NZB Ready to Run Sale Returns After Three Year Absence

New Zealand Bloodstock expects to welcome an influx of buyers from key overseas markets in Australia and Hong Kong, as well as further afield, for its Ready to Run Sale in November for the first time in three years.

The Thoroughbred auction house, which Sept. 5 released a catalog of 329 Lots for the two-day sale, will also host buyers from Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea at Karaka on Nov. 16-17 in a signal that "things are getting back to normal" after more than 2 1/2 years of upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NZB's director of business development, Mike Kneebone, said the scale of the Karaka 2-year-old sale set it apart from its competitors, offering the buying bench a diverse range of horses across all ends of the market.

"The 2-year-old sales tend to get more withdrawals than a yearling sale and if you have got people coming over from various countries to attend the sale, you need numbers (to attract them), and that's one thing we've got going for us, apart from the wonderful (graduate) racetrack results," Kneebone told ANZ Bloodstock News.

"It's been a very strange few years, to say the least, but we've had really good sales and handled the situation the best we can. The horses sold really well (last year) and I think a lot of that came down to the quality of the sale and the way the graduates have done themselves proud over the past five or six years and even before that, really, and that's why people keep coming back."

For comparison, last year's New Zealand sale, which was forced to be relocated to Te Rapa without horses physically going through an auction ring due to government restrictions, drew a catalog of 322 juveniles.

Australian rival Inglis has already released a one-day, 289-Lot catalog for its upcoming Oct. 11 2-year-old sale, while Magic Millions is soon expected to release a catalog for its one-day Oct. 25 Gold Coast Sale.

The Hong Kong market has traditionally been a stronghold for the NZB 2-year-old sale and Kneebone has had assurances from owners, trainers, and agents that they will be out in force in 2022.

"The quarantine (requirements) going back into Hong Kong is a lot less than what it has been, so it's a case of them itching to get out and about and back into the game, if you like," Kneebone said.

"Most of the agents and trainers that we've spoken to over there, and even owners who have been to Karaka previously, (have indicated their want to attend), so we're expecting to have very good numbers from over there and the same with Singapore and also Malaysia."

NZB is also preparing to welcome back representatives from the Korean racing industry after a group participated in the 2019 sale.   

"The Koreans haven't been down in the southern hemisphere buying in any numbers for quite a while since COVID-19, but we had that one sale where we sold them 11 horses," Kneebone said.

"Those horses went well, and so they're very keen to get back down here this year. Getting the horses back to Korea has been a bit of a logistical issue, but it's something that we've got on top of at this stage and we think our (NZB) Air Freight team will have something worked out in the next couple of months to alleviate any problems there."

This year's catalog has progeny by 90 different stallions, including 2-year-olds by Hong Kong's reigning champion sire Deep Field, Exceed And Excel , and Per Incanto , whose progeny have also succeeded in the Asian racing mecca, as well as New Zealand's champion Savabeel, Tivaci, Sacred Falls , Medaglia d'Oro  , and The Autumn Sun.

Breeze-ups will be conducted at Te Rapa Racecourse across two days, Oct. 3-4.