Chaldean makes big statement with first Karaka weanling
Buyers in both hemispheres have clamoured for the first weanling progeny of Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion Chaldean, and that huge demand continued with his very first weanling to go through the Karaka sale ring during the NZB National Weanling Sale on Thursday.
Mike Fleming of major Australian players Bhima ventured across the Tasman and secured the quality chestnut colt for $250,000.
It was the highest price paid at NZB’s National Weanling Sale since 2022, when a Savabeel-Bohemian Lily colt from the Valachi Downs dispersal was knocked down for $360,000. The top lots in between times were $150,000 in 2023, $170,000 in 2024 and $190,000 in 2025.
This year’s sale-topping colt was only the second Chaldean weanling to be offered at auction in the southern hemisphere, following on from a filly that fetched A$180,000 at the Inglis Great Southern Sale earlier this month.
“I bought a couple here a few years ago and I’m always happy to come over for the right horse that’s forward and well-moving,” Fleming said.
“This colt’s a lovely horse. I came in yesterday, and with the rain, I didn’t get out yesterday so I waited until this morning. He was right at the top of my list.
“A few other people have come in with us on him, and we’ll get him back to New South Wales and see where he heads over there next year.”
Fleming was not surprised to have to go to $200,000 and beyond to secure the colt, who was offered by Haunui Farm and catalogued as Lot 3. He is the second foal out of the Showcasing mare Novashow, who won twice and finished fourth in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m).
“It’s always hard to know when you’ve got someone on the phone, but we were thinking that, with the horse he was and how he stacked up with the others, he was the sort of horse that was always going to make his 200,” Fleming said.
“I suppose, when you get to 200, you start converting it back to Aussie dollars. You know, in the end, he probably landed at about 200,000 Aussie.”
Chaldean is a son of legendary racehorse and influential sire Frankel, and he began his own stud career after winning five races including the Gr.1 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Dewhurst Stakes (1400m).
The strong response to Chaldean’s first weanlings in the southern hemisphere has mirrored his debut at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in England, where his first crop averaged the equivalent of NZ$260,000 and sold for up to NZ$580,000.
“This colt was only the second Chaldean that’s gone for auction in the southern hemisphere, and he had a very good filly that sold well at Great Southern in Melbourne,” Fleming said. “If the sire is putting them together like that, I think the Aussie buyers will be into them next year as well, so that had a bearing for us too.”
Chaldean, who will stand for $35,000 plus GST this season, was also represented by a Curraghmore presented filly out of Top Note as Lot 54, with the sharp mover sold toWoburn Farm for $55,000. - NZ Racing Desk
Paddington makes late impact in National Weanling Sale
A highly successful NZB National Weanling Sale for first-season sires ended with a Paddington colt selling for $190,000.
Offered by Seaton Park as a supplementary entry at Karaka on Thursday afternoon, the colt is a half-brother to Gr.1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) winner Lion’s Roar and was bought by Byerley Bloodstock’s Liam Peters for the second-highest price of the day.
“It was obviously a big point going into the sale, him being a supplementary entry and a half-brother to a Group One winner,” Peters said. “He’s out of a family that obviously throws plenty of black type.
“And I was always personally a big fan of Paddington as a racehorse. I was quite shocked that he ended up shuttling to New Zealand – I thought he was one of those top-class racehorses that they (Coolmore) might have thought too valuable to travel. But it’s great that we have access to him through New Zealand. I’m really happy to have secured this bloke today.”
Peters bought the colt online, drawing on a mixture of digital media and feedback from the sales complex.
“The videos get you every angle and can give you a bit of confidence, but also a big thank you to Andrew Buick and Mike Kneebone at NZB for helping out and sending through their thoughts as well and making it all very easy,” he said.
The Paddington colt is set to join the imposing string of horses racing in the cerise and white colours of Peters’ grandfather, dominant Western Australian owner Bob Peters.
“He likes trying to aim for those Guineas or Derby style of horses, and we really hope that this bloke ends up fitting that profile,” Liam Peters said. “He definitely looks like he will.
“It’s great to be tapping into that Siyouni bloodline as well through Paddington. St Mark’s Basilica has had a red-hot start, so it’s definitely a proven formula. We’ve got a couple of those at home that we quite like. It’ll be interesting going forward to see how they mature.
“The exchange rate definitely helps when we’re buying in New Zealand. We saw that with the yearling sale earlier in the year as well. We bought up there – I think we ended up with six, and we’re very happy with all those purchases. So we just thought we might as well have a crack, and really glad that we were able to secure something, even though it was so late in the sale.
