Thursday’s second day of the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale saw a new all-time record price of $825,000 for a Star Turn colt whose future lies in Hong Kong with another gelding by All Too Hard was hot on his heels at $800,000.
The colt was catalogued as Lot 376 and went through the Karaka sale ring in the last 30 minutes of the sale’s final day. Offered by KB Bloodstock, the colt is closely related to the four-time Group One winner Criterion and had clocked 10.24 seconds in a slick breeze-up.
The record-breaking colt was bought by Hong Kong owner Pato Leung, who was represented at Karaka by trainer Benno Yung and his daughter Samantha.
“We’ve looked at a lot of good horses at the sale today, and the Star Turn really stood out to us,” Samantha Yung said. “He’s a really nice mover and has a very strong build.
“He has a great temperament from what we’ve seen so far. The amount that we paid may have been a little more than we were expecting, but we feel that he will do well for the owner.
“Star Turn has been doing well in Hong Kong, and that’s another reason why we were interested in buying this horse.
“We do think that he’ll be a powerful sprinter, but with time, he may be able to go further as well.”
The colt was a mega successful pinhook having been sourced from the Fairview Park draft at Inglis Classic for $120,000 by Solari Bloodstock. Bred by Ian Duckworth, he is the first foal of well related Foxwedge mare Commonwealth, who comes from the family of Group I winners Criterion and Comin' Through .
Lot 376 was the second time on Thursday that the $800,000 sale-topping price from Wednesday’s opening session was either equalled or surpassed.
Earlier on Thursday, Hong Kong bloodstock agent Willie Leung went to $800,000 to secure Riversley Park’s gelding by All Too Hard out of the Mossman mare Tuscany Lady. The gelding breezed up in 10.34 seconds and was bought on behalf of owner Mr Yeung Kin Man, with the Yungs as underbidders.
“Mr Yeung has about 10 horses racing in Hong Kong already and he is a genuine racing fan and would love to have more good horses in Hong Kong,” Leung said. “That’s why he wanted to go for some stock here, so we can go through the selection process to find a Group One horse.
“They will be here for education and training and then we’ll do some assessment. They will probably be ready to go, but some will need to be qualified as a PP for Hong Kong and so we’ll keep them racing here.
“All Too Hard is a very consistent and useful sire in Hong Kong, and the Group One winner Wellington has performed really well in Hong Kong and on grass and synthetic and so he suits Hong Kong. This one looks really precocious, and so hopefully we can get him going to Hong Kong early next season.
“It’s a good sale with plenty of good horses, and New Zealand Bloodstock did a great job to bring a lot of Hong Kong buyers and that’s probably why the market is so strong. There’s strong competition between Hong Kong owners. It’s a good sign that there’s so many owners willing to spend on quality stock.”
The gelding from Tuscany Lady was another wildy successful pinhook, plucked from the Baramul Stud draft for $100,000 at Magic Millions Book 2 by Riversley Park/Michael Guerin.
Bred by Gerry Harvey, he is the fourth foal of Tuscany Lady, an unraced Mossman mare from the family of Group winners Heather and Peat Bog. Tuscany Lady has a yearling filly by Headwater and was covered last spring by Exceedance.
It means that all of the sale’s three-sale toppers were snapped up by Hong Kong buyers. Wednesday’s $800,000 top lot, a colt by Harry Angel from the draft of Kilgravin Lodge, was bought by Tartan Meadow Bloodstock in partnership with agent Andrew Williams. - in conjunction with NZ Racing Desk
