Visitors to the Karaka sale grounds every January are met by the yearling progeny of a diverse and high-quality range of sires, and Karaka 2025 will be no different.
The catalogues for NZB’s 99th National Yearling Sales contain a cross-section of the top echelon of stallion talent from both sides of the Tasman.
New Zealand-based sires
SAVABEEL
Karaka is the world’s number-one source of yearlings by the legendary Savabeel. The Waikato Stud kingpin is one of New Zealand’s all-time great stallions, with nine Grosvenor Awards for New Zealand progeny earnings, nine Dewar Awards for combined Australian and New Zealand progeny earnings, and nine Centaine Awards for combined progeny earnings worldwide.
Savabeel is the sire of 146 individual stakes winners including 34 at Group One level. Those elite performers range from the 1200-metre heroics of freakish sprinter I Wish I Win (NZ) to the supreme stamina of Derby, Oaks and Cup winners such as Orchestral (NZ), Sangster (NZ), Major Beel (NZ), Scarlett Lady (NZ), Savvy Coup (NZ), Amarelinha (NZ) and Savaria (NZ). Many of his other progeny have excelled at a mile, like Atishu (NZ), Probabeel (NZ), Shillelagh (NZ) and New Zealand’s current benchmark three-year-old Savaglee (NZ).
Notably, of those 34 Group One winners, 23 are Karaka yearling graduates – Probabeel, Atishu, Lucia Valentina (NZ), Sangster, Soriano (NZ), Scarlett Lady, Orchestral, Savvy Coup, Mo’unga (NZ), Costume (NZ), Prise De Fer (NZ), The Chosen One (NZ), Diademe (NZ), Savaglee, Amarelinha, Brambles (NZ), Sword Of Osman (NZ), Nicoletta (NZ), Savaria (NZ), Cool Aza Beel (NZ), Noverre (NZ), Hasahalo (NZ) and Embellish (NZ).
Over the past five years, Savabeel’s yearlings at Karaka have fetched a total of almost $50m with an average price of more than $268,000. His Karaka career features three yearlings that have broken the million-dollar mark and another eight that have fetched $700,000 or more.
Once again, Savabeel casts a long shadow over the catalogue for Karaka 2025. Book 1 features 46 of his progeny, including:
- Lot 345, who is a full-sister to New Zealand’s champion three-year-old of last season, Orchestral. Herself a $625,000 purchase from Book 1 of Karaka 2022, Orchestral won the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), the Group One New Zealand Derby (2400m) and the Group One Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m).
- Lot 337, whose dam Suavito (NZ) (Thorn Park) won the Group One CF Orr Stakes (1400m) and Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield. This colt is a half-brother to Sethito (NZ) (Super Seth), who was an impressive winner of this month’s Group Three Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m) at Ellerslie.
- Lot 145, a filly whose full-sister Pasadena Girl (NZ) (Savabeel) won the Group One Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.
- Lot 356, a full-brother to the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner The Perfect Pink (NZ) (Savabeel).
PROISIR
Proisir was added to the Rich Hill Stud stallion roster in 2015 at an introductory service fee of $7,000, and his remarkable rise has seen that figure soar to $80,000 for the 2024 breeding season.
The only sire not named Savabeel to win the New Zealand premiership in the last decade, Proisir has been represented by a total of 203 winners from 325 runners. He has sired 20 individual stakes winners, six of them at Group One level.
In his breakthrough season in 2022-23, when he was crowned champion New Zealand sire, Proisir became the first stallion to break $4m in progeny earnings in a single season. His eight New Zealand stakes winners that season included trans-Tasman Group One stars Prowess (NZ) and Legarto (NZ), who were both bought from Karaka, along with fellow elite winners Levante (NZ), Dark Destroyer (NZ) and Pier (NZ).
Buyers were quick to respond to Proisir’s remarkable run, snapping up all of his 19 yearlings in Book 1 of Karaka 2023 for a total of $3.59m and an average price of $188,947. That was followed by another outstanding return in Book 1 of Karaka 2024, where he amassed more than $7.4m from 27 yearlings sold, averaging $274,444 apiece. That included a sale-topping $1.6m for a full-sister to Prowess.
