The late great Jet Master continues to burnish his extensive legacy season after season. That was abundantly clear at the Summer Cup meeting, where various descendants continued to keep his name in the spotlight.
The big prize of the day, the lavishly endowed Betway Gr1 Summer Cup, at R6-million the country’s richest race, went the way of his Alec Laird-trained grandson Atticus Finch.
Atticus Finch (Calvin Habib) win the country’s richest race (Pic – JC Photos)
By Jet Master’s hugely successful son Master Of My Fate and bred by Varsfontein Stud, Atticus Finch is out of a daughter of the farm’s fine matriarch Alexandra Bi, who incidentally visited Jet Master on two occasions, resulting in Listed Sea Cottage Stakes winner Alexandra Palace and Gr3-placed Masterly.
Needless to say, Atticus Finch’s R3.5-million payday catapulted Master Of My Fate to the top of the General Sires List and brought back memories of the first half of the 2020-21 racing season, when he stubbornly held top spot until passed by barn mate Gimmethegreenlight. He has firmly entrenched himself amongst the elite five stallions ever since.
As imposing an individual as his late sire, Master Of My Fate is enjoying another fine season, which to date has yielded not just Atticus Finch, but also Gr3 Victory Moon Stakes winner Greeting My Master and the Listed stakes winners Miss Marguerite and Joy And Peace.
Jet Master further stamped his authority on the big race as the grandsire of third-placed Rule By Force, who matched his previous best, a third in the Gr1 SA Derby, with arguably a career-best effort. Joe Soma’s five-year-old is by Pomodoro, who enjoyed another moment in the sun when four-year-old son Mount Pilatus defeated a crack field of sprinters in the Gr3 Merchants.
Paul Matchett’s charge was always on the backfoot against the likes of Gr1 winner Lucky Lad, yet he rose to the occasion to break through at stakes level. That he possesses a brilliant turn of foot comes as no surprise, after all, he is out of the speedy Covered In Snow, who landed both the Swallow Stakes and Bauhinia Handicap at three for Di Stenger.
Master Of My Fate – majestic son of Jet Master (Pic – Jeremy Nelson)
In contrast to Master Of My Fate, the stud career of paternal half-brother Pomodoro illustrates the peaks and troughs of the fickle world of thoroughbred breeding.
When he retired to Klawervlei Stud, the handsome bay ticked all the boxes. A dual Gr1 winner of the SA Derby and Hollywoodbets Durban July, he had shown the mark of a true champion, the ability to both sprint and stay, besides which he was out of Broodmare of the Year Golden Apple.
Pomodoro hit the ground running in his second career by topping the leading freshman sires list at the expense of Master Of My Fate, his first crop featuring the champion filly and dual Gr1 winner Return Flight, as well as Gr2 Hawaii Stakes winner Cirillo, who at three famously split Horse of the Year recipients Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge in an epic renewal of the Gr1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.
A second Gr1 winner followed when third-crop son Russian Rock upstaged the likes of Malmoos, Linebacker, Rascallion and Jet Dark in the Gr1 Cape Guineas.
Although he sired Gr2 victress Golden Belle, the Gr3 winners Black Thorn and Epsom Girl and Gr2-placed stakes winner Caralluma, Pomodoro’s fortunes dwindled to the extent that he was relocated to Heversham Park Stud for the 2024 covering season.
On reflection, Pomodoro probably always had to live in the shadow of Klawervlei kingpin Captain Al, a hard act for any stallion to follow!
Quid Pro Quo (Piere Strydom) is keeping her grandfather’s legacy alive (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Undoubtedly one of the highlights on Summer Cup day was the breathtaking comeback run of Jet Master’s grandaughter Quid Pro Quo, whose demolition job in the Gr2 Dingaans was a sight to behold. Returning from a four-month rest, last season’s champion juvenile soundly thrashed her male rivals and we are fast running out of superlatives for this freakishly talented filly.
Quid Pro Quo is by Jet Master’s son Lance, who showed infinite promise before injury put paid to his racing career.
Trained like Pomodoro by Sean Tarry, he made the transition to stakes winner in just his third start with an emphatic three-length drubbing of unbeaten favourite and subsequent Triple Crown winner Louis The King in the Listed Sea Cottage Stakes at Turffontein.
Sadly, the colt broke down after just six starts, but given that he is one of a trio of stakes winners out of Gr1 Garden Province Stakes winner Lyrical Linda, he was afforded a place at stud. He joined the stallion roster at Summerhill Stud but at such a low-key level, that he was lucky to cover just two mares in each of his first two seasons, one of which being Kuuma, who ended his juvenile campaign on a high when second to subsequent Gr1 winner Dyce in the Gr2 Umkhomazi Stakes.
Quid Pro Quo, one of just a handful of registered foals from her sire’s 2021 crop, is out of The Sheik’s five-time winning daughter Delightfull Diva, dam also of Ruffian Stakes winner and Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery third Daring Diva.
Incidentally, Quid Pro Quo is bred on similar lines as Jet Master’s champion Yorker and Gr1 winner Litle Miss Magic, both of which were out of mares by Al Mufti, the sire of The Sheik.
Lance now stands at Heuningsfontein Stud in the Karoo. The achievements of his early runners and Quid Pro Quo in particular, has made breeders sit up and take notice, to the extent that he has already covered more than 50 mares this season.
Jet Master’s reputation as a broodmare sire needs no embellishment and, on the day, a pair of talented three-year-olds advertised his prowess in that department.
The filly Fiery Pegasus looked to have the Gr3 Fillies Mile in the bag but was nabbed on the line by World In Alice, whilst Mike de Kock-trained Greaterix had the misfortune of running into a rampant Quid Pro Quo, yet picked up his first black type when third in the Dingaans.
All in all, it was a good day at the office for Jet Master and there is no disputing that he continues to cast a long shadow over the South African racing industry.
