Monumental results were witnessed across two days of selling at NZB’S 2025 Ready to Run Sale, confirming the demand for proven racetrack results and quality New Zealand-prepared horses.
All key sale indicators increased at the close of selling, with the aggregate reaching a record $41,407,500, a record median of $100,000 and record average of $156,255 achieved.
“It’s quite remarkable, another record-breaking sale,” commented NZB’s Bloodstock Sales Manager Kane Jones.
“The whole team have put in a massive shift, not just over the last few days, but months out, and even years building relationships for this Sale. I’m very proud of the entire team.
“Just a magical number hitting that $41m in turnover, but the average is up, median is up as well which indicates that middle market was particularly strong.
“This Sale has gone from strength-to-strength in the last five years. The horses breezed phenomenally, and the type of horses that are brought to this Sale improves year on year.
“It’s just a credit to the vendors who continue to support this Sale and make it what it is,” added Jones.
Prepared and offered by KB Bloodstock, Lot 374 achieved the top price for the Sale, a colt by Zoustar, who was purchased by leading buyer Mr Yeung Kin Man for $825,000.
“Mr Yeung enjoys this Sale very much, because the first year we got two winners, and they have won nine races, which was a great result,” commented bloodstock agent Willie Leung.
“He was looking for another Zoustar. This one looks big and strong and is an early type, so it’s likely we will bring him to Hong Kong earlier.”
The sale-topping colt was one of 16 purchases for Hong Kong’s Mr Yeung.
“Last year we bought more and we already are about to bring 10 new horses to Hong Kong. He wanted to stock up a little bit more and then pick the quality ones to go to Hong Kong for racing,” added Leung.
The second top-lot of the day was Lot 371, a Written Tycoon colt from the draft of Prima Park. Purchased by upcoming Hong Kong trainer James Cummings for $775,000, he closed out the Sale as the second leading buyer behind Mr Yeung, securing three lots in total.
For the ninth consecutive year, Riversley Park were leading vendor, selling 33 lots for $6,525,000. Their highlight being a colt by Satono Aladdin (Lot 105) who sold for $675,000 during the opening session to Mr Sanxiong Gao.
“It’s a great thing they’ve got going on there with the mainland Chinese racing horses in Hong Kong. They’re sourcing them here and racing them there, because obviously the money in Hong Kong is unbelievable,” commented Riversley Park’s Sam Beatson.
“We did have our ups and downs, but the ones we were passing in were getting sold out of the ring, so our clearance rate is about ninety percent and I’m pretty sure we’ll get a couple more done.”
The leading vendor by average was Landsdowne Park, selling four lots for an average of $277,500, while the leading sire by average was the sale-topping Zoustar, reaching an average of $431,667 for three lots sold.
To make enquiries about Passed Lots contact Patrick Cunningham on +64 21 181 5898 or email Patrick.Cunningham@nzb.co.nz, or Andrew Buick on +64 27 555 0640 or email Andrew.Buick@nzb.co.nz.
Catch all the Ready to Run Sale highlights and lot-by-lot footage on NZB’s Sale TV channel here. Read all the sale reviews and latest news here.
Next on the sales calendar is the much anticipated 100th National Yearling Sale, kicking off with the TAB Karaka Millions Raceday at Ellerslie on Saturday 24 January, Book 1 at Karaka on 25 & 26 January, Book 2 on 27 January and the Karaka Summer Sale on 29 January.
A century of thoroughbred excellence has shaped the National Yearling Sale, from guineas to dollars, Trentham to Karaka and Wrightsons to NZB.
It is the beating heart of trade within the New Zealand breeding and racing industry, where breeder meets buyer, where years of careful planning and preparation meets astute judgement and ambition. It is where winning begins.
From this centenary of sales ring moments have emerged many legends of the racetrack, among them the titans Phar Lap, Rising Fast, Tulloch, Dulcify, Octagonal and So You Think.
The catalogue for Karaka 2026 will be online from next week and in mailboxes soon.
