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Average, aggregate and median all increase on first day of Ready To Run Sale 

A colt by Waikato Stud's champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel) topped the opening session of the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale on Tuesday when bought by David Ellis for NZ$640,000. 

The day saw the aggregate, average and median all increase. The average was up 40 per cent to NZ$129,300, the median rose 95 per cent to NZ$100,000 and the aggregate was up 35 per cent o NZ$10,344,000 with five more horses sold this year compared to day one of last year's sale. 

NZB's Managing Director Andrew Seabrook was relieved and delighted at the conclusion of the first day of selling

"The Sale did take an hour or so to warm up, however, that's nothing out of the ordinary for this type of sale."

"We saw an incredible increase in both the median and average, with the median rising 95 per cent on last year's results at the end of Day One. The average raised by about 40 per cent, with the total turnover up by $2.7 million on 2020's aggregate while selling the same amount of two-year-olds.

"The clearance rate is down (from 69% to 65%) but we do anticipate to sell more lots overnight as we head into day two, which will see the clearance rate begin to rise," Seabrook said.

Te Akau Racing Principal David Ellis reclaimed his throne as the leading purchaser by aggregate, securing eight lots for a total spend of NZ$1,710,000.

The highest priced two-year-old on day one was Lot 107, a colt by Savabeel out of O'Reilly (Last Tycoon) mare Etiquette, an unraced sister to Sacred Falls, who was offered in the draft of Ohukia Lodge. The colt had breezed in a time of 11.44 seconds. 

Ellis also secured Lot 114, another Savabeel colt out of Fast Company (Fastnet Rock) for NZ$340,000 from Riverrock Farm's draft. The colt had breezed in a time of 11.10 seconds. 

"I just love the Savabeels," Ellis said. "He's just an incredible sire and it's fantastic for New Zealand to have a stallion of his quality - we just can't get enough of them in the stable."

Savabeel had five lots sell at an average of NZ$300,000.