Sunday saw the inaugural Val De Vie Yearling Sale take place at the exquisite Val De Vie Estate in Franschhoek.
The sale had an exceptional turn out, with buyers coming from all over the country to support one of South Africa’s most exciting new auction iniaitives. Set in breathtaking settings just outside the picturesque city of Paarl, the Val De Vie Yearling Sale was truly a sight to behold for all who had the fortune to attend.
The handsome crowd were treated to a five star lunch as live music played just before the sale itself commenced shortly after 2 pm. Unfortunately, a number of high profile scratching had reduced the number of yearlings on offer to just over 100, but while down on quantity, the sale was high on quality. The sale kicked off with a select sale of 30, which proved popular with the buyers and vendors alike.
While the catalogue was small trading remained brisk throughout the afternoon, and the eventual aggregate reached was a more than respectable R17.225 million and the average was a commendable R190 000.
South Africa’s home grown champion Dynasty continued his reign as King Of The Sales when his beautifully bred son Playboy Prince, lot 10, topped the sale at R1.2 million. Consigned by Varsfontein Stud, the handsome colt is out of the well performed Jet Master mare Kiss And Fly, and numbers smart recent feature race winner Kiss Me Hardy as a half brother. A colt with a real stallion’s pedigree, he was snapped up by prominent bloodstock agent John Freeman.
Colts proved the flavour of the day, with the top seven lots all being male. The sales’ top priced fily, also consigned by Varsfontein, was catalogued as lot 57. A really flashy chestnut by the name of Final Judgement, the daughter of Judpot and Gr1 winning mare Final Claim was bought by Cape trainer Glen Kotzen for R500 000.
Dynasty led the sires table, with his three lots grossing R1 675 000, at an average of R558 333, ahead of Judpot and the hugely popular first season sire Gimmethegreenlight.
TBA’s CEO Kevin Woolward was thrilled by the inaugural sale and its result, and commented, “We are delighted with the results from our Val de Vie sale. The support we received from vendors and buyers was overwhelming a bd we look forward to growing this sale next year. “