More than 1700 yearlings will be offered at New Zealand's national yearling sales at Karaka with a global recession cloud hovering above.New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) knows the buoyant market of recent years won't be maintained because of the recession.Anything less than a 25 per cent drop in prices will be a good result, NZB general manager Andrew Seabrook said."Most people are realistic about what they can expect at the sales this year," Seabrook said."Our hope will be that that we achieve a hi

More than 1700 yearlings will be offered at New Zealand's national yearling sales at Karaka with a global recession cloud hovering above.

New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) knows the buoyant market of recent years won't be maintained because of the recession.

Anything less than a 25 per cent drop in prices will be a good result, NZB general manager Andrew Seabrook said.

"Most people are realistic about what they can expect at the sales this year," Seabrook said.

"Our hope will be that that we achieve a high clearance rate, which will mean the vendors will have to be prepared to accept the prices the market forces dictate," he told the Sunday Star-Times.

Cambridge Stud principal Sir Patrick Hogan says vendors should adopt a conservative attitude on reserves.

"The downturn in the world economy has seen yearling prices fall in the northern hemisphere and undoubtedly this will have an effect on the southern hemisphere sales as well," he told the newspaper.

But he said the sales has some major advantages going for it, as the catalogues for the premier and select sales are the strongest he has seen, and New Zealand-bred horses have punched well above their weight in Australia, Asia and South Africa in the past year.

Top sires such as Zabeel, O'Reilly, Pins, Pentire, Stravinsky, and Volksraad are well represented, while the first crops of 24 stallions, including Falkirk, Snitzel, Starcraft and Zenno Rob Roy will go under the hammer.

The premier sale is held on Monday and Tuesday, the select sale runs from Wednesday to Friday, while the festival sale is on Sunday and Monday next.

There are 23 Group One winning dams represented by progeny in the sale.

The win of Sir Slick in the group one Thorndon Mile (1600m) at Trentham should provide a boost for Monovale Farm, which offers his half-brother on Monday.

The bay colt is by Zabeel.

Hogan and Windsor Park Stud's Nelson Schick have boosted the sale by pledging their entire drafts Karaka.

The first southern hemisphere sale for the year took place at the Gold Coast earlier this month with the Magic Millions company satisfied with the result.

The Magic Millions recorded lower than expected drop of 16 per cent on 2008 and maintained a healthy clearance rate of 80 per cent.