NZB RTR Sale a Classic Source of 3YOs

With New Zealand renowned for producing top performing three-year-olds, buyers will be getting ready to find their next ‘classic’ winner at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs.

Turn Me Loose (NZ) winning the Group 1 2000 Guineas.

Four Group 1 races were won by NZB Ready to Run Sale graduates last season, all of which were three-year-olds.

In the past three seasons there have been 12 stakes winning three-year-olds from the Sale, winning a combined 19 stakes races. Looking at all graduates, the Sale has produced four times the number of Group wins of any comparable sale in that time period.

The four Group 1 victories last season were won by Mongolian Khan (Holy Roman Emperor), Turn Me Loose (NZ) (Iffraaj) and Gaultier (NZ) (Rios). Last season’s winners contributed to the 13 Group 1 races that have been won by graduates since the start of the 2012/13 racing season, the only auction house to claim a Group 1 winner over that time.

New Zealand’s Horse of the Year Mongolian Khan has taken the Australasian racing scene by storm, with three Group 1 wins to date, two of which came in his three-year-old season.

A three-year-old debut winner, he won his first stakes race at just his fourth outing which was the start of four successive stakes wins, including the Group 1 New Zealand Derby. He won seven of his nine starts in his three-year-old season.

Carrying the colours of Mr Lang Lin’s China Inner Mongolia Rider Horse Group, the son of Holy Roman Emperor ran a credible fifth in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas, to fellow Karaka graduate Volkstok’n’barrell (NZ) (Tavistock), before winning the Group 1 Australian Derby.

Mongolian Khan continued the impressive record of kiwi three-year-olds in Australia – 45% of Derbies have been won by New Zealand bred or sold horses in the past five seasons. He is also the first horse to complete the New Zealand and Australia Derby double since Bonecrusher (NZ) 30 years ago.

Backing up his three-year-old form, Mongolian Khan returned this season as a four-year-old to take his success to greater heights with victory in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup.

The China Inner Mongolia Rider Horse Group purchased the entire at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2013 Ready to Run Sale for NZ$220,000 from Regal Farm, and has now amassed over A$3.8 million in prizemoney.

Mongolian Khan is trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, who have had further success with NZB Ready to Run Sale graduates in recent seasons.

The Baker/Forsman trained Turn Me Loose continued the affiliation NZB Ready to Run Sale graduates have in the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas with an effortless three-length victory, following the win of another stablemate Atlante (Fastnet Rock) in 2013.

Both Turn Me Loose and Altante franked their Group 1 New Zealand three-year-old form by winning at stakes level during the spring in Melbourne.

Turn Me Loose’s bold front running style landed him two consecutive Australian stakes wins, the first a gallant win in the Listed Seymour Cup followed by triumph in the Group 2 Schweppes Crystal Mile just six days later.

Turn Me Loose was purchased by Todd Hartley for NZ$52,500 from Mana Park at NZB’s 2013 Ready to Run Sale.

The third Group 1 winner from the 2013 NZB Ready to Run Sale is Gaultier, the winner of the Group 1 Levin Classic.

A NZ$17,500 purchase by trainer Danica Guy’s Upstage Bloodstock from Rattray Bloodstock, Gaultier is a great example of the value that can be found at the Sale, earning over eight times his purchase price in his first season of racing.

In the past six seasons, graduates have been stakes winners across eight countries and to further the kiwi three-year-old success last season Bobo So Cute (NZ) (Savabeel) and Mission Well (NZ) (Elusive City) both won at black-type level in Macau.

A son of leading New Zealand sire Savabeel, Bobo So Cute won the Listed Macau Lisboa Challenge while Mission Well took out the Listed Macau Lisboa Prelude, totalling four wins within his three-year-old preparation.

Kick starting the current crop of three-year-olds, Extra Choice (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice) is already an Australian stakes winner in the Listed Geelong Classic, his third win from eight starts. He was sold at last year’s NZB Ready to Run Sale for NZ$50,000 from Haunui Farm.

The Geelong Classic is a key lead up race to the Group 1 Victoria Derby and NZB Ready to Run Sale graduates have been consistent figures in the Group 1 Victoria Derby with Sale alumni Atmosphere (NZ) (Savabeel) entering the race as one of the favourites last year following his second placing in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase.

The Moonee Valley Vase was won the previous year by NZB Ready to Run Sale graduate Savvy Nature (NZ) (Savabeel), who is now racing in Hong Kong, before he competed in the Derby.

All three of these horses were stakes performed less than a year after being purchased at the NZB Ready to Run Sale.

New Zealand bred or sold three-year-olds have an impressive record in the Group 1 Australian three-year-old races, winning 45% of them at 2000m and above in the past three seasons.

Kiwi bred or sold three-year-olds have won the last two Group 1 Victoria Derbies and Group 1 Australian Derbies following the victory of Tarzino (NZ) (Tavistock) last weekend.

The 2015 NZB Ready to Run Sale has attracted a catalogue of 397 two-year-olds. Each horse was given the opportunity to Breeze Up with the final 200m of their work timed and filmed. Breeze Up clips can be viewed online.

New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale will be held on Wednesday 18 & Thursday 19 November at Karaka. Catalogues or a DVD copy of Breeze Ups can be requested from reception@nzb.co.nz or the online catalogue can be viewed on the NZB website.