Day 2 of the 2015 National Yearling Sales was another busy one at Germiston and proceedings kicked off at 1pm, with a well-made Go Deputy colt from Lammerskraal Stud being knocked down to Adrian van Vuuren’s Misty Meadows.
First foals
Next in was Lot 153 Ordinary Love, the first produce from 2010 Summer Cup winner Flirtation by Tiger Ridge. Consigned by Wilgerbosdrift, the colt was knocked down to Shadwell South Africa for R800k. Angus Gold commented that he had selected the colt on type. “He’s a good, hardy type of horse with the right size and substance for Dubai.”
Another first produce offered by Wilgerbosdrift was Lot 174, a Var colt out of 2012 Gr3 Gold Bowl winner, Gorongosa which went under the hammer for R525k.
The well related Lot 179, a Silvano filly out of Gypsy Queen (the dam of international star Gypsy’s Warning), was consigned by Rathmor Stud and snapped up by Philip Kahan for R500k.
Another Dynasty
Lot 192 Unnamed (Dynasty – Hunter’s Glen)
However, the first lot to really create a stir was Lot 192, an unnamed Dynasty colt out of Hunter’s Glen (dam of Ivory Trail). Consigned by Vaughan Koster’s Cheveley Stud and signed for by John Freeman on behalf of client Jack Mitchell, the colt comes with a rather a nice story. Cape owner Jack Mitchell was school friends with Wilfred Koster and picked a first produce out of Hunter’s Glen by the then freshman sire, Badger’s Drift named Ivory Trail. Jack remembers “He had a beautiful head. I asked John (Freeman) to look at him for me at the 2006 Grand West Yearling Sale and that was that. This one is very similar in type.” John Freeman concurs, “He was a very nice colt and covered a lot of ground, so it was not a difficult decision. He went to Joey Ramsden and won 9 races, including beating Pocket Power in the 2009 Gr1 Champions Cup, bettering the 57 year-old race record originally set by Sabre. Subsequently we always looked at Hunter’s Glen’s progeny, but never liked any of the others until now. The colt is very immature and will probably look a lot better in 6 months’ time, but we like buying Dynasty’s like that, so that we can give them time.”
Of course, John Freeman famously selected Dynasty for Fieldspring Racing as a yearling and has also been instrumental in the selection of his sons, Jackson and Futura, who both gave Jack Mitchell wins in the Champion’s Cup. “One has to support the things that have done well for you,” says John. The colt has not been assigned to a trainer just yet, with Jack saying that he intends to purchase a number of horses and work out afterwards what will go where, but it is likely that the colt will mature at Jan Mantel’s Robertson spelling facility.”
A delighted Vaughan Koster was taken by surprise, but was “very chuffed. He’s a lovely colt. He’s an immature type so is going to need time, but will grow into a lovely individual. Incredible nature. Just gets on with it, but can turn it on if he wants to, which I think is essential in a racehorse. Jack Mitchell is a fantastic owner, so he’ll go to a good stable and have every opportunity. Hunter’s Glen has an exquisite Var colt at foot and is in foal to Dynasty again.”
The Internationals
2015 NYS Lot 207 Tapenzee (Tapit – Irish Torrent)
There was a lot of interest surrounding Drakenstein Stud’s Tapit colt out of Irish Torrent (offered as lot 207) and he was knocked down to Misty Meadows for R1,1 million and will race in Adrian van Vuuren’s orange and black silks.
Lot 229, an unnamed filly by High Chaparral out of Kiss And Cuddle consigned by Spring Valley Stud as agent, was knocked down to Robbie Sage for R625k.
Sales Force
2015 NYS Lot 220 Polar Vortex (Western Winter – Justthewayyouare)
Mike Rattray proved that he was still a force to be reckoned with, going to R1,7 million for Lot 220, a colt by Western Winter out of Justthewayyouare, consigned by Varsfontein Stud. He commented, “I liked it, it’s a Western Winter and I’m going to race him,” confirming that the colt will be conditioned by Mike de Kock.
