Stage Set for Selangor’s NZB Ready to Run Open Championship
10 October 2025
A lucrative race at Selangor on Sunday will shine a spotlight on next month’s NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka as well as showcasing the high-quality graduates of the Sale that are currently racing in Malaysia.
The New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Open Championship (1400m), offering prize money of RM300,000, is held in recognition of the New Zealand Bloodstock’s strong affiliation with the Selangor Turf Club and the club’s commitment to support the Ready to Run Sale.
New Zealand is acclaimed by thoroughbred experts the world over as the ultimate thoroughbred nursery. Its temperate climate, ample rainfall, rich soil, lush green pastures and the expertise of our great horsemen and women combine to make New Zealand the perfect environment for breeding and raising superior thoroughbred racehorses. The fact that New Zealand thoroughbreds consistently outperform their competition in every country they race in is ideal testimony to this and New Zealand Bloodstock is proud to be the number-one supplier of such thoroughbreds to the world.
Showcasing both quality and quantity, an exceptional selection of 480 youngsters will go through the Karaka sale ring on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 November. Boasting the right pedigrees, physiques and sale preparations, these two-year-olds follow in the footsteps of the incredible Ready to Run Sale roll of honour that has gone before them.
New Zealand Bloodstock Director of Business Development, Mr Mike Kneebone, Mr Alex Teng from NZB Airfreight and New Zealand Thoroughbred Marketing (NZTM) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Andrew Birch will be representing New Zealand Bloodstock at the races this Sunday, 12 October 2025.
The New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Open Championship has drawn a talented field of 14 – all of them purchased from the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka.
The field’s average purchase price was $60,071, with a maximum price of $150,000 for Arigato (NZ) (Charm Spirit) and a minimum of just $15,000 for Banker’s Princess (NZ) (Telperion).
The New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Open Championship will be run as Race 10 at Selangor on Sunday, with a scheduled start time of 4.50pm local time (9.50pm NZDST).
The 2025 edition of the NZB Ready to Run Sale will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from 10am (NZT) on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 November, with Breeze Ups to be held at Te Rapa Racecourse on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 October.
| # | HORSE | DRAW | COMMENTS | SALE | PURCHASER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antipodean | 9 | From a 19-race career, Antipodean (NZ) (Derryn) has recorded 11 wins, three seconds and three thirds. He has earned RM506,865 (NZ$207,972), which is more than nine times his purchase price at the 2022 Ready to Run Sale. His victories include the Selangor Gold Cup (1600m) and the Supreme Challenge Cup (1400m). | 2022 Ready to Run Sale | S Dunderdale, $23,000 |
| 2 | Lucky Magic | 10 | Lucky Magic (NZ) (Mendelssohn) has turned his $75,000 purchase price into prize-money of RM763,930 (NZ$313,448). He has had 14 starts for nine wins and two seconds, and he heads into this race as a last-start winner of the Selangor Gold Cup (1600m) on September 14. He has won four of his last five races. | 2022 Ready to Run Sale | HY Cheng Racing Stable, $75,000 |
| 3 | Arigato | 2 | The highest-priced purchase in this field is Arigato (NZ) (Charm Spirit), who was bought for $150,000 from the 2020 Ready to Run Sale. He began his career in Macau, where he won nine races, and he has added another three victories in Malaysia including last month's Perak Charity Cup (1400m). His overall career earnings work out at around NZ$377,000, which is more than double his purchase price. Arigato has had a total of 38 starts for 12 wins and two second placings. | 2020 Ready to Run Sale | Golden River Investments, $150,000 |
| 4 | Kong Fu Panda | 1 | Kong Fu Panda (NZ) (Showcasing) has been a nine-time winner in a 38-start career. He has also recorded seven second placings and four thirds, including a placing in the Selangor Gold Cup (1600m). | 2020 Ready to Run Sale | Tiang Kim Choi, $38,000 |
| 5 | Duma | 4 | These NZB Ready to Run Sale-promoting races have been a happy hunting ground for Duma (NZ) (Too Darn Hot), who has previously won the RM50,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale Trophy (1200m) in September 2024 and the RM150,000 Ready to Run Graduate Cup (1400m) in April of this year. He has had a total of 11 starts for four wins, six placings and RM196,900 in stakes. That's the equivalent of NZ$80,790. | 2023 Ready to Run Sale | Esther Quan Hui Lim, $45,000 |
| 6 | Graphjet Express | 6 | Graphjet Express (NZ) (Belardo) has had 12 starts for four wins, three seconds and a third. He has banked RM96,974. | 2022 Ready to Run Sale | R Cham, $75,000 |
| 7 | Navy Seals | 5 | Bought for $70,000 from the 2022 Ready to Run Sale, Navy Seals (NZ) (U S Navy Flag) has had 32 starts for seven wins, a second and four thirds. He has earned RM103,693. He brings good form into this race, having won both of his last two starts on August 24 and September 14. | 2022 Ready to Run Sale | Tiang Kim Choi, $70,000 |
| 8 | Red Dragonfly | 13 | The $55,000 Ready to Run Sale purchase Red Dragonfly (NZ) (Rubick) has recorded six wins and three placings from a 31-race career. He has earned RM102,260. | 2022 Ready to Run Sale | KF Tay, $55,000 |
| 9 | Rocky Bhai | 11 | Rocky Bhai (Microphone) has earned RM132,655 from a 14-race career that has produced three wins, five seconds and two thirds. He comes into this race with a win and a second placing from his two most recent appearances. | 2023 Ready to Run Sale | Mohammad Shamsudin Bin Sultan, $70,000 |
| 10 | Trees Of Valinor | 14 | $55,000 purchase Trees Of Valinor (NZ) (Telperion) has had 12 starts for three wins, three seconds and RM197,255 in stakes. That's the equivalent of just over NZ$80,000. Trees Of Valinor won three races in a row in May and June, then was freshened up before resuming with a fifth over 1300 metres on September 21. | 2023 Ready to Run Sale | Shri Kanth, $55,000 |
| 11 | Campionessa | 7 | Campionessa (Harry Angel) has so far had eight starts for two wins, a placing and RM77,500 in stakes | 2023 Ready to Run Sale | Richard Cham, $85,000 |
| 12 | Rocky Pegasus | 8 | Bought for $45,000 from the 2023 Ready to Run Sale, Rocky Pegasus (NZ) (Redwood) has earned RM91,332 from a 14-race career that has produced two wins, two seconds and two thirds. | 2023 Ready to Run Sale | Simon Dunderdale, $45,000 |
| 13 | Banker's Princess | 12 | The cheapest purchase in the field is Banker's Princess (NZ) (Telperion), who was bought for just $15,000 from the 2024 Ready to Run Sale last November. The three-year-old filly has had one start for one stylish win, earning RM32,400. | 2024 Ready to Run Sale | BT Lim, $15,000 |
| 14 | Singha Bay | 3 | Rounding out the 14-horse field is the $40,000 Ready to Run Sale purchase Singha Bay (NZ) (Tivaci), who has so far earned RM84,755 from a nine-start career that has featured two wins, three seconds and a third. | 2023 Ready to Run Sale | Selangor Turf Club, $40,000 |