“We’ll bring him straight home now and put him out with a few of our other weanlings and see how he compares with them. Hopefully he’s one of the standouts going forward.”
Paddington is shuttling to Windsor Park Stud afteran unprecedented sequence of four consecutive Group One wins in the space of 68 days in his three-year-old season.
He was trained by Aidan O’Brien to win the Irish 2000 Guineas (1600m), then added the St James’s Palace Stakes (1600m), Eclipse Stakes (2000m) and Sussex Stakes (1600m). He was Champion Miler in GB and Ireland and Joint Champion 3YO in Ireland in 2023, and he had a World Thoroughbred Ranking of 124.
Paddington will stand for a $30,000 service fee in the upcoming breeding season.
Paddington was one of a quartet of first-season sires to feature in this year’s National Weanling Sale catalogue, and all four made their mark on Thursday.
Cambridge Stud’s multiple Group One winner Chaldean topped the sale with his colt out of Novashow that was bought by Bhima for $250,000. The striking colt was also on Peters’ radar.
“We didn’t bid on any others today, but we were going to have a go on the Chaldean at the beginning of the day – he just looked like an absolute ripper,” he said. “He’s another first-crop shuttler who had plenty of class as well, so hopefully those two stallions can continue to throw some really good types like that and get more good results.”
Mr Mozart, who stands at Highview, had six first-crop weanlings in the catalogue and they all sold for a total of $143,500.
Grangewilliam’s Hilal had a colt in the Curraghmore draft that was bought by Pertab for $65,000. - NZ Racing Desk
Super Seth’s penultimate Kiwi crop to the fore at Karaka
Super Seth’s move across the Tasman to command a six-figure service fee at Coolmore leaves limited opportunities for buyers to secure his New Zealand-bred progeny, so it was no surprise to see him play a starring role in the NZB National Weanling Sale.
Nine members of Super Seth’s penultimate Kiwi weanling crop went through the Karaka sale ring on Thursday. Eight of them sold for a total of $965,000, with an average price of $120,625.
A pair of Super Seth colts fetched $180,000 each, the equal third-highest prices of this year’s sale. The first of them was Lot 16 and was offered by Waikato Stud, where Super Seth stood until his blockbuster sale to Coolmore earlier this year.
Lot 16 is out of the twice-winning Savabeel mare Popular, whose three foals to race are all winners and include the talented Melbourne galloper Wolfy along with NZB Kiwi (1500m) fourth placegetter Sought After.
The colt was the highest-priced of three purchases on Thursday for Paul Pertab.
“I like the sire, but couldn’t afford one of his progeny until today,” he said. “As well as being by such a good sire, this colt has good legs and nice balance.
“They change so much between now and when you put a saddle on them, but you’ve just got to go with your gut instinct. I thought this was a tidy horse.
“Whether he goes towards the Ready to Run Sale or whatever else we do with him, it’s just going to depend on what mould he fits into at the time.”
Later in the day, Haunui Farm offered Lot 121, whose unraced dam Incanto Rose is a Per Incanto half-sister to the stakes winner Rose ‘N’ Power. The colt was bought by Bleakley Bloodstock Ltd.
“He was a really nice colt,” Libby Bleakley said. “We came here a few weanlings short at the end of the Australian series, so we just needed a couple of really nice standouts by good sires to fill out the draft for January. We are very happy to get our top-ranked one, very happy to get him.
“It’s also significant that he’s out of a Per Incanto mare. He’s having great success as a broodmare sire, obviously headed by Ka Ying Rising in Hong Kong, so I’m happy to add this colt to the band.”
Super Seth will stand for A$137,500 in his debut season at Coolmore next spring, having produced Group One winners Feroce, Linebacker, Maison Louis and La Dorada from his first two crops.
Coolmore representative Tom Moore purchased Lot 133 for $160,000. The Super Seth colt is the first foal out of the Shocking mare Loquita, who won four races and is a half-sister to the Group Three winner Mary Shan.
Other notable Super Seth results on Thursday included Lot 95, a colt out of the stakes-performed Date Night, who was bought by Milan Park for $150,000. - NZ Racing Desk
New Zealand Bloodstock
Paul Vettise
NZ Racing Desk
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Darryl Anderson reviews the New Zealand bred winners in Hong Kong on Wednesday 24th June.
