‘Gimme’ colt looks likely sale stopper at Tarry’s ‘Fast Track’ auction

With a son of Gimmethegreenlight fetching R3.8m at August’s BSA Two-Year-Old Sale, one doesn’t have to be Einstein to believe his sole representative at Sean Tarry’s “Fast Track” sale on Friday will be the highest priced lot.   

When it comes to stallions, Gimmethegreenlight, who stands at Varsfontein Stud, is as popular in SA as Frankel is in the UK.

The Gimmethegreenlight colt, named Green Sceptre, is lot 35 on Friday’s sale when a total of 60 horses will come under the hammer of Graeme Hawkins at the Randjesfontein training centre in Midrand.

Green Sceptre, who qualifies for Gold Rush 1, has an outstanding pedigree as he is out of the Captain Al mare Fragrant Al, who retired to the paddocks a five-time winner. Her biggest success came in the grade 2 Tibouchina Stakes.

Explaining his reason for the sale, Tarry said: “I am not an oil baron and the numbers I own are not sustainable. So I will have the sale and then regroup.”

Vercingetorix is another sire popular with bloodstock buyers and he has a daughter (lot 30) who is a half-sister to six-time winner Sarah. This filly also qualifies for Gold Rush 1.

Twice Over, sire of dual Durban July winner Do It Again, is represented by Twice The Trip (lot 26), a three-time winner. Her most recent win came at Scottsville over 1,400m at the end of August.

Winner of the Durban July in 2012, Pomodoro has a number of his progeny up for sale including a colt named Fully Loaded (lot 34), who makes plenty of appeal on pedigree as he is out of the five-time winning Dynasty mare Swift Sarah.

Among the 11 two-year-olds on offer is a daughter of Pomodoro out of the Elusive Fort mare Safe Harbour. The filly is lot 55 and qualifies for Gold Rush 2.

Former champion trainer Tarry saddled For The Lads to win the grade 1 Golden Slipper and she has produced a filly by William Longsword (lot 52) who also qualifies for Gold Rush 2.

The Golden Slipper is a race in which three-year-old Time Fo Orchids (lot 47) came third on Durban July day but she then found Canadian Summer too smart in the Thekwini Stakes.

The big attraction about Time Fo Orchids for prospective buyers is that she now tops the log for Gold Rush 1 scheduled for Kenilworth on January 28.

Towards the end of the sale, two of Pomodoro’s offspring whose dams each retired to stud with six wins to their credit will come under the hammer.

Lot 53 is a colt out of Garibondy — a half-sister to Youcanthurrylove — while the final lot  to come under the hammer (lot 60) is a filly out of grade 3 winner Witchcraft.