Stallions a Major Drawcard in NZB National Weanling & Broodmare Sale
11 May 2023
New Zealand Bloodstock is counting down to its first physical sale of both weanlings and broodmares since 2019, and with the way Kiwi sires have been performing this season, there could be no better time to head to Karaka and get on board with this exceptional range of stallion talent.
Waikato Stud supremo Savabeel has lost none of his greatness and remains a world-renowned megastar, but he has had to share the headlines this season like never before.
It has been a career-defining season for Rich Hill Stud’s sensational Proisir, who has sired five individual Group One winners including top-class fillies Legarto (NZ) and Prowess (NZ) in both New Zealand and Australia.
Novara Park’s Sweynesse has been thrust into the limelight in Hong Kong by the dominant sprinting star Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), while there have been Group One victories on the ultra-competitive Australian stage for Savabeel, Shocking, Ghibellines, Redwood, Almanzor, Per Incanto, Proisir and Satono Aladdin.
Most of those names feature prominently among the 51 sires represented in the weanling section of next month’s sale, along with an exciting group of half a dozen first-season sires.
The outstanding current Kiwi stallion talent is also well represented in the broodmare section, where 61 of the 70 broodmares in the catalogue are being offered in foal. These mares were served by a broad cross-section of sires, from proven stars like Proisir, Satono Aladdin, Ocean Park (NZ) and Per Incanto through to exciting newcomers such as Sword Of State and Noverre (NZ).
Proven sires
With the service fee for Rich Hill Stud’s remarkable Proisir deservedly rising from $17,500 to $70,000 for the 2023 breeding season, this is the perfect moment to secure either his weanling progeny or broodmares who are already in foal to him.
After steadily rising through New Zealand’s ranks through the last few seasons – finishing 22nd on the premiership in 2019-20, 12th in 2020-21 and fifth in 2021-22 – this has been a breakthrough year unlike what any other stallion has achieved in recent memory.
Proisir has a commanding lead on the table this season with total Kiwi earnings of more than $3.8m, which puts him $1.4m ahead of his nearest challenger, the seven-time reigning champion Savabeel.
Proisir has sired a total of 75 winners from 143 runners since August 1. There have been nine individual stakes winners, including dual Group One-winning three-year-old fillies Legarto (NZ) and Prowess (NZ), elite sprinter-miler Levante (NZ), and fellow Group One winners Dark Destroyer (NZ) and Pier (NZ). Both Legarto and Prowess were Group One winners on both sides of the Tasman.
At Karaka 2023 in January, Proisir had his previous highest sale price of $230,000 broken eight times. His 19 Book 1 yearlings had a 100% clearance rate and averaged $188,947, with a highest price of $330,000.
Proisir is the sire of 11 weanlings in the catalogue for the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale, including:
- Lot 33 is out of a three-quarter-sister to Group One New Zealand Guineas (1600m) winner and exciting sire prospect Noverre (NZ) (Savabeel).
- Lot 81, a half-sister to the Group Three performer Whiskey (NZ) (Burgundy).
- Lot 129 is out of the stakes-placed Ready Steady (NZ) (Perfectly Ready).
- Lot 137, a filly whose dam is a three-quarter-sister to Australian Derby (2400m) winner Jon Snow (NZ) (Iffraaj).
- Lot 175 is out of dual Listed winner Tip The Wink (NZ) (Stravinsky), who is the dam of four winners from five foals to race.
Meanwhile, the broodmare section features one mare in foal to Proisir. Lot 237 is Rosaleen Dubh (NZ) (Shocking), a winning daughter of the Group One-winning mare Eileen Dubh (NZ) (Storm Creek).
A son of the globally influential Street Cry, Little Avondale Stud’s Per Incanto commands a service fee of $50,000.
Himself a six-time winner on the racetrack up to Group Three level, Per Incanto has made a far greater impact at stud with 341 winners incl
uding 28 individual black-type winners.
Multiple Group One-winning mare Roch ‘N’ Horse (NZ) has become the headline act with a pair of scintillating sprint successes at Flemington, while Little Brose won this year’s prestigious and stallion-making Blue Diamond (1200m) for two-year-olds. Belclare (NZ) became Per Incanto’s third individual Group One winner for the season with her victory in last month’s New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m).
Per Incanto’s yearlings sold for up to $450,000 at Karaka 2023 earlier this year. He has six weanlings catalogued for next month’s sale, including:
- Lot 99, a colt who is closely related to more than a dozen stakes winners, including two highly impressive Group winners in New Zealand this season – the unbeaten Group Two Matamata Breeders’ Stakes heroine Zourion (NZ) (Zoustar), and the Group Three Cuddle Stakes (1600m) winner Pearl Of Alsace (NZ) (Tavistock), who has been defeated only once in a six-start career.
