Cambridge Stud stallions dominated Book 2 of the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale as Embellish achieved the highest price when one of his daughters (Lot 601) was knocked down at the business end of proceedings for NZ$200,000 (US$120,331, NZ$1=US$0.60) to Busuttin Racing, while his near neighbor Sword of State continued his inexorable rise with 11 lots fetching six figures.
As with Book 1, NZB were once again rewarded for the change in format, reducing Book 2 to one session. New benchmarks were set Jan. 27, where a condensed session saw 188 yearlings sell at a clearance rate of 77% for total receipts of NZ$12,247,000 (US$7,368,469), a 25% rise on last year's results. There were improvements in all other metrics, with the average jumping an incredible 80% to NZ$65,145 (US$39,195), while the median finished at NZ$60,000 (US$36,099), up an extraordinary 124%.
NZB's managing director Andrew Seabrook was understandably over the moon with the results.
"As we had expected, putting the Book 2 horses in front of the international buyers has been key," he said.
"To see a NZ$2.5 million increase in turnover from a catalog with 146 less horses, the results are just extraordinary, really.
"The Australian spend has more than doubled compared to this session last year, and while the Kiwis were stronger too, there were plenty who missed out, so we hope to see them active at the Karaka Summer Sale on Thursday."
Despite standing for a modest service fee of just NZ$5,000 (plus GST), Embellish produced stakes winners on both sides of the Tasman Sea from his first crop of yearlings, and the training team of Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young will be hoping that his upward trajectory continues after they splashed the cash on the Cambridge Stud-offered sale topper.
The bidding had originally stopped at NZ$170,00 when the filly passed through the sales ring, but Busuttin was quick to strike a private deal with the farm's proprietors Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsy at the back of the auditorium for the daughter of Queen of Wizardry.
Given that Queen of Wizardy was a winner at 2 and her half sister Coco Sun won her first two starts as a juvenile before landing the South Australian Derby (G1) as a 3-year-old, there is every chance that her second foal will possess an abundance of early precocity.
That is certainly the hope of Busuttin and Young, who also purchased a Best of Bordeaux colt for NZ$70,000 from the Wentwood Grange draft.
Their sale topper sealed a stellar auction for the team at Cambridge Stud, who took leading vendor honors at the NZB Yearling Sale for the 33rd time. Fresh off the back of being crowned leading vendors by aggregate during Book 1, the farm enjoyed an equally impressive day's trade on Tuesday, selling 14 yearlings for NZ$1,195,000.
