South Island Sale Showcases Sires From Both Islands

The South Island’s stallions have had a well-deserved share of the spotlight this season, headed by the Group one Sydney Cup (3200m) heroics of Raise the Flag’s daughter Etah James (NZ).

New Zealand Bloodstock’s South Island Sale on Gavelhouse Plus gives buyers an outstanding opportunity to access that unique and renowned southern product, complemented by a quality selection of yearlings by North Island-based stallions.

South Island Sires

GHIBELLINES (AUS)

Ghibellines is a rising star of the roster at Otago’s famous White Robe Lodge. He is by Shamardal, who is proven as a sire of sires, with sons at stud including the elite sire Lope de Vega.

Ghibellines is a half-brother to Guelph (Exceed and Excel), who won four Group One races in Sydney and Melbourne – the Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), Champagne Stakes (1600m), Flight Stakes (1600m) and Thousand Guineas (1600m).

With his oldest progeny now three, Ghibellines has sired six winners including Listed Dunedin Guineas (1500m) winner El Gladiador (NZ). He is also the sire of stakes-placed Live Drama (NZ) and Ranger (NZ), while two of his progeny have won four races between them in Australia.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (AUS) 

Highly Recommended stands at Berkley Stud in Canterbury. By champion sire Fastnet Rock, Highly Recommended is a half-brother to five stakes winners including Sky Cuddle (Snippets), who won the Group One Emirates Stakes (1600m) and is the dam of Group One performer Champagne Cuddles (Not a Single Doubt).

Highly Recommended himself made an immediate impact at stud with 25 winners from his first crop, and he is now the sire of a total of 36 winners. Two members of his first crop won at stakes level – Sumstreetsumwhere (NZ) in the Group Two Sarten Memorial (1400m) and Waldorf (NZ) in the Listed Ryder Stakes (1200m) and Wanganui Guineas (1350m). Both horses subsequently won races in Hong Kong. Highly Recommended has sired another six stakes placegetters.

PURE CHAMPION (IRE)

Pure Champion stands at Waimate’s Willow Glen Stud. He is by classic winner and highly successful sire Footstepsinthesand, and his dam is a Danehill half-sister to Group One winner Winter Boatman (Main Reef). Pure Champion won stakes races in Ireland and Hong Kong, then completed his career in New Zealand with Group One glory in the Windsor Park Plate (1600m).

From just two runners to race, Pure Champion has already sired a winner. His son Manhattan Spector (NZ) cleared maiden grade at Ballarat in Victoria earlier this month.

SAPERAVI (NZ)

Saperavi stands alongside Pure Champion at Willow Glen Stud. By Stravinsky, he is a half-brother to the multiple Group One winner and top sire Darci Brahma (NZ). Saperavi was a $2.2 million yearling purchase at Karaka in 2006, and he was a black-type placegetter in his four-start racing career.

Saperavi is the sire of 22 winners from 56 runners. His daughter Orovela (NZ) won the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m), while Royal Green (NZ) placed in the Perak Derby (2400m).

TOBIQUE (AUS)

Tobique stands at Clearview Park in Canterbury and is by Champion Australian stallion Redoute’s Choice.

Securing more than A$201,000 in career earnings, he has sired 14 winners to date, including Listed performer Hiique (NZ) and recent VRC victor Maliseet (NZ) and Wanganui winner Off Shaw (NZ).

ZACINTO (GB)

Zacinto now stands at Valachi Downs in the North Island, but he began his career at Inglewood Stud and made his name with a flurry of winners from that base.

He is the sire of five stakes winners, headed by Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) winner Ugo Foscolo (NZ) and Melbourne stakes winners Odeon (NZ) and Vassilator (NZ). This season’s yearlings are Zacinto’s last South Island crop.

North Island Sires

BELARDO (IRE)

Belardo is a high-profile new member of Haunui Farm’s successful shuttle stallion roster. He won the Group One Dewhurst Stakes (1400m) at Newmarket as a two-year-old, and added the Group One Lockinge Stakes (1600m) at the age of four.

His oldest New Zealand progeny are yearlings, and 19 of them sold at Karaka 2020 earlier this year for a total of $868,500 and an average of $45,711. They sold for up to $210,000.

EL ROCA (AUS) 

Westbury Stud’s Group One performer has made a big impression in his short stud career to date.

With his oldest progeny now three years old, he is the sire of 18 winners including Group one winner Travelling Light (NZ), Group One-placed Bella Mente (NZ) and Group Three-placed Moeraki (NZ).

IFFRAAJ (GB)

Iffraaj is a proven, International Group One sire of Karaka Million 2YO's, Classic-winning fillies, Derby-winning colts, sprinters, milers and WFA performers.

The impressive stallion has now sired over 65 individual stakes winners and 10 Group One winners including; New Zealand Derby winner Gingernuts (NZ), Australian Derby winner Jon Snow (NZ) and Royal Ascot Queen Anne Stakes winner Ribchester (IRE).

