IF anyone needed proof that the sale-with-race concept is a winner, they would have got it over the two sessions of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale at the TBA complex in Germiston at the weekend.

There were two purchases of R1-million and more when the first 75 lots were offered on Friday night and the seven-figure mark was reached again in the first 30 minutes of trade on Sunday.

A son of Fastnet Rock made R1-million to a bid from Jehan Malherbe and just six lots later trainer Charles Laird secured a Var colt for R1.6-million.

Many experts – including Mike de Kock, Malherbe and Dean Kannemeyer – had chosen the son of Fastnet Rock as the best colt at the sale’s breezing and auctioneer Graeme Hawkins asked for an opening bid of R2-million.

“Two million rand equates to about Aus$100,000 these days and you wouldn’t get near a Fastnet Rock for that price there,” said Hawkins.

In the end the first bid came in at R500,000 and it was Form Bloodstock’s Malherbe, who signed the eventual sales slip at R1-million.

Malherbe confirmed the colt had been bought on the instruction of De Kock. Asked how much further he would have gone to secure the two-year-old, he said: “Hard to say – we’re happy to have got him.”

Both the average and aggregate showed marked increases on the 2011 sale and – after 100 lots had been through the ring – the average was up to R237,000 compared to R174,000 12 months ago.

“There’s a real buzz here today and it’s obvious that the sale-with-race is a huge incentive and has made a big impact. It means the average buyer has a very real shot at big money with his or her acquisition,” commented the TBA’s Tom Callaghan.

The most interesting story at the sale concerns new buyer Adriaan van Vuuren, who bought the top lot on the first session with a bid of R1.5-million for Jet Master filly Mystical Star.

Apparently the first time BloodStock SA came into contact with Van Vuuren was last Thursday when he inquired about how he went about acquiring a buyer’s card. He immediately deposited money into the TBA account and they must wish they could attract buyers like him at every sale.

The Jet Master filly attracted the attention of Van Vuuren because one of his favourite horses, Flaming Rock, is in the pedigree. She will be trained by Mike Azzie, who revealed he first met the new owner at Randjesfontein a couple of months ago.

One man who has been in the game for a long time and deserves another top horse is Michael Javett. He put his hat in the ring for next year’s Emperors Palace Ready-to-Run Cup when Sean Tarry Racing bid R1-million for a Jet Master colt, a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Ivory Trail.

Tarry had selected the Balmoral Stud two-year-old as his top pick at the breezing in Mooi River so both he and Malherbe were as good as their word and backed their opinions in the sales ring.