The results from last weekend’s Graded feature races served as a timely reminder that some of the best bloodstock purchases do not come from yearling sales auctions.
Grade 1 R2-million Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge winner Questioning (Querari) and Grade 2 HKJC World Pool Stakes heroine Quickstepgal (Vercingetorix) have one factor in common: both were acquired as horses in training on the recommendation of Vermaak Equine.
Their success comes at an interesting time for South African racing. Once a thriving sector of the market, the trade in runners in training lost momentum as export challenges and restrictive protocols diminished international opportunities.
With those barriers having eased, interest has returned. And while international buyers are again active, runners in training have long appealed to owners looking to realise their feature-race ambitions in South Africa. After all, proven ability is often easier to buy than potential.
In either case, when significant investments are at stake, the ability to identify the right horse becomes an invaluable skill, and Vermaak Equine is building an enviable record in this regard.
A Grade 1 winner, runner-up by the narrowest of margins in the 2026 Grade 1 King’s Plate, and also victorious in the Grade 2026 Independent on Saturday Drill Hall Stakes, Questioning has put himself firmly at the head of the 2025/26 Equus Champion Miler standings. He also delivered Mauritian-based owner Mukund Gujadhur his first major-race victory.
Gujadhur reflected on the achievement, saying : “It’s hard to describe with words the thrill and the rush of adrenaline of winning what was widely considered ‘the race of the year’. From the moment I started thinking of buying horses in South Africa, it was my dream to win a Grade 1.
“One of the best decisions we made some years ago, when I was the ‘purchasing officer’ for the family stable in Mauritius, was to work with Justin Vermaak. In South Africa he introduced me to Laurence Wernars and Rikesh Sewgoolam, who have become very good friends. For Questioning, he put together a lovely partnership with Laurence alongside Greg and Gina Bortz, and we took the plunge.”
“Before the exploits of Questioning, Justin sourced some fabulous horses for us to race on the island, including Walls of Dubrovnik (Fencing Master). He also purchased Cumbre Vieja (Erupt) for the Foo Kune family. These are the last two horses of the year under the jurisdiction of the Mauritius Turf Club.
“I sold Walls Of Dubrovnik when I left Mauritian racing and he won about 15 races for his new owners. Cumbre Vieja is the star Of Mauritian racing, unbeaten to date in seven runs on the island.”
Gujadhur admitted that he had his doubts about purchasing Questioning as a rising four-year-old in 2024, feeling that the colt may have reached a plateau. But Vermaak was adamant that there was much more to come. Seven memorable victories later, Gujadhur is delighted that he got involved without any further ‘questioning’
He said: “What’s great about ‘JV’, as we call him, is that he doesn’t sit back and wait for opportunities to present themselves. He is proactive and identifies them before most others do. His hyperactivity suits our aspirations.”
There have been other shrewd acquistions along the way, most notably Garrix (Vercingetorix), who was purchased as a maiden, won two Grade 3 features and is on his way to compete in Hong Kong off a merit rating of 123.
Gujadhur concluded: “Vermaak Equine has transformed my racing experience in South Africa. I am part of a fabulous partnership and we have some promising young runners like Turn It Up (Querari, recovering from surgery), Red Spice (Erik The Red), World Series (One World), Bachata (Rafeef), Within Reach (Malmoos), Catwalk King (Buffalo Bill Cody), plus a few unraced horses who are hopefully not too shabby.”
Quickstepgal will undoubtedly be among the nominations for Equus Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. While this award is all but secured by her rival, Wish List, the Wernars family and Harry Willson have experienced a host of thrills, a Grade 1 and Grade 2 success with their acquisition of this formidable race filly.
Interestingly, Quickstepgal’s original owner, Rakesh Singh, declined a higher offer for the filly because it would have meant moving her from Tienie Prinsloo’s care. Instead, he sold her to Vermaak Equine on the understanding that she would remain at the Summerveld yard.
That decision has been richly rewarded. Not only has it proven highly fruitful for the new ownership group, but it has also given Prinsloo a well-deserved opportunity to demonstrate the calibre of horsemanship that has long earned him the respect of his peers.
“I have never before seen that from an owner,” noted Justin Vermaak. He first enjoyed major success with a horse in training purchase when he secured Temple Grafin (Duke Of Marmalade) for the Wernars family ahead of her victory in the 2020 Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes. Another astute acquisition was the multiple Graded-placed filly True To Life, who was also sired by Duke Of Marmalade.
Vermaak said: “Buying horses in training requires a balancing act between buyer and seller, and every deal presents its own challenges. One never stops learning. There is also an element of luck involved – admittedly Questioning was a lucky buy – but that comes with the territory. Some horses go on to improve significantly, while others don’t progress at all.”
He added: “We’ve had our disappointments, of course. But I’d say that nine times out of ten it’s better to buy a horse in training than a yearling, because you take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation. Buying yearlings is a bit like a lucky packet.
“The yearling market influences the horses-in-training market as well. These days, you can’t really buy anything worthwhile for under R700,000, and prices escalate quickly from there. Owners are therefore hesitant to part with a proven horse for R1-million to R1.5-million when there is no certainty they’ll be able to replace it with a quality yearling.”
