Lammerskraal Stud’s resident sire, Go Deputy (Deputy Minister), enjoyed a memorable day at Kenilworth on Grand Parade Cape Guineas day last Saturday, writes Sarah Whitelaw.
Go Deputy (Deputy Minister – Partygoer)
The chestnut, who was represented by just four runners at the meeting, had a 50% strike rate in the day’s features, with his son, Icy Trail, landing the Gr2 Sun International Premier Trophy and another Go Deputy , Royal Badge, capturing the Gr3 Grand West Sun Cape Summer Stayers Handicap.
Royal Badge, third to Marinaresco in the Gr3 Winter Classic, also proved yet another boost to the form of last season’s Cape Winter Series races – franked by the likes of champion, Marinaresco (Silvano), and impressive recent winner, Whisky Baron (Manhattan Rain).)
Go Deputy’s son Royal Badge wins the Cape Summer Stayers
Go Deputy has dominated the last two runnings of the Cape Summer Stayers Handicap, with Current Event having captured that race last year.
Icy Trail and Royal Badge became the third and fourth graded winners, respectively, to have emerged from their sire’s current four-year-old crop.
This crop is headed by Triple Crown winner, Abashiri, and Gr2 Gold Bracelet victress, Flying Ice.
Remarkably, it also includes three other stakes horses, and Go Deputy’s 2012 foal crop has the impressive strike rate of 16 winners from just 25 runners. It is also perhaps notable that his progeny get better with age, and Go Deputy’s already impressive record looks likely to improve further still.
Go Deputy’s son Icy Trail wins the Gr2 Premier Trophy
The former turf star and G21 winner also has a smart filly in his current 3yo crop, in the form of Gr3 Fillies Mile runner up, Tambalang.
Go Deputy is by a sire whose descendants continue to do well in North America.
Deputy Minister left behind a tremendous mark on the US stud book, where his descendants had a particular impact on both the Breeders’ Cup races and the longest of the US classic races, the Gr1 Belmont Stakes.
This year alone, the son of Vice Regent ranks as the broodmare sire of Gr1 winners Abel Tasman (Starlet Stakes) and Frosted (Whitney Stakes, Met Hcp).
Deputy Minister himself left behind the Breeders’ Cup winners Open Mind, Go For Wand and Awesome Again, with the latter going on to sire four BC winners, notably Horse Of The Year and Classic winner, Ghostzapper.
Ghostzapper
Remarkably, Ghostzapper has also gone on to enjoy Breeders’ Cup success, via his daughter Judy The Beauty.
Deputy Minister mares have produced Breeders’ Cup winners Curlin (Smart Strike), Halfbridled (Unbridled), Man Of Iron (Giant’s Causeway), and Tapizar (Tapit) –among others.
Another son of Deputy Minister to have made his mark on the Breeders’ Cup is the undefeated Silver Deputy, whose daughter, Silverbulletday, captured the 1998 BC Juvenile Fillies.
Silver Deputy is also broodmare sire of the Breeders’ Cup winning champions Groupie Doll and Wavell Avenue.
Not only did Deputy Minister sire 1997 Belmont Stakes winner, Touch Gold, but his daughter, Better Than Honour, foaled two winners of the race (Jazil and Rags To Riches), while another Deputy Minister mare, Rhythm Of Life, produced shock Belmont winner, Sarava (Wild Again).
Deputy Minister is also broodmare sire of triple Gr1 winner Frosted (Tapit) –who was second to Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) in the 2015 Belmont Stakes.
Deputy Minister also made a marked impression on the Gr1 Kentucky Oaks, arguably US’s most important race for 3yo fillies. The dual US champion sire left behind a pair of Kentucky Oaks winners in Open Mind and Keeper Hill, while the Deputy Minister granddaughters, Silverbulletday and Rags To Riches won that Churchill Downs classic in 1999 and 2007 respectively.
To date, Deputy Minister is the broodmare sire of more than 200 stakes winners, while his sons, Dehere, Silver Deputy and French Deputy have all gone on to enjoy considerable success as broodmare sires .
The outstanding Visionaire
French Deputy is damsire of Go Deputy’s own stable mate Visionaire (Grand Slam), among others.
Former champion 2yo Dehere is not only a successful broodmare sire but he is also damsire of dual Breeders’ Cup winner and successful sire, Midnight Lute (Real Quiet).
The Deputy Minister influence could well be felt in next year’s US Triple Crown, as his grandson, Ghostzapper, is the sire of unbeaten Gr2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes winner, McCraken, regarded as a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby.
Go Deputy is by no means the first son of Deputy Minister to make a mark at stud.
The likes of Awesome Again, Salt Lake, Dehere, Touch Gold, Silver Deputy, Deputy Commander, Victory Speech, Forest Camp and French Deputy (whose champion son, Left Bank, unfortunately died before commencing stud duties) have all sired at least one Gr1 winner and the majority have also enjoyed success as broodmare sires.
2008 Dubai World Cup – Curlin (photo: Dubai Racing Club)
Deputy Minister also happens to be broodmare sire of former dual US Horse Of The Year, Curlin (Smart Strike), who ranks as one of North America’s hottest stallions, and who is set to stand for a stud fee of $150 000 in 2017.
This will make the champion (whose fee equals the likes of Medaglia D’Oro and Uncle Mo) the joint third most expensive stallion standing at stud in the US next year.
No doubt the likes of Curlin, Tapizar (one of the leading first crop sires in 2016) and Frosted will do their part to ensure the name of Deputy Minister stays prominent in pedigrees of big race winners for years to come.
