THERE'S ALWAYS A sense of anticipation, a tingle of excitement surrounding a horse sale. In the past two years the electric atmosphere has caught on in Hong Kong, giving us our own version of the famous sales rings of Newmarket, Sydney, Saratoga in the US, Goffs in Ireland, and Karaka in New Zealand.
The annual International Sale of Griffins (ISG) to be held on December 15 during International Races week has captured the imagination of Hong Kong racing fans - and of the SAR's would-be owners - in the five years since its inception. The rest of the racing world has caught on as well and the Hong Kong sale now attracts some of the world's top buyers.
So if you're planning to buy yourself a Christmas present from the 26 unraced griffins (two and three-year-old horses) on offer this year (and you have the necessary Hong Kong Jockey Club permit), be prepared to do battle with some of the big names of racing.
They come here intent on buying the best horses and taking them back overseas to race.
It's a situation that brings a smile to the face of the Hong Kong Jockey Club's executive director of racing, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. The German racing official, now three years in the position, sees the presence of luminaries such as Australia's legendary 11-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Bart Cummings as putting the seal of approval on the sale. 'He is here to buy for [racing] overseas. I find that intensely encouraging,' Engelbrecht-Bresges says.
It has never been mandatory for the annual sale to make money for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, but for the past two years it has turned in a modest profit. That has coincided with a move to the spacious surroundings of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai and other significant changes. 'Frankly, we looked very hard and carefully at our [buying] agents and at which horses were actually performing,' says Engelbrecht-Bresges. 'It was painful to see ISG horses in a Class Six race - we know there are no guarantees [for success] but when you get half a dozen in the bottom grade [of racing] you know something is not going right.'
