NZB’s South Island Sale Catalogue Available Now

The catalogue for this year’s New Zealand Bloodstock South Island Sale is now available online and will be landing in letterboxes this week.

The Sale, which will be held on Friday 15 April from 11am, has a new venue for 2016 with the sale ring now located in the Riding for the Disabled Building at the Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch.

A benefit of the Sale forming part of the National Yearling Sales Series is that it presents the final opportunity this season to purchase yearlings eligible for entry into the lucrative Karaka Million Series. The enhanced Series now features two $1m races with the $1m Karaka Million for two-year-olds in 2017, the enormously boosted $1m Karaka Million 3YO Classic in 2018 and the $100,000 Karaka Stayers’ Cup for the duration of their racing careers.

This year’s catalogue features 95 entries, including 90 yearlings, four broodmares and a two-year-old.

The Sale has been a proven source of racetrack success, with more than a dozen black-type performers across New Zealand, Australia and Asia since the beginning of 2015. Notable performers include this season’s Group 1 NZB 1000 Guineas placegetter Dezzies Dream (NZ) (Coats Choice), the superstar sprinter Natuzzi (NZ) (Coats Choice) and winner of the Sgp-3 Three Rings Trophy in Singapore Absolutely (NZ) (Coats Choice).

There are a total of 16 vendors this year. Last year’s leading vendor was Berkley Stud, finishing with an aggregate of $152,000 at an average of $15,200. Berkley Stud had the largest draft last year with 11 horses and presents an even bigger draft of 20 in 2016. Their 2016 offering includes the progeny of Berkley Stud stallions Coats Choice and Highly Recommended, along with Ocean Park, Swiss Ace, Showcasing, Alamosa and Pentire.

New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame inductee and White Robe Lodge principal Brian Anderton was this year named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year’s Honours List. White Robe Lodge will present their entire 2015-16 draft of 16 yearlings at this year’s South Island Sale, including well-bred relatives to the likes of Melbourne Cup placegetter Who Shot Thebarman and dual Canterbury Gold Cup winner Inferno.

A total of 43 sires are represented by yearling progeny, including freshman sires Burgundy (1), Super Easy (2), Niagara (1), Reliable Man (1), He’s Remarkable (1), Ocean Park (1) and Power (2).

Resident South Island stallions carry the largest drafts with Highly Recommended (19) and Raise The Flag (11).

Leading sires Iffraaj (1), Jimmy Choux (1), Mastercraftsman (1), O’Reilly (1), Pentire (2), Showcasing (2) and Tavistock (1) are also represented by progeny in the Sale.

To request a catalogue for New Zealand Bloodstock’s South Island Sale, contact Faye Hunt at reception@nzb.co.nz or for news or Sale information visit www.nzb.co.nz.