As expected, Henry Alken’s Doncaster St Leger, The Start (Lot 236 ) was first past the post at the Davidson Meet on 7 November with a hammer price of $30,000. This was followed closely by JN Sartorius’ The Hunt (Lot 238 ), which brought in $20,000 against odds of $8,000-12,000. Two of the pre-sale favourites that failed to finish on the day (Lots 235, 237) are currently under negotiation.
From the same stable, Finch Mason’s Yonder He Goes (Lot 234 ) rallied to finish at $5,000; while The Grouse Shooter (Lot 239 ), a long shot attributed to J Branscomb with starter bets of $800-1,200, flew home to pay $5,250.
Other gambles were made on track regulars, such as David Boyd, who pulled in two solid results with Eternal Return (Lot 39 ) at $18,000, and Dancing Children (Lot 49 ) at $13,000. Stayers didn’t disappoint fans, with a solid $17,000 for Norman Lindsay’s Sunlight (Lot 12 ), and $14,000 for Ray Crooke’s The Kava Drinkers (Lot 109 ).
Bringing up the rear, David Bromley finished with $9,500 for Charlotte in Blue (Lot 47 ); and shouts of ‘Come on Bess’ were heard for Darcy Doyle’s work of the same name, which made $7,500 (Lot 42 ); while Emily Kngwarreye’s Bush Yam (Lot 147 ) loped in at $7,000.
The Davidson meet tallied $521,000 (incl. BP) and paid out on 83% of entries, although mostly at short odds; a strong result for a race usually not given much attention by high flying punters.
About The Author
Jane Raffan runs ArtiFacts, an art services consultancy based in Sydney. Jane is an accredited valuer for the Australian government’s highly vetted Cultural Gifts Program, and Vice President of the Auctioneers & Valuers Association of Australia. Jane’s experience spans more 20 years working in public and commercial art sectors, initially with the AGNSW, and then over twelve years in the fine art auction industry. Her consultancy focuses on collection management, advisory services and valuations. She is the author of Power + Colour: New Painting from the Corrigan Collection of Aboriginal Art. www.artifacts.net.au.
