Leading South African-based owners Hollywood Racing have broken new ground with the acquisition of five yearlings during the Book 1 session at the Karaka Sales Centre, 30 minutes minutes south of Auckland.
New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale attracts buyers from far and wide in search of the classic-type horses the country is famous for producing, and a new name joined that list this week.
New Zealand media reports that Bloodstock agent Craig Ramsay made five purchases for his South African-based client, who was a first-time purchaser at Karaka under the name Betting Entertainment Technologies International Limited. The total spend was NZ$885,000.
“They’ve been bought for an emerging international owner based in South Africa who’s making his first move into New Zealand,” Ramsay said.
“I used to train and breed horses in South Africa myself, and I’ve been friends with this owner for more than 30 years now. We came here hoping to buy six horses for him this week – three colts and three fillies.”
Ramsay’s first purchase was Lot 265, a Savabeel colt from the Trelawney Stud draft that was knocked down for NZ$275 000.
The colt is out of the winning Fastnet Rock mare Samoon, who is a half-sister to Gr1 Oakleigh Plate winner Shamal Wind.
Savabeel colt ex Samoon (Fastnet Rock)
Six lots later, Ramsay secured a Tivaci filly for NZ$110 000. Offered by Waikato Stud, the filly is out of a winning half-sister to last month’s Gr3 Bonecrusher Stakes winner Sethito.
Another member of the Waikato Stud draft, Lot 382, was bought by Ramsay for NZ$100 000. The colt is by Savabeel out of the well-related Pins mare Vanilla Essence.
Ramsay paid NZ$240 000 for Lot 449 from Riversley Park. The Almanzor colt is out of the Listed Ottawa Stakes winner Applegate, who is the dam of six winners from seven foals to race including stakes winners Impendabelle and Cloudy.
Lot 510, a Tivaci filly out of the unraced Savabeel mare Caramel Sundae, was bought for NZ$160,000.
“We didn’t come here looking for early horses, and I doubt any of our purchases will do much racing before they’re three,” Ramsay said. “Having said that, the Tivaci filly we just bought (Lot 510) had a bit more precociousness.
“We bought the Savabeels with the idea of hopefully having Derby and Oaks types horses as three-year-olds. I was drawn to the Tivacis because I thought we might not have to pay quite as much, but they’re bred on very good crosses and we did have to go a bit further to secure them.”
While the yearlings were bought with the intention of taking them to South Africa, logistical challenges may see them begin their careers in New Zealand.
“The plan is to get the horses to South Africa, but the issue is with transport,” Ramsay said.
“We’ve tried three different freight companies and haven’t yet been able to come up with any certainty. So that’s something that needs to be worked out.
“In the meantime, I might encourage the owner to leave these horses in New Zealand and have a crack here. Everything is on such a positive note with the racing in this country at the moment. My client races horses in America, the UK and Ireland but not yet in the southern hemisphere apart from South Africa, so this might be an opportunity for him to race somewhere new.”
At the close of selling, the Book 1 aggregate reached NZ$75,322,500 from a slightly smaller offering of 588 yearlings, while the average rounded out at NZ$164,819 and the clearance rate improved to 78%.
All yearlings purchased at Karaka 2025 are eligible for the Karaka Millions Series.
