The only million dollar yearling sold on day one of the Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka will stay in New Zealand.The colt by Fastnet Rock out of 1993 New Zealand Derby winner Popsy, sold from the Esker Lodge draft, went for $NZ1 million ($A797,035) to the bid of retired Singapore businessman Jayven See.The former managing director of Emerson Marine Solution has horses racing in Japan, Australia and Singapore but said the colt would begin his career in New Zealand."I thought he was one of the bes

The only million dollar yearling sold on day one of the Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka will stay in New Zealand.

The colt by Fastnet Rock out of 1993 New Zealand Derby winner Popsy, sold from the Esker Lodge draft, went for $NZ1 million ($A797,035) to the bid of retired Singapore businessman Jayven See.

The former managing director of Emerson Marine Solution has horses racing in Japan, Australia and Singapore but said the colt would begin his career in New Zealand.

"I thought he was one of the best I have seen in the sale," See said.

"He will go back to Esker Lodge with a view to being trained in New Zealand."

See, who has been racing horses for less than a decade, has some in training with Mark Walker but did not say who was likely to train the colt.

He said he was hopeful the horse had the pedigree to be a stallion should he succeed on the track.

Popsy has been a very popular broodmare for buyers over the years. She produced a Danehill colt which went for $700,000 in 2000, and two years ago her Redoute's Choice colt was sold for $1.45 million.

The Redoute's Choice colt, now racing from the John Sargent stable as Maciano, has won once from three starts and is a $10 chance at the TAB for the New Zealand Derby next month.

See said the most he had paid for a horse in the past was about $A380,000.

Another Asian buyer, Leung Kaifai of Hong Kong, went away with the top-priced filly of the first day, paying $650,000 for a filly by Pins from Procure.

The filly, a half-sister to the good Australian two-year-old Hips Don't Lie, will be trained in Sydney by Gai Waterhouse.

"We told him we thought she was one of the best fillies in the sale," Waterhouse said.

"Then we saw that Sir Patrick Hogan and Coolmore were also bidding on her, so we had some good people who shared our views."

Waterhouse, who also paid $475,000 for a colt by Zabeel from Power and Grace, said she was in New Zealand solely to buy the local product.

"A lot of the stables have been wanting to show me their yearlings by (Australian-based sires) Encosta De Lago and Fastnet Rock," she said.

"But I told them I've come here to buy horses for Derbys, Oaks and Cups, and most horses that win those races past 2400 metres have the NZ suffix."

Australian legend Bart Cummings also had a busy day. At least seven yearlings bought today will be headed for his stable - five he bought himself and two bought by Dato Tan Chin Nam's agent Duncan Ramage.

Ramage's buys included the second-highest selling colt, a $675,000 purchase by Zabeel out of Markisa, a granddaughter of Eight Carat.

"The (pedigree) page speaks for itself and I rated the individual just as highly," Ramage said.

"Hopefully it's going to be money well spent."

New Zealand buyers were able to make some impact at the top end, with Garry Chittick of Waikato Stud paying $600,000 for an O'Reilly filly out of Star Affair.

The sale was holding up reasonably well given the global recession. The average was $180,000 after 153 lots sold, above last year's average of $145,000, and the clearance rate of 76 per cent was comparable to that of last year.

Among the contenders for highest seller on Tuesday are a Redoute's Choice-Grand Echezeaux colt and a Zabeel-Diamond Like colt.