Who will shine brightest among the first season sires at Karaka?

Cover image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock

Lucky for some is the number 13 and hopefully that is the case for buyers and sellers at the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale; that being the number of first season sires represented in Book 1 of the internationally respected sale.

“We are rapt with our select bunch of first season sires,” said NZB’s Bloodstock Manager Kane Jones.

“Horses like the locals Sword Of State, Noverre (NZ) and Armory (Ire) have really good representation and we are thrilled with the quality of yearlings we get to offer.”

“People are always interested in seeing the progeny of the first season sires,” he said.

“You just never know when you might be witnessing the sale of the first crop of a future champion; that is always an exciting concept.”

“There were outstanding results for first season sires at Magic Millions and we expect that success to flow on to Karaka.”

It is a well credentialled group of young horses having members of their debut crops through the ring and most of them boast outstanding form at the highest level; in fact ten of the 13 are Group 1 winners.

Great start for two New Zealand sires

Two locals that created a big impression at the Gold Coast have the biggest representations of the first season horses; Cambridge Stud’s Sword Of State with 22 and Waikato Stud’s Noverre (NZ) with 17.

Both had limited numbers at the Magic Millions but the good judges were talking about them - including a strong vote of confidence from the man who purchased and raced both colts; Te Akau Stud's David Ellis.

“It is just so exciting to see their progeny,” he said, “and fascinating to see how they are turning out.”

“Both horses are siring outstanding types and I am not just saying that due to my connections with them, and I am not the only one saying that; everyone is telling me how lovely the yearlings by both horses are.

“If the progeny of those two horses don’t make stallions then looks don’t mean anything!” Ellis said.

A G1 Diamond S. winner who has on his resume a win over Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) on his record, the NZ Champion 2Y0 Sword Of State seeks to become the 18th Snitzel horse to sire stakes winners.

“We were over the moon with his Gold Coast results,” said Cambridge Stud’s Scott Calder.

“We knew he had some nice horses going there but those results were even better than we’d hoped.”

“He is a unique horse amongst the New Zealand stallion ranks,” Calder continued. “He was a champion two-year-old with that Australian flavour of speed and precocity. Buyers can take home his yearlings with confidence that they will get an early maturing type; winners of the Karaka Millions for example.”

Calder has been happy to see the size of Sword Of State’s books increase each year, noting that “we knew from that that people were liking what they were seeing and the Magic Millions results gave us even more confidence.”

Describing Sword Of State as a horse “very much in the mold of his sire,” Calder said that the young horse “puts more leg into his foals than people expected. And they have that strength and maturity the sire line is known for.”

“Also pleasing is that he is passing on his own laid back temperament which you need for early types. They take everything into stride as he does.”

Calder loves taking the progeny of first season sires to the sales. “It is the first time that the public get to see them on a large scale.”

Stamped by their own sires

The under-bidder on Sword Of State when he fetched $600,000 at the 2020 Magic Millions, Paul Moroney has taken note of that horse’s career and has enjoyed inspecting his sons and daughters.

“They are throwing to Snitzel, they have his traits. Some are medium sized like Sword Of State and others have a bit more size about them. They are good movers with good square hindquarters and a lot of natural muscle.”

Seven of Sword Of State’s yearlings come through the Cambridge draft including Lot 297 from the terrific Legally Bay (Snippets) family, Lot 628 out of the stakes winning juvenile Fuld’s Bet (I Am Invincible) and Lot 653 out of a half-sister to the European Champion 3Y0 Luxembourg (Ire).

Gallery: A selection of Sword Of State’s yearlings at Karaka 2025 - Book 1, images courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock

It was mentioned at Magic Millions that buying a son or daughter of Noverre was a way of securing the genes of Savabeel at a cheaper price - though the results of the sale ended up showing quite the opposite. The young son of Savabeel well out-sold his sire at the first sale of the year.

“The response to his yearlings was even better than we expected and very satisfying,” said Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick.

“He had great results for a horse who has never stepped foot outside of New Zealand. His progeny are very like Savabeel in colour and athleticism but he is even more consistent in his ability to sire a really nice horse.”

Moroney noted that “if you like Savabeel, you are going to like Noverre; they are peas in a pod.”

The G1 NZ 2000 Guineas winner has 17 yearlings at Karaka, six of those are members of the Waikato Stud draft.

Armory representing a classic breed

A well represented first season sire by numbers is Mapperley Stud’s Armory (Ire), a Galileo (Ire) horse who Australians will remember running second to fellow import Sir Dragonet (Ire) in the 2020 G1 W.S Cox Plate.

