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A full-brother to Group One performer Hypnos is set to return to Karaka in November after being knocked down to the $270,000 bid of former Melbourne Cup winning trainer Brian Jenkins on Thursday.

The Reliable Man colt, out of Elusive Quality mare Quality Dream, went through the ring as lot 872 in Westbury Stud’s draft.

Jenkins was pushed all the way by bloodstock agent William Tai, but was able to secure his pick of the sale with a final bid of $270,000, topping the first day of the Book 2 session of New Zealand Bloodstock’s yearling sale.

Jenkins first laid eyes on the yearling at Karaka on Wednesday and said he couldn’t fault the son of Reliable Man.

“I saw him when he arrived on the complex yesterday,” Jenkins said. “He’s just a quality colt. It’s pretty hard to fault him, I don’t think you could fault him actually.”

Jenkins has purchased the colt with a future sale in-mind and his recent acquisition will head to Cambridge in the meantime where he will join Lyndhurst Farm.

“He’s for myself and a partner,” Jenkins said. “He will probably go through the breeze-ups (New Zealand Bloodstock Ready-to-Run Sale), we bought him to trade.

“He’ll go to Mark and Shelley Treweek.”

His full-brother Hypnos has proven to be one of the finds of the classic crop for trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood. The three-year-old gelding won the Listed Uncle Remus Stakes (1400m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day before dead-heating for second in the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) at Trentham earlier this month.

Westbury Stud and Haunui Farm provided the four top lots in Book 2.

Westbury also sold the second-equal highest priced yearling when a son of first season sire Kermadec (Lot 755) made $160,000, joining the stables of purchaser and Awapuni-based trainer Lisa Latta.

Former winning Karaka Million 2YO trainer, Latta commented “He strikes me as an autumn two-year-old and a lovely 2000 Guineas type of horse.”

“We will enter him in the series [Karaka Million] because there is now the three-year-old race as well.”

Two of Haunui Farm’s yearlings reached that same figure of $160,000.

Both yearlings were by Showcasing with a colt out of Party Lights (Lot 854) secured by Queensland trainer Liam Birchley, and a colt out of Saheel (Lot 892) going to the bid of Hong Kong-based Upper Bloodstock.

The session clolsed with 127 of the 202 catalogued lots sold for receipts of $5,056,500.

The average closed at $39,815, the median $30,000 and the clearance rate 70%.

Westbury Stud was the leading vendor by average with six lots sold for an average of $87,917.

Haunui Farm came out on top as the leading vendor by aggregate trading $682,000 for 11 yearlings.

Little Avondale Stud, who sold a Per Incanto colt (Lot 875) to Hiwi Lodge for $150,000, are the second leading vendor by average with five lots sold averaging a price of $85,500.

Per Incanto, who heads the stallion roster at Little Avondale Stud, is the leading sire by average (three or more sold) with six of his progeny selling at an average of $77,500.

Westbury Stud’s resident sire Reliable Man has sold five lots at an average of $68,300, while Haunui Farm’s Showcasing has sold 11 lots at an average of $54,773.

NZB’s Managing Director Andrew Seabrook commented on the day’s trading.

“There was good competition at the higher end of Book 2’s catalogue, with Westbury, Haunui and Little Avondale all getting top honours in the statistics.

“We have two more days of selling yet to come and there are still plenty of opportunities for buyers, especially pin-hookers looking for Ready to Run horses.”

2019 Karaka Book 2 Yearling Sale – Day 1