Cover image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
With the average leaping 17 per cent between 2022 and 2023 for the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale, the sale in 2024 held steady with the median exactly the same and the average down 2 per cent on 2023.
In some ways, it was a sale of extremes with the number of lots over $500,000 falling from 2023 (12) to 2024 (8), while the top-priced lot doubled to NZ$1.65 million from NZ$825,000 in 2023.
Hong Kong dominant
With 45 per cent of the aggregate being spent by Hong Kong, they were the real story, and with a spend of NZ$17.5 million on 77 horses at an average of NZ$227,400, buyers in Hong Kong held up the top end of the sale.
“Hong Kong certainly dominated the sale, which was same as last year, spending over $17 million which was consistent with last year and well up on previous years. We also saw buying from mainland China and Mongolia, who are in the data under Hong Kong. It was a real spread across Asia,” said NZB’s Bloodstock Sales Manager Kane Jones.
| Hong Kong | 77 | $17,510,000 | 45% | $227,402.60 |
| Australia | 66 | $10,837,500 | 28% | $164,204.55 |
| NZ | 65 | $8,038,000 | 21% | $123,661.54 |
| Malaysia | 36 | $1,589,000 | 4% | $44,138.89 |
| China | 12 | $555,000 | 1% | $46,250.00 |
| England | 1 | $480,000 | 1% | $480,000.00 |
| Singapore | 1 | $40,000 | 0% | $40,000.00 |
| Total | 258 | $39,049,500 | $151,354.65 |
Table: Spend by buyer location
“We were thrilled to see Australia and New Zealand buyers spend up significantly on last year, and it was equally pleasing to see a really strong contingent from Malaysia turn up in person. They bought close to 40 horses which was a noticeable increase on previous years and helped fill the void that Singapore and Macau have left.”
Malaysian and Chinese buyers spent on average NZ$44,000 and NZ$46,000 respectively, ensuring depth through the lower end of the market for vendors.
History books in 2023
The 2023 sale smashed all records with the average in 2022 being NZ$129,159, which flew up by 17 per cent to NZ$156,031 in 2023. The sales topper, Megastar Heart (Star Turn) sold for NZ$825,000 and came out soon afterwards to win a stakes race.
“Last year was one for the history books, and then to supersede that this year was unexpected and a reflection on the quality of horse on offer,” said Jones. Technically, the average fell 2 per cent, but the median at NZ$90,000 was the same as 2023 which is a great result after such a lift the year before, and the sale topper in 2024 smashed all Southern Hemisphere records making NZ$1.65 million.
“The level of presentation from vendors was outstanding, and I am thrilled with the clearance rate too. We are now getting close to 80 per cent sold with vendors meeting the market and horses still selling post auction ring. It’s a testament to vendors, buyers, and our team working hard to facilitate those sales.”
The clearance rate in 2024 after the two days of selling was 79 per cent, up from 73 per cent in 2023.
| Aggregate | $38,593,500 | $35,107,000 | $25,186,000 | $20,547,000 |
| Average | $151,943 | $156,031 | $129,159 | $121,580 |
| Median | $90,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Clearance | 78% | 73% | 76% | 66% |
| Catalogued | 404 | 383 | 329 | 322 |
| Offered | 324 | 308 | 257 | 256 |
| Sold | 254 | 225 | 195 | 169 |
| Top Lot | Lot 174 $1,650,000 I Am Invincible x Shillelagh colt | Lot 376 $825,000 Star Turn x Commonwealth colt | Lot 258 $625,000 Capitalist x Sebrina colt | Lot 107 $640,000 Savabeel x Etiquette colt |
Table: Year-on-year comparison of key metrics
Local markets strong
Looking across the three Southern Hemisphere 2-year-old sales in 2024, there is a marked difference in the location of the buying bench at each sale. New Zealand Bloodstock sold 21 per cent of their horses to New Zealand buyers, who were notably absent from the Inglis and Magic Millions sales.
| Hong Kong | 45% | 46% | 9% |
| Australia | 28% | 51% | 57% |
| NZ | 21% | 0% | 0% |
| Malaysia | 4% | 1% | 3% |
| China | 1% | 1% | 21% |
| England | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Singapore | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Macau | 0% | 1% | 0% |
| Philippines | 0% | 0% | 6% |
| Thailand | 0% | 0% | 2% |
| South Korea | 0% | 0% | 1% |
Table: Percentage of spend by location of buyer
But it was locals who dominated at Inglis and Magic Millions with more than half the buying bench being Australian at those two sales, while only 28 per cent of the NZB buying bench were from Australia.
