2015 BSA Val de Vie Yearling Sale (photo: hamishNIVENPhotography)
All eyes must have been on the revival of Select at Val de Vie. Breeders had nominated what they thought were their plum lots, different from years gone by, when the sales company decided on Select status, based on a point system. Select sales used to be wildly successful then. So how did it pan out at Val de Vie?
In the end the Select session was whittled down to a mere two dozen, two of which were N-hemisphere bred 2yo’s.
The top six prices were all Select yearlings, and four non-Select yearlings slipped into the top-fifteen. Ironically, those four were all consigned by vendors already well represented in the Select portion of the sale. Breeders don’t know everything, it seems.
Top price was achieved by a Dynasty colt out of stakes placed Jet Master mare Kiss And Fly, from a solid black type family. John Freeman had to go to R1.1 million for the Varsfontein consigned youngster. The same farm also had the next two highest lots. Hassen Adams bid 950k for the Gimmethegreen light colt out of Fort Wood mare Secret Mission. The mare is full sister to the dam of Breeder’s Cup Juvenile winner Pluck, who is by More Than Ready – also Gimmie’s sire. The trifecta was completed by a Captain Al colt out of Fillies Classic winner Caughtintheslips, knocked down at 900k.
Comparisons with previous Cape sales are impossible to make, given the changing landscape of the last three years. That said, the new Val de Vie sale had a median of 120k (150k for colts, with fillies a disappointing 80k). These medians are considerably higher than those of last year’s KZN and National 2yo Sale, but the fact that only 80 yearlings changed hands here could well have influenced the numbers to an extent.
Assuming that Select will now be a thing of the future again, it might help if nominating breeders would be charged a minimum commission on Select entries – on say a set (sizeable) amount, or alternatively if there are no Select yearlings catalogued, the n-th highest price. That can only help to weed out chancy entries which spoil the broth, and will make the Select portion a truly valuable addition to a sale – for both buyers and sellers.
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