Tattersalls to Bring Back Cape Premier Yearling Sale

Tattersalls, Europe's leading bloodstock auctioneer, is to join forces with Cape Thoroughbred Sales in a joint venture that will coincide with the Jan. 12 return of the Cape Premier Yearling Sale to the Cape Town International Convention Center. The 2023 renewal will be branded the Cape Premier Yearling Sale powered by Tattersalls, and the 2023 CTS Farm Yearling Sale and the 2023 CTS Ready To Run Sale will also be conducted under the same partnership banner. 

Cape Thoroughbred Sales introduced the Cape Premier Yearling Sale in 2011, with the sale attracting buyers from throughout the world to the unique inner-city surroundings. The sale quickly established itself not only as a popular and well-attended event but also as a consistent source of top-quality racehorses, including the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's global star Soft Falling Rain , who was purchased at the inaugural sale in 2011. 

Grant Knowles, managing director of CTS, said: "The new association with Tattersalls is a marvelous endorsement of the Cape Premier Yearling Sale. The original concept of an inner-city racehorse sale in one of the world's most beautiful locations was hugely popular with buyers from around the globe, and the Tattersalls support is a great addition to the fixture. A boutique Select Sale will be held with approximately 150 yearlings, which will be stabled in the convention center."

"The sale will follow on from Gaynor Rupert's L'Ormarins Queens Plate Day at Kenilworth, which offers an unrivaled race day experience and hospitality. The sales calendar suffered during the difficult COVID-19 period, and with international travel now pretty well back to normal, 2023 appears to be an ideal opportunity to re-introduce the quality of our bloodstock, and the magic of Cape Town, to international buyers." 

The Tattersalls Group entered the South African horse racing market several years ago, sponsoring a popular Juvenile Race series that culminated with a listed contest on Sun Met Day at Kenilworth, and two 2-year-old races during the prestigious L'Ormarins Queens Plate Racing Festival.

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said, "Tattersalls has enjoyed a long and valued relationship with Cape Thoroughbred Sales and South African racing and breeding, and our new association with CTS, and particularly their world-renowned Cape Premier Yearling Sale in January, reinforces the Tattersalls commitment to the South African Thoroughbred industry. The Cape Premier Yearling Sale quickly established itself as a unique and prestigious fixture in the global sales calendar, and Tattersalls is proud to be assisting with the 2023 renewal, which promises to showcase many of the best yearlings to be found in South Africa to a global audience." 

CTS has achieved remarkable results in only 11 years of trading, with 48 individual group 1 winners having been sold at the various CTS auctions.