Proisir is the sire of 53 yearlings in the catalogue for Book 1 of Karaka 2025, including:
- Lot 564, a full-sister to Prowess and last year’s $1.6m sale-topper. Prowess was herself bought for $230,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2021, and her 12-race career produced eight wins, three placings and more than $1.5m in stakes. She won the Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), the Group One New Zealand Stakes (2050m) and the Group One Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m). Earlier this year, Prowess sold for $1.45m as a broodmare prospect on Gavelhouse Plus.
- Lot 113, a half-sister to the emerging Australian talent Gringotts (NZ) (Per Incanto), who has won nine races and more than A$3m in stakes including recent successes in the A$3m The Big Dance (1600m) and A$1m The Gong (1600m).
- Lot 335, whose half-sister Powers Of Opal (NZ) (Ocean Park) has finished second in this season’s Group One VRC Oaks (2500m), second in the Group Two Wakeful Stakes (2000m) and fourth in the Group One Flight Stakes (1600m).
- Lot 351, a half-sister to the exciting Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio). Bought for $180,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2023, Aeliana has had six starts for three wins, a placing and A$757,275 in stakes. Her spring campaign featured victories in the Group Three Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) and Group Three Reginald Allen Quality (1400m), and she was a strong-finishing second in the Group One Thousand Guineas (1600m) in her most recent appearance.
- Lot 440, a full-sister to Group One winner Dark Destroyer (NZ) (Proisir).
PER INCANTO
Little Avondale Stud’s Per Incanto is a prolific source of big-race performers on both sides of the Tasman.
His 406 winners from 630 runners include 31 individual stakes winners. Per Incanto is the sire of seven Group One winners, including Champions Sprint (1200m) and Newmarket Handicap (1200m) heroine Roch ‘N’ Horse (NZ), two-year-old Blue Diamond (1200m) winner Little Brose, and the current pin-up mare Belclare (NZ), who won two editions of the Group One New Zealand Thoroughbred Stakes (1600m) before relocating to Sydney and adding the A$2m The Invitation (1400m) and the Group Two Hot Danish Stakes (1400m).
Per Incanto stands for a service fee of $50,000 and has had yearlings sell for up to $500,000 at Karaka. He will be represented by 29 yearlings in Book 1 of Karaka 2025, including:
- Lot 24, who is a half-brother to Desert Lightning (NZ) (Pride Of Dubai). Bought for $150,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2021, Desert Lightning has earned more than $1.4m from a 21-race career. His six wins include the Group One TAB Classic (1600m), the Group Three Sandown Stakes (1500m) and last season’s inaugural $1m Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic 4YO (1600m). He was a last-start fourth in the Group One Toorak Handicap (1600m).
- Lot 188, a half-sister to Velocious (Written Tycoon), New Zealand’s champion two-year-old of last season. Velocious was a $190,000 purchase from Book 1 of Karaka 2023. She has had eight starts for four wins and more than $926,000 in stakes, including victories in last season’s $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and Group One Sistema Stakes (1200m).
- Lot 404, the first foal out of the Group Three-winning Savabeel mare Whimsical (NZ).
- Lot 412, a colt out of the Group Two winner and Group One-placed Xpression (NZ) (Showcasing). Xpression’s only foal to race is Rhetorical (NZ) (Snitzel), who has won two races and placed at Listed level.
- Lot 616, a full-sister to the highly rated Twain (NZ) (Per Incanto), who has had six starts for four wins and two placings.
- Lot 629, a filly out of the winning Galileo mare Galaya. Notably, Galaya is a full-sister to Cabaret (Galileo), the stakes-winning dam of Group One winners and sires St Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni) and Magna Grecia (Invincible Spirit).
ALMANZOR
Cambridge Stud’s Almanzor has become a constant presence in showpiece staying events in both New Zealand and Australia.
He boasts a total of 252 winners from 479 winners worldwide, with 22 individual black-type winners. That includes Manzoice in the Group One Victoria Derby (2500m) and Circle Of Fire in the Group One Sydney Cup (3200m).
