Superstar stallions have lit up racetracks on both sides of the Tasman this season, and now their two-year-olds are set to impress at the 2020 Ready to Run Sale.
Savabeel
Waikato Stud supremo Savabeel claimed his sixth consecutive New Zealand sires’ premiership last season, siring 49 winners, eight stakes winners and amassing $3.1 million in stakes – more than $1.1 million ahead of his nearest rival.
Savabeel is the sire of 102 stakes winners overall, 20 of them at Group One level, and his star daughter Probabeel (NZ) scored a sparkling victory in the time-honoured Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick at the beginning of this month.
Savabeel is always in massive demand at Karaka. In Book 1 of Karaka 2020, he topped the sires’ standings with 58 yearlings selling for a total of $14.34 million, averaging $247,241.
There are 11 progeny by Savabeel in the 2020 Ready to Run Sale catalogue. Notable lots include:
- Lot 72’s dam Snowdrop (NZ) (Pins) placed in the Listed Newmarket Handicap (1200m) and Counties Bowl (1100m) and is a daughter of triple Group One winner Daffodil (NZ) (No Excuse Needed).
- Lot 83 is out of a three-quarter-sister to multiple Group One winner Racing to Win (Encosta de Lago). This filly’s dam is also a three-quarter-sister to the dam of star sprinters Classique Legend (Not a Single Doubt) and Aethero (Sebring).
- Lot 134 is out of the stakes-placed Amazing Lady (NZ) (O’Reilly).
- Lot 239 is a son of Listed winner Include (NZ) (Gallant Guru).
- Lot 252 is out of a half-sister to Group Two winner Lady Kipling (NZ) (Savabeel), dam of Fascino (NZ) (Charm Spirit), who has won at Group Two level in Melbourne.
- Lot 262’s dam is a half-sister to star racehorse and exciting sire Ocean Park (NZ) (Thorn Park) and the dam of multiple Group One winner Grunt (NZ) (O’Reilly).
- Lot 298 is out of a half-sister to multiple Group One winners Puccini (NZ) (Encosta de Lago) and Sir Slick (NZ) (Volksraad).
Ocean Park
As well as dominating the New Zealand domestic scene, Savabeel has also enjoyed a long stranglehold on the Dewar and Centaine Awards for New Zealand-based sires with the highest progeny earnings within Australasia and worldwide respectively. Savabeel has won both awards every season since 2015-16, but that winning sequence was broken this year as Ocean Park (NZ) outshone his fellow Waikato Stud stallion with his progeny’s performances in Australia.
Ocean Park soared into the top dozen on Australia’s star-studded sires’ premiership with more than A$10 million in prize-money last season. His 45 Australian winners included five at stakes level, headed by Group One stars Kolding (NZ) and Tofane (NZ).
Oceanex (NZ) also won three stakes races up to Group Two level, while Star of the Seas (NZ) placed in the Group One Epsom Handicap (1600m) and Doncaster Mile (1600m).
Ocean Park’s golden run has continued in recent weeks, siring a superb Group One quinella as Kolding and Star of the Seas fought out the finish of the George Main Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.
As Ocean Park’s star continues to rise, buyers have the chance to buy nine of his progeny in the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, including:
- Lot 17 comes from the family of champion galloper and quality sire So You Think (NZ) (High Chaparral).
- The dam of Lot 98 is a half-sister to Group One winner Miss Keepsake (NZ) (Keeper) and Group Two winner Villifye (NZ) (O’Reilly).
- Lot 175 is from the family of superstar galloper and successful sire Starcraft (NZ) (Soviet Star).
- Lot 221 is a half-brother to stakes winner Sewreel (NZ) (Savabeel).
- Lot 266 descends from Foxwood (NZ) (Centaine), who won two stakes races and is the dam of stakes performers Rockwood (NZ) (Rock of Gibraltar), Miss Foxwood (Fastnet Rock) and Quartz Reef (Redoute’s Choice). Foxwood is also granddam of Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) and Singapore Guineas (1600m) winner Mr Clint (NZ) (Power).
Darci Brahma
Elite racehorse and high-class The Oaks Stud stallion Darci Brahma (NZ) is a prolific source of winners. He has finished second or third on the Kiwi premiership in seven of the last eight years, siring 265 winners from 393 runners on home soil. He has also had 126 winners from 176 runners in Australia, 31 from 51 in Hong Kong and 66 from 93 in Singapore.
The 2019-20 season was one of Darci Brahma’s finest, with 91 winners including 10 at black-type level. The headline act was elite three-year-old Catalyst (NZ), who dominated his age group with four stakes wins including the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).
Harlech (NZ) finished second in the 2000 Guineas, providing a Darci Brahma quinella, and he also won the Group Two Sarten Memorial (1400m) and placed in the Group One Levin Classic (1600m). Full of Beauty won at Group Three level in Hong Kong, while Paint The Town Two (NZ) did the same in Australia.
Four progeny of Darci Brahma feature in the Ready to Run Sale catalogue:
- Lot 40 is out of Ride of Valkyries (Orpen), a Group One winner in Argentina.
- Lot 219 is out of a half-sister to the Group Three winner Lilikoi (NZ) (Charm Spirit).