- Lot 101 is a half-sister to the Group Three winner and Group Two-placed King Louis (NZ) (Equiano).
- Lot 144 is a grandson of Steal The Show (NZ) (High Chaparral), a winning half-sister to star sire Tavistock (NZ).
- Lot 173, out of the Group Three Cuddle Stakes (1600m) winner Tinkalicious (NZ) (Nadeem).
Buyers will also have the opportunity to bid on multiple Per Incanto mares, along with a broodmare in foal to the leading sire. Lot 245 is Speculative, whose sire Scissor Kick has hit the headlines this season through the deeds of his Everest (1200m) and Group One-winning son Giga Kick.
Another stallion with a $50,000 service fee, Cambridge Stud’s Almanzor arrived in 2018 as one of the most-hyped additions to New Zealand’s shuttle-stallion ranks in decades. He has emphatically lived up to all of those high expectations.
A top-class Group One winner of the Prix du Jockey Club (2100m), Irish Champion Stakes (2000m) and British Champion Stakes (2000m), Almanzor was New Zealand’s leading first-season sire in 2021-22, with a Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) triumph from Dynastic (NZ).
That first crop has now unearthed no fewer than six Group One performers. Manzoice triumphed in the Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington in the spring, while Dynastic has placed in the Sistema Stakes (1200m) and Blue Solitaire (NZ) ran third in the New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m).
The last couple of months have brought a flurry of placings in elite three-year-old classics – Andalus (NZ) in the New Zealand Derby (2400m), Mehzebeen (NZ) in the New Zealand Oaks (2400m), and Virtuous Circle (NZ) in the Australian Derby (2400m).
Cheval D’Or (NZ), a last-start winner of the Group Three Championship Stakes (2100m) at Pukekohe last month, is set to have the opportunity to further enhance that record with a shot at the Group One Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Eagle Farm.
Almanzor, whose yearlings have sold for up to $675,000 at Karaka, will be represented by nine weanlings in the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale, including:
- Lot 57 is a half-brother to the two-year-old What You Wish For (NZ) (Embellish), who scored an impressive last-start win at Hastings, beating subsequent stakes placegetter Saltcoats (NZ) (Ardrossan). Representing the powerful Te Akau Racing operation, What You Wish For looks a bright prospect for next season’s three-year-old features.
- Lot 150, a son of the Group Three-placed mare Sitting on a Hill (NZ) (City on a Hill), who is the dam of four winners from six foals to race. That includes three stakes-performed half-siblings to this colt – Listed Wanganui Guineas (1340m) winners Alcaldesa (NZ) (Nom Du Jeu) and Lord Turbo (Perfectly Ready), who also won multiple races in Hong Kong under the name Little Dragon; and the stakes-placed Rapid Falls (NZ) (Sacred Falls).
- Lot 179 is closely related to the multiple Group winner and Group One-placed Vengeur Masque (Monsun).
When it comes to Rich Hill Stud’s Japanese shuttle stallion Satono Aladdin, absence definitely did make the heart grow fonder.
The son of the legendary Deep Impact missed the 2020 breeding season in New Zealand because of logistical issues stemming from COVID-19, and that meant he had no yearlings available for sale this year. That loss has been felt more strongly with the superb racetrack exploits of his first two crops, including four individual stakes winners.
Tokyo Tycoon (NZ) stamped himself as New Zealand’s standout two-year-old of the season with a stunning win in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) in late January, while Pennyweka (NZ) hit incredible heights over 2400 metres in the autumn with a Group One double in the New Zealand Oaks and Australian Oaks. She was only the third filly in history to complete that trans-Tasman Oaks double.
Sacred Satono (NZ) and Grand Impact (NZ) have been Group Three winners in New Zealand and Australia respectively, while Japanese Emperor (NZ) placed in the Group One Australian Guineas (1600m).
Satono Aladdin made a welcome return to New Zealand’s stallion ranks in 2021, and there are six members of that crop of weanlings catalogued for sale at Karaka.
That offering includes Lot 181, a filly closely related to Group One stars Shamrocker (NZ) (O’Reilly) and Rock Diva (NZ) (Lucky Unicorn), along with Group Two winner Bohemian Lily (NZ) (O’Reilly) and the Group Three winner and Group One-placed Vernanme (NZ) (O’Reilly).
