2019 Karaka Yearling catalogue released

5 min read
Expectations are high for the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Series after the release of the full catalogue on Friday.

A strong catalogue of 1284 yearlings for the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Series at Karaka has been released, with expectations that the increased depth of New Zealand-bred horses will lead to very strong results.

Book 1 features 698 yearlings and runs from January 27 until January 30, while Book 2, with 378 lots catalogued, is scheduled for January 31 to February 1, with Book 3 (208 yearlings) to take place on February 3.

The revised format led to significant jump in turnover, median, average and clearance in 2018 and the expectation is for further growth, with a deeper offering in 2019 thanks to a greater commitment from New Zealand breeders to the iconic Karaka sale.

"The support we have had this year from major breeders in New Zealand has been exceptional." - Andrew Seabrook

"The support we have had this year from major breeders in New Zealand has been exceptional – the best I can remember in a very long time” NZB Managing Director Andrew Seabrook said.

“With fewer horses going to Australian yearling sales to be sold, there has definitely been an increase in the strength of the catalogues.”

There are 116 stallions in total represented at the sale including 20 first-season sires. Windsor Park's Mongolian Khan has 49 lots listed in Book 1, while Mapperley Stud's Contributer (Ire) has 40.

Mongolian Khan has 49 lots listed in Book 1

Waikato Stud all in at Karaka

Waikato Stud will take their entire yearling draft to Karaka in January, just over 100 in all, a jump of around 15 from 2018, when they were the leading vendors for the fifth-straight year.

"Obviously we’ve made a decision to sell all our horses at Karaka this year. There were various reasons for that," Waikato Stud's Mark Chittick said.

"We will have a horse for every market." - Mark Chittick

"I think there will be a really good line up of horses, especially from our draft and we will have major representation there. We will have a horse for every market. I feel as though people will be able to come to Karaka, whatever their budget may be and buy the horse that they want to own and want to race."

A Waikato yearling waiting to be paraded at the 2018 NZB Yearling Sale

Chittick said Waikato Stud has already begun parading their yearlings for prospective buyers and even this far out, is expecting interest to be strong.

"We’ve just had a yearling parade. It’s early days. We've got a lovely bunch of Savabeel horses, we really have," he said.

"Every yearling in the draft is a horse that has been bred by us, born on Waikato Stud, reared on Waikato Stud and this is our 100 per cent offering."

Chittick already has a couple of favourites which he expects to generate interest, including Lot 383, a Sacred Falls colt out of Savodara (NZ) (Savabeel), the sister to black-type winners Bhandara, Sharvasti and Shastri.

"There's a beautiful colt out of Savodara. He is just a spitting image of his father," he said.

Lot 192, a Savabeel colt out of Make A Wish (NZ) (Pins {NZ}), making him a half-brother G1 Queensland Oaks runner-up Another Dollar (NZ), is another standout.

"When we are doing these yearling parades, you always finish with one of your best. The one we’ll be finishing off with will be the Savabeel out of Make A Wish. He's just an absolutely king of a horse."

Chittick is adamant that while the depth of the sale is strong this year, it will be a buyers' market.

"I think people will be able to come to Karaka and buy the horses they want to buy within their budget," he said.

"The main thing is for us, is that we have a lot of horses going up there, we own them all outright ourselves. We’ve got 160-170 foals on the ground this year, we don't want to be bringing any more horses back home."

Savabeel at the 2018 Waikato stallion parade

Lindsays ready for first Cambridge draft

It will be the first Karaka Yearling Sales in charge of Cambridge Stud for Brendan and Jo Lindsay, but the numbers remain similar as to when Sir Patrick Hogan was in charge for his final sale in 2018.

"I think we'll have a good sale. We’ve got some nice horses in the sale. It's a mixture of progeny of the broodmares that we bought from Sir Patrick Hogan plus some of our own mares Jo and I bought before buying Cambridge Stud," Brendan Lindsay said.

Jo and Brendan Lindsay will be offering their first yearlings for sale under the Cambridge banner

"We've got 56 of them. That's about the same as what Patrick has sold in the past."

"We've got quite a variety in there. They are not just Tavistocks. There are a few from mares that we mated prior to buying Cambridge Stud." - Brendan Lindsay

Lindsay said the small difference in Cambridge's 2019 draft is that they are from a greater range of sires.

"We've got quite a variety in there. They are not just Tavistocks. There are a few from mares that we mated prior to buying Cambridge Stud," he said.

Lot 122, by Iffraaj (GB) out champion mare Katie Lee (Pins {NZ}), is the colt that Lindsay is most looking forward to offering.

"He's a really nice colt. He's one of our picks," he said. "She was a Horse Of The Year and he is just a beautiful colt. He's an upstanding colt and he’ll make his money."

Lindsay is confident that the sale can continue on its upward growth in 2019.

"The reality is that the overseas buyers will still be here, and 60 per cent of our horses are sold to Australians. Ready to Run shows the Asian interest as well. I think the sales will be really positive," he said.