As has been noted in these columns previously, the auction medium has always been the preferred mode for price discovery when it comes to sales of Thoroughbred racehorses. In India, too, hundreds of top class runners have come under the hammer at sales conducted by the RWITC Ltd. (from 1942 onwards) and MRC (from 1971 onwards), and to a lesser extent by the other turf authorities. In fact, auctions were the norm for decades.

What changed matters were two developments:

1.) The RWITC Auction Sale was allowed, nay encouraged, to become more akin to a bazaar for two-year-old youngstock, which were permitted to be sold privately like at a cattle fair instead of facing the acid test of public auction. As a consequence, buyers assumed anything that actually entered the ring at the end of a week of parading was defective and hence unsaleable.

2.) The Madras Auction Sale withered away in the monopolistic regime that operated at Guindy from the late 'eighties till 2015. From a peak of 452 entries in 1984, the number entered fell steadily, particularly after 1990, and by 1994 had dwindled to a mere 26. Obviously such a venture was not viable and the sale was discontinued.

With new management in charge under Chairman R. Ramakrishna and Secretary Dr. S.M. Karthikeyan taking the helm at the Madras Race Club from 2016, a decision was taken to revive the Madras Auction Sale in 2017. Potential vendors gave the idea a thumbs up sign but insisted that all sales would have to be in the ring. That stipulation erased the stigma that had come to be associated with ring sales. In addition, buyers gained confidence as all horses were certified by veterinarians.

As many as 163 newly turned two-year-olds from some 20 stud farms in the country were entered and while all did not arrive, the prices fetched by those that did must have left many wishing that they had not opted out!

The first lot to change hands was Lot No. 6, a bay filly by Kunigal Stud's high class newcomer Air Support[USA] out of Agassiz that fetched Rs.7,00,000 to the bid of Sshaawn Horses and Sports Pvt. Ltd. That price suggested that buyers were not shying away from the action and by the time the dust settled at the end of the sale, 53 head had changed hands, out of the 77 presented, and realised a gross of Rs.2,62,10,000 for a healthy average of Rs.4,94,528. The clearance rate was an excellent 70%, given that so many of the entries were substandard lots that scarcely attracted a bid. In fact, not a single well-conformed and well developed lot, with performance in the pedigree, failed to sell! That is glowing testimony to the strength of the market.

Topping the sale was a well-produced bay filly from the Poonawalla Exhilaration Stud Pvt. Ltd. by the current "hot" sire, Excellent Art[GB], who has made an excellent start to his Indian innings with a total of 8 winners, including the exciting Grade 3 winners, Chase Your Dream and Meritocracy. Out of a winning daughter of Amazing Princess, from the family introduced to the country by the Nureyev mare Kirov Ballet[USA], the filly inbred to Mr. Prospector and also to Nureyev caught the eye of Mr. Chaduranga Kantharaj Urs from Mysore and he had to go to Rs. 20 lakhs before the hammer came down in his favour. Interestingly, the opening bid was the unusual figure of Rs.17,50,000.

A colt by the same stallion offered by Villoo's Greenfield Farms made Rs.15,00,000 after some spirited bidding and was finally knocked down to the Bangalore-based trainer Neil Darashah who partnered with Sshaawn Horses and Sports Pvt. Ltd. It was a tribute to the rearing at Nanoli Stud that a very attractive filly by Midnight Interlude[USA] made Rs.10 lakhs even though her young sire is yet to get on the board with his first crop. She was sold to the younger members of the Dasaprakash Hotels family, the older generation of which led in many classic winners at Guindy in the years gone by. Another Midnight Interlude[USA], a colt from the family of Sinndar, which made Rs.8,00,000, has Bangalore-based trainer Satish Narredu listed as one of the buyers.

Former Chairman of the MRC, Mr. A.C. Muthiah, who controls the Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Charitable Trust, sitting inconspicuously at the rear of the pavilion, drew attention to himself when catching the auctioneer's eye with his bid of Rs.9,50,000. That was for an outstanding well-grown Tariq[GB] colt from the long established Yeravada Stud & Agricultural Farm.

That Pune-based establishment suggested a return to the dominance that saw it send out 8 Indian Derby winners by selling a total of 5 good-looking lots for a total revenue of Rs.40,00,000. As no other vendor grossed as much, the Yeravada Stud became the leading vendor ranked on this metric. Apart from the Tariq[GB] colt above, the stud also fielded a grand chocolate brown son of the recently-deceased New Famous[BRZ] out of Cincinnati and this youngster fetched Rs.8,00,000 from S. Krishnan & Mrs. K. Vaidehi.

The reigning champion sire, Kunigal's Burden Of Proof[IRE], had a daughter out of Songlark (Lot No. 60) and Mr. V.J. Joseph may have snared a bargain when securing her for just Rs.8,50,000. Between this filly and the four by Air Support[USA], all of which sold well, the 2015/16 champion stud was second leading vendor by gross, taking home the sum of Rs.38,50,000.

Mr. S. Pathy, the principal of Coimbatore's progressive Sans Craintes Stud, secured what looked like a gift in the strongly-made Poonawalla-bred son of multi classic winner Southern Bay. His price – a mere Rs.8,50,000. And the reason was that he was by Always A Rainbow[CAN], whose achievements the market has discounted significantly. Mr. Pathy and his stud also sold a number of two-year-olds, notably a Lord Admiral[USA] colt for Rs.9,00,000 (to Mr. K.K. Belliappa and partners), a Knight's Tour[AUS] for Rs.7,00,000 (to Mr. V. Satish Kumar) and a Tazahum[USA] colt for Rs.6,10,000 (to Mr. C.R. Balakumar).

Amongst the North Indian farms, Haryana's Vikram Greenlands sold the progeny of different stallions like Charmo[FR], Saamidd[GB], Total Gallery[IRE], etc., for decent prices like Rs.7,00,000, Rs.6,00,000, Rs.5,00,000, and so on.

One has to mention the products of the local Chettinad Stud, based in Soorapet, Tamil Nadu, associated with the exploits of the progeny of stalwarts Always A Rainbow[CAN], Decado[IRE], Foyer[GB] and Marcus Andronicus[USA], which have dominated the results of races under MRC Rules in the past few years. In an effort to trim down its roster, which had grown unwieldy, the stud elected to offer their two-year-olds without reserve. This move met with success in clearing out the draft. However, the vendors might have found the prices a shade disappointing. While a couple did make Rs.2,20,000 and Rs.2,00,000, several did not reach even six figures. Still, it is better to "sell and regret than to keep and regret"!

Arrangements had been made by the Madras Race Club to extend loans up to Rs.5,00,000 to credit-worthy owners. It was felt that this feature would be an essential aspect of a successful sale, and would prop it up. But the fact is that relatively few of the 53 sold required loans and in general buyers were happy to make their own financial arrangements. This is a good sign.

A few words about the way in which the sale was conducted – it is obviously impractical to expect a single auctioneer to deal with so many entries and it is a tribute to Mr. Cyrus Madan that he plugged on patiently like a true stayer and cajoled and coaxed bids from buyers over some 6 or 7 hours spread over two evenings! Also, there needs to be support for the auctioneer by way of a separate announcer responsible for introduction of each lot so that eager anticipation builds. That will help to improve the returns.

Naturally, with a venture of this complexity there were numerous loose ends that will no doubt be tightened up next year, when many more good quality entries may be expected, more so as payment will be received directly in vendors' accounts, sparing them from the onerous task of collection. Above all, proof of concept was established – namely that horses can be sold for good prices by a transparent public auction. For that significant achievement, the Madras Race Club can take a well-deserved bow.