2025 Ready to Run Sale Statistics (as at end of selling)
2025 Ready to Run Sale
2024 Ready to Run Sale
2023 Ready to Run Sale
2022 Ready to Run Sale
Aggregate
$41,407,500
$38,593,500
$35,107,000
$25,186,000
Average
$156,255
$151,943
$156,031
$129,159
Median
$100,000
$90,000
$90,000
$80,000
Clearance
75%
78%
73%
76%
Catalogued
480
404
383
329
Offered
353
324
308
257
Sold
265
254
225
195
Top Lot
Lot 374 $825,000 Zoustar – Hijack Hussy (B.C)
Lot 174 $1,650,000 I Am Invincible – Shillelagh (Br.C)
Lot 376 $825,000 Star Turn – Commonwealth (B.C)
Lot 258 $625,000 Capitalist – Sebrina (Ch.C)
2025 Ready to Run Sale – Top Lots Day Two
Lot
Sire
Dam
Sex
Vendor
Purchaser
Price
374
Zoustar
Hijack Hussy
Colt
KB Bloodstock
Mr KM Yeung (Hong Kong)
$825,000
371
Written Tycoon
Hersigh
Colt
Prima Park
James Cummings (Hong Kong)
$775,000
283
Hello Youmzain
Cool Tart
Colt
BMD Bloodstock
Mr Hongwei Chen (China)
$700,000
398
Per Incanto
Joan’s a Jett
Colt
Trelawney Stud Ltd
Shijiazhuang Hongtao Horse Breeding (China)
$700,000
285
Armory
Cora Lynn
Colt
Ohukia Lodge
Cameron Cooke / Busuttin Racing (Victoria)
$625,000
335
Ghaiyyath
Final Choice
Gelding
Landsdowne Park Ltd
Ms B Yim (Hong Kong)
$480,000
478
The Autumn Sun
Mummentum
Gelding
Riversley Park Ltd
Mr WK Yip (Hong Kong)
$425,000
310
Sword of State
Duraaj
Colt
Kiltannon Stables Ltd
Mr Tien Kay Chan (Hong Kong)
$420,000
365
Ghaiyyath
Hampton Classic
Colt
Ohukia Lodge
Mark Newnham Bloodstock Pty Ltd (Hong Kong)
$420,000
369
I Am Invincible
Haraka
Filly
Prima Park
Bjorn Baker Racing / Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) / Ridgmont (New South Wales)
$360,000
2025 Ready to Run Sale – Top Lots Combined
Lot
Sire
Dam
Sex
Vendor
Purchaser
Price
374
Zoustar
Hijack Hussy
Colt
KB Bloodstock
Mr KM Yeung (Hong Kong)
$825,000
371
Written Tycoon
Hersigh
Colt
Prima Park
James Cummings (Hong Kong)
$775,000
214
Per Incanto
Aleria
Colt
Kiltannon Stables Ltd
Mr Sanxiong Gao (China)
$750,000
283
Hello Youmzain
Cool Tart
Colt
BMD Bloodstock
Mr Hongwei Chen (China)
$700,000
398
Per Incanto
Joan’s a Jett
Colt
Trelawney Stud Ltd
Shijiazhuang Hongtao Horse Breeding (China)
$700,000
105
Satono Aladdin
Shezdelicious
Colt
Riversley Park Ltd
Mr Sanxiong Gao (China)
$675,000
285
Armory
Cora Lynn
Colt
Ohukia Lodge
Cameron Cooke / Busuttin Racing (Victoria)
$625,000
84
Snitzel
Samovare
Colt
KB Bloodstock
Patella Bloodstock Ltd (Waikato)
$525,000
9
Sword of State
O’Carol
Colt
Riverrock Farm
Laming Bloodstock Pty Ltd (Victoria)
$500,000
138
Ole Kirk
Statuesquely
Colt
Ohukia Lodge
David Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) (Te Akau)
$480,000
335
Ghaiyyath
Final Choice
Gelding
Landsdowne Park Ltd
Ms B Yim (Hong Kong)
$480,000
2025 Ready to Run Sale – Leading Purchasers by Aggregate
Purchaser
Aggregate
Bought
Top Price
Top Lot
Mr KM Yeung (Hong Kong)
$ 3,570,000
16
$ 825,000
374
James Cummings (Hong Kong)
$ 1,430,000
3
$ 775,000
371
Mr Sanxiong Gao (China)
$ 1,425,000
2
$ 750,000
214
Mark Newnham Bloodstock Pty Ltd (Hong Kong)
$ 1,105,000
4
$ 420,000
365
Mr Hongwei Chen (China)
$ 970,000
2
$ 700,000
283
Patella Bloodstock Ltd (Waikato)
$ 965,000
3
$ 525,000
84
R Yiu (Hong Kong)
$ 915,000
3
$ 375,000
191
Mr Ryan Fownes (Hong Kong)
$ 830,000
3
$ 330,000
387
Magus Equine (Hong Kong)
$ 810,000
3
$ 400,000
129
Shijiazhuang Hongtao Horse Breeding (China)
$ 700,000
1
$ 700,000
398
2025 Ready to Run Sale – Leading Vendors by Aggregate
Vendor
Lots Sold
Aggregate
Top Price
Top Lot
Riversley Park
34
$ 6,525,000
$675,000
105
Prima Park
18
$ 3,660,000
$775,000
371
Ohukia Lodge
16
$ 3,567,500
$625,000
285
KB Bloodstock
13
$ 3,460,000
$825,000
374
Kiltannon Stables
18
$ 3,220,000
$750,000
214
BMD Bloodstock
15
$ 2,845,000
$700,000
283
Kilgravin Lodge
22
$ 2,660,000
$260,000
380
Riverrock Farm
10
$ 1,830,000
$500,000
9
Westbury Stud
21
$ 1,372,500
$280,000
126
St Kilda Lodge
7
$ 1,200,000
$300,000
355
2025 Ready to Run Sale – Leading Vendors by Average (three or more sold)
Vendor
Lots Sold
Average
Top Price
Top Lot
Landsdowne Park
4
$277,500
$480,000
335
KB Bloodstock
13
$266,154
$825,000
374
Trelawney Stud
4
$232,500
$700,000
398
Ohukia Lodge
16
$222,969
$625,000
285
Prima Park
18
$203,333
$775,000
371
Riversley Park
34
$191,912
$675,000
105
BMD Bloodstock
15
$189,667
$700,000
283
Riverrock Farm
10
$183,000
$500,000
9
Kiltannon Stables
18
$178,889
$750,000
214
St Kilda Lodge
7
$171,429
$300,000
355
2025 Ready to Run Sale – Leading Sires by Average (three or more sold)
Sire
Lots Sold
Average
Top Price
Top Lot
Zoustar
3
$431,667
$825,000
374
Wootton Bassett
3
$373,333
$420,000
70
Per Incanto
6
$338,333
$750,000
214
Snitzel
3
$321,667
$525,000
84
Harry Angel
3
$286,667
$425,000
12
Hello Youmzain
4
$267,500
$700,000
283
Sword of State
5
$256,000
$500,000
9
Tassort
4
$237,500
$300,000
298
Home Affairs
3
$235,000
$330,000
387
Cosmic Force
3
$203,333
$340,000
322