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The Sale-With-Race concept has grown dramatically and proven a boon for prospective buyers. The simple reality is that the odds are now stacked in our favour. The objective is to find the best horse on the particular sale, as opposed to necessarily the best horse in the country. This Saturday’s R3million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup is the richest race of its kind in the world, and hosts a quality field to match the occasion.
f course, if the best on the sale also happens to be one of the best in the country, then that does no harm to the balance sheet in the long term. A look back at the history of results and the final log published recently, show that there is no guaranteed simple recipe for success. Spend
R100 000, or spend R1 million. It all really depends on what you bought. That reality is amply illustrated in the field of eighteen that lines up on Saturday. A diverse range of price brackets are in evidence. This merely underlines the maxim that every man has a chance of striking gold at the Ready To Run Sale. This was probably best illustrated in the line-up
for last year’s Cup, when almost 50% of the field cost R100 000 or less. Thanks to supply, but no doubt more to demand, there’s a slightly more pricey feel to this year’s top entries, with a strong element of the R200 000 plus purchases (19 in total on the final log), among the original leading contenders. But ten of the horses on the final log cost R100 000 or less, or were unsold.
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It may be pertinent to also recall that that just a few renewals ago, the first two home, Hollywoodboulevard and Igugu, cost almost R2 million between them, and in that particular year, they were the only two in the betting. The selection panel this year once again faced a thankless task, but appear to have acquitted themselves well. Although there will always be disappointments with the tight competition and the big stakes on offer. The panel’s brief was simply to ‘Choose the best field to compete on turf on the standside track at Turffontein over 1400metres on the first Saturday in November.’ Is anything simple, though? The prize money for this year’s race is paid all the way down to tenth position again. The winner picks up a healthy R1 250 000, with
at the Summerhill Gallops: the selection short-list of eight judges (Put yourself to the test: watch the gallops on the website – www.summerhill.co.za or www.tba.co.za)
CRAIG PETERS
ALEC LAIRD
MICHAEL ROBERTS
GRAEME HAWKINS
DEAN KANNEMEYER
SIMON VIVIAN
JOEY RAMSDEN
SEAN TARRY
VOTES
COLTS #4 Western Winter YES 1 #26 AP Arrow NAP 1 #72 Kahal YES 1 #104 Enconsta De Lago YES YES NAP NAP 4 #126 AP Arrow YES YES 2 #141 Kahal NAP 1 #142 Captain Al NAP YES 2 #144 Trippi YES YES 2 #154 Western Winter YES YES YES 3 #159 Hussonet YES YES YES NAP 4 #160 Mullins Bay YES 1 #161 AP Arrow YES 1 #163 Admire Main YES 1 #170 Mullins Bay YES 1 #172 Brave Tin Soldier NAP NAP 2 #204 Dylan Thomas YES 1 #215 Admire Main YES YES 2 #233 Seventh Rock YES 1 FILLIES #18 AP Arrow NAP 1 #20 Silvano YES 1 #30 Admire Main YES 1 #36 Trippi YES NAP YES 3 #38 Var YES 1 #65 Admire Main NAP 1 #82 Kahal YES 1 #87 Pure Prize YES 1 #97 Silvano YES 1 #108 Trippi NAP 1 #109 Muhtafal YES NAP 2 #132 Brave Tin Soldier YES NAP YES 3 #176 Admire Main YES 1 #193 Danehill Dancer YES 1 #196 Western Winter YES YES 2 #206 Rock Of Gibraltar YES NAP YES 3 #214 Kahal YES 1 #221 Way West YES 1 #222 Silvano YES YES YES YES 4 #223 Kahal NAP 1
Are Your BOXES Ticked?
lamented loss of Stronghold is evident in his 7 candidates, while Kahal (5), Mullins Bay (4), Admire Main (3) and Solskjaer (3 in the top 16) explain the hand Summerhill has been dealt. As for the imports, the presence among this year’s race ‘finalists’ log of the progeny of celebrated international stallions Rock Of Gibraltar (2), Encosta Da Lago, Dylan Thomas and Danehill Dancer is notable. You could change your life forever in just two days this weekend! A great sale. A great race. Don’t miss the boat.
