KEY POINTS:
It will sting a little, but this is one transtasman battle we might have to hand up to the Australians before it has even begun.
Thanks to a stunning catalogue and the fallout from the equine virus (EI), which has postponed traditional Aussie dates, the heavy-hitters have arrived
at Karaka in force for the start of New Zealand Bloodstock's National Yearling Sales today.
"This has to be the most powerful Australian buying bench I've seen attend a yearling sale at Karaka," confirmed Matamata bloodstock agent and trainer Paul Moroney.
"It's brilliant for the vendors and for New Zealand Bloodstock but it'll mean a lot of the Kiwi buyers will struggle to compete in the premier sale.
"This is the first bite at the cherry for the Australians and I think in the back of their minds there's still a question mark around the EI status and what effect it's going to have on the yearlings going through the sales there."
David Ellis, principal of Te Akau Stud and Racing Stables and New Zealand's main Karaka player in recent years, says the strength of the Aussie raid hit him on his second and third rounds of yearling inspections.
"I don't think I've seen so many Australians here for the sale," he said.
But Ellis, who spent $5.2 million on 23 yearlings at Karaka last year, won't be outmuscled.
He has orders to snap up the best Kiwi stock from England, Hong Kong, Macau, the US, Australia and New Zealand.
"I don't think that will be the case with us," he said in response to the likelihood of an Aussie-led whitewash.
Ellis doubts, however, there'll be a sales-record during the two-days of the Premier lots.
He says any chance of that went with the withdrawal of the half-brother by Redoute's Choice to Te Akau's fledging stallion star and former Karaka sales-topper Darci Brahma.
"The only records you'll see will be in the average price [$156,567 in 2007]," said Ellis, who tips the Redoute's Choice-Popsy and Rock of Gibraltar-Marquise lots as most expensive 2008 colt and filly.
"This year is the highest standard I've seen since Karaka opened in 1988 and I think you'll see some wildcards with some buyers locking horns and horses making considerably more than vendors think."
Prominent Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse, who has not spent money at Karaka in recent years, leads the charge of Aussie buyers.
She is on the hunt for a Cup contender. "I'd also love to find an Oaks filly, which I'm sure will be on everybody else's agenda."
New Zealand Bloodstock has added in a canny marketing sweetener for the transtasman invaders in their search. It's picking up the travel tab add-on for New South Wales trainers who must fly their purchases home via Melbourne to comply with EI restrictions.
The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries requires all horses to be vaccinated with ProteqFlu or Recombitek EI vaccines before entering NSW. But both are genetically modified and therefore unavailable in New Zealand.
The only way New Zealand racehorses can enter NSW at the moment is to fly to Melbourne then travel in by road. NZ Bloodstock will fly Karaka yearlings into Melbourne for the same cost of flying to Sydney, and then cover the cost to NSW buyers of floating horses from Melbourne.
Expect a record number of Zabeel stock to be heading west.
This year, Cambridge Stud boss Sir Patrick Hogan is unloading all of the sire's progeny (47) at Karaka, rather than sharing them among Auckland, Sydney and Gold Coast.
At last year's Karaka sale, 22 Zabeel-sired youngsters sold for an average of $300,000, including the top-priced $2 million colt from former champion mare Sunline.
"I'd like to see other leading New Zealand breeders follow my lead and if we all did that, it would make this sale the only one buyers can secure New Zealand-bred yearlings," said Hogan.
There is room for the bargain-hunter, however, over the three tiers of the sale, which finishes with the Festival lots on February 3 and 4.
At least that is, if yesterday's Karaka Million at Ellerslie, the new $1 million race incentive for Karaka-sold yearlings, is any guide.
Favourite San Bernardino cost a modest $28,000 at the Select Sale (K2), while Rusty Spur filly Silk Spur was a relative steal at just $17,000 at the Festival (K3) line-up.