Vercingetorix three-year-old Zeitz, an impressive winner of the City Of Cape Town Gr3 Politician Stakes on Met day last Saturday, not only stamped himself a genuine Cape Derby prospect, he is proof that a female family can thrive and survive off just a single line of descent.
Zeitz (Serino Moodley) leaves them for dead to register a first stakes success (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Sabine Plattner’s talented colt traces to one of the most charismatic fillies to have graced the English turf, the Aga Khan’s grey Petite Etoile. Regularly partnered by maestro Lester Piggott, the combination of her brilliance coupled with his confidence, charisma and ice-cool nerve, proved electrifying and together the pair garnered the Epsom Oaks, Sussex Stakes, Yorkshire Oaks and Champion Stakes. She also won the Coronation Cup twice.
In stark contract to her fabulous racing career, Petite Etoile proved to be nothing short of disastrous as a broodmare and in a chequered career at stud, managed to produce just a handful of foals, the last of which, a filly by Habitat. Named Zahra, she managed just four places as a three-year-old but as a broodmare, would single-handedly revive the legend of her illustrious dam.
In 2008, she rose to prominence through the exploits of the remarkable Zarkava, whose third dam Zarna, was the result of Zahra’s liaison with Shernazar, a half-brother to the Aga Khan’s outstanding champion Shergar.
Zarkava carried all before her at two and three and never tasted defeat in seven starts. She bagged Gr1 victories in the Prix Marcel Boussac, French 1000 Guineas and Oaks and the Prix Vermeille. The remarkable bay ended her career in a blaze of glory with a smashing victory in the 2008 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and not surprisingly, was crowned Europe’s Horse of the Year.
Zarkava has since become a noted broodmare for the Aga Khan’s stud, her progeny including the Gr1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Zarak, who is fast making a name for himself as one of Europe’s leading sires.
The sire of 12 per cent stakes winners to runners and 72 per cent stakes winners to runners from all his crops, he is notably the sire of the Gr1 French 2000 Guineas winner Metropolitan, as well as Gr1 winners Haya Zark and Zagrey.
As for Zeitz, he was bred by Maine Chance Farms out of the Australian-bred mare Zappy Choice, whose dam Zarakiysha just happens to be an unraced half-sister to Zarkava. She found her way to Australia, where she counted Gr3-placed filly Zarzali amongst her six winning foals.
Trained by Mike Azzie, Zappy Choice won once at two and has turned out to be an inspired purchase by Maine Chance, as in addition to Zeitz, she is also dam of his full brother The Grey King, who ran second to champion Green With Envy in last year’s Politician Stakes.
Igugu half sister Ngaga (Richard Fourie) wins the 2018 Listed East Coast Cup (Pic – Denzil Govender)
Incidentally, Zeitz is not the first South African stakes winner to emerge from this particular female line, for Zahra is also ancestress of another exceptional headline-maker in the shape of Mike de Kock-trained Horse of the Year Igugu.
A dominant force at three and four and also the country’s very first Triple Tiara winner, this exceptional filly’s swan song victory in the 2012 Met capped a notable seven-win streak which also included the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July and Gr1 Woolavington 2000. To date, she is the first and only filly or mare to complete the Vodacom Durban July/ Met double.
Igugu has as her third dam Zariya, Zahra’s daughter sired by the brilliant miler Blushing Groom. Igugu’s dam Zarinia was culled from the Aga Khan stud as an unraced three-year-old and like Zeitz’s dam, found her way to Australia, where she foaled Igugu as her second foal in 2009.
By the way, Zeitz is not the first member of this family to race in the Plattner silks, so did Igugu’s Fastnet Rock half-sister Ngaga. Successful in the Listed East Coast Cup, she also ran second in the Stormsvlei Mile and third in the Gr3 Final Fling Stakes.
After lying dormant for several generations, Zarkava and Igugu miraculously reasserted the female line of Petite Etoile, one which continues to flourish in Zarak and now Zeitz.
The factors which contributed to its revival may be subject to conjecture. However, all the mares in the direct chain of heredity were winners of some sort or were closely related to top performers. In addition, the Aga Khan’s judicious selection of high-class sires for Zahra and her descendants in each subsequent generation may well have been the catalyst which set in motion the revival of this illustrious family.
Long may it continue.
