Friday, 29 June 2012: New Zealand Bloodstock's South Island Sale of Two-Year-Olds & Mixed Bloodstock at Christchurch's Canterbury Agricultural Park on Friday 10 August is unique on the sales calendar as it features predominantly unbroken two-year-olds.
This year, a strong line-up of 154 two-year-olds - from a selection of both northern and southern region vendors - will be offered in addition to three broodmares, three yearlings and two unraced horses.
The South Island Sale has a rich heritage of producing tough thoroughbreds and has had outstanding success on the track through the deeds of G1 Caulfield Cup winner Master O'Reilly, G1 VRC Derby winner Second Coming and G1 NZ 2000 Guineas winner Hustler.
The current season has seen a number of South Island Sale graduates continue the Sale's proud record with Inferno (Yamanin Vital) claiming back-to-back Group 3 Canterbury Gold Cup victories.
The Riccarton racetrack also saw last season's G3 Metropolitan Handicap winner Blood Brotha (Danzighill) make a successful return to stakes level with a brave performance to land the time honoured G3 New Zealand Cup.
Further New Zealand success came with the three-year-old Natuzzi (Coats Choice) winning the Listed Southland Guineas in February.
South Island Sale graduates have also been successful abroad with Wealthy Man (Danzighill) winning the Listed Macau Directors' Cup and Power O'Raylee (O'Reilly), the $95,000 sale topper in 2009, winning five successive races in Melbourne this season for her trainer Peter Moody.
New Zealand sires feature prominently in the two-year-old session this year, with a good mix of stallions from both the North and South Islands.
Edwina Morris and Alan Jones' Berkley Stud draft is always highly anticipated, having topped the sale for the past seven years in a row. Their resident sire Coats Choice, and White Robe Lodge's sire Gallant Guru, have the largest drafts in the Sale with 16 two-year-olds each and both have been represented by stakes winners this season.
Amongst the other sires represented by two-year-olds are Alamosa, Any Suggestion, Bachelor Duke, Coats Choice, Don Eduardo, Faltaat, Fast 'N' Famous, Gallant Guru, Keeper, Lucky Unicorn, Minstrel Court, No Excuse Needed, O'Reilly, Pentire, Perfectly Ready,
Savabeel, Shinko King, Stravinsky, Volksraad and more.
Adding to the appeal this year, two-year-old purchases from the Sale can enter to race for the Southern Bonus Race in 2013. The Southern Bonus Race offers a $40,000 bonus - on top of any stakes winnings - to the first eligible graduate across the line in an open three-year-old race (1400m) which will be held at Riccarton Park next November.
Entries into the Southern Bonus Race are just $250 + GST per two-year-old and horses must be signed up before the 10 September deadline. Importantly for buyers, entered horses get preference in field selection, and the horse doesn't have to win the race to collect the bonus, it only has to be the first eligible horse past the post.
The 2012 Southern Bonus Race for graduates of last year's South Island Sale will be held at Riccarton Park on Wednesday 14 November.
