All 19 lots offered at the Hong Kong International Sale sold for an aggregate of HK$74.3 at the auction held at Sha Tin racecourse on Friday.
The top lot was an I Am Invincible half-brother to Group One winner Volatile Mix and was knocked down for HK$7.2 million to Sze-to Kin Sun.
Wong Kwong Miu, whose red and black silks have been carried previously by the talented galloper Divine Ten, brought the auctioneer’s hammer down at HK$6.5 million for Lot 14, a Zoustar gelding out of a half-sister to multiple Group One-winning New Zealand-bred Volkstok’n’barrell.
Two more geldings hit the HK$6 million mark, a Savabeel full-brother to the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks heroine Savvy Coup and a Per Incanto three-year-old out of the Gr.1 ARC Railway Stakes winner Fleur De Lune.
“This was a very good sale, it exceeded our expectations,” said Mr. William Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Director of Racing Business and Operations. “Overall, we have to be pleased with the results and it might be a good sign for the economy in Hong Kong that things could be rebounding, because the money was with us tonight.
“The horses presented well and I don’t think anyone was surprised by the sale-topper. There was a good mix of pedigrees, I think the buyers had a lot of variety and hopefully there’s some value there for our owners.”
“Last year we sold 20 lots at the July Sale averaging HK$2.4 million and this year we had 19 lots averaging over HK$3.9 million, so this sale was very healthy and we’re pleased with the results.”