So Divine proves the best of a good bunch at Karaka

So Divine, a Gr Iii-placed sister to dual Gr Iwinning stallion Monaco Consul, fetched $130,000 to top the national broodmare sale at Karaka this week.

Offered by Palmerston North’s Good Stud, So Divine was knocked down to Australian bloodstock agent John Foote, acting on behalf of an Australian client.

“She’s a Group-placed sister to a Derby winner and her dam has had a number of good fillies that are going to very good stallions, so there is a lot of potential in the family,” Foote said. “There are a few good options but I haven’t worked out a stallion for her yet.

“I knew she would make at least $100,000 and was hoping to get her as close to that as possible. As it worked out she was almost exactly A$100,000, so that was about right.”

In all, 174 broodmares were sold for $1,576,950, at an average of $ 9063, up on last year’s $ 8269. The clearance rate was up from 79 per cent last year to 80 per cent.

The leading broodmare buyer was Victorian Peter Murray, who made three purchases for a total of $190,000. Buying on Murray’s behalf, Brian Messner said the mares had been targeted with the intention of sending them to first-season Westbury Stud stallion Redwood.

It was a smaller catalogue than normal for the three-day National Weanling, Broodmare & Mixed Bloodstock Sale, with 501 horses selling for $ 5,029,850 at a combined-session average of $10,040, marginally up on last year’s average of $10,018.

The median was $ 2500 and the overall clearance rate was 81 per cent.

The top price was for a High ChaparralSoelin weanling colt, which sold for $150,000. The leading vendor by aggregate for the sale was Hamilton’s Curraghmore Stud, which sold 37 horses for $1,163,950, at an average of $ 31,458.