Below, appreciation letter from Director of Business Development of New Zealand Bloodstock, Mr Michael Kneebone who was very pleased with the support received from the Selangor Turf Club for the Ready to Run Sale held at Karaka last month.

Hi all,

I trust you and your families are keeping well as we head into the festive season and no doubt many of you are busy with preparation for Karaka 2023.

As most of you know, our 2022 Ready to Run Sale took place on 16 and 17 November at Karaka. We are thrilled by what we accomplished over the two days of selling, with the key sale indicators climbing substantially on 2021’s results. Several sales have been finalised since the end of Day Two, with the overall clearance rate climbing to 79% and the aggregate surpassing $25.8 million, up more than $4.4 million on last year. International buyers also accounted for 85% of the total turnover, purchasing 160 two-year-olds for a total amount of $21,905,000.

I am very pleased that we stuck to our plan of breezing up our Ready to Run Sale horses on the turf surface at Te Rapa and while it was a nerve-wracking few weeks, the weather cleared providing stellar conditions and the Breeze Up clips, along with vendor media and documentation, looked outstanding on the NZB website.

A turf surface is what our buyers have always preferred. They also love to see the horses on the same track and certainly like seeing them have one genuine run up the straight. These factors combined with a transparent selling process, outstanding value, and of course, remarkable graduate results, are what make our Ready to Run Sale a benchmark in the Southern Hemisphere. I really do not see any reason to go to another market as a seller or a buyer.

When we held our meeting with owners and breeders in June of this year, I made a commitment to visit as many clients as possible once the border restrictions were lifted. I am now proud to advise that our team has in fact travelled more ground than the early settlers to promote our 2022-23 sales season.

I did manage to travel to Singapore and Malaysia specifically for the Ready to Run Sale. I was pleasantly surprised to see positive vibes in both Singapore and Malaysia and with the racing industry looking like it is heading in an upwards trajectory, there is definitely a feeling of light at the end of the tunnel. I have been visiting the region now for over 25 years now and many of the stables that were once powerful are coming back into the game, which we see as a very positive sign for our industry.

Whilst on my travels, I had the opportunity to meet with the committee of Selangor Turf Club, where Club Chairman Tan Sri Richard Cham, his wife Louise, as well as CEO Michael Fong were present.

They brought along with them an assortment of powerful owners and trainers who we gladly hosted in preparation for our Ready to Run Sale. I would like to thank them for their support of NZB sales, in particular this year. Malaysian spent at this year’s Ready to Run Sale has increased significantly, with the country securing 19 two-year-olds for a total of $1,231,500 (compared to $203,000 in 2021).

We are expecting to see a number of Singapore and Malaysian-based trainers and owners back on our buying bench, alongside Hong Kong, who have had so much success from NZB sales.