Cape Yearling Sales

At the sales. Got off to very slow start, but has picked up a bit . Top so far lot 91 for R700k to C van Niekerk.

Is this being streamed on the net?

You buying or selling Jack?

The 'olden days' returned to the sales arena on Sunday.

Maybe it was because the sale was way out of town and maybe the recession has, at last, come home to roost. But in a surreal atmosphere it was possibe to buy an OK thoroughbred racehorse for between R10k - R50k. Actually - quite a number of them. Something which has been difficult to do in recent years.

For me it was a sale of surprises. Horses which I thought would fetch money sold at well below what I estimated ( under normal circumstances ) to be their real market value. Others surprisingly attracted quite big money.

Yet the whole exercise was conducted in a relatively jovial atmosphere. If any breeders capped themselves outside the ablution block nobody seemed to notice.....

If this sale is any guide it merely serves to confirm that there appears to be little or no market for any but the royally ( or commercially ) bred yearling in South Africa. And with training and veterinary expenses headed towards the ceiling who can blame the buyer who has become wary of feeding and maintaining suspect youngsters.

Inevitably some bright performers will emerge from this sale. When they do the marketing machine is likely to have a field day reminding us as to their modest acquisition costs.......

Thank you again Garrick and I hope you picked up a "wee" bargain?

Well put Garrick.

As usual I feel for breeders of race horses because the cost of production is often not accounted for in the selling price unlike most of the businesses that make the money for buyers who purchase these animals.

This is no the fault of the buyer, but breeders who have lost on the gamble and have just got it wrong, or the naivety of others.

The number of horses that sold below their cost is staggering, and I wonder what the effect this ongoing will be.

As an individual in about 3 years I have reduced by 3/4 from 20 mares to 5, and fall on my knees regularly for lucky foresight. It's desperately sad to me that the era of the small (or should I say micro or individual) breeder is at an end.

I think on a small scale infrastructure/labour costs and lack of capital for stallion share ownership make it an unfeasible enterprise, especially as the market below 'royalty' has collapsed from lack of demand.

Probably the cause is the relation between stakes vs training fees that blew out the viability for many owners, and the total head-count of interested owners has just diminished.

Garrick...hope u enjoyed the bells on the rocks?Thought it was a great sale to get a bargain....esp the Victory Moons!

Had a look at the tba website, where can I see a list of what was sold?

txs

Morning Scotia

go to www.tba.co.za and follow the lead "sales results"

And no Jet Master's on this sale either, I see?

Top prices fetched, with sire, damsire and dams-damsire:

R700k Lot 91 -> colt by Right Approach x Sportsworld x Elliodor
R500k Lot 252 -> colt by Dynasty x Western Winter x Caerdeon
R300k Lot 127 -> colt by Victory Moon x National Assembly x Averof
R240k Lot 97 -> filly by Greys Inn x Krusenstern x Northfield
R240k Lot 211 -> filly by Right Approach x Shalford x Home Guard
R220k Lot 117 -> filly by Tiger Ridge x Elliodor x Lustra
R200k Lot 32 -> colt by Surging River x Centenary x Dancing Champ
R200k Lot 83 -> colt by Silvano x Cordoba x Northern Guest

See home page for a pic of the Victory Moon "Wotta Smasher"

scotia Wrote:

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> Thank you again Garrick and I hope you picked up a
> "wee" bargain?

Very happy sale for me Scotia. Realized that 'the sales' is the part of local racing I actually enjoy best.

Swopped mountains of bullshit with a number of old racing friends. Could have floated a boat on the the Bells I drank. Bought a horse for HALF of what we were prepared to pay. Put my hand under Johnathan Snaith's elbow ( 'I don't want to take on Chris Van Niekerk...... ) to get him to stick his hand up for Wotta Smasher and they got that one for about 150k less than I thought he was worth.

And best of all - My racing partner Sharon bought some horses off her own bat for the first time ever. Go girl.

The really amusing part of the process is listening to the experts ( bloodstock agents, trainers etc., ) rambling on about the physical flaws in the lots they don't particularly like. Just when you are a-l-m-o-s-t about to believe them you suddenly have a lightbulb moment : Hey! If these guys are so good how come they buy as many bad horses as I do???? Hmmm.

As to my purchase - Lot 245 the Strike Smartly filly. Had to wait all day to buy her but got what I felt was a 50% discount for patience. I thought Strike Smartly was a bit of a loss to the industry when he died recently and I liked the stout stamina line of the dam's side. But who knows. It's all guesswork and R75k isn't a train smash.

Yup - it was really just like the old days.