139 two-year-olds gallop at Te Rapa ahead of next month’s Ready to Run Sale.
Day Two of New Zealand Bloodstock's Ready to Run Sale Breeze Ups on Tuesday saw the final 139 two-year-olds complete their gallop down the home straight at Te Rapa Racecourse.
A total of 274 horses breezed up across two days ahead of the sale which will be held at Karaka on 17 and 18 November.
With nearly an inch of rain falling during the night, track conditions on the second day of the Breeze Ups were rated a Heavy 10. Strong westerly winds, although not ideal for the horses, saw the track conditions upgraded to a Slow 9 by midday.
The quickest time of Day Two came in the first Heat of the day, with Lot 44 breezing up in 10.80. The colt by Deep Field (Northern Meteor) is out out of Pins (Snippets) mare Bang On and he was prepared by Sam Beatson's Riversley Park, running in Heat 71.
Ohukia Lodge had a couple of fast breezes including Lot 218. A colt by Sacred Falls out of Movie, making him a half-brother to recent Group One winner Never Been Kissed, who breezed in 10.84, running in Heat 84.
The operation also had Lot 205, who ran in the same heat, breeze in 10.86. The colt is by LA Stud's Per Incanto (Street Cry) out of Miss How Polloi (Towkay), while Lot 184, https://www.nzb.co.nz/sales/21rtr/184 a Darci Brahma (Danehill) colt out of Lion Blanc (Reset) also ran the same time in Heat 100. The colt is another offering by Ohukia Lodge.
Ohukia Lodge's Jamie Beatson was pleased with how his 2021 draft performed over the two days of breezing.
"We're pretty happy with the draft overall, obviously the track is a bit slower than yesterday but overall they have performed well," he said.
"We have some cracking horses in the draft this year who breezed up nicely.
"There aren't many who you can't talk about to be honest, they are all good types and were showing it out there on the track today.
"Not all horses like a heavy track and we thought the horses who breezed today were our sharpest lot," commented Beatson.
NZB's Bloodstock Sales Manager Danny Rolston commended the effort of all Ready to Run Sale consignors, preparers, jockeys and associated staff.
"Day Two of the Breeze Ups was carried out in an exceptional order," Rolston said.
"Our consignors and their teams have put in an immense effort and they must be commended for breezing their two-year-olds to the highest standard.
"The level of presentation and breeze ups improves year-on-year, which is a testament to the expert preparers we have here in New Zealand.
"After a downpour of rain overnight, coupled with strong winds today, we'd like to remind our buyers to take this into account when assessing the Breeze Up clips," he said.
View the times here. https://www.nzb.co.nz/sales/21rtr?ordered=lot&sort=asc&sale_id=198&page_size=1000&start_pos=1