Last day flurry for sales

By Michael Guerin

Sales bosses are seeing the last-day flurry they expected as New Zealand’s largest ever online standardbred sale comes into the home straight.

New Zealand Bloodstock Standardbred’s May mixed sale finishes today on Gavelhouse, the first time a major catalogue of standardbred horses have been sold on that platform in New Zealand.

Which Gavelhouse has been active in in the standardbred market for over a year the migrating of the entire May catalogue with its very strong weanling component came about because of Covid-19 and has enormously boosted the registrations to the site, with 205 new potential buyers registered in the last week.

And there has been plenty of clicking in the last 24 hours as the sale draws to its conclusion starting at 1pm today (Wednesday).

“The sale starts the countdown to closing off at 1pm on Wednesday,” says NZBS spokesman James Jennings.

“At 1pm the first lot starts its one minute countdown to being sold but if anybody bids in the last 30 seconds that lot will auto extend for 30 more seconds.

“That is to stop somebody waiting until the last second to bid and other potential buyers not having the chance to counter bid.

“So once that lot is sold the next lot starts to countdown for its last minute and so on until the sale is complete.”

Jennings and his team have been thrilled with the response to the sale, with 52 horses now having met their reserve.

“That is not only great for their vendors but also for the buyers because it shows that reserves have been realistic.”

Jennings says the sale has been typical of Trade Me-style auctions when buyers know they have a week to bid.

“We saw a flurry of bids over the weekend when people have had more time to study the catalogue and bid.

“And we have been helping some of the newly registered buyers through that process.

“Then we saw a lull on Monday and now things are really busy again as people countdown to the end of the sale.

“So the next 24 hours should be really exciting. But already we are thrilled the sale has gone so well.”

One of the key attractions of the sale is any weanling purchased during it will be eligible for the Harness Million series.

Buyers of weanlings will also have the opportunity to re-enter their purchases for next February’s yearling sales, as a cost of $950 plus GST for the Karaka sale and $925 plus GST for the Christchurch sale.

Entries for those sales open in June and close July 29 and can now be made through the new NZB Standardbred portal which enables online entry, so no more paper forms.

Bidding at gavelhouse.com for the May mixed sale closes at 1pm on Wednesday.