‘We weren’t really left with any option but to move the sale to March’

Next year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka will be delayed until March, the first time it has not been staged in its traditional late January time slot for more than three decades, in the hope more favourable domestic and international border travel restrictions will be in place.

NZB on Wednesday confirmed the significant move of sale date, forced upon the company due to the uncertainty over the reinstatement of a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand as well as local province restrictions, in a bid to avoid having only a domestic buying bench on the ground for a second year in a row.

Andrew Seabrook, NZB’s managing director, has canvassed vendors and buyers in recent weeks about the prospect of delaying the sale as it became increasingly apparent that a January date would prove difficult to confidently plan for.

Seabrook told ANZ Bloodstock News on Wednesday: “We thought we’d put the stick in the sand now and make the call. Obviously there is an internal and external issue.

“Internally, the borders here are up in the air between different provinces and we can’t even have an event here at Karaka for the foreseeable future, so we weren’t really left with any option but to move to March.

“Hopefully the border will be open to at least Australia by then. If it does, we’re expecting a good turnout of Australians, and [the decision] has been well supported by vendors. It’s onwards and upwards and we hope for some good news soon [regarding borders].”

Normally held soon after the season-opening Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the NZB’s six-day Book 1 and 2 Karaka sale will now be staged from March 6 to 11, placing it between the Inglis Melbourne Premier (February 27 to March 1) and the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale (March 15 and 16).

Seabrook informed his Australian counterparts, Inglis and Magic Millions, about the shift in date shortly before making the decision public.

He said: “I have just communicated via email with Inglis and Magic Millions and I’ve had an email back from [Inglis’] Sebastian Hutch wishing us all the best and he understands the trying times that we are facing. He was supportive of our move to that March date, even though it is on the back of Melbourne and running into Adelaide.

“However, that was the only week in February or March where we could have had the sale because you need a week clear before and then a week clear afterwards in consideration for the other sales.”

The last time Karaka was conducted away from its late January timeslot was 1990, when it was brought forward to early in the new year to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games in Auckland.

Seabrook was also confident the country’s reputation for producing high-quality horses - the New Zealand-bred and raised ten-time Group 1 winner Verry Elleegant won Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup - would draw buyers to the March sale.

“I reckon the past 12 to 18 months have been like the good old days," he said. "It’s been really positive and that win [by Verry Elleegant] was just the icing on the cake. I am sure the performance of the Kiwi horses in Australia is going to rub off on the sale.”

NZB had contemplated pushing this year’s auction back to April but in the end, after consultation with vendors and buyers, stuck with its late January starting date, where the company conducted what the majority of stakeholders deemed to be a satisfactory auction.

Seabrook continued: “This year sticking with January was easy because there were no vaccinations. If we’d moved to March or April this year, the borders could have been closed at a whim. The [travel] bubble between New Zealand and Australia started, but it could have been shut down, as we witnessed later in the year.

“We knew January could work and it did, but we’ve got the internal situation where, at the moment, I can’t even go to the Ready to Run Sale in Hamilton.

“Our [New Zealand-bred] horses have been going so well and I know the Australians are very keen to get here, so we wanted to give them every opportunity to be able to do so.”

Despite the change in the sale schedule, the Karaka Million twilight race meeting at Ellerslie, which has been used as a lead-in to the sale, will remain as planned, with the rich two-year-old feature race and undercard to be run on Saturday, January 22.

NZB’s immediate focus is the Ready to Run Sale, which has been relocated to Te Rapa on November 17-18 due to Covid restrictions.

Inglis held its two-year-old auction, the Ready2Race Sale, last month, while Magic Millions will hold its version on the Gold Coast on Monday.

2022 Australasian sales calendar

Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale

January 11 to 17

Inglis Classic Yearling Sale

February 6, 7 and 8

Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale

February 14 and 15

Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale

February 21

Inglis Premier Yearling Sale

February 27 to March 1

NZB Karaka Yearling Sale

Book 1 Sale: Sunday, March 6 - Tuesday, March 8, starting at 11am (NZT) each day

Book 2 Sale: Wednesday, March 9 - Friday, March 11, starting at 11am (NZT) each day

Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale

March 15 and 16

Magic Millions March Yearling Sale

March 21 and 22

Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale

April 5 and 6

Inglis Gold Yearling Sale

April 21 and 22

Inglis HTBA May Yearling Sale

May 1 and 2

Inglis Australian Weanling Sale

May 5

Inglis Chairman's Sale

May 6

Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale

May 8

Magic Millions National Weanling Sale

May 19 and 20

Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale

May 24 to 26

Magic Millions National Yearling Sale

May 31 to June 2

Inglis Great Southern Sale

June 9 and 10

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