Cape Premier Yearling Sale Concludes

CAPE TOWN, South Africa- Sheikh Fahad Al Thani ensured he would leave South Africa with more than just a few souvenirs, as he struck for consecutive valuable lots on the final session as more records were set at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale.

The young Qatari owner has packed it all in over the last fortnight, riding in a race on the beach at Surfers Paradise in Australia ahead of the Magic Millions and scaling Table Mountain upon his arrival in Cape Town.

His Qatar Racing operation missed out on Saturday's sales-topper, the R6-million ($441,450/£356,600/€411,685) son of Trippi purchased by Coolmore, but all will be forgotten should lot 142, a Captain Al (SAf)-sired first foal of the useful South African race mare Orator's Daughter (Aus) (Oratorio {Ire}) live up to his good looks. Consigned by Klawervlei Stud, he was knocked down for R4.5 million ($333,000/£265,500/€308,978).

Sheikh Fahad's racing advisor David Redvers had not even finished the congratulations and documentation before he was active again, successfully bidding R3.25 million ($240,500/£191,750/€222,852) for another Captain Al as lot 143. Quite a few had designs on the Drakenstein Stud-consigned colt, named Frank Lloyd Wright, out of Pacific Dynasty (SAf) (Dynasty {SAf}).

“We are completely new to this,” said his advisor, David Redvers. “It was our first visit to the sales and they will be Sheikh Fahad's first horses in South Africa. We wanted to leave with the best horses we could, and unfortunately we were underbidder on the big one yesterday, but these are two of the nicest at the sale.”

Continued Redvers, “We have been involved in a partnership in Europe with Markus Jooste, who was keen for us to come over. Markus will probably be involved in the first one, but all that will be ironed out later.”

Redvers declined to mention which local trainer would be appointed, adding, “The horses will stay down here and I suppose we'll see how they get on. Of course there's the possibility that they could end up being good enough to race elsewhere later on, but we'll see. It's exciting to be involved in a new venture.”

The Sheikh's contribution helped push the sale, first held in 2011, to a new record aggregate of R155,225,000 ($11,421,000/£9,225,750/€10,635,280) and average of R699,212 ($51,450/£41,550/€47,902) (+16.5%). The median also rose from 2016's figure to R387,500 ($28,500/£23,050/€26,547) (+3.3%).

Coolmore have been equally enchanted by the sale and left it until late to fire again. A colt, Starship Legacy (lot 194), by Dynasty (SAf) out of Strawberry Lane (SAf), whose offspring have fared well in South Africa, went to Coolmore Australia for R4.5 million ($333,000/£265,500/€308,576).

His close relative Flying Ice (SAf), a graded winner in Durban, is owned by Team Valor and is reportedly being taken to the USA.

Tom Magnier said of the Lammerskraal Stud offering, “We thought he was a lovely colt, he's in a partnership, and he'll be trained down here by the Snaiths. We've been really impressed by the quality of the horses we've seen, and you can only imagine what it would be like here if they could remove the travelling restrictions.”

Frankel finished on a high on the last of his four lots, a bay filly (lot 198) consigned by Klawervlei Stud. It emerged that Coolmore would renew their interest in the first foal of Supposing (Ire), who they owned in Ireland, after Peter Doyle made the final bid of R2.5 million ($185,000/£147,500/€171,367).

“She was a very nice filly, a lovely mover. The trainer is to be decided but she'll race for Coolmore,” Doyle revealed.

It was not until shortly before the end that lot 220 topped the session at R5.75 million ($425,500/£335,650/€394,251). Another Dynasty and a first living foal of Viva Maria (SAf), he went to Kuda Holdings for an undisclosed syndicate.

Another busy major international player was China Horse Club. With its driving force Teo Ah Khing present, his representative Mick Flanagan signed for Superstitious (lot 183), a Maine Chance Farms-consigned chestnut son of high-flying What A Winter (SAf) and Seeking (SAf) (Giant's Causeway), for R2.8 million ($206,000/£166,400/€191,943).

“We're having a lot of fun,” said Flanagan. “China Horse Club bought a couple of fillies last year that are in training with Joey Ramsden and Mike de Kock, and a few earlier at this sale. We saw him the other day and he seems to have improved through the sale. He's by a sire that seems to be doing well and you've got the Giant's Causeway line. The horses will stay in South Africa, although there's obviously the option to take them to America if we want.”

It had been a frustrating session and a half for Fiona Carmichael and her husband Ian Jennings, who are involved in horses trained in South Africa as well as in Britain. After numerous thwarted attempts, their bloodstock agent Amanda Skiffington successfully bid R 2.1million ($154,500/£124,800/€143,970) for lot 156, the racily-named Magic Mike. A seventh foal of the productive Prive (SAf), he was sired by Twice Over (GB), who was bought from Juddmonte to stand at Klawervlei in 2012.

“I was starting to think we'd never get one,” said Skiffington. “He's just a lovely colt, he's all 3-year-old, and was certainly high on our list. Twice Over got better with age, so you wouldn't expect them to be early. It shows how hard the sale is, the good horses go for a lot of money.”

Skiffington had also been underbidder for one the most interesting international pedigrees to be offered earlier in the evening. Lot 125 is thought to be the only offspring of the late Scat Daddy available at auction this year and she is out of Marquesa Naranja (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), a half-sister to Alexander Goldrun (Ire). It took a while for the competition to heat up before she was eventually secured by renowned Durban trainer Charles Laird for R2.3 million ($170,200/£137,700/€157,685).

“Racing her is one issue, but she's got the page, the pedigree, she's got it all,” said Laird. “I had to take on Maine Chance Farms to get her, and they know all about quality. It's for Markus [Jooste].”