NEW ZEALAND Bloodstock’s 94th National Yearling Sales series concluded Tuesday with the clearance rate and median rising from last year.

The sale grossed NZ$$67,130,000, averaged $138,698, and had a median of $107,500 against a clearance rate of 78%.

“It was very encouraging to see the number of international and domestic buyers present over the past few days,” said NZB’s Managing Director Andrew Seabrook.

“We had a strong middle market generated by the Australians. We put a lot of effort into getting them here, so it’s great to see the vendors rewarded so well.”

Topping the sale at $900,000 was the Pierro colt out of the Redoute’s Choice mare Our Squeezer, bought by Waikato bloodstock agent Garry Carvell.

“He’s a lovely horse and they aren’t easy to find,” said Carvell. “When you go through the sales in Australia there were only two or three colts out of Redoute’s Choice mares. I thought he would go to $800,000 or more.”

While first season sire American Pharoah topped the overall table with six selling for an average of $265,833, the real power-house of the sale was Waikato Stud’s Savabeel whose 58 yearlings (484 sold overall) grossed $14.34 million and averaged $247,241.

Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis led the buying bench signing for 25 yearlings that grossed $6.21 million and averaged $248,400, while Coolmore stepped in at $675,000 for the Lonhro colt out of Thames Court.

IN the 13th edition of the series, Probabeel became the first ever Karaka Million 2YO winner to return the following year and win the Karaka Million 3YO Classic. The victory completed the Million double on the night for sire Savabeel, Jamie Richards and Opie Bosson following Cool Aza Beel’s win an hour earlier.

The margin was a length and a half as the second-placed Fastnet Rock-sired and Coolmore-owned colt Conqueror was far from disappointing having been crowded on both sides when making his charge to the line.

“What a day, what a horse,” said Cambridge Stud principal and owner of Probabeel Brendan Lindsay. “I thought she was going to win easily when she raced to the lead in the straight, but it just got a bit nerve-wracking in the last bit, but we’re here now. She’s the first horse to ever do this, and I think it’ll be a long time before anyone else does it again.”

Probabeel is out of the Pins mare Far Fetched was a $380,000 yearling and has now earned $1.3 million, having won five and twice placed second to the Adelaide filly Funstar, in the Group 1 Flight Stakes and Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes in Sydney.

ELLERSLIE played host into the twilight on Saturday to the now traditional warm up for the New Zealand Bloodstock sales with the running of the Karaka Million 2YO and the Karaka Million 3YO Classic, both worth NZ$1 million, over 1,200 and 1,600 metres respectively.

As per the previous four editions, local powerhouse Te Akau Racing, with Jamie Richards at the helm, produced the winner of the Karaka Million 2YO.

From two entries in the 13-horse field, the Savabeel colt Cool Aza Beel proved their trump card after a top ride from Opie Bosson. After settling the hard-running colt, Bosson let him slip forward in the straight to hold out the short-priced favourite, the Showcasing filly Play That Song.

The pair broke clear in a fashion to suggest better is in store for both.

“It’s awesome,” said Richards. “It’s a really great way to start the biggest week of the year for us. Whether we can make it five in a row, I’m not sure, but I’d like to think so. We’re definitely going to be out there in force at Karaka over the next few days, looking for more horses like this.”

Cool Aza Beel, by Savabeel out of the Testa Rossa mare Cool ‘N’ Sassy, was bought for $150,000 by David Ellis and has raced four times for three wins.

PETER Moody, the man who guided Black Caviar to an unbeaten 25-start career, has flagged a return to racehorse training. Embroiled in a cobalt positive case that resulted in six-month disqualification in March 2016, Moody chose to walk away rather than contest the case.

Never far from racing as both an owner and media commentator, Moody has indicated that he would like to train a select team of 10-12 horses while continuing his bloodstock and media commitments. Just this week Moody has been in New Zealand signing for seven yearlings from Book 1 at an aggregate of NZ$2.14 million.

“There was a splinter in my arse, that was four years ago, it’s festered and fallen out so it’s time to get on with life,” added Moody colourfully.