They’re called horse sales – and horses do change hands – but it’s dreams that are being sold. Racehorses are beautiful creatures and can (sometimes) earn lots of money, but eager buyers rocking up at the auction ring in Germiston on Thursday and Friday will mainly be driven by visions of turf glory. Bloodstock SA is expecting big things of the 2024 August Two Year Old Sale this week.
Racing dreams nowadays have more chance of coming true than they have in a long while, thanks to the local industry looking more stable and prosperous. The optimism is mainly founded on racing recovering from a near-death experience and the lifting of equine export bans. Less talked about has been a stirring of confidence in the country’s political and economic future.
It’ll be a surprise if the 2YO Sale doesn’t break records, so it will be closely watched from all corners of the game. Marketing superlatives The trouble with a thoroughbred sale is the whole thing is swathed in hyperbole; even savvy buyers can get confused by the marketing superlatives, overwhelmed by an avalanche of bloodline detail. Observers without a purchaser’s paddle can only find some names they know and sit back and enjoy the show.
The best-known names among the sires represented at the 2YO Sale are, of course, champion Gimmethegreenlight and his closest challengers Vercingetorix, Querari, Master Of My Fate and Rafeef. Gimmethegreenlight has 11 offspring catalogued, with the standouts being Lots 30 and 330.