EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, South Africa 2nd & 4th November 2012
There’s something about a racehorse auction that you find nowhere else. Not at Sotheby’s nor Christie’s, nor anywhere. By the nature of the beast, a racehorse evokes a greater passion, considerably more ego, and there’s nothing a rich man wants more than something another rich man wants.
IGUGU - Winner of the Joburg Spring Fillies & Mares Challenge, Gauteng Fillies Guineas, SA Fillies Classic, SA Oaks, Woolavington 2000, Vodacom Durban July, Ipi Tombe Challenge, J&B Met, the South African Triple Tiara, Horse Of The Year and South Africa’s highest equine earner in 2011.
PIERRE JOURDAN - Winner of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, Tony Ruffel Stakes, Gauteng Guineas, SA Classic, Joburg Spring Challenge, Emperors Palace Charity Mile and runner-up in the Vodacom Durban July to Igugu and South Africa’s highest equine earner in 2010.
SMANJEMANJE - Winner of the Egoli Mile, Victory Moon Stakes, London News Stakes and runner-up in the Vodacom Durban July.
EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, Germiston, South Africa Sunday 6 November 2011
We’re now just days away from one of the most anticipated horseracing events on the South African racing calendar, the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup this Saturday at Gauteng’s Turffontein racecourse. With total prize money of R2million, the Cup is the third richest race in Africa behind Durban’s Vodacom Durban July and Cape Town’s J&B Met.
Now imagine the odds of getting your horse into either the July or the Met. Massive. In fact, your horse would need to be in the top 1% of all racehorses in Africa, putting the “Big Race Thrill” out of reach for all but the wealthiest owners.
Hence the restricted nature of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, where only horses purchased on the previous year’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale are eligible to compete. If you consider that there are roughly 160 horses on the sale and a final Cup field of 16, already that’s at least a 1/10 chance of getting a runner in the starting stalls for the best trophies in racing, a R2million purse and the “Big Race Thrill”. Not bad odds.
There’s a saying synonymous with this sale that “There’s a horse for everyone at the Ready To Run” and this is evident when you look at the price to earnings ratios of a few past graduates; including first and second in this year’s Vodacom Durban July, Igugu and Pierre Jourdan :
Top 10 earners from the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale :
Horse
Sold For (ZAR)
Earnings To Date (ZAR)
Imbongi
70,000
8,887,000
Paris Perfect
80,000
5,263,925
Igugu
1,000,000
5,071,875
Pierre Jourdan
60,000
4,100,675
Nhlavini
110,000
2,744,168
Pick Six
320,000
2,588,360
Rebel King
210,000
2,043,510
Hear The Drums
42,000
1,816,080
Art Of War
360,000
1,614,477
Emperor Napoleon
60,000
1,545,610
With the majority of South Africa’s stud farms represented on this year’s sale and a draft featuring the progeny of 20 top international sires as well as South Africa’s best stallions, the 2011 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale looks set to once again be a cracker.
iKind Media is proud to have produced the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale television commercial for Bloodstock South Africa and we wish Caroline Simpson and her team at the TBA great success for this coming weekend.
EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, South Africa 6 November 2011
Two million rand is a lot of money, no matter what you’re worth. That’s the value of this year’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup to be staged on 5 November at Turffontein racecourse, making it the third richest horserace in Africa after the Vodacom Durban July and the J&B Met.
When you consider the odds of getting a shot at a winner in the big race, restricted as it is to entries of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale with only 180 horses on offer, it’s comfortably the best deal in Thoroughbred Horseracing worldwide.
Graduates of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup are part of the folklore of South African horseracing; the shining example being the “one-two” finish to this year’s Vodacom Durban July, Igugu and Pierre Jourdan. Pierre Jourdan was South Africa’s biggest earner in 2010 at R3.8 million, while SA Triple Tiara princess and South African Horse Of The Year, Igugu, took home in the region of R5.5 million for the season just completed. Not bad for purchase prices of R60,000 and R1 million respectively.
The concept of selling a ready-made racehorse was unique enough, but in its relatively short history, the Summerhill team have introduced multiple “world firsts” into the recipe. Locating the Ready To Run Gallops on a stud farm (as opposed to a racecourse), had never been done before; filming each horse in full-flight and broadcasting via their website, television and on DVD, was a pioneering innovation; connecting the sale to a dedicated race was a first-off; and then making it the richest race of its kind in the world, was another “topper”.
