An exciting group of rookie stallions will have their first yearlings going through the Karaka sale ring late next month.
The catalogues for Karaka 2025 contain the progeny of four first-season stallions based in New Zealand, along with another 13 from across the Tasman.
New Zealand-based sires
SWORD OF STATE
Cambridge Stud stallion Sword Of State was New Zealand’s champion two-year-old in 2020-21. He won four of his five starts in that campaign for Te Akau Racing, including scintillating victories in the Group One Sistema Stakes (1200m) and Group Three Matamata Slipper (1200m) by a combined margin of 10 lengths.
Sword Of State added another two Group Three wins to his CV as a three-year-old, comfortably beating subsequent 10-time Group One winner Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) in the Almanzor Trophy (1200m) and then defeating older sprinters in the King’s Plate (1200m). He crossed the Tasman and ran second in a photo finish to the Group Three Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) before an elevated temperature brought a premature end to his final racing campaign.
From a total of 11 starts, Sword Of State had two wins and two placings and earned more than $330,000 in stakes. He now stands for a service fee of $15,000 at Cambridge Stud.
There are 23 yearlings by Sword Of State catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2025, with another 13 in Book 2.
- Lot 261 is a half-sister to the Group One Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) heroine Ruthless Dame (NZ) (Tavistock).
- Lot 272 is a half-sister to Starvoia (Starcraft), the stakes-winning dam of Group One winner Skew Wiff (NZ) (Savabeel).
- Lot 653 is out of an unraced half-sister to the four-time Group One winner Luxembourg (Camelot), who was champion three-year-old in Europe in 2022.
- Lot 446 is a half-sister to the multiple black-type winner Angelic Miss (NZ) (Savabeel).
- Lot 107 is the first foal out of Medieval Miss (Camelot), who won six races and placed at stakes level in Adelaide.
- Lot 119 is a half-brother to the five-race winner and Group Three Colin Stephen Quality (2400m) placegetter Strathtay (NZ) (Preferment).
- Lot 461 is out of the stakes-winning mare Astor (NZ) (Iffraaj), whose first foal to race is the impressive recent winner Astoria Brooke (NZ) (American Pharoah).
- Lot 945 is a half-brother to the Group Two winner Mana Nui (NZ) (No Nay Never).
- Lot 1065 is out of Group Three-winning mare Glamorous Girl (NZ) (Thorn Park), who is the dam of eight winners from eight foals to race.
NOVERRE
Life has come full circle for Noverre (NZ). He was bred by Waikato Stud, who offered him in their Book 1 draft at Karaka 2020. He caught the eye of Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis, who bought him for $800,000.
After winning three of his seven starts including a stunning last-to-first performance in the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), Noverre returned to his birthplace and joined the Waikato Stud stallion roster alongside his own sire Savabeel. And now, five years after being bought at Karaka, he is set to have a part to play in the Sir Patrick Hogan Auditorium again – this time as an exciting young sire.
Noverre has 21 first-crop yearlings in the catalogue for Book 1 of Karaka 2025. Book 2 features 13 of his progeny.
- Lot 493 is a colt out of the outstanding Bonneval (NZ) (Makfi), who won the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m), Australian Oaks (2400m) and Underwood Stakes (1800m). She was New Zealand Horse of the Year in 2016-17 and 2018-19.
- Lot 189 is a half-sister to the Group Two Tulloch Stakes (2000m) winner Wymark (NZ) (Savabeel).
- Lot 284 is a half-sister to the Group Two Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) and Group Three Scarborough Stakes (1200m) winner Coeur Volante (NZ) (Proisir).
- Lot 329 is a half-sister to this month’s Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m) winner Jedibeel (NZ) (Savabeel).
- Lot 376 is a half-sister to Group One Levin Classic (1600m) winner Romancing The Moon (NZ) (El Roca). Their dam Underthemoonlight (NZ) (El Hermano) won the Group Two Foxbridge Plate (1200m) and placed in the Group One Tarzino Trophy (1400m).
- Lot 282 is out of the unraced Serenella (NZ) (Jimmy Choux), who is a three-quarter-sister to triple Group One winner (The) Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) and half-sister to Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Kovalica (NZ) (Ocean Park).
