EADY TO RUN SALE
Photo credit Hamish Niven - Avontuur Estate
Yet more remarkable action unfolded when Lot 81, Best Kept Secret entered the arena. The Captain Al filly by top class racemare, Secret of Victoria is from an exceptional female line featuring Equus champion All Is Secret and highly impressive juvenile,The Secret Is Out. Consigned by Klawervlei Stud, as agent on behalf of committed racing man, Garth Miller, she was eventually sold to Tina Rau Bloodstock/MV Mangier for R5,25 million – the highest sum ever paid for a filly at a thoroughbred auction in South Africa. Secret Of Victoria is a wonderful broodmare. She has another foal at foot, and recently tested in foal, so fortunate pharmacist Miller, is hopeful of repeating a winning prescription. Based on aggregate, ruling champion breeders Klawervlei Stud (49 lots), Highlands Farm (36 lots), Drakenstein Stud (9 lots), Maine Chance Farms (22 lots) and Avontuur (9 lots) were the top vendors at CPYS. Drakenstein Stud were thrilled at their average return – an exceptional R1.9 million per yearling. Former jockey, now a trainer in Durban, Garth Puller chatted thoughtfully about CPYS 2016, “Obviously if the powerful buyers are all going for the same horses then big prices will be reached, but I still look at all horses, even those that may seem out of range, as there are lucky surprises to be found in the lower-middle market.”
104 INTERNATIONAL RACEHORSE
Those words proved prophetic when a day later, a horse trained by his brother Glen, Illuminator, an opportunistic 180K purchase at a CTS auction in March 2014, scored a momentous win in the inaugural CTS Million Dollar over 1400m on the turf at Kenilworth, Africa’s richest thoroughbred race. This landed his lucky connections an R8 million bonanza - a brilliant return on investment. Illuminator was ridden by struggling apprentice Heavelon Van der Hoven to narrowly deny star Cape Summer season filly Silver Mountain. In a feel-good twist, Van der Hoven benefitted enormously by seizing the opportunity, both in terms of career advancement and money in the bank. Normally, a big chunk of apprentice stakes commissions would accrue to the Jockey Academy, but subsequent negotiations ensured that he kept the bulk of his riding earnings from the CTS Million Dollar triumph. South Africa’s finest stallions with proud records found their way to the top of the charts at CPYS 2016. Silvano averaged R1.1 million for his 22 desirable lots, Dynasty’s average was R1.3 million from 14 sought-after entries, with Captain Al’s 22 yearlings selling for an average of R901,000. Trippi is now well-entrenched in this country, so loyal supporters ensured he grossed R8 million from only nine youngsters.