Hong Kong buyers were to the fore on the second of three Book 2 sessions of the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale with five of the top six lots destined for the leading Asian racing jurisdiction.
Legendary Australian agent John Foote, a mainstay at Karaka for decades, bought four horses yesterday, three of which were for Hong Kong clients, led by the session-topping NZ$140,000 (US$90,295) colt by Sweynesse, the sire of trainer Manfred Man's Sha Tin group 2-winning sprinter Lucky Sweynesse.
"He is by Sweynesse, who is a very popular horse in Hong Kong, and he is very good-looking black horse, so he really looked the part," Foote said.
"He is just a very nice horse and he had a presence and I can't say much more, really. That was about our limit, but we were happy to get him."
At the NZB Ready to Run Sale last November, acting for the same client, Foote bought a NZ$625,000 ($403,103) colt by Capitalist.
"I bought him for David Hall who trains in Hong Kong, and David's making a habit of topping sales these days," Foote joked, referring to his sale-topping 2-year-old breeze-up purchase almost three months ago.
The Sweynesse colt is the third foal out of Oscar's Shadow, a winning half sister to the stakes-placed Acoustic Sound. He was offered as Lot 922 by Kilgravin Lodge's Eion Kemp.
"He is by Sweynesse, and Lucky Sweynesse is one of the top horses in Hong Kong, so when those stallions are popular in Hong Kong they sell well," Kemp said.
"It was a great result for some loyal clients. Pat Lowry has supported us well over the years, so we are thrilled for him.
"He was a nice, strong colt and he fitted the bill well for a horse destined for Hong Kong.
"He was very popular amongst the traders and pinhookers who were looking at him."
Earlier in the day, Foote purchased another high-priced lot for Hong Kong clients when he went to NZ$130,000 ($83,845) to secure a Vanbrugh colt (Lot 802) out of the twice-winning High Chaparral mare High Tail It. He also added an Embellish colt (Lot 915) to his haul for NZ$85,000 ($54,822) yesterday and a Belardo filly (Lot 834) for just NZ$14,000 ($9,029) on behalf of SCT Syndications.
After two days of Book 2 trade, 184 horses have been sold for a total of NZ$7.808 million ($5,035,887) at an average of NZ$42,435 ($27,369) and a median price of NZ$32,000 ($20,638), which is up slightly year-on-year and compared to the 2020 sale.
NZB bloodstock executive Kane Jones said more trade being done through the ring yesterday had benefited the clearance rate which increased day-on-day.
"The feedback we were receiving from buyers today was that there was strong competition for quality lots, which made for spirited bidding," Jones said.
"We saw our day two clearance rate climb to the 77% threshold and expect the overall rate to increase as our team works hard to negotiate post-selling."
The final session of the Karaka National Sale will be held Friday from 11:00 a.m. NZ time.