- Lot 536 is a half-brother to the Group One Auckland Cup (3200m) hero Ocean Billy (NZ) (Ocean Park).
- Lot 846 is a filly out of a full-sister to the Group One winner and successful sire Shamexpress (NZ).
ARMORY
Dual-hemisphere Group One performer Armory stands at Mapperley Stud for a service fee of $10,000.
From a 16-start career, Armory recorded five wins and seven placings. His biggest wins came in the Group Two Futurity Stakes (1400m) as a two-year-old and the Group Two Huxley Stakes (2100m) as a four-year-old, while his six Group One placings include a second to Sir Dragonet (Camelot) in the Cox Plate (2040m). He also ran second in the National Stakes (1400m) and third in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (2000m), Irish Champion Stakes (2000m), Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (1600m) and Criterium International (1400m). He was Ireland’s champion three-year-old in 2020 and was also Europe’s joint champion three-year-old.
Armory is by the great Galileo, the sire of more than 100 individual Group One winners around the world. Galileo’s amazing legacy is continuing through his sire sons, including Frankel, Teofilo, New Approach, Australia, Gleneagles, Nathaniel and Rip Van Winkle.
Armory’s yearling debut at Karaka 2025 is made up of 10 progeny in Book 1 and 23 in Book 2.
- Lot 451 is a filly out of Arboreal (Lonhro), whose only foal to race is the Group Two winner, multiple Group Three placegetter and Group One fourth-place finisher Trobriand (Kermadec).
- Lot 611 is a colt whose dam is a half-sister to the multiple Group One winner and successful sire Tarzino (NZ).
- Lot 72 is out of a half-sister to the stakes performers Vengeur Masque (Monsun), Value Theory (Gleneagles) and Vermont (Muhtathir).
- The dam of Lot 146 is a half-sister to Group One winner Sacred Elixir (NZ) (Pour Moi) and granddaughter of the champion racemare Horlicks (NZ) (Three Legs).
- Lot 1017 is a half-sister to the Group Two winner Le Baron (NZ) (Golan) and the Group Two-placed Queen Of Pop (NZ) (Pins). Queen Of Pop is the dam of Group Three winner Pop Star Princess (NZ) (Makfi) and the stakes-placed Queen Of Zealand (NZ) (Savabeel). The dam of Lot 1017 is Dame Mapperley (NZ) (Volksraad), who placed at Group Three level in Sydney and has produced eight winners from 12 foals to race.
THE CHOSEN ONE
Savabeel’s well-related son The Chosen One (NZ) was himself offered at Karaka as a yearling in 2017, where he failed to meet his $150,000 reserve. Now, after a 43-race career that banked more than $2.5m, he stands for a $4,000 service fee at The Oaks Stud and has his first crop of yearlings about to grace the sale ring.
The Chosen One was a seven-race winner, headed by the Group One Thorndon Mile (1600m) at Trentham, the Group Two Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) at Caulfield, the Group Three Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at Randwick and the Group Three Manawatu Classic (2000m) at Awapuni.
He also ran second in the Group One Sydney Cup (3200m) and Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m), third in the Group One Caulfield Cup (2400m), Tancred Stakes (2400m), Herbie Dyke Stakes, New Zealand Stakes (2000m) and WFA Classic (1600m), and fourth in the Melbourne Cup (3200m).
The Chosen One’s dam is The Glitzy One (Flying Spur), who herself won eight races and was a five-time placegetter at stakes level. The Glitzy One is out of The Jewel (NZ) (O’Reilly), whose 11 wins included the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), Group One International Stakes (2000m) and the Group Three Doomben Roses (2000m). She is the dam of five winners from six foals to race, including stakes performers The Diamond One (Tale Of The Cat), The Precious One (NZ) (Darci Brahma), The Glitzy One and The Bold One (NZ) (Fastnet Rock). The latter is now a successful sire.
The Chosen One is one of four sons of the great Savabeel standing at stud in New Zealand. The others are Embellish (NZ), What’s The Story (NZ) and Noverre (NZ).
Seven yearlings from The Chosen One’s first crop will go through the ring during Karaka 2025, all of them during Book 2.
