Edict Of Nantes – question mark still hangs over his head
Markus Jooste’s embattled racing company, Mayfair Speculators, has reached agreement with its bankers over the future of its horses – this despite Absa’s High Court bid on Friday to put the company into liquidation and freeze the assets being postponed until early 2018, writes Michael Clower.
Read about the ABSA High Court application
Mayfair’s racing manager Derek Brugman said on Saturday: “I couldn’t say anything before this because my hands were tied but we have now made an agreement with the financiers that we can continue racing and continue selling the horses.”
Brugman said that “long term” the plan is to sell all the horses and added: “We have been given time by the financiers to sell them in a structured manner over a period of time. We are not in a fire-sale situation.”
Mayfair Manager Derek Brugman in conversation with top jockey Anton Marcus
Brugman also said that dual Gr1 winner Edict of Nantes had been sold to Hong Kong last month. The four-year-old is second favourite for the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate on Saturday week and for the Sun Met on 27 January but has drifted in the market for the latter as doubts grow about him running in the R5 million spectacular. He may have to go into quarantine before this date and Betting World, has suspended betting on the race.
Ed – Hollywood are still betting – with Edict Of Nantes not included
Asked whether Edict Of Nantes was likely to run, Brugman would only say: “That is something for the new owners to comment on.”
According to the Daily Dispatch the price paid for the four-year-old was just under R10 million while numerous press reports have stated that the price paid by Tekkie Town owner Braam van Huyssteen and his partners for Jooste’s best horse Legal Eagle was a much more reasonable R3.2 million.
Champion Legal Eagle
Yearlings have sold for more and struggled to win. Legal Eagle is six but he still has the rest of this season and all the next one before his powers really start to decline. He is officially the best in the country and is 11-10 favourite to collect R937 000 in the Queen’s Plate. He is also favourite for the Met whose first prize is nearly R3 million. Even if, as in the last two seasons, he comes up against a rival who stays the trip better than he does second place still pays R1 million.
It has been suggested that overseas-stipulated quarantine restrictions could be relaxed in time for him to compete for even more valuable prizes abroad but there are too many doubts about that happening for it to have influenced the price. However there is still the rich Highveld season to come, let alone next season as well.
- Gold Circle
