There are just too many unanswered questions and uncertainties. Couple this thought with the economic outlook for the next twelve months looking a touch rockier than the past year. Against this backdrop one can understand that this weekend’s National Two Year Old Sale could provide an orgy of life-changing opportunity for those folk with the emotional and financial backbone to raise their hands and buy that four-legged lucky dip.
There are no rules in this game. Well-known racing personality Jingles Ingold loves quoting that little pearl of wisdom. He also believes it now since he bought a Surging River colt for about R60 000 with the guidance of his partner Mech Cawcutt at the 2011 Cape Vintage Sale. The handsome chestnut gelding won his first start for Justin Snaith at 12-1 a few weeks back under Felix Coetzee and the word is that the fellow is the best Surging River on earth and can ‘run a bit.’ Well that’s what Jingles says anyway. And while he jokes that his medium term plans are Dubai and beyond, even if he never wins another race, the pleasure and thrill has been worth every cent he paid for it.
There are 486 lots catalogued for sale over Friday, Saturday and Sunday and with the Equus Awards being held on Thursday 11 August, it is going to be an undoubted bumper social racing weekend in Gauteng. That is if you cracked the nod or have the voyager miles and connections to provide a roof over your head for the weekend. My true fascination though lies in the fact that, while there is just so much negativity doing the rounds in terms of lagging stakes, corporate structuring, spiralling training and veterinary costs and genuine concerns about the short-term custodianship of the sport, that there will be those who will be there in force excitedly searching the boxes for their JJ The Jet Plane, River Jetez, or the most recent hero, The Apache. Because there are no rules in this game.
I have attended many Sales here and abroad and frankly I find them entertaining for a while, but a touch tedious over a whole day. It is the theatre of life in many forms though. Egos, financial muscle, personalities, plenty of butt-kissing and even a measure of veiled manipulation and generously sprinkled with a bulldust cameo role here and there. Maybe this year we will even have a few of the renegade forum groups toy-toying and waving placards, while the political office-chasers do their usual subtle smiling canvassing for votes and support.
One only has to trawl the financial pages of the past weekend’s newspapers to understand that the world economy generally is still very much in the dwang. World stock markets lost more than $2,5 trillion last week amid fears of debt in Europe and the lack of progress in the US economic recovery. Last week our very own JSE showed the biggest decline in sixteen months. Talk is of our domestic economy suffering severely under a full-blown global economic downturn. Yes, another one of those acid clouds. The SA Reserve Bank also warned that it was clear that risks in our economic environment were ‘growing.’
Horseracing has not escaped the damage. We have fallen behind and have plenty of catching up to do. This week, as an example, we have four midweek meetings. If you, as an owner, won the biggest race in Kimberley on Monday, Turffontein on Tuesday, The Vaal on Wednesday and Clairwood on Thursday, you would pick up gross cheques of R36 875, R50 000, R68 750 and R51 850, respectively. That is before the deductions and levies. Then if you race in the Cape, you will note that Western Cape racing has slowed to a gentle canter and as we approach this weekend we haven’t seen a local meeting for a week and a half. There are just four more scheduled racemeetings in this province for the rest of August and then just six meetings in September. We have often advocated a rest period during the Cape winter, but judging from the questions I have received from a few concerned owners, it appears as if the rationalisation has come as a bolt from the blue, with Port Elizabeth looking very attractive at this stage.
Then nobody is arguing too that the chances of buying a moderate animal far outweigh that of buying a July runner. While 2011 Vodacom Durban July winner Igugu has won R4 million in stakes and probably worth twice that figure in terms of her personal market value, less than 50% of the other July runners have earned more than R1 million. So most horses will land up running quite slowly for ordinary money. So it may be pertinent to have a chat first to Trainer Ian Jayes about how badly he belives the programme caters for the ordinary horses. The Gauteng trainer had his post-race winning interview last Thursday cut out of the replay package for daring to open his mouth and question aspects of the programming and handicapping. That doesn’t reflect positively on your rights as a prospective owner to speak your mind if anything is worrying you either, does it?
So read all of this and ask yourself why you would want to take a chance on buying a horse?
We know-alls love to blame the industry’s woes on poor marketing and a lack of public image. And we know that any attempt at branding and lifting the profile is being poorly executed for combined reasons of budget and capability and a lack of direction. But one wonders whether the reality is not beyond the magic medicine of a marketing genius?
It is said that we can see that a man is clever from the answers he provides, but it is his questions that show his true wisdom. Good luck to the buyers.
