The weanling segment of New Zealand Bloodstock's National Weanling, Broodmare and Mixed Bloodstock sale concluded yesterday, posting significant gains across the board. Despite the number of horses catalogued and sold being slightly down, the aggregate increased 89% to NZ$5,740,300. The average was up 99% to NZ$24,119, while the median soared 175% to NZ$11,000. The clearance rate was 91%.
The highest price of the day–and of the two-day weanling sale–was the NZ$185,000 paid for lot 263, a son of New Zealand's deceased perennial leading sire O'Reilly (NZ), by trainer Dean Hawthorne on behalf of Kacy Fogden of the Queensland-based Aquis Farm. The colt is the fourth foal out of Singapore champion filly Mexican Rose (NZ) (Volksraad {GB}), who has already produced a winner in Singapore in Mexican Gal (NZ) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}).
“Kacy came over and picked him out as the best colt in the sale and I think she was right on the money–he's a good investment being by a proven sire in O'Reilly,” said Hawthorne. “This is one of the strongest weanling sales I've seen and it's great for the industry. It's good to see the filly market also slowly improving, and I believe breeders can breed with confidence this spring.”
As on the opening day of the sale Monday, the progeny of New Zealand's latest sire sensation, Tavistock (NZ), proved popular Tuesday, and the Cambridge Stud flagbearer was responsible for three of the top six lots. The priciest of those was lot 284, a colt consigned by Brighthill Farm and purchased by Ascot Farm/Ampulla Lodge for NZ$180,000. Brighthill also sold lot 199, a Tavistock filly, to NZB as agent for NZ$135,000 earlier in the session. It was a productive weanling sale for Brighthill, which saw all 13 offered sold, putting it second to Gordon Cunningham's Curraghmore Stud on the leading vendors' table.
Curraghmore, which was taking home the title for the 11th straight year, sold lot 232, a Tavistock colt, to NZB as agent for NZ$140,000 Tuesday. The colt is the second foal out of the listed-winning Lamington Vegas (NZ) (Elusive City).
“I'm delighted with our results and our staff at Curraghmore deserve great accolades for their work in raising our horses and presenting them so well,” said Cunningham. “Our clients are pleased and we wish those who bought our horses the best of luck. It's great to see that more breeders have recognised that this sale is a very viable trading option for our industry. We had a great buying bench here and most were rewarded with good prices too.”
The most expensive filly of the day was lot 209, a daughter of Cape Blanco (Ire) bought by NZB as agent for NZ$150,000. The filly is a half-sister to G1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas winner Turn Me Loose (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), who shipped successfully to Australia to win the G1 Emirates S. and G1 Futurity S.
Another high-priced filly Tuesday was lot 541, a daughter of Savabeel (Aus) consigned by Little Avondale Stud and sold to Trelawney Stud for NZ$135,000. The filly is out of Kahurangi (NZ) (Elusive Quality), an unplaced half-sister to G1 KrisFlyer Sprint winner Green Birdie (NZ) (Catbird {Aus}).
Andrew Seabrook, managing director of NZB, expressed confidence the strong market would continue into Wednesday's broodmare session, saying, “It's clear our industry is in an upward spiral and I expect this will be the tone for some time. I believe those looking to invest in broodmares tomorrow can do so in the confidence that their end product will be sought after in the years to come.”
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