New Zealand Bloodstock's Ready to Run Sale has cemented its status as Australasia's go-to destination for buyers looking for two-year-olds that are impeccably prepared and ready to perform to a high level.
It is the only Sale of its kind in Australasia to yield Group 1 success over the last four years, during which time its alumni have racked up a remarkable 16 wins at that level. Four of those Group 1 victories came during the 2015-16 season.
Leading the way for the second straight year was Mongolian Khan . The son of Holy Roman Emperor, purchased by Mr Lang Lin's Rider Horse Group for NZ$220,000 at the 2013 Ready to Run Sale, added the world-famous Caulfield Cup to his dual classic success in the previous season's New Zealand Derby and Australian Derby.
Mongolian Khan was trained in Cambridge by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman and this training duo enjoyed two further Group 1 victories in Melbourne last season with another Ready to Run Sale graduate - Turn Me Loose (NZ) (Iffraaj).
The winner of the New Zealand 2000 Guineas the previous season, Turn Me Loose stepped up and became one of Australasia's premier sprinter-milers with outstanding displays in the Emirates Stakes at Flemington and Futurity Stakes at Caulfield.
Purchased for NZ$52,500 at the 2013 Ready to Run Sale, Turn Me Loose has amassed more than $1.5 million in prizemoney.
The fourth Group 1 win for the Sale last season was produced by Dukedom (NZ) (Bachelor Duke) in the Levin Classic at Trentham. The gelding was an astute NZ$65,000 purchase at the 2014 Ready to Run Sale.
Off the back of a season packed with stakes and Group 1 success, the Ready to Run Sale has once again served up a timely reminder that, come November, Karaka is the place to be to source quality thoroughbreds.
There could be no better advertisement for the calibre of two-year-olds on offer than the result of Singapore's Sgp-1 Kranji Mile in October.
Ready to Run Sale graduates Debt Collector (NZ) (Thorn Park) and Well Done (NZ) (Falkirk) fought out a stirring finish with Debt Collector prevailing by a neck.
A rising star in Singapore, Debt Collector was purchased for NZ$120,000 at the 2014 Ready to Run Sale and has since gone on to claim the second leg of the Singapore Triple Crown Series with a win in the Sgp-1 Raffles Cup.
A NZ$90,000 Ready to Run Sale purchase, Well Done has had seven wins and six placings from his 18 starts headed by a win in the Sgp-1 Singapore Derby this season.
Additional Group 1-winning graduates of the Ready to Run Sale over the past four seasons include Gaultier , Albany Reunion (Fastnet Rock), Atlante (Fastnet Rock), Glorious Days (Hussonet), Linton (Galileo), Nashville (NZ) (Darci Brahma) and Sangster (NZ) (Savabeel).
A consistent source of racetrack performers, graduates of the Ready to Run Sale have notched up 107 stakes wins in the past five seasons including 27 stakes races won by 20 graduates last season alone.
Promising to deliver yet another batch of two-year-olds primed to hit the racetrack, this year's catalogue has attracted 552 youngsters prepared by New Zealand's best horse educators.
The catalogue features 57 siblings to stakes winners including siblings to Group 1 winners Veloce Bella , Magic Cape , Captivate , Miss Mossman , Ruud Awakening , MacO'Reilly , I Do , Kirramosa , Irish Fling , Peggy Jean and Allez Wonder .
Buyers will also find the progeny of 60 stakes winners including Group 1-winning dams Captivate , Honor Babe , Honor Bound , Prize Lady and Sharvasti .
A wide range of 123 sires are represented, including New Zealand sires Darci Brahma , Iffraaj , Jimmy Choux , Keeper , Makfi , O'Reilly , Pentire , Per Incanto , Pins , Pour Moi , Power , Reliable Man , Savabeel , Shocking , Showcasing , Swiss Ace , Tavistock and Zacinto .
The progeny of Australian sires featured in the catalogue include All Too Hard , Americain , Animal Kingdom , Choisir , Encosta De Lago , Exceed And Excel , Foxwedge , Hinchinbrook , Hussonet , I Am Invincible , Manhattan Rain , Medaglia d'Oro , Pierro , Redoute's Choice , Smart Missile , Snitzel , So You Think , Starspangledbanner , Stryker , Street Cry and Written Tycoon .
Every horse was given the opportunity to Breeze Up at Te Rapa Racecourse on 17 and 18 October, with the final 200 metres of their work timed and filmed. Breeze Up clips are now available to view on the NZB website or can be requested on DVD.
New Zealand Bloodstock's Ready to Run Sale of Two-Year-Olds will be held on 16 and 17 November at Karaka from 10am each day with catalogues available now.