The Bloodstock South Africa National 2YO Sale that concluded at Germiston last week saw the market show some welcome resilience in difficult trading conditions.

In total 316 of the 392 catalogued lots sold, at an average of R103,085, 14% up on last year’s figure of R89,802.

The aggregate of R32,575,000 was also significantly up on the R29,455,000 of a year ago.

The late Soft Falling Rain was leading sire, with his 14 lots fetching R2,740,000.  

Newly crowned champion breeders Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein swiftly got into the swing of things on Thursday.

Early sales topper was Soft Falling Rain colt Herecomestherain. Sent down by Wilgerbosdrift, he was snapped up for R600,000 by Jehan Malherbe’s Form Bloodstock organisation.

And Mauritzfontein also got into the action when their Bold Silvano colt Sun Lark went to Louis Goosen for R350,000.

Later on, Silvano colt Silver Stardust made the highest price of R800,000. He was consigned by Klipdrif Stud (as agent) and snapped up by Lynton Ryan.

Silvano was last week crowned South Africa’s Champion Sire for a fourth time.

Also making R800,000 was the unnamed lot 267, a Cheveley Stud-bred Dynasty colt from Mystic Spring. He is a grey full-brother to past graduate and Equus champion Bela-Bela and the champion male, Rabiya, and was bought by Kestorm Investments.

Bass Racing purchased the top-priced filly in the form of Tenacity (Lot 38). The latter, who was consigned by Varsfontein Stud, was knocked down for R450 000, with the filly being a daughter of Varsfontein Stud’s rising sire star Master Of My Fate, and a half-sister to Listed Swallow Stakes winner All At Once.

Skhwelemthini Investments were leading buyers at the 2019 National 2YO Sale, purchasing five two-year-olds for R2.365 million. Their tally included the Dynasty colt Victor Emmanuel (Lot 385) – a R700 000 buy from Wilgerbosdrift.

Klipdrif Stud, as agent, ended up as the leading vendors, with the Robertson-based farm selling 15 of their 20 lots offered for a gross amount of R3.655 million.

Soft Falling Rain was the top sire at the sale, with all of his 14 lots on offer selling for R2.74 million. His top lot was the Wilgerbosdrift consigned colt named Herecomestherain (Lot 46) who made R600 000.

Bloodstock South Africa’s Gary Grant was understandably upbeat after the sale, commenting, “I think it is safe to say that this sale was a resounding success. It gave vendors some hope in what can best be described as uncertain times in this industry. One of the most pleasing aspects of the sale was the significant part played by several newcomers to the racing industry.”

– Bloodstock SA

Seventh Gear, the R4.75 million Captain Al colt out of Triple Tiara winner Cherry On The Top and so impressive at Hollywoodbets Scottsville last month, is among a dozen choice horses that Dean Kannemeyer has transferred from Summerveld to Milnerton to be prepared for the top prizes in the Cape season.

He said yesterday: “These horses arrived in Cape Town at the beginning of last week. I have changed things around a bit this time – normally I would vaccinate them in Durban and leave them there to get the warm sun on their backs – but those that arrived last week have now been vaccinated here.

“Seventh Gear is a horse that has tremendous potential and if he proves good enough he will be aimed at the Cape Guineas. His first start was over 1 200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville and on his second, over 1 400m, he absolutely annihilated them. I have trained a few classic winners in my time and I think that this one could be falling into that category.”

Kannemeyer, who has won the Cape Guineas five times, also mentioned the Umkhomazi winner African Warrior and Premiers Champion runner-up Liberty Hall as being among the 12 to have arrived from Durban.

He said: “Liberty Hall won first time out and was unlucky to be beaten (a neck into third) next time before running second in the Group 1. I don’t yet know what African Warrior’s right distance is but he has a hell of a turn of foot. As we go into the season I will expose him over more ground and with his high rating (112) I will possibly start him off in something like the Matchem.”

But not all the Kannemeyer equine traffic is going to be one way – “There is a lot more racing, and more money, for the lower division horses in Durban so I may well send a few of those category horses up there.

”Last year was a difficult one for me but we came back well at the end of the season and I believe I have a stronger three-year-old string this time.”

By Michael Clower

Joe Soma won the Grade 1 SA Classic last year with Lobo’s Legend and this rich classic event will likely be one of the targets for his Equus Champion two-year-old colt from last season Got The Greenlight.

The Gimmethegreenlight colt went back into training this week but Soma has no set plans for him yet.

He has a huge stride and impressed all and sundry when powering home in effortless fashion from the rear of the field in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on eLan Gold Cup day.

He looks likely to enjoy middle distances and if he does line up in the SA Classic will probably start at a shorter price than Lobo’s Legend, who was sent off a 36-1 longshot.

Lobo’s Legend is currently racing in Hong Kong but has been taking a while to acclimatise and is yet to place in six starts. 

By David Thiselton

Cheveley Stud’s former Equus Champion Broodmare Mystic Spring produced the joint sales topper at last week’s National two-year-old sale and this full-brother to the former Equus Champion three-year-old filly Bela-Bela will be trained by Gavin van Zyl, who had a monumental sale.

The grey Dynasty colt, who was knocked down for R800,000, was too immature to go to the National Yearling Sale and Vaughan Koster, owner of Cheveley Stud, said, “In the current climate it was pretty good money taking into account he was from an old mare. He wasn’t a wild sales horse, a bit on the small side, so we are happy.”

Van Zyl said, “That whole family are not big and he will grow. He has a lot of quality and a beautiful head and eye.”

He will be the second last sales horse of Mystic Spring’s glittering career.  She has produced two Equus champion three-year-olds, Rabiya and Bela-Bela, as well as three other Graded winners, Secret Captain, Secret Of Victoria and Spring Lilac, and two Listed winners Touch The Sky and Rafiya. 