PREFERMENT (NZ)

Preferment is by the legendary Zabeel (NZ) (Sir Tristram). There are only three Group One-winning sons of Zabeel currently standing at stud in Australasia – Savabeel, Don Eduardo (NZ) and Preferment.

Preferment won the Group One Victoria Derby (2500m) as a three-year-old, and he was voted champion stayer in Australia following a four-year-old season that featured Group One victories in the Turnbull Stakes (2000m), Australian Cup (2000m) and BMW (2400m).

PROISIR (AUS)

Proisir is New Zealand’s leading second-season sire in 2019-20. He is the sire of a total of 24 winners from 62 runners, headed by the Group Three winner and Group One-placed Riodini (NZ).

He has sired another five stakes performers, including the second and third placegetters in the recent Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m) – Vancooga (NZ) and Feel the Rush (NZ).

SHOCKING (AUS)

Shocking was a high-class racehorse who included the Melbourne Cup (3200m) and Australian Cup (2000m) among his seven wins, and he has carried that success over into his stud career.

He is the sire of 119 winners from 224 runners, with 10 stakes winners. Fanatic (NZ) won the Group One New Zealand Oaks (3200m), while rising star stayer Surprise Baby (NZ) is a multiple Group winner who made up a massive amount of ground in the straight to finish a close fifth in this season’s Melbourne Cup.

SHOWCASING (GB)

Showcasing shuttled to Haunui Farm from 2011 to 2017 and has made a massive impression in this part of the world, siring 146 winners from 266 runners in Australia and New Zealand including 15 individual stakes winners.

In the 2018-19 season, Showcasing set a modern-day New Zealand record with 12 individual two-year-old winners – more than twice as many as any other sire on the premiership. He has become renowned for his outstanding two-year-olds, with 10 of his 15 stakes winners in this part of the world doing so as juveniles. Showcasing’s final season shuttling to New Zealand produced 74 foals. The South Island Sale presents one of the very last opportunities to buy them.

TIVACI (AUS)

Tivaci is by High Chaparral and stands at Waikato Stud. A leading first season sire at Karaka 2020, with his progeny averaged a promising $97,825 for 40 horses sold, totalling over $3.2million. From 21 career starts, he won six including the Group One All-Aged Stakes (1400m) in Sydney. He is the only son of High Chaparral to win a Group One race at a distance shorter than 1600m.

Tivaci is by High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells), whose outstanding sons So You Think (NZ) and Dundeel (NZ) have already followed up their racetrack heroics with multiple Group One successes at stud. Dundeel is the sire of Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth, last season’s dual Group One-winning New Zealand two-year-old Yourdeel (NZ), and Group One-winning Sydney two-year-old Castelvecchio. 

TURN ME LOOSE (NZ)

Turn Me Loose scored brilliant victories in the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), Emirates Stakes (1600m) and Futurity Stakes (1400m).

He has been enthusiastically welcomed into New Zealand’s stallion line-up, with his first crop of yearlings selling strongly at Karaka 2020. From 30 yearlings sold, he made a total of $1.41 million with an average price of $47,017 and top price of $160,000.

VADAMOS (FR)

Vadamos was a high-class racetrack performer in both hemispheres, headed by a victory in the Group One Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (1600m). He is a recent addition to Rich Hill Stud’s stallion roster, and his first crop of yearlings were enthusiastically received at Karaka earlier this year.

He was the leading first season sire of Book 1 by average, with 21 yearlings sold at an average of $125,714. He was also the leading first season sire of Book 2 by average with $62,500 across his nine yearlings sold.

VESPA (NZ)

Vespa is another young sire who has made a strong start to his stud career.

His oldest progeny are two-year-olds and include Kelly Renee (NZ), who has placed in the Group One Sistema Stakes (1200m) and Group Two Matamata Breeders’ Stakes within the last month. Piaggio (NZ) has also been a stakes placegetter, finishing second in the Group Three Taranaki 2YO Classic (1200m).

The remaining sires represented at NZB’s South Island Sale include headliners Alamosa (NZ), Burgundy (NZ), Echoes of Heaven (AUS), Fabulous (NZ), Jakkalberry (IRE), Redwood (GB), Reliable Man (GB), Road to Rock (AUS), Shamexpress (NZ) and Sweynesse (AUS).

The first sale of its kind is set to be hosted online on NZB’s new subsidiary, the enhanced Gavelhouse Plus platform.

Entries will close today - Wednesday 27 May, with the auction launching on Thursday 28 May and running through until 5pm on Sunday 7 June.

Adding to the appeal of the Sale, all unbroken yearlings sold at this Sale are eligible to be nominated for the lucrative Karaka Million Series. The Series features two $1 million races – the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) and the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m), in addition to the $100,000 CollinsonForex Karaka Cup (2200m), which graduates can contest for the duration of their career.