THE inaugural R2m Ready To Run Sale on Friday 14th December at Durbanville, South Africa, proved an auspicious beginning for auction house Cape Thoroughbred Sales, with the sale proving by far the most successful sale of its type held in the Cape.

 The last RTR sale in Cape Town, was the now defunct Equimark’s 2011 offering in which 43 of 65 yearlings grossed R2,66 million, with top priced Jet Master colt selling for R220,000 and the average standing at R52,000. Friday’s sale was in a different league with 152 of 155 sold (from 163 catalogued) grossing R25,865,00, with joint top prices being a Western Winter colt and a Jet Master filly at R1 million apiece.

The average stood at R170 164, a record for any Ready to Run Sale sale ever held in the Cape. In comparison to the TBA’s 26 year established RTR Sale, it stands scrutiny very well, as the totals make it the 5th best of all time, by gross aggregate and average attained. As debut’s go, the CTS Ready to Run was an unqualified success.

Its winning formula was a combination of smart factors : the mandatory structure of subscriptions by both seller and buyer, enabling a R2million bonus race, the CTS Ready to Run Stakes to be held on November 23, 2013, for sale graduates only, essentially meaning a one-in-ten chance for horses sold to get to run in the richest race in the Cape outside of the J&B Met.

Buyers were also provided with 6 months interest free credit in order to stimulate demand, with a 2.5% discount for cash. “Such incentives captured the imagination of buyers from across the country and from Mauritius” said CEO, Robin Bruss. “And consequently, trade was brisk, although it can also be said that as the last sale of the year, quality was variable and we saw horses trading from R20,000 to R1million, so there was something for everyone. The results showed a winning formula”.

Markus Jooste’s Mayfair Speculators, hot from winning the recent R2m Sansui Summer Cup with Wagner, was the biggest buyer with 15 lots purchased for R6.13 million, amongst them, the top priced colt Exelero (Western Winter-Landaulet) at R1m. Wagner’s trainer Joey Soma bought 4 in his own name ranging from R20,000 to R180,000.

Two newcomers were big spenders, US domiciled South African Greg Bortz returned to his roots and bought 8 juveniles for R1,080,000, mostly for the Justin Snaith stable. Adriaan Van Vuuren, who had bought the R2m sales topper in the TBA’s RTR, acquired the sales topping Jet Master – Page Girl filly for R1million and three others, all headed for Michael Azzie. Apart from the stylish sale structure, with its layout of the sales area beneath a beautiful grey Bedouin tent, tiered seating, smart dining, a cigar lounge, and a jazz band, the sale’s notable feature was the number of successful pin hooks.

 Whilst South African buyers have not embraced pin hooking to the extent that occurs in foreign sales, that may be set to change now. Vendors who re-offered horses purchased at CPYS-1 and CPYS-2 made significant money, and there seems little doubt that a consequence of the success of the RTR formula, will lie in the opportunity it will provide for speculators, and with it, the chance for the auction house, to get to sell the product more than once. Smart move, if you think about it !