Hong Kong Jockey Club swings back into action with £186,000 purchase

Thursday’s Cape Premier Yearling Sale received the most valuable of boosts when the Hong Kong Jockey Club returned to buying in South Africa with the R3.8 million (£186,000/€209,000) top lot of the event.

It quickly emerged that many visitors had been waiting until close to the end of play for lot 107, the portentously named Valley Ofthe Kings, as his price spiralled up to nearly double anything else that had already been seen in the halls of the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Sired by 2020-21 champion sire Gimmethegreenlight, he was presented by Andreas Jacobs’ Maine Chance Farms from a family that is known in the country but goes back to the breeders’ Gestut Fahrhof and includes a German St Leger winner in Caballo.

Although transporting horses into Hong Kong has proved as troublesome as into Europe, the jurisdiction has taken a close interest in resolving the issue and submitted bids for the handsome bay colt through Justin Vermaak, the bloodstock agent who has an executive role in the company that oversees this sale.

"I had been talking to both Danny Rolston, the international sales manager of the HKJC, and Craig Rounsefell of Boomer Bloodstock, who buys horses for them," said Vermaak.

"I bought horses for Hong Kong back in 2021 at the National Yearling Sale when Craig was unable to attend and they asked me what my pick of the catalogue here was; this one was at the top of the list.

"Hopefully the Jockey Club is going to be back in the buying process in South Africa and hopefully they can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel with the export situation.

"The horse is likely to go back to the farm he came from and we’ll talk to them about the export situation but with the idea to eventually end up at their international sale. Hong Kong are the gold standard among buyers so we’re delighted they have the confidence to buy again here."

The first horse into the ring, a filly by Trippi, also passed the seven-figure markCredit: Wayne Marks

Fiona Carmichael, whose purple and green colours have been carried by the likes of Richmond Stakes winner Ivawood after a previous ownership association with others including Havana Gold and Toronado, gave herself perhaps the best possible chance of finding a South African star with her R2m (£98,000/€110,000) purchase of lot 59, another living up to the lofty name he had already been given.

Handsome Prince is a son of Italian Group 1 winner and prominent southern hemisphere sire Querari and his dark bay coat positively shone with health.

Carmichael and her adviser Amanda Skiffington have been visitors to the sale for a few years and had bought the chestnut Firealley at the 2019 renewal. He’s still going for the owner now under her Westward Bloodstock operation, with a Grade 2 win in the Peninsula Handicap among five wins on the board for the local Milnerton stable of Candice Bass-Robinson.

"He was one of the two nicest horses I saw in the sale," said Skiffington. "He’ll go to Justin Snaith."

The colt was offered by Varsfontein Stud out of Listed winner Maleficent.

The first lot called up showed admirable patience as she waited for opening introductions to be made and she found herself required for another lengthy time in the ring as bidding reached R1.1m (£54,000/€61,000).

By champion stallion Trippi, who has reached a venerable 25 but still stands at Drakenstein Stud at a private fee, the Klawervlei Stud-consigned youngster is the second foal of the stakes-winning Captain Al mare Call To Account.

It emerged that the buyer was bidding over the phone through representative Jacques Chowles before being disclosed as the Tawny Syndicate, a fairly significant ownership group.

The seven-figure mark would be reached on ten occasions in total as the afternoon progressed, with a new but somewhat familiar name in Tony Peter to be the recipient of lot 18, an Oldlands Stud-offered Vercingetorix colt out of useful producer Indigo Magic who reached R1m.

New trainer Tony Peter was one of the more active buyersCredit: Wayne Marks

Peter only recently took out a licence under his own steam with his father Paul, South Africa’s champion trainer, having retired from the ranks in September. Last week, he saddled a winner from his very first runner from a string of just eight and was busy picking up a handful of other prospects here too.

"It was a great start for us, always nice to start with a winner," said Peter jnr. "The owners, Kestorm Investments [of lot 18], have bought some for us. They like to choose their own horses, they found him first, but they called us up to give them the go ahead. We thought he was a lovely colt, we’re very happy to have secured him."

Expectations had been reasonable, rather than heady, from organisers beforehand as the sale begins a new life as an extension of the Western Cape’s racing branch.

All in all, 101 horses out of 108 sold, an impressive clearance rate of 94 per cent, for an aggregate of R33,825,000. Both the average of R443,812 and median of R300,000 were improvements on the stats from 2020, the last edition not encumbered by the pandemic.

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