South Island Sale Vendors Support Local Race Meeting

With New Zealand Bloodstock’s South Island Sale fast approaching next month, four of the largest vendors at the Sale have thrown their support behind South Canterbury Racing Club’s meeting tomorrow to raise the profile of the Sale.

Berkley Stud, Pear Tree Farm Agistment, Three Valleys and Willow Glen are all sponsoring races at tomorrow’s race meeting held at Phar Lap Raceway in Timaru, sponsoring four races on the seven-race card.

These four vendors have over one third of the yearlings catalogued in the National Yearling Sales Series: South Island Session of the Sale. 

Edwin Morris and Alan Jones’ Berkley Stud has the largest draft of the Sale with 11 yearlings catalogued. Berkley Stud was responsible for the highest price yearling at last year’s Sale, an O’Reilly colt purchased by Queensland bloodstock agent John Foote for $64,000.

Among Berkley Stud’s draft this year are yearlings by New Zealand’s leading sire Savabeel, leading first season sire Showcasing, and second leading first season sire Per Incanto, and are well represented by their resident sires Coast Choice and Edenwold along with the progeny of Road to Rock, Sufficient and Zacinto.

Pear Tree Farm, operated by Anna Miles and Michael Simpson, were the third leading vendor by average at last year’s South Island Sale. This year they have seven yearlings entered in the Sale, including progeny of Iffraaj, Naddem, Ekraar, Captain Rio, Falkirk, Red Giant and Edenwold.

Also with seven yearlings catalogued in the Sale is Stu & Sue McGiffert’s Three Valleys, all of which are colts. Sires represented in their draft include New Zealand’s leading 2YO sire Showcasing along with Road to Rock, Coats Choice and Handsome Ransom. Three Valleys also has one two-year-old entered in the Sale by Edenwold.

Eight yearlings have been catalogued from Mike and Barbara Cooney’s Willow Glen Stud. They are represented by progeny of resident sires Saperavi and Minstrel Court along with yearlings by Per Incanto, Thewayyouare, Forty Mirage and first season sire Dalghar.

NZB’s South Island Sale will be held on Friday 17 April at Christchurch’s Canterbury Agricultural Park.

Yearlings make up the largest percentage of the South Island Sale catalogue with the National Yearling Sales Series: South Island Session opening the day’s selling with 98 yearlings catalogued. The mixed bloodstock session of the Sale will feature two-year-olds (1), unraced stock (2) and broodmares (5).

An added benefit of the inclusion of the South Island Session in the National Yearling Sale Series is that any yearling purchased or passed in is eligible to enter the lucrative Karaka Million Series, including the $1m Karaka Million – New Zealand’s richest race – in 2016, the $250,000 Karaka 3YO Mile in 2017, and the $100,000 Karaka Stayers Cup from 2018 and then for the duration of their racing careers.

The catalogue for the NZB South Island Sale can be viewed here. Fields for tomorrow’s South Canterbury Racing Club’s race meeting can be viewed here.

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