Racing's silver lining has some dark clouds

We hear a lot about how horse racing in South Africa is on the mend after a near-death experience in 2019-21.

- Mike Moon

But every now and then we detect symptoms to indicate the patient might still be ailing.

The R9 million paid for a colt at last week's Cape yearling sale seemed to be a sign of rude health. That figure equalled the South African record for a racehorse sold at auction, set in 2019, when Mike de Kock bought a colt on the National Yearling Sale in Germiston - thereby harking back to better days before bankruptcies and Covid.