Lady breeders are making their mark in the South African bloodstock industry and are well represented at Friday’s CTS Ready To Run Sale at Durbanville.
Nicola & Marc Coppez
Nicola Coppez (Balmoral Stud) and Jane Thomas (Far End Stud), both enjoyed successful spells at the Ready To Run in Johannesburg recently and have made the trip from KwaZulu-Natal with a good number of lots between them.
The locals are Ceres-based stalwart Sally Jourdan (Lammerskraal Stud) and Julia Pilbeam’s Soetendal Estate near Wellington. (Veronica Foulkes of Normandy Stud covered elsewhere).
Lammerskraal has a strong, well-made filly by Go Deputy (Lot 147) from a half-sister to Split Decision, representing the extended family of Irridescence and Perfect Promise. Jourdan said: “She will take some time to come to hand, but our Trippi filly (Lot 14) is quite the opposite, she’s fast and forward, a typical Trippi.”
Western Winter – one of the modern greats in SA breeding
The third sales entry raised at Lammerskraal is Lot 187, Dark Goddess, a daughter by Western Winter from Eris. She hails from one of the stud’s most accomplished families (Yard-Arm, Donya, etc) and is described as a classy, athletic filly.
Pilbeam, who has 60 stables and a track at Soetendal, has consigned a few eye-catching lots as an agent and she said: “We’re getting there, we’re fortunate to have had some good support from good clients.”
Julia Pilbeam of Soetendal
Soetendal’s pick is Lot 184, a colt by promising new stallion Dream Ahead (Diktat), a five-time Gr1 winning sprinter in Europe and shuttle stallion whose first crop of yearlings averaged near $100,000 apiece last year. “It looks like this young horse can run,” enthused Pillbeam.
Pilbeam also holds a Bernardini filly (Lot 100) in high regard. She’s a daughter of a Nureyev-mare from an impressive US family and she’s produced six individual winners from seven previous foals. “I’m excited about her, she has a lovely action.”
Nicola Coppez has given every ounce of care and energy to her stud over the last several years and she ‘sold out’ at Inanda a few weeks ago. “This is my best draft ever, we’ve travelled a lot and we’ll need a good break in December, but it’s all worth it, we’ve got some nice prospects for buyers,” she promised.
Coppez said all her horses at this sale are well conformed, highlighting the quality of three imports: Lot 26 (Nadeem (AUS) colt from a promising NZ-bred mare); Lot 76 (Dylan Thomas (IRE) colt from a Royal Academy mare) and Lot 154 (Star Witness (AUS) colt from a Zabeel mare).
She also noted that Lot 86 was one of the best Querari colts she had seen so far, while a colt by Pathfork (Lot 189) was quick and impressive.
Jane Thomas (far right) with Emma Rorke and Glen Kotzen
The team at Far End is over the moon with Lot 168, Pergola, a son of Kahal and the first foal of the Silvano-mare Clematis, who comes from the immediate family of Badger’s Drift and Gifted For Glory. “The late Kahal is still up there with the best and this is a magic horse,” commented Jane Thomas.
Two others on her list of favourites are the imported Lot 26 (Zoffany colt) and Lot 129 (Casino Prince colt).