- The dam of Lot 264 is a half-sister to three stakes winners including Julinsky Princess (NZ) (Stravinsky), whose Darci Brahma son Julinsky Prince (NZ) was a dual Group One winner.
- Lot 291 is a half-brother to dual Group Two winner Platinum Princess (NZ) (Keeper).
Per Incanto
Little Avondale Stud’s Per Incanto has become another familiar name at the top of New Zealand’s premierships, finishing in the top five in all of the last four seasons. He has sired 206 winners from 334 runners, with 16 individual stakes winners headed by Shadows Cast (NZ), Santa Monica (NZ) and Dal Cielo (NZ) at Group One level.
His three-year-old daughter Miss Aotearoa (NZ) has begun the new season in highly impressive form, winning both starts including against a quality field of fillies in the Group Three Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings in September.
Ten juveniles by Per Incanto will be offered at the Ready to Run Sale, including:
- Lot 48 is out of a winning Exceed and Excel mare. This colt is a half-brother to Excessabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), who has been stakes-placed in Australia.
- Lot 119 is out of a three-quarter-sister to the stakes winner Craftsmanship (NZ) (Savabeel). The second dam of this filly is Aspinal (NZ) (Pins), a Listed winner who placed in three other black-type races and finished fourth at Group One level.
- Lot 122 is out of a half-sister to Yourdeel (NZ) (Dundeel), who won the Group One Sistema Stakes (1200m) and Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) and was New Zealand’s Champion 2YO in 2018-19.
- Lot 279 is a three-quarter-brother to Group One winner Dal Cielo (NZ), being out of his unraced half-sister Luscious Legs (NZ) (Pins).
Iffraaj
Now retired from southern hemisphere shuttling duties, Iffraaj stood at Haunui Farm for 11 seasons. During that time he sired 305 winners from 513 runners in this part of the world, including 26 individual stakes winners. Star performers include the Group One heroes Turn Me Loose (NZ), Gingernuts (NZ), Jon Snow (NZ) and Wyndspelle (NZ).
The Ready to Run Sale catalogue features five progeny of Iffraaj, including:
- Lot 152 is out of a winning daughter of the champion mare Bright Sky (Wolfhound), whose six wins included the Group One Prix de Diane (2100m) and Prix de l’Opera (2000m).
- The dam of Lot 168 is a half-sister to Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner Hasahalo (NZ) (Savabeel) and the recent Group Three Tibbie Stakes (1400m) winner All Saints’ Eve (Sacred Falls).
- Lot 206 is out of a full-sister to multiple Hong Kong stakes winner Packing OK (Redoute’s Choice).
- Lot 233 is a grandson of Group One winner Calveen (NZ) (Canny Lad)
Pierro
A superstar racehorse, Pierro has made a smooth transition into a quality stallion career at Coolmore Stud. The son of Lonhro was Australia’s leading first season sire in 2016-17 and has gone on to sire 222 winners from 364 runners to date.
His 24 individual stakes winners include Group One winners Shadow Hero, Pierata, Regal Power, Arcadia Queen, Levendi and Pinot, while Dragon Leap made a big impression with multiple Group Two victories in New Zealand last season.
Buyers will have access to three of Pierro’s progeny at the Ready to Run Sale, including:
- Lot 13 is a half-brother to the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner Rollout the Carpet (Holy Roman Emperor).
- The dam of Lot 174 is a half-sister to four stakes winners including the Group One Golden Slipper (1200m) heroine Crystal Lily (Stratum).
Zoustar
Widden Stud’s Zoustar was a multiple Group One winner on the racetrack and has made an impressive start to his stud career. He has been represented by 157 winners from 259 runners, with 14 stakes winners headed by the triple Group One winner Sunlight.
Remarkably, he sired the trifecta in the 2018 Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington with his first-crop three-year-olds Sunlight, Zousain and Lean Mean Machine.
There are three Zoustar two-year-olds in the Ready to Run Sale catalogue including Lot 245, who is out of a half-sister to the Group One performer and successful sire Fast ‘n’ Famous (Redoute’s Choice).
Siyouni
An unusual name in an Australasian sale catalogue, Siyouni stands for a service fee of €100,000 at Haras de Bonneval.
A three-time leading sire of two-year-olds in France, Siyouni has sired a total of 340 winners from 569 runners. His 38 individual stakes winners include Sottsass, who won the world-renowned Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m) at the beginning of this month, along with fellow Group One winners Laurens, Ervedya and Dream and Do. He has also made an impact in Australia with Group Two winner Aylmerton.
Siyouni is the sire of Lot 230 in the Ready to Run Sale catalogue. This colt is out of a three-quarter-sister to multiple stakes winner Haripour (Shamardal), from an exceptional Aga Khan family that features the top-class Epsom Derby (2400m) and Irish Derby (2400m) winner Harzand (Sea the Stars).
NZB's Ready to Run Sale catalogue can be viewed online here.
IMPORTANT DATES
Monday 12 & Tuesday 13 October – Breeze Ups at Te Rapa Racecourse.
Wednesday 18 & Thursday 19 November - NZB’s Ready to Run Sale of Two-Year-Olds at Karaka with online bidding available.
