Cape Sale briefs

First yearling sold to Oz

While there may have been much disappointment with some of the prices attained or not attained at last Thursday’s Cape Premier Yearling Sale, there were a couple of pleasing signs.

One of them is that for the first time Cape Thoroughbred Sales sold a horse who will start her training in Australia.

South African buyers spend fortunes at sales in Australia but on Thursday a filly bred by Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm was bought by Ric Wylie, a New Zealand-based bloodstock agent, for an undisclosed buyer in Australia.

He bought a filly named All That Jazz for R1.65 million. She is by Trippi out of former champion South African sprinter Val De Ra.

This daughter of Var was an 11-time winner which included three Grade 1s. She is also the dam of Miss Frankel.

She will soon be going into quarantine for a few weeks after which she will be packed off to Mauritius where she will spend the next three months. From there she can go the UK where she will need to spend another six months.

After that she can fly to Australia and with a bit of luck, she will be there by Christmas.

Miss Frankel sold

There was great excitement in South Africa when Val De Ra was flown to England to be covered by one of the greatest horses to have raced, Frankel.

Once in foal Val De Ra returned to South Africa where she gave birth to a filly who was named Miss Frankel. Trained by Dennis Drier, she ran eight times for three wins and two places but had soundness issues and, being such a valuable asset as a broodmare, she was retired to stud.

However, her bloodline also attracted a lot of international interest and Avontuur Stud finally got an offer they couldn’t refuse.

“It was for a LOT of money,” said Pippa Mickleburgh.

However, she is devasted to lose the filly who she has nurtured from a weanling. “She is going to Europe. I’m not certain but I think she’s off to France.”

Miss Frankel will be on the same flight out as All That Jazz.

Player laments having to sell up

Whatever one feels about Gary Player, one cannot deny he approached everything he does with absolute enthusiasm and total commitment. He has not only been one of the world’s greatest golfers but when he set up his stud farm in Colesberg, it was one of the finest of its kind in the country.

Player, who has now sold his stud farm, was a vendor at the Cape sale, putting three fillies into the ring.

“Selling that farm was one of the saddest days of my life,” he said. “It had everything.

“But I am now 85 years old and it was becoming very hard for me to do everything.”

But he was still caught up in the excitement of the sale and the magnificent thoroughbreds on offer. “If I had Johan Rupert’s money, I would by 20 of these horses,” he laughed.