Fine wine and Fast horses, that’s the motto of the Avontuur farm.
On the track Legal Eagle, favourite for next week’s R4 million Gr1 Champions Challenge, is keeping the farm’s breeding reputation in lights.
In the sale ring, the stud’s latest vintage of yearlings was toast of the town. The top three lots at the Emperors Palace Select sale, all of them colts, were consigned by Avontuur. All three went for R3 million or more. No vin ordinaire this!
Oratorio colt out of Sarabande – bred by Avontuur was the joint top priced colt sold
Top price of R3.2 million was shared by two Oratorio colts. Markus Jooste, owner of Legal Eagle, got the better of persistent opposition when securing a grey son of Gr1 winner Sarabande. The youngster is half brother to a bunch of highclass winners, including Chesalon.
Joint top priced colt also by Oratorio ex Varisty Queen (193) was bred by Avontuur
The other Oratorio was for the account of Adriaan van Vuuren, who like Legal Eagle’s owners will be hoping for fireworks on Champions Day with his Triple Crown candidate Abashiri. The yearling is the first foal of winning Var-mare Varsity Queen, from a solid black type speed-family.
The third top-priced colt was another Jooste-purchase, at R3 million. He’s the first foal of imported Street Cry mare Street Wise, who boasts a spectacular family background: her dam, by Woodman, is half sister to the dam of Australian champion sire Redoute’s Choice. This is also the female line of SA Champion sire Northern Guest, going to the mare Best In Show.
The top priced filly was the fourth-highest yearling overall, selling for R2.2 million. Consigned by Klawervlei, the Silvano filly is full sister to Champion Vercingetorix, who started his career as a stallion at Maine Chance in 2015. She was another scalp for the Jooste-bench.
Of the thirteen yearlings selling for R1 million and more, five were by Silvano, three each by Dynasty and Oratorio, and one each for Var and Visionaire. This compared to nine millionaires a year ago (2 each for Silvano and Captain Al, plus 5 singles).
The buyers also were more varied this time than in 2015, when Mayfair Speculators got seven of the nine millionaires, the other two going to Joey Ramsden and Charles Laird. Of the thirteen millionaires in 2016, Mayfair got five, two each went to Duncan Howells and Chris van Niekerk, and four singles were for the account of Van Vuuren, Ralphs Racing, Brian Finch and John Freeman.
The top price in 2015 was R2 million, a dead heat. This year four beat that price (2.2m, 3m and twice 3.2m).
Even so, the overall result of the Select sale reflected the opinion of a seasoned consignor, who described the selling as ‘extremely difficult’. Buyers clearly needed much convincing before parting with their stash. The overall median dropped from last year’s R300k to R225k, colts going from R300k to R275k, fillies diving from R300k to R200k.
Overall this remained a highly successful auction, retaining last year’s place as the sale with the second highest median in the land. No doubt these figures will be firmly in the crosshairs for Bloodstock South Africa, which is staging the annual National Sale next week, the 40th held at their Germiston complex.