Basically, locals buy at their local sales, and as Sebastian Hutch told TTR AusNZ after the Inglis sale, “New Zealanders are important contributors to this sale as vendors and as a consequence that makes them significant buyers at the yearling sales. New Zealand has the most established 2-year-old sale in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a hugely successful one and one that we look at with respect.”
Getting in front of the Hong Kong buyers
For all three sales, the data shows the importance of getting the right horses for the Hong Kong market with all three sales having higher average spend by Hong Kong than by any other buyer location.
| England | $480,000 | - | - |
| Hong Kong | $227,403 | $248,448 | $146,000 |
| Australia | $164,205 | $137,629 | $96,585 |
| NZ | $123,662 | $- | $35,000 |
| China | $46,250 | $150,000 | $76,273 |
| Malaysia | $44,139 | $38,000 | - |
| Singapore | $40,000 | $- | - |
| Macau | - | $50,000 | - |
| Japan | - | $18,000 | - |
| South Korea | - | - | $50,000 |
| Philippines | - | - | $32,400 |
| Thailand | - | - | $13,600 |
| Average Sale | $151,943 | $164,289 | $81,270 |
Table: Average spend per buyer location across the competing breeze-up sales
Stallions who are proven in Hong Kong
It was the stallions who do well in Hong Kong that did well at the three sales too, to state the obvious – leaving aside the two seven-figure lots who went to domestic buyers. Hong Kong buyers purchased 77 horses from the NZB Ready To Run Sale by 58 different stallions, but it was their favourites who dominated.
Churchill (Ire) led on average with two lots going to Hong Kong for an average of NZ$575,000, while Star Turn led by volume with six lots picked up for an average of NZ$221,000. Toronado (Ire) has been popular in Hong Kong for years thanks to Victor The Winner, Senor Toba, and many others. Hong Kong purchased four of his six lots in the catalogue, spending an average of NZ$296,200.
| Star Turn | 6 | $1,330,000 | $221,667 |
| Toronado (Ire) | 4 | $1,185,000 | $296,250 |
| Capitalist | 4 | $775,000 | $193,750 |
| Hellbent | 3 | $770,000 | $256,667 |
| Ardrossan | 3 | $525,000 | $175,000 |
| Churchill (Ire) | 2 | $1,150,000 | $575,000 |
| Deep Field | 2 | $975,000 | $487,500 |
| Written Tycoon | 2 | $580,000 | $290,000 |
| All Too Hard | 2 | $550,000 | $275,000 |
| Written By | 2 | $510,000 | $255,000 |
| Derryn | 2 | $490,000 | $245,000 |
| Farnan | 2 | $450,000 | $225,000 |
| El Roca | 2 | $250,000 | $125,000 |
| Embellish (NZ) | 2 | $250,000 | $125,000 |
| Almanzor (Fr) | 2 | $210,000 | $105,000 |
Table: Analysis of spend per stallion
“He’s been one of the leading sires in Hong Kong for a while, and with no more Deep Fields around he’s likely to get even stronger there. As soon as a Toronado 2 or 3-year-old wins, the phone is ringing off the hook for them. Hong Kong has been a great market for him, and it’s hard to turn down that sort of money,” said Swettenham Stud’s Sam Matthews.
“I said to a couple of mates that I thought he’d average 250 over there, and to get more is fantastic, remembering that this is all off a $45,000 service fee. Everyone is making plenty of money on the way from Toronado, and we are looking forward to his yearlings this year from his first book at $80,000.
“He stood his first five or six seasons at 20, then up to 40 and 45, and now his yearlings onwards are off $80,000 fees. We like that people make money with Toronado and we’ve tried to keep his fee at a level where that is possible, and breeders agree as he’s had another full book this year.”
