Auction firm New Zealand Bloodstock hopes to make inroads into fresh Asian frontiers to help offset any continued economic fallout from racing’s closure in Singapore.
As the countdown to NZB’s Ready To Run Sale starts following the release of a catalogue with 404 Lots, the clock is also ticking on Singapore’s demise.
The NZB sale, which has a worldwide reputation, has historically had strong support from Singapore-based trainers and owners.
But NZB managing director Andrew Seabrook says the company has identified new opportunities to compensate for the loss of Singapore trade.
“Our bloodstock team is working hard canvassing in Australia, Hong Kong, Europe and although we may have lost Singapore, we have built strong relationships with emerging markets like Malaysia, China and Korea,” he said.
Singapore will bid farewell to horse racing when Kranji stages its final meeting on October 5.
A government decision to end 180 years of racing was announced in June 2023, with Kranji’s 120-hectare site to be used for public housing.
In light of Singapore shuttering its racing industry, NZB has made a concerted effort to strengthen its ties in Asia, backed by a heavyweight of New Zealand politics.
Malaysia has been a focal point.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who is also the Racing Minister, recently toured Selangor Turf Club as part of a four-day working visit to Malaysia to learn more about the nation’s thoroughbred industry and promote New Zealand as a producer of bloodstock.
“I guess when one door shuts, another door opens and we've seen some great opportunities present themselves and evolve recently, particularly in Malaysia,” NZB’s bloodstock sales manager Kane Jones told The Straight.
“It’s a market that we have always focused on, but we're really putting a lot of attention and resources into it, particularly with the Singapore closure.”
Antipodean, a 2022 Ready To Run graduate, is one of the stars of Malaysian racing, winning eight of his nine starts including the Selangor Gold Cup on Sunday.
The 2024 Ready To Run Sale will be held at the Karaka Sales Centre on November 21 and 22 and breeze-ups will be staged at Te Rapa racecourse on October 21 and 22.
“We’ve got a big job to match last year’s record sale, but with the calibre of horses assembled in this year’s catalogue, we are certainly heading in the right direction,” Seabrook said.
“The horses produced for this sale by our horsemen and women continue to make headlines for themselves and the honour roll just continues to grow.
In the past five seasons, ready-to-run graduates have won 29 Group 1 races and 117 stakes races.
Sale alumni have made their mark across Australasia and Asia, from Hong Kong megastars Golden Sixty and Lucky Sweynesse to Australia’s Group 1 warhorse and $13 million earner Mr Brightside.
New names are continually being added to the sale’s honour roll, including runaway Queensland Derby winner Warmonger and this year’s New Zealand Oaks heroine Pulchritudinous.
This year’s catalogue features the progeny of 101 of the biggest names in the stallion ranks of Australasia and further afield, including proven champions Savabeel, Frankel, I Am Invincible, Snitzel, Deep Field, Proisir and Written Tycoon.
The star-studded catalogue features 29 siblings to stakes winners, including Antipodean, Turn Me Loose, Hard Too Think, Mascarpone, Sassy ‘n’ Smart, Saint Alice, Arkansaw Kid, Bella Vella, Krone and Eloping – the multiple Group-winning dam of Godolphin’s recently retired star In Secret.
“I guess when one door shuts, another door opens and we've seen some great opportunities present themselves and evolve recently, particularly in Malaysia” - NZB’s bloodstock sales manager Kane Jones
There are also close relations to Verry Elleegant,Beau Dazzler, Lion’s Roar, Excelida, Mary Shan, Irish Legacy, Coventina Bay, Santa Ana Lane and Supera.
Notable dams featured in the catalogue include siblings to super sires Savabeel, I Am Invincible, and Zoustar.
There are foals out of Shillelagh, O’Marilyn, Charmont, Lubiton, Coldplay, Siracusa, Sister Madly, Teleplay and O’Marilyn.
More than two dozen of the two-year-olds in the catalogue are eligible for the lucrative Karaka Millions Series, while any horse purchased at the sale can compete in New Zealand’s new $NZ3.5m race, the NZB Kiwi (1500m).
The three-year-old showpiece will be run at Ellerslie every March.
