It might be getting towards the heart of winter but things are heating up at Cape Racing headquarters. The racing action at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth has shifted to the winter track, but there’s plenty happening off it as well.
As an example, the Cape Racing Winter Yearling Sale will be held at the venue on Thursday, 6 June.
No matter the weather on the day, the hospitality will be typically warm and the venue comfortable
. The revamped facilities include the 1881 Lounge, which provides a sample for non-Cape Racing members to see what being part of the experience is like. Potential bidders and buyers can also be part of the Sale from the comfort of their own home, providing they have a buyer’s card. They can log in and engage in the auction online.
Vendors have reacted with enthusiasm at the introduction of a sole Cape Racing Winter Yearling Sale. Last year, for example, there were 87 yearlings catalogued at the Mixed Sale (yearlings, mares and weanlings). This year, the catalogue has risen to 115.
There are certainly future exciting individuals who will go under the hammer on 6th June. The Sale is loaded with quality and brings drafts from vendors that have bred multiple champions. This will have all the “pin-hookers” out in full force, ready to benefit from the CRS pin-hook incentive scheme.
What is pin-hooking? It’s a growing form of trading within South Africa and we have seen many profitable successes in recent times. The “talking juvenile” of this current season, One Stripe, is an example of being a pin-hook.
He was bought as a two-year-old for R100,000, sold and re-bought for R1.4m only months later at the-then Ready To Run Sale, now re-named the Cape Racing Breeze Up & 2YO Unbroken Sale, to be held in October. One Stripe has won three of his first four races.
Now, the evolution continues. Cape Racing’s Justin Vermaak and his team have put together a mouth-watering incentive scheme, plus other exciting opportunities to buy a yearling on 6th June.
There’s the juvenile bonus of R100,000, of which R75,000 goes to the owner(s) and R25,000 to the vendor to each of the first 40 winning graduates from this sale. Such has been the leap forward in racing’s growth that syndicates have mushroomed. Trainers will be attending this Cape Racing Winter Yearling Sale with the intention of buying yearlings and with a number of incentive schemes for syndicates – there are some trainers with as many as 200 owners involved – the sport is rapidly expanding and attracting new audiences.
There’s a popular expression in racing’s syndicate growth that says, “you can own one percent of a horse but have 100 percent of the fun”. And with incentives offered to trainers to invest in syndicates in their stables, the uptake has been remarkable.
Success has also followed. Examples include Snaith Racing’s The Grey King, owned by The King’s Club, who ran in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 with R2-million at stake in prize money. Future Variety won the Listed City of Cape Town Sophomore Sprint for their 100-member Centenary Club with Bass Racing. Elsewhere, the likes of trainers Vaughan Marshall (All Out For Six) and Greg Ennion (All Is Green) have already had winners for their syndicates from those yearlings bought off this corresponding Sale.
However, there is so much more. Cape Racing and its Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and Hollywoodbets Durbanville venues have become world-class in their facilities within the past year and interest in the equine racing industry is booming.
You can experience it for yourself by getting involved at the 2024 Cape Racing Winter Yearling Sale.
For further information, contact
Justin Vermaak [email protected]
Janine van Blerk [email protected]
Phone: 021 700 1600
Social media
Facebook: @caperacingsales
Instagram: @caperacingsales
Twitter: @CapeRacingSales
Website: www.caperacingsales.co.za