Another nine of his progeny have placed at Group One level – Positivity (NZ), Mehzebeen (NZ) and Qali Al Farrasha (NZ) in the New Zealand Oaks (2400m), Athabascan in the Sydney Cup, Moonlight Magic (NZ) in the Queensland Derby (2400m), Virtuous Circle (NZ) in the Australian Derby (2400m), Andalus (NZ) in the New Zealand Derby (2400m), Zabmanzor (NZ) in the Levin Classic (1600m) and Dynastic (NZ) in the Sistema Stakes (1200m).
Almanzor commands a $30,000 service fee at Cambridge Stud and has had yearlings sell for up to $675,000 at Karaka.
He is set to feature prominently at Karaka 2025 too, with 47 yearlings catalogued for Book 1 including:
- Lot 308, a colt out of the Group One Australian Oaks (2400m) winner Sofia Rosa (NZ) (Makfi). Sofia Rosa also won the Group Two Royal Stakes (2000m) and Group Three Lowland Stakes (2100m), and she placed in the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m), Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) and WFA Classic (1600m).
- Lot 454, a filly out of the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner Artistic (NZ) (Darci Brahma). From seven foals to race, Artistic is the dam of four winners including stakes performers Reliable Star (NZ) (Reliable Man) and Grinzinger Star (NZ) (Reliable Man).
- Lot 238, a half-brother to Madison County (NZ) (Pins), who won the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Group One Levin Classic (1600m) and was runner-up in the Group One Australian Derby (2400m). Another half-brother, Detonator Jack (NZ) (Jakkalberry), finished third in the Group One South Australian Derby (2500m).
- Lot 449, a half-brother to the multiple Group Two winner and Group One placegetter Impendabelle (Impending). Their half-brother Cloudy (Frosted) is a Group Three winner in Adelaide, while their dam Applegate (Exceed And Excel) won the Listed Ottawa Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.
- Lot 474, a filly out of the Snitzel mare Bavella. Herself a Listed winner of the Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) and a multiple Group Three placegetter, Bavella is a half-sister to Group One Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Pinarello (NZ) (Tavistock) and Group Two Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) winner Vernazza (NZ) (More Than Ready).
- Lot 625, a colt out of a full-sister to the multiple Group One winner Shillelagh (NZ) (Savabeel). Shillelagh is the dam of the recent $1.65m sale-topping colt at the Ready to Run Sale.
SATONO ALADDIN
Even with only three crops of racing age in New Zealand, Satono Aladdin has quickly established himself as one of the big names in this country’s stallion ranks.
Those crops have produced 45 winners, eight of them at stakes level. That list is topped by the Group One Australian Oaks (2400m) and New Zealand Oaks (2400m) queen Pennyweka (NZ) along with Tokyo Tycoon (NZ), who won the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and was New Zealand’s champion two-year-old of 2022-23. Lantern Way (NZ), Lupo Solitario (NZ), Sacred Satono (NZ), Grand Impact (NZ), Raf Attack (NZ) and Still Bangon (NZ) have also won at Group level.
Satono Aladdin’s service fee was $65,000 this season. He made a real impact at Karaka 2024 with a filly selling for $900,000, which was the second highest price of Book 1.
Book 1 of Karaka 2025 features 40 yearlings by Satono Aladdin, including:
- Lot 149, a full-brother to the Group Two Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) winner Lantern Way.
- Lot 299, whose full-brother Raf Attack won the Group Three Gloaming Stakes (1800m) in Sydney.
- Lot 439, a full-sister to champion two-year-old Tokyo Tycoon.
- Lot 550, a half-sister to Imperialist (NZ) (Churchill), who scored an impressive victory in the Listed The Phoenix (1500m) in Brisbane in June.
- Lot 576, a half-sister to this season’s Group Two Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) runner-up Kitty Flash (NZ) (Ace High).
CONTRIBUTER
Limited chances remain for buyers to get their hands on progeny of Mapperley Stud stallion Contributer, who sadly died in September.
He is the sire of 108 winners from only 161 runners, with 10 stakes winners including Group One stars Lion’s Roar (NZ) and Campionessa (NZ).
Contributer has 11 yearlings catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2025, with another four going through the ring during Book 2. They include:
- Lot 209, a three-quarter-brother to Group One Randwick Guineas (1600m) hero Lion’s Roar.
- Lot 286, whose full-sister Premise (NZ) (Contributer) finished third in the Group One Australian Oaks (2400m).
