By Arnel Mostert
The 2025 Bloodstock South Africa (BSA) Cape Yearling Sale, held on 23 February, once again proved why it’s considered one of the most prestigious events on the horse racing calendar. Buyers and sellers traded enthusiastically, with temperatures and prices soaring.
This year’s auction was held at Sarda, the new home of the BSA Cape Yearling Sale in Constantia, Cape Town, and achieved an exceptional sale rate of 98%.
Although there were significantly fewer horses on offer with only 109 lots catalogued, 99 lots were sold in the ring for an impressive total proceeds of R22 250 000. The average price per horse increased by 11% to R227 000, while the median price remained at R180 000.
The auction was very well supported with 53 buyers registering for the 99 lots through 17 sellers.
Lot 34 was the top seller of the day. The colt Gone Cold from the Syrilla stables at Malmesbury comes from a strong bloodline with Gimmethegreenlight, the current SA champion as sire, the Captain AI mare Fosted Steel as dam and the promising two-year-old Captains Envy as half-brother. He was sold for R900 000 to AG Racing in Johannesburg, a partnership between G. Basel, L. Clark and W. Volschenk, with Alec Laird as trainer.
The mare that walked away with the highest auction price also comes from Syrilla. The Trevelen Pillay racing syndicate of Johannesburg bought Sitva Queen (lot 107) for R800 000.
As for buyers, Monden International Racing of Cape Town was the top buyer, acquiring seven lots for R2,11 million. Their most expensive purchase was lot 73, One Step, a colt by One World, which was bought for R550 000.
The Wilgerbosdrift stables at Piketberg were the top sellers with 16 yearling foals at a total value of R5,54 million, while Varsfontein at Paarl and Hemel ’n Aarde at Hermanus were close behind.
“What impressed us most was the diverse buyer base. Buyers from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape and even online participated,” said a delighted Michael Holmes, CEO of BSA.
An initiative by 4Racing to subsidise horse transport made it easier for buyers to transport their purchases to Gqeberha and Johannesburg. This contributed to a boom in the horse population in those regions.
The next Bloodstock SA auction, the prestigious national auction, will be held on 10 and 11 April at the TBA complex in Germiston and promises to be a highlight on the horse calendar.