- Lot 771 is a half-brother to the stakes performers Miss Dixie (NZ) (Contributer) and Diablo Blanco (NZ) (Super Seth). This colt is out of Phoebe Snow (NZ) (No Excuse Needed), a winning full-sister to the Group One winner I Do (NZ) (No Excuse Needed).
- Lot 993 is a filly whose unraced dam Celtic Affair (NZ) (Sebring) is a daughter of the Group One winner Irish Fling (NZ) (Darci Brahma).
- Lot 934 is out of the nine-race winner Zigallene (NZ) (Ghibellines), who is a three-quarter-sister to the Group One winner Smokin’ Romans (NZ) (Ghibellines).
Australian-based sires
ome Affairs made a huge impression in his 10-start racing career, headlined by a blistering three-length romp in the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and a defeat of older horses in the Group One Lightning Stakes (1000m). Out of a half-sister to Russian Revolution, Home Affairs now stands at Coolmore for a service fee of A$82,500.
Karaka 2025 will showcase 15 yearlings from the first crop of Home Affairs, all in Book 1. Lot 174 is a half-brother to the Group One Australian Derby (2400m) winner Jon Snow (NZ) (Iffraaj), while Lot 237 is a filly out of the Group Two winner and multiple Group One-placed Rasa Lila (NZ) (Darci Brahma). Lot 312 is out of a half-sister to Group One performers Eleonora (NZ) (Makfi) and Supera (NZ) (Savabeel).
Elite European miler Palace Pier is a son of world-class racehorse and sire Kingman. Europe’s champion three-year-old colt in 2020, Palace Pier won nine of his 11 starts and placed in both of the other two. His victories included brilliant performances in the Group One Queen Anne Stakes (1600m), Lockinge Stakes (1600m), St James’s Palace Stakes (1600m) and two editions of the Prix Jacques le Marois (1600m).
Palace Pier has five first-crop yearlings catalogued for Karaka 2025. Lot 206 is a half-brother to Group One winner Signify (NZ) (Perfectly Ready), Group One placegetter El Sicario (NZ) (Bullbars), and unbeaten three-year-old filly Komocean (NZ) (Ocean Park). Lot 332 is out of a half-sister to the dam of big-race performers Kementari (Lonhro), Silmarillion (Too Darn Hot) and Telperion (Street Cry).
Darley’s Pinatubo was champion two-year-old colt in Europe, GB and Ireland in 2019. He won all of his six starts that season including the Group One Dewhurst Stakes (1400m) and National Stakes (1400m). He added another Group One win as a three-year-old in the Prix Jean Prat (1400m), and he was a placegetter in the St James’ Palace Stakes (1600m), English 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Prix du Moulin (1600m).
Pinatubo’s yearling debut at Karaka 2025 is made up of five of his progeny in Book 1. Lot 515 is out of a half-sister to the American Grade One performer Grace And Power (More Than Ready), who is the dam of Group One winner Delectation (Shamardal) and granddam of Group One winner Artorius (Flying Artie). Another half-sister is the dam of dual Group One winner Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon).
Europe’s 2021 Horse of the Year St Mark's Basilica stands at Coolmore for a service fee of A$38,500. He won six of his nine career starts, including an unbeaten four-race campaign as a three-year-old that included Group One wins in the Eclipse Stakes (2000m), Irish Champion Stakes (2000m), Prix du Jockey Club (2100m) and Poule d’Essai des Poulains (1600m).
The son of Siyouni will be represented by 11 first-crop yearlings at Karaka 2025, all in Book 1. Lot 269 is out of the Group One-winning Savabeel mare Savaria (NZ). Lot 244 is out of a half-sister to the Group One winner Two Illicit (NZ) (Jimmy Choux).
Newgate Farm’s Stay Inside was champion two-year-old in Australia in 2020-21 and won the Group One Golden Slipper (1200m). He is a son of one of the biggest names in the Australian breeding scene, the remarkable Extreme Choice, who has sired 78 winners and 13 stakes winners from just 108 runners.
Stay Inside stands for a service fee of A$55,000 and has one first-crop yearling in the Karaka 2025 catalogue. Lot 294 is out of a half-sister to the Group One New Zealand Derby (2400m) and Group Two Avondale Cup (2400m) winner Asterix (NZ) (Tavistock).
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).
