The hours countdown to Thursday’s National Yearling Sale has started and with a catalogue not short of a firecracker or two, bidding will be brisk for those stockpiling future talent.
Last year, records tumbled across the board as the sale recorded both its highest aggregate and average ever.
The build-up to 10h00 on Thursday… (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Turnover soared by 30% to break through the R200-million mark for the first time in history, while the average rose for the third successive year, reaching a dizzying R581,948, the median price jumped from R300,000 to R400,000, while more than forty yearlings breached the seven-figure mark, the most expensive of which a R6-million son of Gimmethegreenlight.
History has shown that many a big-price lot has failed to live up to its price tag or even reach a racetrack.
For interest’s sake, let’s take a moment and see to what degree the most expensive yearlings of the past five sales have justified their lofty purchase prices.
The class of 2020 was headed by a R7-million son of Silvano purchased by Henning Pretorius, who had just become the new owner of the famed Summerhill Stud.
That small fortune was no surprise, given that at the time of purchase, he had three siblings burning up the track: half-brother Rainbow Bridge, who was on his way to Horse of the Year honours; reigning champion three-year-old Hawwaam; and the season’s Gr1 Cape Derby winner Golden Ducat.
Silvano son Celestial City – big ticket yearling now stands in KZN (Pic – JC Photos)
Remarkably, three years went by before Celestial City finally made it to the track as a four-year-old and much to the relief of his connections, he cracked his maiden first time out over a mile.
A frustrating string of seconds and thirds followed, but after finishing off the board for the first time in his career, he regained top form with a vengeance by putting together a fine hat-trick of wins.
Not seen out again for seven months, he blew away the cobwebs with a promising fourth on return, before a quest for black type took him to Hollywoodbets Greyville for the Listed Kings Cup. He acquitted himself with aplomb by chasing home paternal half-brother Narina Trogon, a son of champion racemare Beach Beauty.
With this vital piece of black type to his name, and a pedigree which had ‘stallion’ written all over it, Celestial City retired to Summerhill in 2024 as a valuable addition to the KZN stallion ranks.
The 2021 sale was a more muted affair, with the top lot falling to Form Bloodstock at a ‘modest’ R2.8-million. By the soon-to-be crowned champion sire Gimmethegreenlight, the colt was out of champion juvenile All Is Secret, from the unstoppable Mystic Spring clan.
Despite his pedigree credentials, Cheeky Laddie, as he was named, won just three races.
In comparison, a graduate who did justify his seven-figure price tag was the Rafeef colt Thunderstruck.
Purchased for an even million, the colt went on to championship honours by completing the coveted Gr1 Gold Medallion/Computaform Sprint double and is now a member of the Ridgemont stallion roster.
The most expensive yearlings of the 2022 sale also failed to live up to their lofty price tags. Forest God, a grandson of Mystic Spring, commanded the top price of R3.3-million, yet managed just a second place from three starts and pulled up lame in his final outing.
As a two-time winner, Vercingetorix colt Celtic Chief has to date recouped a fraction of his R3-million purchase price, as has Steadfast, a R2-million son of Gimmethegreenlight.
In contrast, the Gimmethegreenlight colt Sandringham Summit earned back every penny of his R1,7-million purchase price and with interest.
Successful in the Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes at two, he was voted the country’s Champion Juvenile and never finished off the board in his career before returning to birthplace Varsfontein in 2024 to stand alongside his esteemed sire.
Varsfontein, whose policy to retain its best fillies has paid huge dividends over the years, let one slip through the cracks so to speak when selling the Vercingetorix filly Double Grand Slam for an even million to golfing legend Gary Player.
Double Grand Slam – bought by Gary Player for an even million (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Her dam, the Gr3 winner Princess Peach is one of at least three stakes winning daughters of Princess Tobin roaming the stud’s paddocks and with such an embarrassment of riches at its disposal, the filly was perhaps considered superfluous.
Be that as it may, she became the family’s latest Gr1 winner with a dynamic victory over Red Palace and Rascova in the Gr1 Cartier Paddock Stakes at in January.
In 2023, a filly once again topped the National Sales price list, eight years after Var’s daughter Ghaalla had sold for a whopping R5-million, a new sales record at the time. This time, the lucky vendor was Oldlands Stud’s Barbara Sanne, who turned an R8 000 investment into a R3,2-million windfall.
Oldlands had bred the filly’s dam Adorable and sold her as a yearling. Stakes placed at four, she was offered for sale as a broodmare in 2019, after her Elusive Fort yearling colt fetched just R55 000 off the farm. That colt turned out to be champion Kommetdieding.
Regulars! Jono and Chris Snaith checking out the equine talent at Nationals earlier this week (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
As Barbara recalled: “We saw Adorable was offered online. I think ours was the only bid and we got her back for R8000! She was in foal to first-season sire Gold Standard at the time. On the strength of Kommetdieding, we sent her back to Elusive Fort in 2020 and she foaled this filly.”
Named Kommetjie Storm, the filly ran third on debut before cracking her maiden by an impressive 5,50 lengths. She finished off the board for the first time in four starts when unplaced behind Spumante Dolce in the Gr2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas.
The most expensive colt at R3-million was the Lancaster Bomber colt out of five-times Gr1 winner Inara. Named Air Raid, he made a winning debut at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth as a juvenile but has since failed to add to that.
Not so Immediate Edge, who changed hands at R1.2 million. The son of Vercingetorix rattled off three wins in as many starts, one of which the Listed Hawwaam Stakes, before finishing sixth in the Gr1 TAB SA Derby.
One to keep an eye on is Winds Of Change, who may yet live up to his R1,1-million price tag.
A half-brother to champion Safe Space and the Gr1 winner Silver Sanctuary, this What A Winter colt showed infinite promise when cracking his maiden by just over six lengths, besides which he subsequently added a slew of black type places to his name, including a third in the Gr1 Gold Medallion.
He is clearly on the cusp of stakes class, following a fine third, beaten just two necks in the recent TAB Gr1 Computaform Sprint.
Last year’s National Sale was headed by a R6-million son of Gimmethegreenlight purchased by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. News is that the prized colt is currently in quarantine and is destined to leave South Africa on 2 May.
It’s early days for the class of 2024, as the majority of seven-figure lots are yet to make their debut, amongst which the R5.25-million half-brother to recent SA Derby hero Legend Of Arthur; a R5-million three-part brother to Spumante Dolce, a R3.6-million three-part sister to Horse of the Year Summer Pudding, a trio of R2.8-million siblings to Captain’s Ransom, champion Tempting Fate and aforementioned Celestial City respectively, as well as a R2.6-million half-brother to Gr1 winner Snow Pilot.
R1 million purchase I’m A Fireball – won well on debut recently (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Those that have stepped out on the track include winning debutante I’m A Fireball, a million Rand Vercingetorix colt out of the fine racemare Gibraltar Blue.
Trained by the De Kock team for Hollywood Racing, he ran out an eyecatching 1.50 length winner at Hollywoodbets Scottsville just over a week ago.