Summerhill assembled a formidable panel of judges to select their top picks and to then share their selections with the public. Big South African horseracing names on this year’s panel included Mike de Kock, Michael Roberts, Sean Tarry, Graeme Hawkins, Jehan Malherbe, Dean Kannemeyer, Joey Ramsden and USA specialist racehorse picker, Kip Elser. A first at any sale of any kind, anywhere in the world.
South Africa’s Champion Breeders also introduced a six-instalment payment scheme some thirteen years back (in one form or another), and it remains the only concept of its kind in the world. Besides the R2million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup restricted to graduates of the sale, Summerhill gave the event the best trophies in racing, and introduced five dedicated trials country-wide, so that race aspirants could qualify for the big race without facing the danger of elimination. That doesn’t happen anywhere else, either.
In business and economics, innovation is the catalyst to growth hence the standing of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale as the best of its kind anywhere in the world.
Click the thumbnails above to view four iKind Media-produced promos as part of Summerhill Stud’s marketing campaign for the 2011 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale featuting past graduates of the sale, Igugu, Pierre Jourdan, Imbongi and Fisani.
In the world of Thoroughbred horseracing and breeding, few entities can compare with Summerhill Stud when it comes to the presentation of a world-class product.
The first Sunday in July was no different as 600 local and international guests descended upon the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands stud farm for their annual Stallion Day, sponsored this year by Investec Bank.
Hosted by Summerhill CEO, Mr Mick Goss, in the newly opened Al Maktoum School of Managment Excellence, guests were treated to typical Summerhill hospitality; great entertainment, superb Waterford wines and fine dining. Guests Of Honour were world renowned conservationist, Dr Ian Player,and Dr May Mkhize, wife of KwaZulu-Natal premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize.
The Investec Stallion Day provided the perfect platform for the premiere of the iKind Media-produced Summerhill Sires Film 2011/2012; showcasing Summerhill’s formidable lineup of Stallion talent including exciting names such as Admire Main, AP Arrow, Bankable, Brave Tin Soldier, Kahal, Muhtafal, Mullins Bay, Ravishing and Visionaire, as well as an introduction to the Al Maktoum School of Management Excellence and features on top South African racehorses, Igugu and Pierre Jourdan, who finished first and second respectively in the previous day’s Vodacom Durban July.
Initiated by Summerhill Stud CEO Mick Goss some 24 years ago, the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale has cemented its position as the best value auction of thoroughbred racehorses both within South Africa as well as in the international arena.
Conducted by Bloodstock South Africa, sponsored by Bob Yearham and his team at Emperors Palace, with stakeholders Phumelela, Tellytrack, Summerhill Stud and the National Horseracing Authority, the Sale has consistently been one of the best performing thoroughbred auctions worldwide. Offering a complete sale package including pre-sale gallops (live, televised and online) which allow prospective investors the opportunity to see the horses in full gallop, a panel discussion comprising South Africa’s leading judges to assist with selections and a shot at the R2million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup a year later, the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale is considered a true value proposition.
Notable graduates from the sale include the international campaigner Imbongi who cost ZAR140,000 with earnings now reaching the ZAR9million mark, Pierre Jourdan who cost just ZAR60,000 with earnings now close to ZAR4million and Paris Perfect who cost ZAR100,000 going on to pick up a massive cheque with a third place in the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup.
iKind Media’s involvement in Summerhill Stud’s television and online marketing campaign for the 2010 Sale comprised five commercials featuring past graduate racehorses from the sale. Our brief was to depict the excitement of horse racing; bringing in elements of passion, speed, power and success whilst remaining true to the Summerhill ethos of quality racehorses at great value.
The commercial concepts were :
Pierre Jourdan : To best portray the similarities between a world-class athlete in Usain Bolt and a world-class racehorse in Pierre Jourdan; both define the pursuit of the perfect athlete, both human and equine.
Fisani : To tell an African story, drawing on the parallels between a racehorse stalking her opposition before accelerating to the victory post and a cheetah chasing her prey before the final death strike.
Imbongi : The spirit of a Zulu warrior, a fighter who overcomes his opposition on the battlefields of KwaZulu Natal.
Igugu : The real value of Australian imports depicted by Igugu (meaning precious jewel in Zulu), an Australian-bred racehorse tearing up the opposition on South Africa’s race tracks; a “diamond” investment contrasted with stunning imagery of a desolate, arid and stark Australian outback.
Checcetti : Dedication, Precision Excellence. Core elements that mould both the sport of Motor Racing and the art of Horse Racing; constant innovation to attain racetrack victory and ultimate Championship success.
Mike on 
