THE first day of the 2014 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale concluded on a high note on Sunday evening.

Day One’s aggregate rose from R66 275 000 in 2013 to R71 455 000 (8%), while the first day of trading at the sale saw the average prices jump by 11% from R308 256 a year ago to R343 534.

However, it was the median’s increase, from R200 000 to R225 000 (or an increase of 12.5%), which proved most pleasing.

The sales topper on day one came early on Sunday, when lot 38 was knocked down to Park Bloodstock for R3.75 million.

The colt, a son of Silvano and a full brother to former Gr1 J&B Met winner Martial Eagle, was consigned by Wilgerbosdrift. The latter also made headlines when the farm’s grooms owned yearling (Lot 238) fetched R800 000.

Form Bloodstock’s buys on Day One included this R260,00 “cheapie” (Lot 307), a good-looking filly by Fort Wood raised at Rennie Price’s Wicklow Stud.

A Dynasty half-brother to former Gr1 Sansui Summer Cup winner Wagner, the colt was also snapped up by Park Bloodstock.

Top priced filly on day one came in the form 44, whose half-sister, She’s A Pippa, had won the Listed East Cape Oaks, just days prior to the sale. A daughter of champion sire Western Winter, this well bred filly was knocked down to Ridgemont (Pty) Ltd for R2 000 000. In total, 12 yearlings were sold for R1 000 000 plus. Four of these were sired by the late Western Winter, whose progeny were much sought after. The TBAs CEO Tom Callaghan was satisfied with the sale’s start, commenting,

“It was a day of tough trading, but it was most positive to note that all the indices were up. The highest price was also up from last year, and another highlight today came when Wilgerbosdrifts grooms managed to sell a yearling for R800 000. It was a tough sale for some of the unproven sires, but a few promising young sires, like Visionaire, enjoyed good results. Overall, the sale was a realistic reflection on South Africa’s current stallion power.