You Be The Judge Ready To Run Judges Michael Roberts and Graeme Hawkins
Well over one hundred of the entries were put through their paces at Summerhill. As is the custom each year, a panel of judges picked their plums post-gallop. Each were officially allowed to pick 3 fillies and 3 colts. Last year, Admiral’s Eye (MR 102, bought at 340k) collected joint-highest votes among the fillies. You can put yourself to the test, by watching the gallops of all sale-entries on tba.co.za. Here’s what the judges saw at Summerhill this year.
R600 000 for second, R400 000 for third and R200 000 for fourth. R125 000 is paid for fifth place, the sixth placed runner gets R110 000, seventh finisher banks R100 000, while eight, ninth and tenth finishers won’t scoff at the R80 000, R70 000 and R65 000, respectively. On the final log of the top 36 before finalisation of the field , our champion breeders, Summerhill held the strongest hand with 23 (65%) while interestingly, demographically the fillies dominate the colts with 21 (60%) against 15. On the stallion front, the much-
Mick Goss might have made it to the top of the law profession, but probably not as a schoolmaster. In the past, the instruction to the panel of experts giving their views on the breeze-up gallops at Summerhill of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run candidates was that you selected three colts and three fillies. Now there’s plenty of cause for concern about some schools in this country, but this class got out out of control. The following must all report for detention - Alec Laird, Simon Vivian (he may appeal as it was his first visit!) and particularly Graeme Hawkins and Muis Roberts. The latter two came up with 13 and 10 choices respectively! Full marks to Sean Tarry, Dean Kannemeyer, Joey Ramsden and Craig Peters who knew the rules and picked three colts and three fillies each. Now the joint most popular colt - selected by Messrs Ramsden, Tarry, Vivian and Hawkins - was the Encosta De Lago youngster out of the four-time winning Aussie mare, Bella Princess (lot 104). In true Mick Goss fashion it’s been named Intandokazi which I’m sure the Summerhill boss will enlighten on its meaning for those of us whose extra subjects at school were Latin and French. The name is also unlikely to delight our commentators Igugu was easy as she only had five letters. Also getting four votes - and the nod from Messrs Laird, Kannemeyer, Hawkins and Vivian - was another Aussie-bred (lot 159). He is a son of Hussonet out of the unraced Australian mare, Get Around. Both Alec Laird and Simon Vivian both liked lot 163 which is a son of Admire Main and a half-brother to Extra Zero and Negev. Trainer Louis Goosen is sure to take a close look at this colt whose name - Hyaku - shouldn’t be hard to remember. Last year Sean Tarry backed up his opinion by buying a couple that he’d picked out so it’s worth noting that he liked a Western Winter colt (lot 4) from Ambleway Thoroughbred Stables as well as a Mullins Bay colt (lot 170) consigned by Summerhill. In the fillies department, four of the panel - Messrs Ramsden, Tarry, Vivian and Hawkins - were clearly impressed by a daughter of Silvano (lot 222) who is the first produce of a half-sister to Lostintranslation. Three of this quartet Sean, Joey and Graeme also liked the same family lot 36 - a daughter of Trippi named Defining Looks. She is the eighth produce of the mare, Snooty Lady, dam of Lostintranslation. Another of the female sex getting three votes - this time from Messrs Vivian, Ramsden and Kannemeyer - was Summerhill’s Rock Of Gibraltar filly, Rich Girl. This is a top Australian pedigree and the filly’s dam, Miss Moguls, is a half-sister to Wyndam Easy who is a six-time winner in Hong Kong. She should sell for big money. - by Dave Mollett, The Citizen
R3 Million Emperors Palace READY TO RUN CUP
“you have to be innit to winnit”
Are Your BOXES Ticked?
photo Leigh Willson
SPORTING POST | Emperors Palace READY TO RUN Sale • FRIDAY 1st - SUNDAY 3rd NOVEMBER 2013