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Graphic: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966.

Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.

RACING, HORSE

Contents


National Sales

Horses sent to Australia to race were the first New Zealand bloodstock sold overseas. In 1859 Henry Redwood sold ZoU (winner of the second Champion Race) and Zingara to Judge Cheeke, of Sydney, for 1,000. Chevalier (a son of Flora McIvor) and Lurline were sold the same year. After the progeny of Traducer proved their worth more sales followed. Sir Modred, winner of the New Zealand Derby in 1880 and the best horse of his time, was sold to the United States in 1885, followed a few years later by his brother Cheviot, and another Derby winner, G. G. Stead's Maxim, by Musket. The dispersal sales of the Sylvia Park and the Wellington Park Studs, and Stead's stud and racing team, attracted many buyers from Australia. But interest in the sales of yearlings was spasmodic. An annual sale was started in the South Island and several breeders held annual private sales in the North. After a trip overseas in 1924, followed by discussions with breeders, C. E. Robertson, of Wright Stephenson Ltd., established the National Yearling Sales at which Ken Austin (later a prominent breeder) was the first auctioneer. The sales were held, as they still are, at Trentham in January during the Wellington Racing Club's summer meeting. The catalogue comprised 71 lots, of which 48 were sold for a total of 16,000 guineas, an average of 341 guineas. The best later performers sold were Concentrate, Second Wind, and Prodice. The sales were given a great fillip when the Limond colt Honour, which had sold for a record figure of 2,300 guineas at the second sales, won the Breeders' Plate at Randwick in 1928 and the New Zealand Derby in 1929. Though Australia has always been the main overseas market, yearlings have been bought by South African, South American, Indian, Malayan, Japanese, and United States buyers, the latter taking an increasing interest in the sales.

Sales have grown remarkably. It is noteworthy that nearly all the big breeding establishments in New Zealand breed for the sales. The yearlings sold have an outstanding record in classic and high-class races and, since the Second World War, have had more successes in Australia than ever. Phar Lap, sold for 160 guineas, was undoubtedly the greatest bargain to pass through the Trentham ring. The following table shows how sales have grown since they began:

Year Lots Number Sold Highest Price (guineas) Average Price (guinease) Aggregate (guineas)
1927 71 48 1,025 341 16,000
1930 72 50 2,400 415 20,750
1935 116 86 2,100 240 20,722 ½
1939 210 148 1,450 241 25,697 ½
1942 221 141 1,050 187 26,322
1944 248 163 2,000 418 68,090
1945 274 194 3,000 469 90,965
1946 372 270 4,750 563 ½ 152,140
1947 464 301 4,000 604 181,795
1948 519 294 3,500 452 ½ 133,017 ½
1949 478 277 3,600 498 137,925
1950 520 308 2,800 496 152,890
1951 457 282 3,250 551 152,420
1952 445 244 4,000 529 129,135
1953 336 225 5,000 575 129,545
1954 364 260 2,800 607 157,885
1955 424 284 4,500 625 177,524
1956 388 241 3,000 598 ½ 144,205
1957 425 285 3,300 618 176,140
1958 381 275 4,000 765 ¾ 210,560
1959 437 263 3,400 617 ½ 162,410
1960 353 275 5,000 841 ½ 231,470
1961 395 283 7,000 708 200,304 ¾
1962 404 255 4,000 742 189,095
1963 417 264 6,000 722 ½ 190,725
1964 431 315 7,000 1,021 337,706 ¼