- Lot 603, a half-sister to Sigh (No Nay Never), who won six of her 10 starts including the Group Three Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m).
SHAMEXPRESS
Sire of 148 winners from only 226 runners, Windsor Park Stud’s Shamexpress (NZ) has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent months by his spectacular son Ka Ying Rising (NZ).
The new sensation of Hong Kong racing, Ka Ying Rising has had 11 starts for nine wins and two second placings. In his last three starts, he has won the Group Two Premier Bowl (1200m), the Group Two Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) and the prestigious Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1200m). His three-length romp in the Jockey Club Sprint saw him break Sha Tin’s long-standing track record for 1200 metres.
Shamexpress has had black-type impact in Australasia this year too, siring the Group Two Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m) and multiple Melbourne Group Three winner Grinzinger Belle (NZ) along with New Zealand’s Group Three Waikato Cup (2400m) winner Blue Sky At Night (NZ).
Shamexpress has one yearling in the catalogue for Book 1 of Karaka 2025, with another five in Book 2.
WEYNESSE
Like Shamexpress, Novara Park’s Sweynesse is another stallion who has had his profile boosted by an outstanding sprinter in Hong Kong. Karaka graduate Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) has had 24 starts for 16 wins and more than HK$74m in prize-money, including Group One triumphs in the Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) and Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m).
Overall, Sweynesse is the sire of 84 winners from 177 runners, including a remarkable strike rate of seven winners from 11 runners in Hong Kong. He is the sire of seven stakes winners and was New Zealand’s leading first-season sire in 2019-20.
Sweynesse has five yearlings catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2025 and two in Book 2, with all eyes likely to be on Lot 93 – a full-brother to Lucky Sweynesse.
Australian-based sires
The globally influential Fasnet Rock has a special connection to Karaka, where his Group One-winning progeny such as Avantage, Planet Rock, Rock ‘n’ Pop, Atlante, First Seal, Heroic Valour, Unforgotten and Albany Reunion have graced this sale ring. He will feature in Book 1 of Karaka 2025 with Lot 646, a filly whose unraced dam Here Comes Gypsy (High Chaparral) is a half-sister to Group One performer Gypsy Diamond (Not a Single Doubt).
I Am Invincible is a three-time Australian champion sire and is the sire of 15 individual Group One winners, including the freakish Imperatriz, the reigning New Zealand Horse of the Year. I Am Invincible’s Group One-winning daughters I Am A Star (NZ) and Media Sensation were both graduates of the Karaka sale ring, while his colt out of Shillelagh (NZ) (Savabeel) fetched a record price of $1.65m in last month’s Ready to Run Sale. I Am Invincible is the sire of three yearlings in Book 1 of Karaka 2025, including the progeny of stakes-winning mares Peaceful (NZ) (Savabeel) and Diablotine (Kodi Bear).
Written Tycoon was leading sire of two-year-olds in both New Zealand and Australia last year. Velocious won the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and Group One Sistema Stakes (1200m) and was champion New Zealand two-year-old, while Lady Of Camelot captured the Group One Golden Slipper (1200m). Written Tycoon is the sire of Lot 190 in Book 1 of Karaka 2025 – a half-sister to Group One performers Bases Loaded (Deep Field) and Shebringzit (Sebring).
Four-time champion Australian sire Snitzel has two yearlings catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2025. They are the first foals out of high-class Trelawney Stud racemares Two Illicit (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) and Zayydani (NZ) (Savabeel), and they will go through the ring as Lots 374 and 417 respectively.
Elite stallion Pierro has a strong representation at Karaka 2025 with six Book 1 yearlings. Lot 509 is out of Capucine (NZ) (High Chaparral), who won three races from only four starts and is a three-quarter-sister to the champion racehorse and sire So You Think (NZ).
So You Think himself has eight yearlings catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2025 including Lot 140, who is a full-sister to the Listed winner and Group One-placed Political Debate (So You Think).
Book 1 of Karaka 2025 runs from Sunday January 26 to Tuesday January 28 with selling starting at 10am each day. Book 2 will start at 12pm on Wednesday January 29 and concludes the following day on Thursday January 30 (10am start).
