Photo: Roger Laxon
Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay decided to support the milestone 100th edition of New Zealand’s National Yearling Sale with 100 percent of Cambridge Stud’s yearlings that were for sale this season, and that commitment was richly rewarded with a Book 1 triumph that they and their team will never forget.
Across two outstanding days of selling at Karaka on Sunday and Monday, Cambridge Stud sold 50 of the 54 yearlings they offered. They earned an aggregate of $10.64 million and an average price of $212,800.
Cambridge Stud finished $4.74 million ahead of second-placed Waikato Stud to be crowned leading vendor – their second such title since the Lindsays purchased the esteemed nursery from 31-time leading vendors Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan a decade ago. The Lindsay-owned Cambridge Stud was also the leading vendor in 2021, when they sold 45 yearlings for a total of $5.7 million at an average of $126,667.
The obvious highlight came towards the end of the Book 1 session on Monday with the eagerly anticipated sale of Lot 513, a colt from the second crop of exciting Cambridge Stud stallion Sword Of State. The half-brother to four-time Group One winner Ceolwulf was purchased by Mr Sanxiong Gao and Ciaron Maher Bloodstock for a sale-topping $1.1 million.
“It means a lot, because there’s a whole lot of things going on here,” Sir Brendan Lindsay said. “John Foote bought the dam for us (Las Brisas), and he was helping us even before we had Cambridge Stud. And since then he’s bought horses for us in England and France.
“And then David Ellis was the underbidder. We bought Sword Of State off David.
“It’s an awful lot of money and it tells the industry that, from a $15,000 service fee, you can actually turn it into $1 million.
“And it’s encouraging for New Zealand. You know, we’re a great country and we breed the best horses. It’s great for New Zealand, because it gives everybody a leg up. This is great for our country and our breeding industry.
“More important from our point of view is what it means to Henry Plumptre, Scott Calder, Cameron Ring, Ben Tappenden and the whole crew – all the people that do the long hours and the hard hours. They were over there crying their eyes out. They are so emotional and relieved. It’s a moment that they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives.
“Everybody’s heard it before, but the point is that this is a fantastic game. Jo and I believe in our country, and everything we do is about New Zealand.
“It’s the 100-year anniversary of an iconic New Zealand brand, the National Yearling Sale, and we’re happy to be part of it.
“Sir Patrick always celebrated other people’s success as well as his own, and I’d like to think he would have been proud. And Lady Justine and their family have been so supportive of Jo and I.”
Along with the $1.1 million sale-topper, five other Cambridge Stud yearlings sold for $400,000 or more. A colt by Snitzel out of Amarelinha was bought by Chris Waller Racing and Mulcaster Bloodstock for $850,000, while Mulberry Racing paid $650,000 for an Anamoe colt out of Save The Date. Shijiazhuang Hongtao Horse Breeding secured a Savabeel colt out of Allemande for $550,000, Scott Cameron and Cameron Cooke went to $475,000 for a Sword Of State filly out of Fuld’s Bet, and Stephen Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock paid $420,000 for a filly by Sword Of State out of Botanic.
Four of those six top-priced lots in the Cambridge draft were purchased by Australian buyers, and Sir Brendan Lindsay recognised the massive role that they played during Book 1 of Karaka 2026. Visitors from across the Tasman combined for a total of 184 purchases on Sunday and Monday (35 percent of the total number of yearlings sold) for an aggregate of over $39 million.
“A lot of New Zealand breeders have supported us, and a lot of them have made money out of Sword Of State in particular, which is great and means they can reinvest it,” Sir Brendan Lindsay said. “But a result like this would not have happened without our Australian friends coming across the Tasman and wanting to buy New Zealand bloodstock. They’re the ones that have been buying the horses this week.”
