You have Covid-19 to thank for bargain horses

This could be a good week to buy a racehorse. South African thoroughbreds are very undervalued in the world market – thanks to cumbersome export protocols – and are changing hands even cheaper this year thanks to coronavirus jitters.

Thus, Bloodstock South Africa’s National Two-Year-Old (2YO) Sale in Germiston on Thursday and Friday offers brave souls a chance to purchase choice horseflesh at keen prices.

The 2YO Sale is traditionally a value-for-money auction anyway and, in a fearful world, it’s likely to be even better value than usual.

JJ The Jet Plane, The Apache, Iridescence, Noah From Goa, River Jetez and a long list of other Grade 1 winners were 2YO graduates. JJ The Jet Plane was bought for a mere R70,000 and went on to win 15 races in four countries, along with four Equus Awards and millions in prize money for his owners.

Almost all leading stallions of the 2019-2020 racing season are represented in the catalogue of 394 lots. Champion sire, Silvano, who carried the earlier National Yearling Sale on his mighty shoulders, has three offspring on offer and one of them could well top this week’s price list.

Dynasty also has three – among the deceased former champ’s last foals. Seekers of glory need look no further than this year’s Durban July and the performance of Dynasty’s son, Belgarion, for evidence of that bloodline’s quality.

Other top 10 sires represented include shooting star Gimmethegreenlight, speed daddy What A Winter, and well-proven Var, Oratoria, Master Of My Fate, Ideal World and Querari.

Debutante stallions of whom much is expected include William Longsword, Rafeef, Red Ray and Admiral Kitten.

Top breeders purveying goods include Wilgerbosdrift, Mauritzfontein, Varsfontein, Boland Stud, Ridgemont Highlands, Ascot Stud and Hemel ’n Aarde.

To further persuade potential buyers to head to Gosforth Park this week – or to Zoom and bid remotely – Bloodstock SA has a new sales race incentive. A total of R1.6 million in stakes has been guaranteed for four linked races – two for each gender. The first two R400,000 races will be at Greyville on 20121 Durban July day, with the next two about a month later at Turffontein on the highveld.

All buyers have to do is tick a box to put their new acquisitions into contention for the money – in addition to the usual added stakes incentives for all graduates.

The 2YO Sale generally features excellent prospects who, for one reason or another, such as late-maturation or paddock blemishes, did not make yearling sales earlier in the year.

This year, with the sales calendar knocked out of shape by lockdown, the 2YO takes place three months later than usual. This holds advantages for those rare individuals who can pick out future stars just by looking at them. The youngsters have developed quite a lot in those extra months and will present a clearer picture of athletic potential.

The 2020 National Yearling Sale – also delayed – saw the average price per lot fall 7.2% on 2019, with the median price down 8.6%. This dip was not as bad as expected for calamitous economic times, strengthening the theory that luxury goods – and thoroughbreds in particular – were relatively resilient to recession.

That sale saw 10 yearlings knocked down for more than a million rand, with rich owners clearly calculating that happy days would be here again fairly soon.

How the 2YO pans out remains to be seen, but news of Covid-19 vaccine breakthroughs and the prospect of equine export rules easing might well spur buyers to flash their credit cards.

Among the highlights is Lot 100, a colt named Lord Heathfield by Silvano and out of brilliantly performed mare Europa Point. Seasoned racegoers will remember the latter winning nine times, with Grade 1 victories in the Empress Club Stakes and President’s Champions Challenge.

Gimmethegreenlight’s son, Gimme A Green Card, is from Grade 1-winning mare Soft Landing and is also likely to stir interest.

Sometime champion sprinter What A Winter, responsible for three Grade 1 winners last season, has two well-bred fillies on offer: Humdinger (Lot 138), a daughter of Off To Stud Handicap winner, Himalayan Hill, and Savannah Winter (Lot 277), who is very closely related to the Western Winter-sired Grade 1 winner, On Her Toes.

There are scores more tempting wares on the catalogue, which can be viewed at www.bsa.co.za.

The sale starts at 10.30am on both Thursday and Friday.

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