The Storm continues
Legendary North American sire, Storm Cat, was retired from stud duties back in 2008. His remarkable influence on the modern thoroughbred, however, shows no sign of waning.
Storm Cat is the sire of Giant’s Causeway, a horse who has headed the US general sires list (according to The Bloodhorse statistics) on two previous occasions. In 2011, Giant’s Causeway was the leading sire of stakes winners (28) and graded stakes winners (12). Giant’s Causeway is also becoming a successful sire, through the likes of Shamardal and Footstepsinthesand, while another son of Giant’s Causeway, Morning Raider, is the sire of the superb Chilean filly, Amani. Amani, a champion at 2 and 3, won the Chilean Filly Triple Crown.
Giant’s Causeway, like a number of other Storm Cat sons, is showing signs of also becoming a leading broodmare sire. With his oldest daughters just ten, Giant’s Causeway is already the damsire of such G1 winners as Planteur and Evening Jewel.
Storm Cat is also the great grandsire of Scat Daddy, the leading first crop sire in the US for 2011. A son of the disappointing sire Johannesburg, Scat Daddy’s first crop of 111 (!) juveniles have produced 29 winners, five stakes winners and three graded winners. Scat Daddy, himself a dual G1 winner, was also the third leading sire of juveniles for 2011.
Discreet Cat is another promising young stallion. A grandson of Storm Cat, Discreet Cat is represented by a large number of lightly raced, but impressive looking 3yos. Discreet Cat himself only came to hand as a 3yo, and it is fair to assume that we have not seen the best of progeny just yet. This weekend past, two sons of Discreet Cat caught the eye in the USA. Out of Bounds won the G3 Sham Stakes (over Breeders Cup winner Secret Circle) to take his record to two wins from three many starts. The unbeaten Discreet Dancer made it two wins from as many starts when he ran out a 5.5 length winner of an allowance race over 1600 metres.
Discreet Dancer had previously set a course record when winning at Gulfstream Park on debut. Discreet Dancer is the latest talented descendant of Lassie Dear, whose influence in South Africa has been supreme.
Storm Cat descendants dominate the US 2yo sire list. In the top 20, there are no fewer than ten Storm Cat relations.
The Storm Cat line has also been red-hot in South Africa. Storm Cat’s son, Mogok, sired last year’s Equus Champion 3yo colt in The Apache, while another Storm Cat horse, Tiger Ridge, is the sire of the smart 3yo, Wagner. Storm Cat, Black Minnaloshe – leading first crop sire last year, is the sire of this season’s unbeaten 2yo filly, The Black Rose.
Storm Cat, also sire of the beautifully bred young sire Brave Tin Soldier, is also grandsire of Var – one of the hottest sires in the country at the moment.
Legendary mare links SA 3yo stars
It is hard to think, offhand, of too many mares who won just three races, and was later voted into a Hall of Fame. No Class, one of Canada’s greatest ever broodmares, was one such rarity.
A tremendous producer, the bizarrely named No Class is an interesting link to two of South Africa’s most promising horses. No Class is the fourth dam of Jackson – the devastating winner of Saturday’s Listed Politician Stakes and a leading contender for the Investec Cape Derby.
No Class is also the granddam of Strike Smartly – sire of the unbeaten 3yo sensation Slumdogmillionaire. That colt was a 5.75 length victor of the Listed Sea Cottage Stakes on Sunday, and also looks to be a leading contender for some of the season’s classic races.
No Class herself produced four individual champions in Sky Classic, Regal Classic, Classy N Smart and Grey Classic. She is also ancestress of SA sires Sail From Seattle and Surging River.
In total, No Class produced no fewer than six stakes winners from just eight foals.
Her son Sky Classic (dam sire of 1000 Guineas winner Speciosa) has become an highly successful sire of over 51 stakes winners, while No Class’s daughter Classy N Smart emulated her dam by being named Canda’s Broodmare of the Year. Classy N Smart produced the champion US sire Smart Strike, and his own brother, successful SA sire Strike Smartly, as well as the champion filly Dance Smartly.
Dance Smartly was not only the first Canadian bred to win a Breeders Cup race (she won the Distaff), but remarkably emulated her dam and granddam in becoming a broodmare of the year!
It is difficult to remember another treble of broodmares of the year!
Another G1 winner for truly global sire
When Gimmethegreenlight won Saturday’s G1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, he became the latest G1 winner for his international sire, More Than Ready. Interestingly, More Than Ready, whose sire, Southern Halo sired former SA star filly Igreja, was a former race track rival of exciting young South African sire, Trippi – and in fact ran second to Trippi in the G1 Vosburgh Stakes. More Than Ready, who has sired three Breeders Cup winners in the past 2 years, has proven a rare sire in that his stock have proven successful wherever they have competed. His 92 stakes winners (and counting) have netted him champion sire (of 2yos) titles in both Australia and the US. He is also sire of the high-class Singapore galloper, Better Be The One. Gimmethegreenlight’s sire has had stakes winners in countries ranging from Canada and Argentina to Italy and Great Britain, and he has been represented by winners in all of Bahrain, Malayasia and Puerto Rico.
Mare’s remarkable record in G1 feature
Former Equus Broodmare of the Year, Off To War (Complete Warrior), has had a considerable impact on South Africa’s top filly race, the TBA Paddock Stakes. Her son, Captain Al, sired the 2011 winner in Emerald Cove, while her daughter, the dual G1 winner Shadow Dancing, is dam of 2012 Paddock Stakes victress, Thunder Dance (Jet Master).
Captain Al himself is also sire of Captain’s Lover, who was third in the Paddock Stakes back in 2007.
It must be short odds against one of Off To War’s famous progeny producing another winner of the esteemed race.
