gavelhouse.com Set to Launch Enhanced Site

In conjunction with parent company New Zealand Bloodstock, industry leader in online thoroughbred and standardbred sales, gavelhouse.com, will launch an enhanced platform in May named Gavelhouse Plus.

With a focus on innovation and servicing clients in the best possible way, General Manager Haylie Martin has been keen to take the platform to another level.

“Gavelhouse Plus is an idea that has been bubbling away for a while and the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic gave us the impetus to expedite the project,” she said.

“Gavelhouse Plus will complement our existing auctions by allowing us to sell one off, high profile horses at any given time, while also aiding our parent company New Zealand Bloodstock in hosting sales that would traditionally have been held in an auditorium.

“I am sure there are quality mares out there who were destined for breeding stock sales in Australia that are now unable to travel, so this site is the perfect solution.

“Our successful traditional format will continue with our fortnightly thoroughbred auctions and monthly standardbred auctions on their existing sites.”

New Zealand Bloodstock’s Managing Director, Andrew Seabrook, is excited by the new initiative.

“This new platform will allow us more flexibility in the selling and buying of horses, while rolling in the benefits of enhanced services from the NZB team,” he said.

“Online bloodstock sales are here to stay so we want to be at the forefront of their progression.”

The site is currently under development and is set to launch in mid-May 2020, in time to host one of two traditional New Zealand Bloodstock Sales that have succumbed to the COVID-19 lockdown.

NZB’s South Island Sale, previously set to be held in Christchurch in April, will now be hosted online with entries closing on Wednesday 27 May, launching on Thursday 28 May and the auction running through until 5pm on Sunday 7 June.

NZB’s Karaka May Sale will follow this lead in the form of a quality, online weanling Sale in June. All Lots will be required to have x-rays available for viewing in NZB’s repository with the added benefit of being eligible to be nominated for the Karaka Million Series. Entries for the National Weanling Sale will open after the South Island Sale and are due on Wednesday 10 June, the auction launches on Thursday 11 June and bidding will run through until 5pm on Sunday 21 June.

Introduced in April 2016, gavelhouse.com has had a huge impact on the trading landscape of New Zealand’s thoroughbred industry with their fortnightly online auctions.

In the last 12 months over 900 horses have sold for turnover in excess of $4.4 million, including online record breakers Consensus and Hasahalo who sold for $622,500 and $670,000 respectively.

More recently, the site has also become a useful tool for trading standardbreds, with NZB Standardbred's All Age Sale set to take place on gavelhouse.com Standardbred next month.

Further details about each of the NZB sales will be released in the coming weeks. If you have a high-profile horse you would consider auctioning on Gavelhouse Plus, contact Haylie Martin +64 22 637 8127 or email [email protected] to discuss your options.