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The second session of Karaka Sales Week - the three-day Select Sale - is set to start on Wednesday 1 February and features 620 yearlings by over 90 individual sires.

This will be followed by the one-day Festival Sale on 5 February.

The Select Sale has catapulted into the limelight in recent seasons, producing eight individual Group 1 winners last season alone.

In Australia, the session was represented by the brilliant fillies Brazilian Pulse (Captain Rio), who won the Group 1 VRC Oaks, and Shamrocker (O'Reilly), who become the first filly in 22 years to win the Group 1 Australian Derby.

She is also the only filly in history to win the Group 1 Australian Guineas/Group 1 Australian Derby double.

In Hong Kong the Select Sale is going from strength to strength with the Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon (Pins) and Champion Miler Beauty Flash (Golan) both proving outstanding ambassadors.

On the local front the Select Sale took a clean sweep of the country's premier sprints with Mufhasa (Pentire) taking the Group 1 Telegraph Handicap and Group 1 Waikato Draught Sprint, and Miss Raggedy Ann (Faltaat) claiming the Group 1 Railway Stakes.

Also on the list of graduates is Booming (Don Eduardo), who showed his talents when winning the Group 1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) and then coming back to 1600 metres to take the Group 1 Thorndon Mile; plus The Party Stand (Thorn Park) and Midnight Oil (Keeper) who bolstered the staying ranks with their Group 1 victories in the New Zealand Stakes and New Zealand Oaks.

This season the immense Select Sale success has continued, with three Group 1 winners already to its credit with Sangster winning the Group 1 VRC Derby, Mufhasa taking the Group 1 Toorak Handicap and Distill claiming last Friday's Group 1 Levin Classic.

With an average sale price of under $50,000 over the past five years, the Karaka Select Sale also represents outstanding value.

Among the impressive 2012 Select Sale line-up is progeny by New Zealand sires such as: Any Suggestion, Bachelor Duke, Captain Rio, Chinese Dragon, Coats Choice, Darci Brahma, Don Eduardo, Elusive City, Falkirk, Fast 'n' Famous, Iffraaj, Keeper, Librettist, O'Reilly, Pentire, Perfectly Ready, Pins, Postponed, Savabeel, Stravinsky, Thorn Park, Towkay and Volksraad.

This session also has good representation by sires from across the Tasman. This year it will feature 13 yearlings by High Chaparral, the last of his New Zealand conceived progeny, as well as entries by Al Maher, Bel Esprit, Choisir, Danzero, Lonhro, Magic Albert, Mossman, Nadeem, Oratorio, Show a Heart, Snippetson, Snitzel, Starcraft, Stratum, Tale of the Cat, Testa Rossa and Wonderful World.

First season sires inject added appeal to the catalogue with the progeny of Astronomer Royal, Authorised, Kheleyf, Myboycharlie, New Approach and Teofilo. They are joined by Alamosa, Duke of Marmalade, Exceedingly Good, Fully Fledged, Guillotine, Murtajill, Prince Arthur and Sir Percy.

New Zealand Bloodstock's Co-Managing Director Petrea Vela is very pleased with the Karaka Select Sale catalogue for 2012.

"Our Select Sale catalogue is such a strong book and we couldn't be happier," commented Vela.

"As our Premier Sale gets stronger it follows that the Select and Festival Sales also benefit.

Yearlings that a few years ago were solid Premier Sale entries are now in the second session, for no other reason than the quality is improving from the top down."

The 2012 Karaka Festival Sale has been reduced to a one day session on Sunday 5 February where 308 yearlings are set to be offered.

The Festival catalogue is heavily stacked in favour of the colts, with 210 colts on offer and 98 fillies.

Sires with progeny in the Festival Sale include Align, Bahhare, Bianconi, Cecconi, Danroad, Edenwold, Handsome Ransom, No Excuse Needed, Patapan, Remind, Scaredee Cat, Shinko King, St Reims, Thano and first season sires including Street Boss, Danfive, El Hermano, Fully Fledged and Mettre en Jeu.