Clearance rate down, but positives out of NZ weanling sale

New Zealand Bloodstock did not shy away from a disappointing clearance rate, but felt the positives outweighed the negatives at this year's New Zealand National Weanling Sale, which was held on Thursday.

Nine youngsters reached six figures, which was almost double last year, at a sale that saw a rise in average and median.

"As reflected by the figures, it was a sale of two halves," NZB managing director Andrew Seabrook said.

"The good horses sold extremely well with the average increasing from $23,000 to $32,000 and the median increasing from $12,000 to $18,000.

"On the flipside, the clearance rate falling to 58 percent suggests the lower end of the market is tough.

"The fact that nine horses made more than $100,000, opposed to five last year, on a smaller catalogue confirms that the top end of the market is alive and well.

"It was also encouraging to see how the market embraced the first season sires, particularly Noverre and Sword of State.

"We were hoping that more end users would participate in the middle to lower end of the market but that didn't eventuate."

The top lot of the sale was Brighthill Farm's filly by Satono Aladdin out of Henley Road, who sold to Gary Harding for NZ$170,000.

She went through in the first hour of selling, as did one of the two lots who sold for $140,000, a colt by Super Seth out of Drama series, which GTS Bloodstock snapped up as Lot 3.

That colt was the equal second highest-priced lot of the sale alongside a colt by Proisir from La Donna E Mobile, who was bought by Riversley Park.

Proisir also had the fourth highest-priced lot of the day, a filly out of Christmas Day who sold to Raptors Thoroughbreds for $130,000.

Full results of this year's New Zealand National Weanling Sale are available here