When a record Book 1 at Karaka closed last Tuesday, the stats told New Zealand Bloodstock that Australian investment had jumped significantly at its marquee sale.
“The Australian spend was up $7 million, while the domestic bench was up $2 million on last year," chief executive Andrew Seabrook said immediately after the completion of the third day.
The numbers were certainly red hot. The Book 1 average of $168,257 was the highest ever, while the overall spend on Book 1 of more than $80.3 million was the highest it has been since 2018.
However, curiously, when the details and numbers were finalised later in the week, it turned out that Australian investment had actually fallen year on year by more than $800,000, while it was New Zealand investment that jumped $5.5 million and overseas spend by over $5.1 million.
Karaka Book 1 Buyer location - 2023 and 2024 aggregate comparison
So how does this happen? Well, the finalised paperwork must have involved some clarification of where certain horses were purchased. This can often happen although a major variation such as this is rare in yearling sale stats. That change fundamentally altered the narrative of the premium aspect of the sale.
That is not a criticism of Seabrook - he spoke with the information he had at his disposal at that moment – but just a reminder to all of us who analyse these markets to always redo the maths a few days later.
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