Justin Casse In Cape Town

One year ago Sue Finley asked me to blog about my trip to South Africa, and I eagerly accepted. Three weeks ago she asked me if I would renew my writings, and I unenthusiastically gave in.

The past year has been filled with emotional highs and lows for my family and I. It can easily be deemed the most fruitful for my family with career highs for many of us, but it was also in the shadow of the passing of my father, to whom we can easily place accountability for our career choices. With this being stated, it's hard not to incorporate his influences into this blog as the anniversary of his death approaches.

My passport is filling up with stamps these days. I get a mild thrill flipping through the pages and seeing new stamps and their placements. To pinpoint where this thrill started wouldn't be a tough task. At the age of eight I joined my father for the first time on his annual trip to London as he represented the Ocala Breeders Sales Company at the International Cataloguing Standards Committee's yearly meeting. Many months in advance he would plan a trip to somewhere new and exciting for he and his spouse to visit based around this trip to London. Usually it was around all parts of Europe, but sometimes he would work his way into Africa. My initial visit came at the expense of his wife, Carol, as she became ill and I was invited to travel in her stead. At that time I obviously had no idea the profound affect that this would have upon my life. In the middle of this past December I found myself planning a trip just like my father had for all those years, based around sales in Australia and South Africa with stops in Fiji and Bali in between.

Over the past 365 days I have attended 26 horse sales in six different countries on three continents, making six round-trip visits to Europe alone. According to some people in the industry it has become my niche as a bloodstock agent, traveling to Europe and bringing home horses to the United States. Often times, however, I end up spending my own money on these trips, buying into horses that I find to be of exceptional quality and value. That is what is frequently happening on Southern Hemisphere visits. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to do business with some of the most respected trainers, owners and bloodstock agents in the industry. That is especially true on this most recent trip, and I believe when you have a privilege such as this it is foolish not to invest.

Gai Waterhouse is in a league of her own. She is arguably the most captivating horse person I have ever met. She knows what she wants, she gets it and the details, which she is very specific about, are handled very attentively. Having dinner with her and her husband Robert was a real treat. If you were to consider the level of her popularity in Australia it would be easy to feel intimidated, but that couldn't be further from accurate. She was extremely inviting, caring and enriching. Her concern for your time as well as what you had to say was second to none considering how much she has going on. I would believe my first trip to Australia to be a success at this point, as I was able to secure a share in over A$1-million in horseflesh from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

The level of promotion surrounding the sale was astonishing. From the moment I walked off the plane there was a Brisbane newspaper, with Francesca Cumani on the front page, discussing the sales and racing week ahead. There were countless radio advertisements, and every shop and small business owner in the city knew why you were there. It is remarkable what Gerry Harvey's company has been able to accomplish since its origin.

Magic Millions has changed the breeding and sales industry in Australia with the inception of its race day. There is nowhere in the world offering a 2-year-old race for that amount of money (A$2-million) that early in a horse's life. Although it is a restricted race, it has become a stallion-making race and a prep for the illustrious G1 Golden Slipper. You can see the precocity bred into the majority of the yearlings being offered at the sales grounds. Giant hips, strong shoulders, medium-sized horses that look like they'll breeze a quarter mile in :20.0. All I could think when seeing them is that the pinhookers from Ocala would be drooling over these things. It was very eye-opening and you can feel the excitement and anticipation around the grounds as everyone dreams of having a runner in next year's Magic Millions races.

There is a great disparity from the horses you will find in South Africa and there is nothing wrong with that. These aren't professional sales horses in Cape Town; they are au natural. The amount of money they will bring and the amount of money that they will run for is considerably less than most places in the world (especially Australia). Sales horses in Australia, Europe and in North America are for the most part 'professional' sales horses, but in South Africa I believe the market of raising race horses is more of a hobby than a business.

The number of players in Cape Town seems to have increased since last year. Many of the leading sales participants in Europe have flown in to support the relatively new Cape Thoroughbred Sales Company and its chief proprietor, Markus Jooste. Jooste's Mayfair Speculators has become the most significant new name on European sales results sheets in the past five years. It has been seen at the top of lists in every major European yearling and mixed sale. The most recent renewal of the CTS Premier Yearling sale has an influx of European stallions bred on Southern Hemisphere time, with last year's leading freshman sire Frankel (GB) grabbing the major headlines. All of these offerings are sold with Klawervlei Stud, which has the lion's share of the yearlings in the sale. The addition of the aforementioned Frankel, Scat Daddy and Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) will likely help the sale break records set last year.

Given the state of the South African Rand (R13.60 on the US dollar), this trip is regarded as economically sound. The prices of the horses, as well as the training costs, are inexpensive compared to what most of the visitors are used to. This makes supporting this sale and the industry here a no-brainer.

Obviously, the horses are running for relatively the same money they cost to maintain. Which leads me to mention a major topic here as of late, getting horses out of South Africa. Derek Brugman explained in a Jan. 9 TDN article (click here), how the new forces in South African racing are working diligently on making it easier for horses to get exported from South Africa. It would make sense for Australians or other Southern Hemisphere owners to come to South Africa to buy horses at discounted prices and ship them out, but given the quarantine restrictions this has become an extremely tough option, especially considering Australia's strict importation policies. Also, trying to convince North American owners to purchase yearlings here is a daunting task since no one wants to spot the field six months on foaling dates moving them from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. In my conversations with certain owners, however, they wouldn't mind doing this once the horse has gotten a little older.

With all of this being said, the people involved here are making things happen. They are bringing in more commercially viable products, treating their guests generously, and trying to work with the government to ultimately benefit the racing industry. Cape Town is a magnificent place to visit, especially when it is the middle of winter back in the Northern Hemisphere.

In my opinion, our industry is more connected than ever and becoming more global. The world doesn't seem as big as it once was, so if you have any interest in learning about the players and pedigrees that drive the rest of the world, I highly recommend putting your passport to good use and jumping on an airplane for 12-16 hours. It sounds intimidating, but Socrates once said, 'The unexamined life is not worth living.'