The National Yearling Sale is fast approaching, which means trainers and owners are burning the midnight oil poring over the sales catalogue in search of the next champion.
Nationals – a week away and your chance to buy a big dream for small money (Candiese Lenferna)
Healthy returns enjoyed by South African auction houses shows that the market for young thoroughbreds has bounced back with a vengeance since the end of the Covid pandemic.
Demand appears to outstrip supply, not surprising given that many smaller breeders – and some of the old stalwarts – have disappeared.
Gone are KZN breeding giants Summerhill and the Scott Bros, while the Western Cape has lost the likes of Daytona and Nadeson Park. It’s also no secret that rising production costs attribute to breeders taking their lesser broodmares out of production.
The best horses are therefore sold at a premium, as reflected by last year’s National Yearling Sale record average of R581 948.
Prospective buyers can take heart, however, for results from this past weekend’s Champions Day meeting at Turffontein starkly illustrated that many a fine racehorse has been bought for far less, with pride of place going to last season’s Gr1 Premier Champions Challenge winner Royal Victory, who was snapped up by trainer Nathan Kotzen for a measly R90 000 at the National Sale four years ago.
Also successful in the Gr1 Betway Summer Cup, the son of Pathfork continued his love affair with Turffontein when he was nosed out of a repeat Champions Challenge win by three-year-old Fire Attack in a humdinger, no-holds-barred finish.
The winner, who is related to reigning Horse of the Year Dave The King, cost somewhat more as a yearling, R450 000 to be exact. But who’s counting when you have just added a Gr1 win to your name and also doubled your earnings to over R2 million in one fell swoop!
Third placed Purple Pitcher also made a mockery of his R170 000 yearling price tag, given that he annexed both the Gr1 SA Classic and Gr1 SA Derby and padded an already sizeable bankroll to R4,3-million.
Ridgemont Gr1 Garden Province Stakes winner Humdinger – bought back for R50 000 (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Main Defender, who defied top weight in the Gr2 Hawaii Stakes, also qualifies as a bargain buy.
The Pathfork four-year-old changed hands for just R140 000 as a yearling, a far cry from an impressive bankroll of over R3-million and a ten-win haul headed by victory in last season’s Gr1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes.
Another National Yearling Sale graduate, the Crawford-trained Fatal Flaw, added the Gr1 Empress Club Stakes to her Cape Fillies Guineas success under similar frontrunning tactics.
Trainer Brett Crawford had parted with just R210 000 to secure the filly from the 2023 sale, and as a dual Gr1 winner, she is now worth a small fortune.
The same applies to SA Oaks winner Fiery Pegasus.
A runaway winner of the Gr1 SA Fillies Classic, she put daylight between herself and her rivals when cutting out the running in final leg of the Triple Tiara, and although tiring towards the end, she gamely held on to take the honours by a shorthead.
This daughter of Captain Of All came with a price tag of R330 000, but has recouped that five-fold, her latest success boosting her earnings to over R1,6 million.
Ace sprinter William Robertson finally broke through at Gr1 level in the Computaform Sprint and cost trainer Corne Spies R500 000 as a 2YO back in 2020, money well spent, given that this first Gr1 victory and 15th overall, took his lifetime earnings past the R3-million mark.
Last weekend’s big races aside, the haul of additional Gr1 winners over the past twelve months reads like a Who’s Who, and all were purchased at auction without breaking the bank.
Crack three-year-old One Stripe was one that got away from Drakenstein Stud when he fetched no more than R100 000 in the sales ring; a final bid of R175 000 secured reigning Horse Of The Year Dave The King; crack filly VJ’s Angel cost R200 000; Majorca victress Rascova sold for R260 000; whilst Gr1 Hollywoodbets Durban July hero Oriental Charm commanded a final bid of R375 000.
Last but not least, Ridgemont Gr1 Garden Province Stakes winner Humdinger and champion juvenile Qui Pro Quo were both bought back in the ring for buttons, the former for R50 000 and the latter for R60 000.
All of this goes to show that yes, it is possible to purchase a ‘good one’ without spending an arm and a leg, a heartening fact which should boost buyers’ confidence for next week’s two-day sale.
