The NZB Ready to Run Sale 2026 will move closer to its November dates with breeze-up videos now available online, a promising line-up of two-year-olds attracting attention and vendors preparing their drafts for the annual sale at Karaka. New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) will offer 460 catalogued two-year-olds across the two-day sale on November 18 and 19, with proceedings scheduled to begin at 11am on both days.
The release of the breeze-up footage will give prospective buyers an opportunity to assess the young horses before the sale. The videos will complement the preparations of vendors, including Apex Bloodstock, which will return for its third appearance after achieving a 100 per cent clearance rate with its first two drafts.
NZB Ready to Run Sale 2026 Breeze-Up Videos Now Available
Almost 390 two-year-olds will have completed their breeze-up gallops at Te Rapa Racecourse on October 12 and 13, with each horse’s final 200 metres individually timed. The footage and recorded times will be available for individual lots through the NZB website, alongside information about the weather, track conditions and wind during each gallop.
The first day will have featured 191 horses, with an average time of 10.75 seconds. Conditions will have started overcast before fine weather arrives during the afternoon, while the track will have maintained a Soft 5 rating throughout the session.
The second day will have seen another 198 two-year-olds complete their gallops. The rail will have been moved out by five metres overnight, while headwinds of up to 5.2km/h and intermittent showers will have accompanied the session. The track will have remained at Soft 5, with the day’s average time recorded at 11.02 seconds.
Across both days, the combined average time will have stood at 10.89 seconds. Buyers will be able to review the high-definition videos online, with playback quality adjusting automatically to suit their internet connection and device. The footage will also be downloadable through the sharing options provided on the video platform.
The breeze-ups will receive further coverage on Trackside in New Zealand, with its broadcast schedule to be announced. Australian viewers will be able to watch the footage on Racing.com on October 20 and 27 at 4.30am AEDT.
Apex Bloodstock Returns After Two Successful Drafts
Apex Bloodstock will enter the 2026 sale with a record of selling every horse it has presented at its previous two editions. Taui Johnson’s operation will offer seven two-year-olds this year after selling five horses for $125,000 in total in 2024 and achieving a combined sale value of $427,500 from another five-horse draft in 2025.
The previous year’s draft will have included two sons of The Autumn Sun, which will have sold for $240,000 and $120,000 respectively. Johnson will aim to build on that performance while continuing to establish Apex Bloodstock as a consistent vendor at the sale.
Johnson will also have a proven graduate to point to in Alottago, a son of Tagaloa who will have been purchased for $20,000 from the 2024 draft by Canterbury trainer Lance Robinson.
Alottago will have recorded two wins and five placings from 11 starts, earning $110,610 in stakes. His record will have included a second-place finish in the Group Three Barneswood Farm Stakes over 1,400 metres, along with third-place finishes in the Group Two Wellington Guineas, Listed Welcome Stakes and Listed Champagne Stakes. He will also have contested the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas before relocating to Hong Kong.
For this year’s sale, Johnson will present a larger group of seven horses. Among them will be Lot 256, a colt by Hello Youmzain and a half-brother to Ka Ying Lightning, a dual winner in Hong Kong. The draft will provide another opportunity for Apex Bloodstock to attract buyers seeking young horses with promising pedigrees and racing potential.
Soliloquy Stakes to Feature Leading Fillies
Elsewhere on the New Zealand racing calendar, the $175,000 Group Two Windsor Park Stud Soliloquy Stakes will provide an important test for three-year-old fillies at Ellerslie on Saturday, October 17. The 1,400-metre contest will form the third leg of the 2026-27 NZB Filly of the Year Series, with eight points available to the winner, four for second and two for third.
The field will include the leading five fillies on the series leaderboard. Hawea, a winner of the Group Three Gold Trail Stakes over 1,200 metres, will line up alongside Pounce, who will have won the Group Three Sunline Vase over the same distance.
Liguria, Silhouette and Dashing Dixie will also feature after placing in the Gold Trail Stakes and Sunline Vase. Their presence will add depth to a contest that will bring together several of the season’s promising young fillies.
The opposition will include black-type winners She’s No Saint and Actionbelle, as well as Asturia, who will have finished second in the Group Two Hawke’s Bay Guineas over 1,400 metres. Stakes placegetters Pinafore, Shalabiya, Belle Rebelle and Phillyjean will also be among the expected runners.
Rose Aye Reign, Fiamma and Miss Magnetica will attract attention after their latest victories, with all three set to make their first black-type appearances in the Soliloquy Stakes. The race will be scheduled as the ninth event at Ellerslie, with a start time of 4.24pm.
The NZB Ready to Run Sale 2026 will feature 460 catalogued two-year-olds on November 18 and 19, following the release of breeze-up videos and the completion of preparations by vendors such as Apex Bloodstock. Meanwhile, the Soliloquy Stakes will bring together leading three-year-old fillies at Ellerslie as the New Zealand spring racing season continues.
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