She has passed on her excellence to her daughters. Secret Of Victoria has produced two Grade 1 winners, including Equus Champion two-year-old filly All Is Secret, and a Listed winner, and Spring Lilac has produced twice Grade 1-winner Snowdance and a Listed winner.

Mystic Spring’s last sales horse will be a Wylie Hall filly, who is currently a yearling. Wylie Hall stands at Cheveley and had an outstanding season with his first two-year-olds.

Three of the best of them, Twilight Moon, De La Cruz and Ponciana, have all been sold overseas. Twilight Moon is off to Hong Kong and the other two are going to Mauritius, although De La Cruz would also have been on his way to Hong Kong had he not failed the piroplasmosis test. 

Those three sales will affect Wylie Hall’s figures next season, but Koster was pleased his progeny had attracted interest on the international market, who paid good money for them. Furthermore, the progeny of Wylie Hall, who was a slow maturing sort himself, are expected to continually improve.  

Spring Lilac will continue Mystic Spring’s legacy at Cheveley and Koster is also pleased some other members of her family have found their way into the big stud farms like Drakenstein, Klawervlei and Varsfontein. 

Van Zyl will also be getting the other sales topper, a Silvano colt out of Jet Master mare Cosmic Jet, who is a full sister to two Graded winners, including Grade 1 winner Love Is In The Air.

“He is a beautiful horse, a fantastic colt,” said Van Zyl.

He also clinched nine other horses, many of them well related. They included a R380,000 colt by Kingsbarns, whose passing is proving to be a tremendous loss as he produced Grade 1 winner and Equus Champion two-year-old filly Gabor in his first crop. Gabor is trained by Van Zyl.

Gabor had earlier lost to Querari filly Cockney Pride in the Grade 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m and Van Zyl also picked up a full-sister to the latter for R420,000.  

He was pleased too with a R110,000 Master Of My Fate colt, who is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Little Miss Magic. 

He got two Global Views, including a R450,000 colt who is out of an Al Mufti half-sister to the dam of Eyes Wide Open.

Van Zyl trained champion colt and now sire The Apache to two Grade 1 wins, so it was interesting to see him land lot 360 as this R30,000 The Apache filly is out of an own sister to the dam of The Apache. 

Earlier, he couldn’t believe his luck when securing a nice Vercingetorix colt for a mere R25,000.

He also got a nice What A Winter colt for R65,000 and picked up a Greys Inn colt out of a Listed placed Australian-bred mare for R35,000.

All eleven of the purchases are already at his Summerveld yard and will be broken in by assistant trainer Opensea Mphlamvu.

Van Zyl said, “Opensea is a fantastic horseman and always breaks in our babies.”

Van Zyl landed some good stock at earlier sales in the year too.

He said, “It is exciting times for the yard.”

By David Thiselton

Image: The top seller Lot 267 from Cheveley Stud, the grey full brother to Bela-Bela by Dynasty out of Mystic Spring. The colt was signed for by Kestorm Investments for R800 000. (Picture: Candiese Marnewick)

Paul Peter and Warren Kennedy have struck up a good partnership and Kennedy in particular has got his new season off to a cracking start. He teams up with the Peter-trained Lighthearted in the seventh at Turffontein tomorrow where punters face a tricky card on the standside track.

Lighthearted appears to have a touch of class and could prove a little too good for his older rivals where Prince Jordan and Master Boulder look fairly evenly matched judged on their last effort and there should not be much between them again. But a bigger threat could come from In The Game who made marked improvement last start and has a handy weight with useful apprentice Nathan Klink in the irons again.

In the third, Final Occasion is a lightly raced four-year-old but he has been making steady improvement of late. The step up to 2400m should suit Geoff Woodruff’s runner and he could provide for a banker in the PA as the opposition looks particularly weak.

The first five races on the card are maidens. In the opening leg of the Pick 6, Peter and Kennedy team up with Little Sparrow who has come to hand of late and can have her consistency rewarded. Chris Erasmus sends out Hightail who let the side down in a Maiden Handicap last time out after starting favourite. That support was no doubt prompted by her smart previous effort. If she finds that form, she can give Little Sparrow plenty of cheek.

Maiden Handicaps give those horses at the bottom of the barrel a chance to earn for hard-pressed owners but four of the ten runners in the Betting World Maiden Handicap are still under sufferance, Global Exposure by as much as 14kg. He ‘boasts’, if that’s the right word, of two placings in 20 starts and surely should be out to pasture by now. That said, Blanco was not too far back from a tricky draw last start and Woodruff’s runner can build on that effort. Joey Soma saddles the five-year-old Causeway Cruiser who has managed a single start in each of the past three years so obviously has issues. But he was not far back from a difficult draw last start and can do better on the standside track. Rock Manor was a beaten favourite at his last two. The extra furlong could suit and he may be another threat to the selection.

The sixth is a wide open handicap for fillies and mares. Kilconnel Lass has been knocking at the door and is due a change of fortune but Just Kidding came on nicely from her first start to shed her maiden. Gary Alexander’s filly is lightly raced and could be anything. Of the balance, Starlighttemptress is in good form and her last win was over this distance.

In the eighth, Westwing Belter found good market support last outing and only just failed. She could be worth another chance. Dorrie Sham saddles Dive Captain who made a smart handicap debut and the form of her maiden win has held up so she must be a big runner.

In the last, Snow In Seattle is due a change of luck after a long stretch of places and the form of his last effort has held up. Dark horse could come in the form of Candice Dawson’s mare Goa with Kennedy aboard. She was coming off a long break last time out and probably needed that run but she has shown ability and is one to watch in the market.

By Andrew Harrison