From the time Thoroughbreds were first traded, the auction medium has always been the preferred mode for price discovery.

Think about it – auctions allow the buyer of racehorses (or breeding stock) to:

1. buy a horse even without being previously involved in the Thoroughbred business
2. personally view and inspect the goods at a convenient venue
3. compare the offerings of various vendors
4. bid up to the planned budget
5. enter into clean and transparent transactions

In India, too, auctions were the norm for decades. Many a champion has changed hands by the simple expedient of the buyer raising the bid until there is no response from opposing bidders. For example, one of the two greatest all-time champion Indian-breds, namely Squanderer, fetched a mere Rs. 65,000 when he came up as Lot No. 179 at the Royal Western India Turf Club Ltd.'s auction sale at Bombay (as it then was) late in the evening of Wednesday, February 5th, 1975. Surely this was the greatest bargain in the history of the Indian Turf!

While the RWITC sale continued to be the principal sale of two-year-old youngstock, the Madras Race Club introduced the Madras Auction Sale in the last quarter of the previous century. The sale soon attracted vendors and buyers alike due to the large reservoir of knowledgeable owners; as a result several top class horses such as Own Opinion, Grand Parade, Right Ahead, Deepali, etc., changed hands at Guindy.

For certain reasons which are not relevant here, the sale was discontinued in the early 'nineties but January 15^th 2017 will see a new dawn with the revival of the Madras Auction Sale. Giving an enthusiastic welcome to the opportunity, over 20 stud farms in the country have chosen to enter a total of 155 choice newly turned two-year-olds in the sale. These two-year-olds are the offspring of no less than 35 stallions, which number some of the top progenitors in the land, including the reigning champion sire, Burden Of Proof[IRE], who has a daughter out of Songlark (Lot No. 60).

Numerically, the strongest representation is jointly that of Singh Stud Farm's Hurricane Center[USA] and Pratap Racecitement's Stern Opinion[USA], each with 15 head on offer, mainly out of imported dams. The last-named is the sire of Amorous White, presently the highest stakes earner in the country from the crop of 2014 and that colt's full brother is catalogued as Lot. No. 22. Following this pair of stallions in quantity are the dozen progeny of the beautifully-bred Fantastic Dubai[USA], the incumbent at Krishna Stud.

The sale will provide buyers with the first glimpse of the offspring of new stallions – Kunigal Stud's Air Support[USA] (6 head), Gee Stud's Crimson China[USA] (2 head), Sans Craintes Stud's Knight's Tour[AUS] (5 head) and Tazahum[USA] (9 head) and Hazara Stud's Net Whizz[USA] (3 head) and Saamidd[GB] (1 head). Cumulatively, they make up about a sixth of the catalogue.

Buyers will not have failed to notice the excellent start made by Excellent Art[GB]! The Poonawalla stallion formerly stood at Coolmore in Ireland and had also shuttled to the Southern Hemisphere. Already eight of his Indian-conceived crop have acquainted themselves with the winner's circle, many at first time of asking, and he already has his first Graded Stakes winner in Meritocracy.

Others whose first crop has just turned three include Rejuvenation Stud's Beautiful Stranger (2 head), Sohna Stud's Dean's Kitten[USA] (5 head), Riverside Stud's speedy How's Your Halo[USA] (5 head), Nanoli Stud's Midnight Interlude[USA] (3 head) and Broadacres Stud's Western Aristocrat[USA] (2 head), who has made a decent beginning to his stud career.

Plenty of proven performers in the breeding shed have lots entered. The Punjab-based Dashmesh Stud opens and closes the list of stallions represented with their residents Abbeyside[GB] (1 head) and Win Legend[JPN] (5 head). It may be recalled that a daughter of the last-named recently picked up the South India 1000 Guineas at Guindy through Aika Aika Aika, who banked the useful sum of Rs.39,58,600 for that win. This fact alone shows the tremendous potential for buyers at Guindy!

The local Chettinad Stud, based in Soorapet, Tamil Nadu, stands Always A Rainbow[CAN] (3 head), Decado[IRE] (7 head) and Marcus Andronicus[USA]. Between them, these stalwarts have provided some 22,000 starters, chiefly at Guindy and Ooty, which have annexed some 2,500 races in the last dozen years. The late Foyer[GB] also stood there and is represented by 1 head. Other fellow state-breds hail from Coimbatore's progressive Sans Craintes Stud which stands a battery of stallions. Apart from progeny of the aforementioned Knight's Tour[USA] and Tazahum[USA], the stud is sending  youngsters by Lord Admiral[USA] (2 head) and Lucifer Sam[USA] (2 head).

Maharashtra-based sires are widely represented, including two that stood at the Yeravada Stud, which is bringing its first-ever consignment to the Madras Auction Sale. The Western state has been home to the already mentioned pair of Excellent Art[GB] and Western Aristocrat [USA] – others from the province include Arazan[IRE] (4 head), Diffident[FR] (2 head entered, 1 of which has been withdrawn), Kingda Ka[AUS] (1 head), New Famous[BRZ] (3 head), Tariq[GB] (1 head) and Whatsthescript[IRE] (1 head). The proven sires named have all begotten multimillionaires, illustrating the wealth of talent on offer.

All the remaining stallions with progeny in the sale are based in North India. They include Charmo[FR] (4 head), Express Wish[GB] (9 head), Gaswar[GB] (2 head) and Total Gallery[IRE] (4 head). Last but not least comes the solitary representative of Uttar Pradesh (India's most populous state), Top Class[USA]. Doing rather well of late, the top-10 stallion has 2 head hailing from his home at the Mukteshwar Stud, not far from the swelling waters of the mighty Ganga.

Buyers who pay in full can take their acquisitions to be trained wherever they choose. However, arrangements have also been made by the Madras Race Club to provide finance to credit-worthy persons under their standard terms and conditions, in which case the purchases will have to race exclusively under MRC Rules. Given that the stake money under those rules is the best in the country – a maiden race offers prize money of Rs.13 lakhs ($20,000) – the opportunity for a group of four friends to get together and pool, say, Rs.3 lakhs each to acquire a youngster for Rs.12 lakhs (including taxes and insurance) is self-evident!

It could well prove to be the proverbial "money-for-jam"! The sale takes place at 6:30p.m. on Sunday, January 15^th 2017, and Monday, January 16^th 2017 in the paddock at Guindy Racecourse, Chennai.

Be there!