However, the auditorium did a double take when the very next offering attracted an opening bid of R2 million. Lot 221 Savannah Cat, a filly by Fort Wood out of Kapen Cat, was consigned by Lammerskraal Stud and became the most expensive filly ever sold in South Africa when the hammer fell at R4,75 million. Rattray commented, “I always liked her as a baby and should never have sold her when I sold the farm. I told Angus (Gold) that I was going to get her no matter what. People forget that I’m not out of racing, I’m just out of breeding,” and he confirmed that the exquisite filly is earmarked for Alistair Gordon. Underbidder Angus Gold from Shadwell South Africa said, “I was very disappointed about the filly, but Mike was very determined and best of luck to him.”
2015 NYS Lot 221 Savannah Cat (Fort Wood – Kapen Cat)
Sally Jourdan (now Bruss) was very happy, saying it was “Absolutely fantastic. I thought she’d be one of the top fillies of the sale. She’s really outstanding, with lots of depth and presence and is a really great walker. Hard to fault, really. Her dam is a half sister to Western Winter which would have helped as well. Kapen Cat currently has a Silvano colt at foot and is in foal to What A Winter.”
International bench
Lot 235, a colt named Cassius, by Horse Chestnut out of Lady Helen was consigned by Mauritzfontein Stud and knocked down to Shadwell South Africa’s Angus Gold for R1,2 million. Gold said “He looks a hard-knocking type with a great attitude.” Mauritzfontein’s Guy Murdoch said that it was one of the best individuals he’s ever taken to a sale. “He’s a full brother to Banbury and we’re thrilled with the price, but they did buy well.”
Another head-turner who may be destined for foreign shores, was Lot 238 Lord Windermere, a Trippi colt out of Lady Windermere, consigned by Drakenstein Stud and knocked down to Simmerton Stud for R1,2 million. Tony Millard, who signed for the colt, said “I thought it was the best Trippi on the sale. He’s very well related and so we had a go. The Trippi’s are versatile and I think they will like the dirt in Hong Kong. He was a late foal, so he’s a little immature, but will develop well. You’ve got to believe in a horse, but you can’t run for them, so we’ll wait and see. He will stay here for the time being and then we’ll take a judgement whether or not to take him abroad.”
Joint top colt
2015 NYS Lot 274 Palladium (Silvano – Minelli)
The flamboyant Alesh Naidoo signed the R1,7 million chit for Lot 247, a Silvano colt out of the Avontuur stalwart matron, Minelli. Alesh enthused, “He’s an absolutely gorgeous colt and I just had to have him. He’ll be going to Charlie Laird.” Pippa Mickleburgh was pleased with the purchase, commenting, “He’s a big, strong, strapping colt, maybe he’ll be stallion material and we can buy him back!” At R1,7 million, the colt, named Palladium, shared the honours at the top of the colts log with Lot 220 for the second day of sales.
Stats
At the close of business, the cumulative aggregate for the first two days of selling was R87 million, with the average standing at R365k and the median R240k. Silvano was the leading sire by aggregate, with Dynasty the leading sire by average.
TBA CEO Kevin Woolward expressed satisfaction with the day’s results. “We are obviously very pleased to have another record-breaking top-seller, however it’s very competitive out there and particularly at the top end, there are a number of buyers all wanting the same horse. The middle market is not very strong and it seems that buyers are targeting very specific lots and only bidding on those and not looking at anything else. At the other end of the market, those looking for decent horses in the lower price bracket are finding it equally difficult, however we are encouraged by the fact that the buying bench is very broad, so we hope we’ve catered for everybody.”
“We’ve noticed an increase in vendor buy backs, with 33 so far this year, compared to 11 at the 2014 sale. In comparison to 2014, we’ve sold 27 lots less than last year, but our aggregate is up, so at this point we are ahead of last year’s figures and we hope the trend continues tomorrow.. We have some exciting lots still to come, so we are optimistic that we might still improve on the average.”
“Our new systems are working well and I’ve had reports from UK that the live stream is excellent. The new signing method is also working well and we seem to have worked through our initial teething problems. Regarding credit control, we have been very strict on buyers cards this year and had to refuse a number of applications as well as asking a number of people for deposits. Some did and some declined, and we feel that augers well.”
The third and final day of the 2015 National Yearling Sales takes place on Friday, 24 April, when Lots 331 – 449 will be led through the ring. Bidding gets underway at 1pm.
A full list of the sales results are available here.