There are also two broodmares being offered in foal to Satono Aladdin. Lot 207 is Kallisan (NZ) (Stratum), a four-time winner and fourth placegetter at Listed level, while Lot 224 is Octavia Rose (NZ) (Shocking), an unraced descendant of the legendary Eight Carat family.
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Novara Park’s Sweynesse made an immediate impact at stud, claiming leading first-season sire honours for the 2019-20 season. He has produced a steady stream of quality performers across New Zealand and Australia, including stakes winners Only Words (NZ), Dragon Queen (NZ), Bonita Aurelia (NZ), Brix (NZ) and the Group One-placed Signora Nera (NZ).
But now his main claim to fame is Lucky Sweynesse (NZ). The superstar Hong Kong sprinter has won all of his last five races in a row, including the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m).
Sweynesse is the sire of three weanlings in the catalogue for the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale at Karaka.
- Lot 15 is a colt out of Bella Court (NZ) (Per Incanto), who won five races and placed twice at Group Three level.
- Lot 122, a filly whose unraced dam Prist (NZ) (Shocking) is a half-sister to multiple Group winner and Group One placegetter and NZB Filly of the Year Dijon Bleu (NZ) (Burgundy), along with two other black-type placegetters.
The broodmare section of the sale features Goyescas (Encosta de Lago), who is in foal to Sweynesse. Catalogued as Lot 199, the two-race winner is a full-sister to Group Two winner and black-type producer Rocha (Encosta de Lago). They are both daughters of the Group One winner Larrocha (Danehill). Goyescas is the dam of two winners from four foals to race.
With 72 winners from only 110 runners to date, Mapperley Stud’s Contributer is a prolific source of racetrack success.
He has made his mark at black-type level with seven individual stakes winners, headed by the Group One Randwick Guineas (1600m) hero Lion’s Roar (NZ).
Group Two winner and multiple Group One placegetter Campionessa (NZ) has led the charge this season, backed up by Listed-winning fillies and mares Elizabeth Rose (NZ), Maria Farina (NZ), She’s A Con (NZ) and Family Ties (NZ).
Seven Contributer weanlings are catalogued for the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale, including:
- Lot 5, a half-sister to the Group Two winner Tokorangi (NZ) (Redwood), who also placed in the Group Two Matriarch Stakes (2000m) at Flemington last November.
- Lot 39, a colt who is closely related to dual Group One winner Shillelagh (NZ) (Savabeel).
- Lot 83 is a colt from a family loaded with European and North American black type.
- Lot 114, a three-quarter-sister to Contributer’s Randwick Guineas-winning son Lion’s Roar.
Exciting up-and-comers
The Oaks Stud’s shuttle stallion U S Navy Flag was a triple Group One winner on the racetrack, capturing the Dewhurst Stakes (1400m) and Middle Park Stakes (1200m) as a two-year-old before defeating older rivals in the stallion-making July Cup (1200m) during his three-year-old season.
The son of War Front has already sired two stakes winners in the northern hemisphere, and he is New Zealand’s leading first-season sire in 2022-23 with five winners and $261,675 in stakes.
While he has yet to sire a stakes winner in this part of the world, U S Navy Flag has been represented by the Group One-placed Aprilia (NZ) and To Catch A Thief, along with the Listed-placed Penvose Lad.
Buyers at the National Weanling and Broodmare Sale will have access to two of U S Navy Flag’s progeny.
By legendary Japanese racehorse and sire Deep Impact, Novara Park’s Staphanos was a multiple Group One performer at the ages of four, five and six – which makes what he has achieved at stud so far all the more impressive.
With his first crop currently two-year-olds, Staphanos has already had a Group One winner with his daughter Pignan (NZ) capturing the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m). The Lisa Latta-trained filly, who herself was bought from this sale as a weanling, has also placed in the Group Two Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m).
Staphanos has two weanlings catalogued for the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale, plus one broodmare in foal to him.
A half-brother to superstar Australian galloper Incentivise (Shamus Award), Waikato Stud’s Ardrossan was a highly talented stakes winner at the ages of two and three and finished third in the Group One Waikato Sprint (1400m).
Ardrossan has sired three first-crop winners this season, two of them at Listed level. Codigo (NZ) captured the Wellesley Stakes (1100m) in January, while Loch Katrine (NZ) won last month’s Champagne Stakes (1600m). Promising maiden gelding Saltcoats (NZ) has also been a black-type performer, placing in the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes (1200m).
Two weanlings by Ardrossan feature in the catalogue for the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale, including Lot 172, whose dam Ticket To Ride (NZ) (Shocking) won at Group Three level. The broodmare section of the catalogue also features six mares in foal to Ardrossan.