Simms Davison is excited about Armory’s first yearlings and is confident that he won’t be waiting long to see them in action on the track.

“He is a very, very strong Galileo and looking at him you can see why they got stuck into him at two,” he said, noting that Armory raced seven times during his juvenile season with three wins in a row (two at Group level) at that age.

“He is really stamping his progeny, they have his strength and quality and they look like they are ready to get up and go. We have used him to put oomph into some of our slower maturing mares and he is siring the sort of powerful type who really appeal to buyers.”

A four time Group winner who was crowned Irish Champion 3YO, Joint European Champion 3YO and Irish Champion Older Male, Armory has nine Book 1 yearlings including two in the Mapperley draft with Lot 546 a highlight.

Out of a half-sister to the Group winners Red Aces (Dundeel {NZ}) and Declarationofheart (Declaration Of War {USA}), he “is one of our top colts and it is very exciting when one of your best is by your first season sire,” Davison said.

“We could not be happier with him, he is just a quality colt.”

Strong representation by Australian sires

Darley’s Alastair Pulford is looking forward to seeing how Palace Pier’s progeny are received in New Zealand, confident that he is a good fit for that market.

“Being a miler with some stamina in his pedigree, he is going to be of appeal to New Zealand buyers,” he said.

“His yearlings impressed a lot of people at the Gold Coast and they sold accordingly.”

Achieving an average in excess of $180,000 at the Magic Millions where his progeny sold for up to $425,000, Palace Pier has three Karaka yearlings.

St Mark’s Basilica has bigger representation; 11 lots for the European Horse Of The Year whose Magic Millions yearlings averaged $216,500, in good demand fetching up to $700,000.

“He had a great sale at the Gold Coast,” Coolmore’s Colm Santry noted, “and his yearlings are going to the right stables.”

“He is a very good looking horse and his progeny look a lot like him. He has the sort of race record and pedigree New Zealand buyers like, we think they are going to suit that part of the world.”

Rich Hill Stud’s John Thompson is one fan of the horse and he is looking forward to presenting Lot 636, describing the filly from the family of Zabeel (NZ) as “a great advertisement for her sire.”

Darley’s Pinatubo (Ire) is another high class northern hemisphere galloper with his first locally bred yearlings being offered.

“He was just such a good racehorse that people like him,” Alastair Pulford said.

“His yearlings are strong, tractable and very attractive and we are heading to the sale with real confidence.”

Pulford is grateful for the "strong relationship" Darley has enjoyed with New Zealand breeders over the past couple of decades.

“They are good breeders who really think about their matings. They are keen on form, ratings and pedigree and our shuttling stallions appeal to them.”

The Home Affairs and Stay Inside show to roll on

With 14 yearlings, Coolmore Stud’s dual Group 1 winner Home Affairs is the most prolifically represented of the Australian based first season sales and he was certainly hot at the Gold Coast where he achieved an average of over $380,000; his name in lights as sire of the record breaking sale topping $3.2 million filly out of Sunlight (Zoustar).

“His foals were very well sought after and that continued with his yearlings,” Colm Santry said.

“They are big, strong, fast horses who look like they will be early runners who will go on; there is a lot of I Am Invincible about them.”

“And he has continuity, serving big books every year; he continues to be very well supported.”

Newgate’s Henry Field looks forward to his yearly trip to Karaka, a chance to visit his New Zealand based mum whilst enjoying the company of the breeders who he says “offer hospitality that is as good as any in the world.”

He is also looking forward to inspecting the yearlings by the Newgate boys and “showcasing them in a different market.”

“Stay Inside has had a huge start to his career, his yearlings have been admired across the board. They are magnificent to look at and are very much in the Extreme Choice/Not A Single Doubt mold.”

Field is also pleased with the reception afforded Wild Ruler’s yearlings. “They have size and scope and they went to really good homes. He was a high class sprinter at two, three and four and he ticks a lot of boxes for a stallion prospect.”

How will the market hold up?

Moroney says there is a similar presale feel at Karaka as there was at the Magic Millions, vendors concerned that a lack of confidence in the economy may have an impact.

“There was uncertainty at the Gold Coast but the money was there for the good horses and it was a really strong sale. What happens in Australia is usually reflected in New Zealand and the input from Entain and the prize money increases will hopefully give buyers confidence.”

“Racing and breeding are very resilient industries,” he added, “and we always seem to rise above what is happening everywhere else.”