere and sell some horses within that week. It allows breeders to target the March date with yearlings that need a bit more time to mature and we will definitely be supporting it with some nice horses."
New Zealand Bloodstock will retain the right to select for the Sale to ensure that the numbers are restricted to a one-day Sale.
As an additional incentive for buyers thinking about shopping at this Sale, Carnival Sale graduates will be eligible to compete for a $100,000 bonus. The New Zealand Bloodstock Carnival Sale Bonus Race for two-year-olds is scheduled to be held on New Zealand Derby Day in 2008, where the first graduate home will win a $100,000 bonus - even if they run last.
Petrea explains, "It's not likely from a one-day Sale that we would be able to assemble a full field for a dedicated graduates race, so this is a way to still be able to offer buyers at the Carnival Sale an extra incentive. The first graduate home will win the money, so as long as there is one graduate in the field, the bonus will be struck. In addition, Carnival Sale graduates will be eligible to nominate for the New Zealand Bloodstock Classique in January 2008."
With the addition of a March Sale, NZB has also made slight changes to its January dates. The Premier Sale, in recent years conducted over three-days, will be shortened to two days over 29 & 30 January 2007.
"The clear message we have received from vendors and buyers is that they would like to see the Premier Sale selected to a higher quality, so we will do that this year. It will also allow us to conduct the Select Sale over three days, giving us a free morning on the Wednesday for buyers to inspect Select Sale yearlings and to ease the transitional period between K1 and K2 for vendors."
The Select Sale will commence at 3pm on Wednesday 31 January and continue at 11am on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 February. The Festival Sale will be a one-day Sale on Sunday 4 February.
"Many people have suggested that we cancel the Festival Sale at Karaka altogether now that we are selling yearlings in March. But as well as proving to be a success in its own right, we also have a responsibility to provide a sales opportunity for all yearlings, so we want to retain the Festival Sale as a lower cost option for breeders."
New Zealand Bloodstock will call for entries for all its yearling sales in the first week in June. Entries for all Sessions will close on Wednesday 12 July 2006.