Timing is Everything for South Island Sale

A quadruplet of winning graduates in Macau over the weekend has come at the perfect time for New Zealand Bloodstock’s South Island Sale with less than two weeks until selling starts.

The newly formed South Island Session of the National Yearling Sales Series is to commence on Sunday 13 April at the Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch, with 150 yearlings catalogued for sale.

The weekend winners kicked off on Friday at Taipa Racecourse with Great Idea (NZ) (Edenworld) winning his second consecutive race before Top Vegetable (NZ) (Mr Nancho) recorded the fourth win of his career over 1100m on the same programme.

Top Vegetable was sold by the McGiffert family’s Three Valleys of Timaru, who will also prepare his yearling half-brother by Coats Choice at Lot 134 in this year’s Sale.

Racing was held at Taipa again on Saturday with another two graduates of the South Island Sale capturing victories. Scandicmaster (NZ) (Sunray) prevailed over 1100m for the fifth win of his career, while Classical Music (NZ) (Chagall) made it back-to-back wins over 1500m in the last race of the programme.

Trainer Stephen Chow was responsible for three of the winners through Great Idea, Scandicmaster and Classical Music, with Top Vegetable trained by Gary Moore. All four of the winning graduates were ridden by ex-pat kiwi jockey Andrew Calder.

Glenn Old purchased Scandicmaster and Classical Music at the South Island Sale for a bargain NZ$4,000 and NZ$8,000 respectively, and with  a strong connection with the Stephen Chow stable, Old was full of praise for his purchases from the South Island Sale.

“They are worth their weight in gold,” commented Old. “I think they would have a 90% strike rate of winning. There is only a very small margin that does not win.

“The Sale has been very good to us, the horses are tough, hardy horses and we have had some good results such as Wealthy Man (Listed Directors Cup winner) over the years.

“Certain horses suit the sand track up there, the Southern Halo line horses particularly do such as the progeny of My Halo. We purchased a good horse at the Sale last year by Thano that will go up in the next shipment, it goes very good.

“I have also sold horses myself at the Sale over the years for good money to places like Singapore and Australia so it is a good market all round.”

The South Island Sale has moved from its usual selling date in August to 13 April for the first time this year. The Sale has traditionally been an auction of untried two-year-olds but with the change in date has become a sale of yearlings, with weanlings, two-year-olds, broodmares, raced and unraced stock also on offer.

The yearling session of the Sale has been incorporated into the National Yearling Sales Series which allows yearlings sold at the South Island Sale to be entered into the Karaka Million Series.

Catalogues for the South Island Session can be requested by contacting reception@nzb.co.nz and can be viewed online.