There can be little doubt that the late Jet Master was one of the finest thoroughbred stallions ever bred in South Africa.
The strapping bay was Champion Sire in South Africa on seven occasions and was also Champion 2YO Sire in 2004-2005.
Jet Master (Rakeen – Jet Lightning)
Jet Master, whose offspring won the Gr1 J&B Met five years running, from 2007 to 2011, left behind more than 70 stakes winners and over 130 stakes horses. He sired 22 Gr1 winners, who were produced by daughters of 16 different stallions.
Jet Master enjoyed particular success with Northern Guest, with that cross producing all of July winning sire Pomodoro, as well as Equus Champions J J The Jet Plane and In The Fast Lane.
The champion left behind 48 Gr1 performers, with Jet Master’s offspring winning the majority of South Africa’s top races, including the Vodacom Durban July twice with Pocket Power and Pomodoro.
Pomodoro (Jet Master – Golden Apple)
Like many top stallions in the past, Jet Master’s very first crop proved his best. From a foal crop of 77 registered foals, the champion produced 16 stakes winners, including four Gr1 winners. This crop was headed by arguably Jet Master’s finest son, triple Horse Of The Year, Pocket Power. Remarkably, Jet Master would go on to produce at least one Gr1 winner in each crop barring his final crop – which still managed to produce 10 black type performers.
While it has taken some time, there are now signs that South Africa’s Joint Horse Of The Year of 1999 may continue to exert his influence on the South African stud book, through his sons and daughters at stud.
Jet Master is sire of the top two sires on the First Crop Sires List for 2017-2018 at the time of writing and is also enjoying increasing success as a broodmare sire. His sons, Pomodoro and Master Of My Fate, are busy fighting to head the First Crop Sires List, with both bays having winners over the past weekend.
Pomodor wins the 2012 Durban July
Former July winner, Pomodoro, was represented by a really eye catching winner at Turffontein, when daughter, Return Flight, broke her maiden by 11.25 lengths, while his paternal half-brother, Master Of My Fate, is sire of Twist Of Fate. The latter made it win number two from just four outings when scoring over 1200m (beating fellow Master Of My Fate son, Lucky Dancer) at Kenilworth on Saturday and he looks a smart sort.
What is so encouraging about both Master Of My Fate and Pomodoro is that neither raced at two, and one can but think the offspring of both stallion should only improve with time and distance.
Master Of My Fate (Jet Master – Promisefrommyheart)
To date, there is little separating the two sires’ in terms of prize money, although Master Of My Fate has had five winners, as opposed to Pomodoro’s two. Pomodoro, on the other hand, has already produced a pair of smart stakes horses (Cirillo and Royal Italian), as well as Saturday’s hugely impressive winner, Return Flight.
Interestingly, both Pomodoro and Master Of My Fate are closely inbred to Northern Dancer, with Pomodoro’s dam, Golden Apple, being sired by Northern Guest (Northern Dancer), and Master Of My Fate’s dam by the Lyphard (Northern Dancer) sire, Elliodor. With both Master Of My Fate and Pomodoro represented by a number of well related juveniles yet to face the starter, the future surely looks bright for both stallions.
Divine Jet – lightly raced
Another young son of Jet Master now standing at stud is the talented Divine Jet, a half-brother to short-lived Gr1 SA Classic winner, Divine Jury, and bred on the same Jet Master/Al Mufti cross as champion Yorker and Gr1 Empress Club Stakes winner Little Miss Magic. A striking individual, Divine Jet was one of the most promising 3yos of his generation, when the bay won the first three starts of his career.
On the broodmare front, Jet Master’s daughters made a considerable splash when responsible for a pair of Equus Champions last season. The bay son of Rakeen was damsire of both Lady In Black (Champion 2YO Filly) and the exported Edict Of Nantes (Champion 3YO Colt/Gelding), with the former having gone on to win the recent G3 Umzimkhulu Stakes this season. Lady In Black, who was also second to Met winner, Oh Susanna (Street Cry), in the 2018 G1 Cartier Paddock Stakes, is out of the Jet Master mare, Mystery Dame, while Edict Of Nantes was produced by the sire’s daughter, Pagan Dance. This season, Jet Master daughters are once again making their mark. Among the notable winners representing Jet Master as a broodmare sire in 2017-2018 are Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes winner, and millionaire, Miss Katalin, Listed Jacaranda Handicap winner Al Danza (Captain Al), and G3 Chairman’s Cup hero, Our Emperor (Dynasty). (Oaks Trial second, Our Shining Star, is another smart performer, whose dam is a daughter of Jet Master, as is CTS 1600 second Captain And Master). Jet Master is also broodmare sire of this season’s talented three-year-olds, Cot Campbell and The Sun Also Rises, both of whom by champion sire Trippi, along with Miss Katalin.
Lyle Hewitson and Rivarine leave them trailing as they grab the Lebelo Sprint in style (Pic – JC Photos)
Other notable winners out of Jet Master mares include the graded stakes winners Rivarine (Var), Eventual Angel (Right Approach), Exit Here (Jay Peg), Here Comes Billy (Muhtafal) and Silvano’s Jet (Silvano).
At the time of writing, Jet Master is currently South Africa’s fifth leading Broodmare Sire (by earnings), with his daughters having produced the winners of over R9.2 million this season alone.
