Lion Tamer Breaks The Ice
Lion Tamer
The well-performed Lion Tamer is the first son of Champion Sire Western Winter to retire to stud in South Africa. He marked his first winner with a good victory by the Avalon Stud-bred Lady De Winter in the second race at Scottsville last Wednesday.
It was a watershed day for both the young stallion and the youthful Wayne Badenhorst, the trainer of the winning two year old filly, who scored a career-first double when he also trained the winner of the final event of the afternoon.
The Avalon Stud-bred Lady De Winter looks like a true sprinting sort and has plenty of speed in her pedigree, being out of the Harry Hotspur mare Savvy Lady, who won once over 1000m. She won the Fillies Maiden Juvenile Plate run over the straight 1200m by a half-length in a time of 71,48secs.
Lady De Winter is from Lion Tamer’s first crop of seventeen foals. Only five have run, and this first winner thus came pleasingly early.
Lion Tamer was a versatile high-quality racehorse who had the misfortune of bumping heads with the legendary Pocket Power on his way up. He finished a one length second to the great Jet Master gelding in the Gr1 J&B Met of 2007, and his versatility is underlined by the fact that he came out at his next start after an eight month rest and finished second in South Africa’s richest race on sand, the Gr2 Emerald Cup, behind the top-class Narc, who was to go on and campaign in Dubai.
Lion Tamer also ran gallant races when third behind shock winner Malteme in the Gr1 Steinhoff Summer Cup and a narrow second to Bishop’s Rock in the Gr2 Astrapak 1900(now known as the Betting World 1900). He was a close –up fourth behind the ill-fated Eyeofthetiger in the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July.
His fighting spirit, raw ability and impeccable character is demonstrated in the fact that he was probably at his best around 1400m, yet still managed to run top-class races over much further.
Lion Tamer retired to stud as a four year old in 2008 after a career that saw him run only 19 times with six wins from 1400m to 2000m.
His dam, Blushing Dove, won 6 races from 1000m to 1600m including the Gr2 Southern Cross Stakes. She has produced nine foals, of which seven are winners, and Lion Tamer stands out as her flagbearer.
Lion Tamer stands at a very reasonable R1000 nomination fee plus R4000 live foal fee, at Sue Winter’s Avalon Stud in Mooi River KwaZulu-Natal.
This will not be the last that we hear from him.
