TWENTY PERCENT IS THE MEASURE

Emperors Palace National Two Year Old Sale
(Image : Summerhill Archives)

EMPERORS PALACE
NATIONAL TWO YEAR OLD SALE

When economic indicators point to growth of twenty percent these days, you’d be justified in believing that it is a sector or a business in good shape. And while we know that Richemont has just posted some impressive figures in the luxury goods sector, you might say that it was expected that racehorses could be in the same boat. But events at Fasig-Tipton’s Yearling Sale in America this past weekend were down on last year, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the Emperors Palace National Two-Year-Old Sale at the TBA complex outside Johannesburg post a 19% gain in average, and to see the aggregate only a million rand off last year’s with 108 fewer lots, was a pretty good performance.

Top price was a R650,000 daughter of top American sire Tapit, and while that was some way off the R1million which Ian Longmore had to lay out for the outstanding three-year-old colt, Jackson, two years back, it was indicative of a deeper market across the board. Laurence Wernars, who had a bit of a dip at the Australian sales last year, was the sales’ biggest buyer, spending to the order of R1.6million; his is a refreshing breeze, evidence again of the importance of these sales, which provide opportunities for other players to get a shot at the market.

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Emperors Palace National Two Year Old Sale