Snitzel
The Danzig male line continues to flourish all over. The likes of Redoute’s Choice (Danehill), Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), Zoffany (Dansili), Dansili (Danehill), Exceed And Excel (Danehill), Oasis Dream (Green Desert), Sea The Stars (Cape Cross), Fastnet Rock (Danehill), and War Front are just some of the Danzig line descendants active at stud.
Recently two major members of this male line died, with Danehill Dancer’s demise followed last week by that of Cape Cross.
Cape Cross, a full brother to local SA sire Great Britain, was a top class racehorse. He was by Green Desert, a July Cup winning son of Danzig, whose other notable sire sons include Invincible Spirit and Oasis Dream, and New Zealand’s multiple champion sire Volksraad. Green Desert was also maternal broodmare sire of top class SA sire Kahal.
Cape Cross (Green Desert – Park Appeal)
Cape Cross was out of a mare by Ahonoora (Lorenzaccio), and from of a long line of top class stallions descended from the champion race mare Pretty Polly.
Cape Cross, who achieved his only Gr1 win when scoring a 20/1 upset in the 1998 Lockinge Stakes, was retired to stud with the reputation of being a solid high class performer, but not a champion.
He made his mark, though, leaving a total of 108 stakes winners, including 13 G1 winners, who won at the top level in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. His daughter Ouija Board landed the Oaks in 2004, and sons Sea The Stars and Golden Horn won the Epsom Derby 2009 and 2015 respectively. Another daughter, Rising Cross, ran second in the 2006 Oaks at the long odds of 33-1.
Between them, Ouija Board, Sea The Stars and Golden Horn won a staggering 17 Gr1 races and all were official champions. All three were named Horse Of The Year at least once, and both Sea The Stars and Ouija Board (Golden Horn is yet to be represented by a runner) have already tasted Epsom classic success through their progeny.
Sea The Stars – champion
Sea The Stars, a six time Gr1 winner whose wins included the 2000 Guineas, Eclipse Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, has an Epsom Derby winner with Harzand. He also sired Oaks winner Tagrooda.
Ouija Board joined an elite group of Epsom Oaks winning mares to have produced an English Derby winner when her son Australia (Galileo) lifted the 2014 Investec Derby. Australia was rated as the joint third best racehorse in the world in 2014, and is currently a young sire at Coolmore. He is not the only notable performer produced by a daughter of Cape Cross. Others include Gr1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner Serious Attitude (Mtoto), four time group winner Western Hymn (High Chaparral), Gr1 winner Consensus (Postponed), multiple group winner Beautiful Romance (New Approach), and Gr1 winner Shuka (Bachelor Duke). To date, Cape Cross mares have produced at least 27 stakes winners.
Cape Cross is also damsire of local Gr3 Cape Classic winner Table Bay (Redoute’s Choice), and of Langerman winner Ready To Attack (More Than Ready).
While Cape Cross will best be remembered as an influence on the Epsom classics, his progeny did win other major races like the Irish 2000 Guineas, Grand Prix de Paris, Hong Kong Mile and the Arc de Triomphe. With Sea The Stars, Golden Horn, Irish 2000 Guineas winner Awtaad and Australia all active at stud, the Cape Cross legacy looks set to continue.
