'The stars were slightly aligning' - Haggas celebrating as NZ$700,000 for Hello Youmzain colt reaps a massive windfall

Sam Haggas enjoyed a lucrative result earlier in the week when a Hello Youmzain colt he purchased as a yearling turned a massive profit at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale. 

Purchased for NZ$90,000 by Haggas’s Hurworth Bloodstock in conjunction with Adam Potts of BBA Ireland and Barry Donoghue’s BMD Bloodstock during January’s NZB Karaka Yearling Sale, the youngster will be off to Hong Kong after being secured by Hongwei Chen for NZ$700,000. 

Haggas said: “It was a fantastic result all round and for all concerned. We were very happy."

“You can never really expect a return like that when you pay what we did at the yearling sale, but the reports coming from Barry Donoghue were always positive and going into the sale the feedback remained positive.

“He was very popular at the sale in terms of viewings and vettings, so the stars were aligning, but you can never really expect that kind of result. It was great.”

The colt, who caught the attention of prospective buyers when clocking a time of 10.57 seconds in his 200-metre breeze, is from the second New Zealand-bred crop of Haras d'Etreham's second-season stallion Hello Youmzain, who resides at the historic Cambridge Stud during his time in the southern hemisphere. 

While Hello Youmzain had only a handful of runners when Haggas and co made their investment at Karaka, the son of Kodiac went on to be crowned the Champion New Zealand First Season Sire for 2024-25 a few months later. 

All told in the southern hemisphere, the stallion has been represented by 16 winners, headed by two stakes scorers, while in Europe his 70 winners are led by five stakes winners and that cohort includes three Group victors. 

Sam Haggas: 'The stars were slightly aligning, but you can never really expect that result'Credit: Laura Green

“At the time of the [yearling] sale he had just had his first few runners in New Zealand so he was unexposed and he very much had potential, which he still does,” Haggas said of Hello Youmzain. “I've been to Karaka multiple times in recent years and I've always been keen to support the sale and get involved and it turned out that Adam Potts from BBA Ireland was also out there and had never been to the sale before.”

“He's a very good judge and a shrewd guy and, while down there, a few of us suggested we could put together a small partnership and buy a yearling to breeze.”

“Thankfully, this colt was one we all liked and he vetted well and came in nicely on his price too. It's been great fun following his progress since January.”

That progress led to the colt increasing his yearling price by more than six times during this week’s Ready to Run Sale, although Haggas admitted that the partnership’s bid of NZ$90,000 at the yearling sales was close to their final push.

Asked about the process of choosing the colt to purchase at Karaka, Haggas added: “He had a great big hip and backside on him, and looked like one with the potential to be fast.

“He also had a good attitude to go with it. I don't think he was far off our last bid at NZ$90,000, but there was plenty to like about him. It's tricky enough valuing yearlings in your own backyard, let alone in New Zealand where the pedigrees are less familiar.

“We did know a bit about Hello Youmzain though, and although this horse has no immediate black type under his dam, his dam is a Zabeel mare, who must be about the most influential broodmare sire in the southern hemisphere in the last 25 years.”

The fifth foal out of the winning Zabeel mare Cool Tart, the colt, who was consigned as lot 283 during this week’s sale, is a grandson of Cold Shoulder, who in turn is the dam of Group 1 scorer On The Rocks by Alamosa.

As was the case with many of the lots during the sale, the colt was purchased by Hong Kong interests, which did not come as a shock to Haggas.

“Graduates of this sale going on to race in Hong Kong has been a pretty longstanding thing, with Golden Sixty being the recent headliner from the sale to have gone on to become a multiple champion in Hong Kong,” he said. “I think it is a popular sale for people in Hong Kong to attend, given that record. It really speaks for itself.”

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