LOCAL agent Bruce Perry bid up to NZ$560,000 to secure lot 578 the Almanzor colt out of Notice Received, the fall of the hammer fittingly adding an upbeat exclamation mark to the end of Book 1 of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale.

Many regular visitors to New Zealand were unable to attend due to their strict quarantine conditions and as such an air of uncertainty existed prior to the sale.

The challenges prompted vendors to be more creative with their communication. Little Avondale Stud was on the front foot, employing 18-year-old Gus Falloon more for his Mandarin skills than his horse skills. He had barely touched a horse a month before the sales.

“With the way the sales are this year, with no overseas buyers able to get into the country, we have really tried to up our info game,” said stud boss Sam Williams.

“So we have an e-book detailing everything a buyer could need to know about the horses but we are also lucky enough to have Gus here to do voiceovers for our yearling videos in Mandarin.”

Now in its 95th edition the NZB’s Premier Sale held strong despite small reductions in the sale average and median from 2020. Overall 414 lots were sold at a clearance rate of 81% and an average of $123,124. The sale median was $95,000, down from last year’s $107,500 that saw 70 more yearlings sold.

Online bidding

“Going into this we were certainly navigating uncharted territories and it was amazing how our buyers stepped up. Online bidding was massive, as well as all the work that the New Zealand-based trainers and agents did on the ground,” said NZB manager Andrew Seabrook.

“We were hoping coming into the sale that the Kiwis would step up, there was that air of confidence, not just in the local economy but the domestic racing scene in general.

“Last year the Kiwis were responsible for 38% of the Book 1 turnover, this year their overall spend reached 56%, so they have really stepped up and it’s been incredible. That support, coupled with the online bidding has made it a successful sale.”

While the performance of Savabeel, has underpinned the sale for a number of years, and his 29 yearlings sold this year grossed $6,285,000 at an average of $216,724, it was the performance of the Cambridge Stud-based Almanzor that shot the lights out of the sale.

From 42 sold, his yearlings averaged $193,571 with a whopping aggregate of $8,130,000. A remarkable result for a first-season sire. Top of his draft at $560,000 was the aforementioned colt out of Notice Received who will go to Chris Waller.

“I was doing the work for them (Brae Sokolski and Waller) and, so I had a look at him and just loved him,” added Bruce Perry.

The top lot for the sale proved to be a Zoustar filly out of the Irish-bred Galileo mare Scintillula, a 2013 Group 3 Meld Stakes winner at Leopardstown. She was sold to David Ellis of Te Akau Racing for $800,000.

“John Magnier said that he wanted to support Karaka this year and he wanted to take a share in my best filly,” said Ellis. “He has got a good-sized share in the Zoustar filly with Te Akau as we thought that she was the best horse in the sale.

“It is very seldom that you see a filly at Karaka with her pedigree and as good an athlete as she is. I think the Magnier family have been very impressed with the job we have done with Avantage, who has won more Group 1s than any other Fastnet Rock,” added Ellis.

Not surprisingly Ellis and Te Akau Racing were the leading buyer at the sale taking home 38 yearlings for a spend of $7,425,000 at an average of $195,395.