Lone youngster by top Aussie sire sets new high at NZ Ready To Run Sale.
A Written Tycoon colt on Wednesday set a new mark for the most expensive two-year-old ever sold at New Zealand Bloodstock's famed Ready To Run Sale.
The Kilgravin Lodge-prepared galloper was bought, over the phone, by Andrew Williams in partnership with Blandford Bloodstock for NZ$725,000.
The colt covered the final 200m of his breeze-up in 10.56 seconds, which attracted the attention of many prospective buyers and while popular at the inspections, Kilgravin Lodge's Eoin Kemp did not expect him to be a record-breaker.
"We knew with the x-ray hits and the inspections that he'd had he was going to make some nice money, we didn't quite think it would get to that value, but we're really happy with what he did achieve," Kemp said.
"It's huge. It's exciting and great for the team. They put a lot of effort in throughout the year to get these horses here and I think it's just reward for them as well as for us."
The Written Tycoon colt, who was the lone lot by the Yulong stallion in the sale, assumed the Ready To Run record from the Savabeel x Miss Opulence colt who sold for $700,000 three years ago and now races as Zeitaku.
The $725,000 colt is from the Smart Missile mare Fromparis Withlove, a half-sister to Group 3 winner Yattarna who won three of 22 starts and was placed in the Listed Redoute's Choice Stakes (1200m) at two.
He was one of a number of outstanding results in the first half of Day 1, which started with an El Roca colt selling for $400,000.
Four colts sold for between $500,000 and $580,000 in the first three hours of selling.
The first of only two I Am Invincible youngsters in the book sold to the Balia Family Trust for $580,000, Capitalist and Contributer had a $550,000 lot each within the space of 10 minutes, while a colt by Zoustar from a half-sister to ATC Derby winner Levendi sold for $500,000.