Little Avondale Stud’s Time Test is a son of superstar stallion Dubawi, and he was a multiple Group winner in the UK and placed at Grade One level in the United States.
Since embarking on his new career as a shuttle stallion, Time Test has rapidly racked up 68 winners from 157 runners worldwide, with five stakes winners in the northern hemisphere along with Listed victor Leedox (NZ) in his first Kiwi crop.
Time Test is the sire with the biggest representation in the weanling sale of the catalogue, with no fewer than 14 lots, including:
- Lot 18 is a filly whose dam Bonaichi (Fusaichi Pegasus) was a Listed winner and produced stakes-winning son Extra Zero (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice).
- Lot 44, a son of the dual stakes winner Eloa (NZ) (Volksraad).
- Lot 120, whose dam Princess Annaliese (NZ) (Van Nistelrooy) was a Listed winner and ran fourth in the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
- Lot 174 is a half-sister to Group Three winner Tinkalicious (NZ) (Nadeem).
There are also four broodmares being offered in foal to Time Test, including stakes winner Kekova (NZ) (Elusive City), who is catalogued as Lot 211.
First-season sires
One of the highest-rated sprinters to stand at stud in New Zealand, Cambridge Stud shuttler Hello You
mzain was a brilliant Group One winner of the Haydock Sprint Cup (1200m) and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m) at Royal Ascot.
By top sire Kodiac and out of a Shamardal mare, Hello Youmzain has covered books of 141 and 115 mares in his first two seasons shuttling to New Zealand. He has had weanlings sell for up to 150,000 euros in the northern hemisphere.
Hello Youmzain will be represented by five weanlings in the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale, along with one broodmare in foal to him.
Lot 17 is out of the multiple Group Three winner Belle Fascino (NZ) (Per Incanto), while Lot 77 is a half-sister to Semari (NZ) (Sebring), who won Sydney’s Group Three Epona Stakes (1900m) and finished third in the Group Two Chairman’s Handicap (1600m).
Windsor Park Stud’s Circus Maximus brought impressive credentials when he first arrived on these shores for the 2021 breeding season.
He is by the all-time great Galileo out of a Danehill Dancer mare, and he was a five-time winner on the racetrack including the Group One Queen Anne Stakes (1600m), St James’s Palace Stakes (1600m) and Prix du Moulin (1600m). He placed in another five elite-level races in the UK, France and the United States.
Circus Maximus is the sire of four weanlings in the catalogue for the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale.
A full-brother to Group One Oakleigh Plate (1100m) winner Booker (Written Tycoon), Waikato Stud stallion Banquo was himself a Listed winner at Flemington as a three-year-old and placed in the Group Two Bobbie Lewis Stakes (1200m).
He is by the elite Written Tycoon, sire of more than 50 stakes winners and making his mark as a sire of sires through the likes of Capitalist.
Buyers have a first look at Banquo’s progeny with five lots in the National Weanling & Broodmare Sale catalogue, with Lot 183 being out of a full-sister to the Group One winner Gaultier (NZ) (Rios). There are also two broodmares in foal to Banquo.
Novara Park’s King Of Comedy is an exciting son of Kingman, who was a champion racehorse in his own right and has matched those feats at stud with half a dozen Group One-winning progeny already, most notably the superstar Palace Pier.
King Of Comedy was a black-type winner at the ages of three and four, and he was also narrowly beaten in a photo finish when second in the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes (1600m) at Royal Ascot.
The National Weanling & Broodmare Sale catalogue features three weanlings by King Of Comedy, plus one broodmare in foal to him.
The catalogue also features progeny of Australian-based freshman sires Earthlight and Peltzer.
New Zealand Bloodstock’s weanling sales are a proven source of success, with star graduates including recent Group One winner Pignan (NZ) (Staphanos) and Karaka Million hero Tokyo Tycoon (NZ) (Satono Aladdin), who were purchased for $15,000 and $50,000 respectively.
The value found from this sale is further highlighted by dual Group One winner Callsign Mav (NZ) (Atlante), who was just a $3,000 weanling purchase, and NZB Filly of the Year winner Jennifer Eccles (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle), who cost $5,000.
All weanlings offered are eligible to be nominated for NZB’s lucrative Karaka Million Series. Graduates can compete for a share in the $1m DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1200m), followed by the $1m Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) and $120,000 CollinsonForex Karaka Cup (2200m) for the reminder of their careers.
The National Weanling & Broodmare Sale will be held at Karaka on June 16, with selling starting at 10am.