During more than a decade as a vendor at the annual NZB Ready to Run Sale, Prima Park has risen through the ranks to become one of the go-to sources at the Karaka two-year-old auction.
The Matamata prep farm was amongst the headlines at last year’s Ready to Run Sale with second place on the aggregates table after selling 18 lots for a total of $3.66 million. The Prima Park draft was led by the second top lot, a Written Tycoon colt at $775,000, while an average price of just over $200,000 was fifth best on that table.
At the 2024 sale all 13 lots offered found new owners for a total return of $1.76 million and a top price of $370,000, while the two previous sales both saw receipts total more than $1 million.
Prima Park’s Ready to Run Sale ascendancy has coincided with operations becoming centralised on a property just north of Matamata purchased by the Van Dyk family nearly five years ago. Beginning with a blank canvas, they developed the 50-acre block as fit for purpose for Prima Park’s core activities centred on sales preparation, breaking and pre-training, complemented by a small racing string.
Right now it’s a hive of activity as the finishing touches are applied to another Ready to Run draft featuring immense depth in pedigree, type and potential. Additionally buoyed by some impressive statistics from the pre-sale breeze-ups, farm principal Kelly Van Dyk has every reason to be looking forward to presenting her class of 2026 at Karaka on November 18 and 19.
