Conquering Lion's Head (And Cape Town)

At 7:15am Thursday the 21st of January, eight brave souls left the lavish confines of the Taj Hotel in the center of Cape Town for the prospects of conquering the Lions Head mountain, sitting at 669 meters above sea level. Unfortunately, only five would make it to the top on that morning, and while I've vowed to leave the unsuccessful climbers anonymous, I will at least boast that myself, Angus Gold (carrying all the supplies), Philippa Mains, Isabel Mathew and Hermione FitzGerald overcame adversity and made it to peak. That entitled me to eat like a guilt-free pig for the rest of the trip. I mean, as if I needed another reason to, besides the fact that I am American, accompanied with what feels like an unfair exchange rate that allows one to dine like a king here.

These are just two of the many (non-horse related) activities I have found Cape Town to offer. The diversity between country and city that is in such close proximity to one another is amazing here. You could be at one of many beaches (Llandudno being my favorite), at the local football stadium, atop Table Mountain, in the city centre or shopping at the Victoria Waterfront and not leave an eight-mile radius.

On Thursday afternoon, the sale commenced at the Cape Town Convention Center, potential buyers took their assigned seats at the tables in font of the sales ring and horses lined up out back awaiting their turn to come in. It didn't take long for me to have my name on the results sheet as I had selected a Horse Chestnut colt consigned by Beaumont Stud that was purchased by myself, Mick Flanagan and Mayfair Speculators for the rational sum of 500,000 ZAR. I was extremely pleased with this and from that point on I realized that nowhere else can you buy this caliber of horse for what seems like a reasonable sum of money. The dollar, euro and pound allow you the opportunity to purchase a solid racehorse in this country. If they are good enough to ship out, the quarantine time can last much longer than normal making it difficult to keep a horse fit enough to compete upon leaving here. With that being said its worth noting that it is incredibly cheap to keep horses in training here, approximately a quarter of the costs per month to that of the US.

The horse industry in this country is more of a hobby than a place for investing in the Thoroughbred, via pinhooking and commercial breeding, like we are used to in other markets; it does happen but not with the frequency that we are accustomed to. It definitely makes the sale more interesting, as this makes the prices more end-user driven. With that in mind, I would think the Cape Thoroughbred Sales Company would be extremely pleased with the buyer turn out at the Premier sale. There were buyers from across the globe showing up on the results sheet to support the relatively young sales company. China Horse Club, Coolmore, Amanda Skiffington, Tina Rau, Henri Bozo, McMahon and Hill Bloodstock, Barronstown Stud, Henri Bozo, Peter and Ross Doyle, Qatar Racing and Lady O'Reilly all spent money here this week. Many of these players teamed up with each other to show their support here, including myself on a second occasion with Mrs. Nagle and Mrs. Shanahan when buying a Captain Al colt for 2.2m ZAR. That's a pretty solid list of international buyers that are leaving horses here to race in South Africa. I myself am quite excited about the fact that I will have a real quality horse in training here with Mike de Kock and Joey Ramsden. It should be quite the thrill and give me something to look forward to over the next few years on return visits.

The grand finale of the festivities in Cape Town did not disappoint. The mayor of Cape Town, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, Lester Piggott, Gary Player and many of the purchasers mentioned above attended the black-and-white themed party that took place in a glamorous tent that spanned a quarter of a mile. A very strong day of racing at Kenilworth started with a highly touted 2 year old filly named Cloth of Cloud by Captain Al winning by open lengths in her debut. The country's leading trainer, Justin Snaith, won the Investic Derby with an 18-1 shot. One of South Africa's leading breeders, Drakenstein Stud, pulled off the unimaginable in the Group 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes when three of its runners vacated the top three positions in the race. The $1m USD Cape Thoroughbred Sales Stakes was the final stakes race of the day and it could not have had a more suitable ending. Illuminator, ridden by an apprentice rider (Heavelon V'd Hoven), shocked the heavy favorite. The owner, trainer and rider would not be found at the top of the leading statistic lists making the hefty purse prize that much more significant. For example, the jockey's portion of the winnings will likely be more than he will make over the next three years.

So for those hoping to cash in at the Investec Day of Dreams, there will always be next year and if the people at the Cape Thoroughbred Sales have any say it will go on for much longer than that. I can assure you that if they continue to show the hospitality and eagerness to please the buyers that they displayed this week they will have no problems at gaining enthusiasm for years to come. And as for me, I will definitely be back next year and hopefully in 2017 with a runner or two of my own in the CTS million-dollar race and if not for that then definitely for the abundance of enjoyable activities (and food) that Cape Town has to offer.