Cambridge Stud is in a tight race to regain the leading Premier Yearling Sale title after losing last year for the first time in 32 years.
Sir Patrick Hogan’s stud was narrowly ahead after the first day’s selling on Monday, selling 17 horses for a total of $4.17 million.
They were just $125,000 ahead of Waikato Stud, which had sold 24 horses for $4.045 million.
Last year’s champion Curraghmore Stud was well behind on aggregate but was leading vendor on average, selling 10 yearlings at an average of $271,715.
Cambridge Stud has 18 yearlings catalogued to be sold on Tuesday, the second and final day of the sale, while Waikato Stud has 20.
There were 157 yearlings sold at the New Zealand Bloodstock auction on Monday at an average of $151,347, below last year’s first-day average of $161,332, though last year’s total was boosted by a colt which sold for $1.975 million.
The clearance rate was 72 per cent, down from 77 per cent last year, while the median was $120,000, ahead of the $117,500 first day median last year.
Waikato syndicator David Ellis dominated the buying bench, securing 26 yearlings for nearly $4.5 million, including one bought for Coolmore Stud’s Tom Magnier.
The highest-priced horse of the day was an $800,000 Fastnet Rock-Katie Lee colt bought by Graeme and Debbie Rogerson.
