Successful thoroughbred horse sale helps spur Durban July races

Cape Town - The Thoroughbred Breeders Association’s (TBA) sales arm, Bloodstock South Africa’s (BSA), annual Yearling Sale was held last week at the luxurious Sibaya Casino and Resort to coincide with a festive weekend of Durban July fever at the Greyville Racecourse.

Big names in the horse racing industry were in attendance for both the sale and the July with the TBA celebrating success at the races when a pair of their former graduates, Punta Arena and Final Judgement, picked up graded wins on race day.

BSA’s KZN Sibaya sale sees Thoroughbred racing legends of the future go under the hammer and this year, Graham’s Fame, son of Drakenstein Stud’s outstanding young sire Philanthropist, was knocked down to prominent owner Mario Ferreira for the session topping price of R1 050 000. The colt was consigned by Highlands Farm, the Robertson based outfit also responsible for last year’s sales topper.

The sale’s top priced filly, consigned to the sale by Boland Stud, went for R500 000 to trainer Glen Kotzen, who was the top buyer overall, purchasing six yearlings for a total of R1 485 055. Highlands Farm was the sale’s leading vendor, selling nine of their 11 lots for an aggregate of R3 360 000.

An overall aggregate of R21 055 055 was achieved for the 234 lots sold during the two-day event. Highlands’ stallion Pathfork emerged as the leading sire with seven lots sold for an average of R202 857, commanding a total aggregate of R1 420 000.

In what proved to be a tough market, the average lot price fell from R102 157 to R89 979, a drop of nearly 13% from 2015, while the median price fell by 28.6% from R70 000 to R50 000. The top price, however, saw a dramatic rise from R600 000 to R1 050 000.

For an updated online catalogue, vendor and sire listings and pedigree updates, go to www.tba.co.za/bsa or contact the TBA directly on (011) 323 5700 or e-mail enquiries@tba.co.za