Avontuur Estate ended up in the Vendor List top 10 again with a sixth spot on aggregate for the 2010 National Yearling sale which took place last weekend at Gosforth Park in Johannesburg.

“It was a tough but solid sale with the top end of the market very active, but the middle market soft,” said GM Pippa Mickleburgh on her return to the Estate yesterday. “With the sales average up against last year at R326 378 per horse, the sale compared very positively against the rest of the world where the global financial crisis had a negative impact. The SA record was broken twice, first with a price of R3.6 million and then with the highest of the sale at R4 million.”

All 19 of Avontuur’s horses were sold with the top price of R1.2 million being paid for Jeter by Markus Jooste and trainer Charles Laird. Other purchases were made by long-time supporters Mike de Kock, Mike Azzie, Vaughan Marshall, Joey Ramsden, Graham Beck, Spike Lerena, Dom Zaki, Alec Laird, Ron Boon, Jehan Malherbe and John Freeman. First-time Avontuur buyers were Des Edges, Bart Rice, David Rahilly and April Gillespie.

VAR support was solid throughout with a top price of R1.9 million and a sales average of R301 400 which gave supporters a very good return on the service fee of R35 000.

Back at the Estate near Stellenbosch, a satisfied Ms Mickleburgh extended her thanks and that of the whole operation to the purchasers as well as the total team at the farm and at the Sale.