French race could be Variety Club’s next target

For those whose French is a little ropey, the translation is: “Congratulations, the winning owner of the Arc is Markus Jooste.”

The reason this scenario is a possibility is South Africa’s leading owner’s unexpected involvement in the recent Deauville Yearling Sales in France.

We know all about Markus’ buying power here – particularly at the Cape Thoroughbred Sales of which he is a director – and the Aussies are also aware he’s a force to be reckoned with.

However, the Coolmore and Sheik teams will have raised their eyebrows at Deauville – where did this South African team competing with us for the top lots spring from?

Markus’ “Mayfair Speculators” outfit spent 2,62 million euros (just over R37 million) on four lots with only Mandore International and Ireland’s Coolmore Stud spending more over the three-day sale.

We saw Galileo’s son, Australia, score an emphatic win in last week’s Juddmonte International at York with Aidan O’Brien saying post-race: “He was really only ready for a racecourse gallop after his break, but the prize money, the track, the prestige and the way they do it at York – we had to come here.”

So any yearling sired by Galileo with a leg at each corner is likely to top any sale.

Markus’ racing manager, Derek Brugman, must have got bloodstock agent, Anthony Stroud, to check out a daughter of Galileo out of the Danehill Dancer mare Dance Secretary and – once the green light was given – they went to one million euros (approx R15 million) to secure the filly for Markus..

“The filly will stay in France and eventually join our broodmare band, but we hope she can become a black-type performer before that. She was a cracking filly – we just loved everything about her,” said Derek.

Prior to the purchase of the Galileo filly, Derek, this time bidding through Peter Doyle, went to 700 000 euros (about R9.8 million) to purchase a Sea The Stars filly out of an unraced half-sister to Group 2 winner, Vadamar.

Derek said “we want to expand in Europe and France is a good place with the premiums and the programme.”

The eyebrows of regular Deauville buyers will have risen even higher on the second day of the sale when Derek decided it was time to purchase a choicely-bred colt. This time his expenditure eclipsed that of the Galileo filly because it took a bid of 1,1 million euros (R15,5 million) to secure an Invincible Spirit half-brother to Irish Oaks winner, Chicquita.

“In my opinion, he was the best colt on the sale and will also stay in France. After buying so many fillies, we needed to buy a colt as we might need a stallion later on, and hopefully that’s what he’ll be when he retires,” said Derek.

In the more immediate future, the Jooste colours are likely to be seen in France next month as the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp (a qualifying race for the Breeders Cup) was named as Variety Club’s likely target after his superb win in the Champions Mile in Hong Kong in May. I tried to confirm this with Derek Brugman yesterday, but couldn’t reach him. I guess there’s no busier guy in SA racing these days than him.

It’s been a memorable August so far for this member of the media ranks, but perhaps not so for many-times champion breeder, Mick Goss.

The Summerhill boss will not have enjoyed relinquishing the breeder’s title to Klawervlei and will have switched off Tellytrack when it was showing John Koster’s in-depth speech which – it must be said – he delivered without a blip.

Mick, however, was shrewd enough to have Tellytrack air a feature on him and Summerhill in the same week as the Equus awards and whoever the producer was should take a bow and enter it for next year’s media trophies. Sadly, I can confirm it is only a trophy unlike 2009 when the award came with a significant cheque as well!

Over the years, Mick and Summerhill have grabbed many headlines, but the one in the last few days was one of their biggest – the stake of R3.85 million for the Emperors Palace Ready-To-Run Cup at Turffontein in November makes it the richest race in South Africa. The stake is R350,000 more than the Vodacom July.

Interesting to see whether this brings any reaction from Cape Thoroughbred Sales. Their Lanzerac Ready-To-Run Stakes carries a R2 million purse and is scheduled for Kenilworth on 22 November.

Of course, they can rightly point to the forthcoming $1 million race they are sponsoring in January 2016 – now there’s a race in which every owner will want to have a runner.

Although this increase in prize money is just what the doctor ordered for South African owners, it will also surely lure foreign money as well. Hong Kong buyers were big spenders at last year’s Summerhill Ready-To-Run and – if they were present at Sha-Tin for Variety Club’s win – their appetite will have been wetted even further.