Go Racing gears up for revamped Karaka sale
It’s the busy season for the racing industry in New Zealand as the revamped yearling sales at Karaka kick off on Sunday evening.
Says Albert, “It’s an exciting time of the year and I just love it.”
Having said that, this week will a big one for Albert and fellow racing manager Matt Allnutt, and trainers Stephen McKee, Stephen Marsh, Lisa Latta, Andrew Carston and Chris Waller as they carry out final inspections of yearlings and fine tune their short list.
“It’s these short lists where we can add the most value to our owners’ future racing experience. The work we do now in selecting yearlings will pay dividends on the race track. We buy quality over quantity and, because we have done our homework, can often pick up a horse well below the average.”
Where exactly that average will be for the new look sale remains to be seen. The old categories of Premier, Select and Festival have gone replaced with a four day Book 1 sale which starts in a gala slot on Sunday evening. The Book 2 sale follows for two days.
“I think the change is probably a good move in response to a flat Select Sale last year. But, having 700 lots in Book 1, as opposed to 450 last year, will mean doing your home work is even more important.”
Go Racing offers owners a daily update from the sales on the horses purchased and gives those on the priority list the first opportunity to take shares in them. They also receive daily analysis on the strength of the market, the sires that are in fashion and the quality of the horses being sold.
Says Albert, “Last year nine of the horses we purchased were sold out during sales week, so if you are interested in buying, it is important to receive these updates.”
Owners can email Albert (albert@goracing.co.nz) or Matt (matt@goracing.co.nz to receive the updates, the first of which will come out next Monday the 29th of January, the morning after the first day of the Book 1 Sale.
The new format means the Karaka Million meeting moves to Saturday evening which now boasts two $1 million races. Group 1, One Thousand Guineas winner Hasahalo will represent Go Racing in the inaugural $1 million 3YO Mile and if the track is hard, can run very well.