Capetown Noir (SAF) has joined Jackson (SAF) and Moofeed (AUS) as a resident stallion at Advocate Nigel and wife Kat Riley’s Heversham Park in the Daleside Valley in South Gauteng, having moved from KZN’s Piemonte Stud. He remains in the ownership of a syndicate comprising Lady Christine Laidlaw of Khaya Stables and partners.
The arrival of the 14-year-old stallion by Western Winter out of Akinfeet (Fort Wood) marks a time when Heversham is purposely upgrading its broodmare band, having come away with eight mare purchases at last week’s Cape Winter Sale, among which daughters of Trippi, Jet Master and Visionare.
“We’re boosting our stock with mares of high quality to serve Capetown Noir and our other stallions, and we are excited to give him a fresh start to his career,” said Heversham’s Kat Riley.
Capetown Noir is a handsome bay with a beautiful temperament and he has settled down well in his new surroudings. He stands 16h, not a massive horse, is perfectly balanced with a striking white blaze. “He’s a loving and intelligent type and he is making friends on the farm,” added Riley.
Exciting new phase for the top-class racehorse (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
When Capetown Noir went to stud at Summerhill in 2014, Mick Goss called him, “the best South African racehorse to set foot on the property since National Emblem”. He was given a good amount of support for two seasons, yielding G1 winners Under Your Spell and Bohica, and eight-time winning Listed performer Jaeger Moon from his first crop. “To have three horses of that level of class, all performing at the same time and of a similar generation, speaks volumes for him,” said Goss at the time.
Capetown Noir was born into equine royalty. A son of the stallion Emperor, Western Winter, his mother is a former Broodmare of the Year by champion sire, Fort Wood. His grandmother was a Guineas winner by Northern Guest, from a daughter of yet another champion, Jungle Cove.
He didn’t disappoint. As a racehorse, he was truly exceptional, winning eight races between two and four, including the G1 Cape Guineas and the G1 Cape Derby as a three-year-old, and the G1 WFA Queen’s Plate as a four-year-old. The Cape Guineas stands alone for the depth and the quality of its contestants. There might have been many great winners of the Queen’s Plate, but none of them did it with more panache than Capetown Noir. His victims that day numbered the Group One winners Jackson, Yorker and King Of Pain.
It wasn’t a matter of what he beat though; it was the manner of his victory that mattered. Interestingly Jackson, his now fellow-stallion at Heversham Park, chased Capetown Noir home that day.
Capetown Noir – handsome son of Western Winter (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
While his speed is what made him the Champion miler, it was his class that got him to the line in the G1 Derby. In simple terms, Capetown Noir was a Usain Bolt, not a Haile Gebrselassie. Said Goss: “His DNA and his acceleration saw him home on Derby day, and it very nearly got him home against Vercingetorix in the G1 Daily News. Two big performances at a distance two furlongs beyond his optimum. Which tells you he wasn’t only about speed; he was all about ‘heart’.“
Capetown Noir has not reached his potential at stud. With a disappointing lack of support in KZN and a number of small and moderate crops behind him, Heversham Park faces a big task in reviving his career, but the horse himself is as well as he can be, and the Riley family will be throwing their hearts and full backing behind him.
Goss commented this week: “To be fair, Lady Laidlaw reduced her breeding interests to focus on racing after supporting Capetown Noir in his first two crops. Also, his foals on the ground at the time were on the small side. Breeders are fickle and they lost interest. Capetown Noir also got caught up in the commotions around the change of Summerhill’s ownership.”
Goss concluded: “Nobody will tell you it’s easy to get a stallion ‘back on the map’, as it were, but if Capetown Noir gets mares of decent quality and substance, I don’t see any reason why he can’t sire more top-level winners. He is very capable of getting the job done and mares of good size will help. The dams of his three outstanding runners were all bulky mares with fair to good racetrack careers.”
It is worth noting too, that Capetown Noir’s current racetrack ‘advert’, Cherry Ano (four wins from seven starts), was born from the one-time winning Kahal mare, My Cherry – he does upgrade his mares.
Capetown Noir will be standing at R5,000 (live foal) and breeders are invited to give him a chance at this top-value fee. Mail [email protected] or phone Charl Pretorius for more info on 063 604 4701. You can also visit www.hevershampark.co.za
