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• April 27, 2022
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On 20 April, bidding for New Zealand Bloodstock‘s 2022 National Online Yearling Sale concluded. For the second year, the digital postscript to NZB’s National Yearling Sales Series was held at premium online subsidiary Gavelhouse Plus. This year, bidding started on 18 April and ran for two days.

All horses purchased in the Online Sale catalogue are also eligible to participate in the Karaka Million Series and have been inspected by NZB professional agents, which are consistent with Books 1 and Book 2 of the National Yearling Sale.

The purpose of the Online Yearling Sale this year is to provide an additional sales channel to facilitate the participation of the studs from the South Island, or the horses that should have been listed in Book 1 or Book 2 but for some reason cannot reach Karaka to participate in the onsite auction. This digitalized Sale has offered a total of 87 yearlings from some of New Zealand’s most esteemed thoroughbred nurseries. The Sale is an opportunity for prospective buyers to secure stock from standout sires, such as “Darci Brahma”, “Ocean Park”, “Proisir”, “Iffraaj”,  “Reliable Man”, “Almanzor”, “Turn Me Loose”, and other familiar sire names. For the majority of horse lovers, the Sale is absolutely worth focusing on!

According to the official data, a total of 50 yearling horses were sold in this event, with the total turnover surpassing $442,000. The highlight of the Sale came in the middle of the online session when Lot 49 was purchased for $34,000 by NZB Agent Alex Teng on behalf of an internationally-based client.

The Lot was the only progeny to be offered by in-form emerging sire, Turn Me Loose, out of Lady Grace (Sir Percy) and was sold by astute breeder Gordon Cunningham under his Curraghmore banner.

Cunningham was delighted by the sale of his colt in the online format.

“He was a good colt and was bought very well. Timing can be everything and with his sire (Turn Me Loose) going so well at the moment, the price he made really didn’t surprise me.”

“I hope he will be a great horse for his new owners.”

Agent Alex Teng also commented on the purchase on behalf of the new owners.

“This colt was bought by a client based in Hong Kong who also races lots of horses in Macau too,” he said.

“The horse was on my list. He was a big, strong colt by the rising flying sire Turn Me Loose. He has a big frame and will probably take a bit of time, which is great because he is destined for Asia. He will be a nice horse in the making,” Teng said.

The second highlight of the Sale yearling was Lot 39 from Cambridge Stud for $33,000. The colt by the sire of the moment Almanzor out of Montjeu mare Game Duchess, maternal grandfather: Montjeu) was purchased by Central Districts-based trainer Raymond Connors and is a half-brother to Group Three winners Dark Princess (Cape Blanco) and Exquisite Jewel (Lucky Unicorn).

Another yearling horse offered by Cambridge Stud was Lot 32, selling for $22,000. The colt is by first season sire Embellish out of Johar mare Fazzle. Cambridge Stud Sales and Nominations Representative Cameron Ring was pleased with the demand for Embellish’s stock.

“He was a well-proportioned, balanced colt out of a Group Two-winning mare. He appears to be very typical of what the sire is leaving and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him up and running early.”

Ring also commented on the rationale behind offering lots digitally.

“We specifically held all four lots back for the Sale for various reasons. So it is good to see them make nice prices.”

“We always want to provide our buyers with plenty of comprehensive information and to display the horses as best as possible. We actively use NZB’s gavelhouse.com and Gavelhouse Plus subsidiaries because we feel the horses tend to get a lot of exposure. We see the online format as a great way to trade horses in this current climate,” he said.

In the 2022 National Online Yearling Sale results, we can see that the top price yearling are all descendants of young and emerging sires, which indicate that the young sires are highly sought after and in demand in the global market.