An icon of South African racing and breeding, Mick Goss may have taken a step back since the sale of his multiple champion operation, Summerhill Stud.
But racing is in his blood and the deep thinker will always have his thoughts about the game he played a leading role in for over 40 years.
Mick Goss – forever a legend
Mick spoke to the Sporting Post from the top of a mountain on the Wild Coast, while enjoying time with his family this week.
The Summerhill-bred recent SA Triple Tiara winner War Of Athena is one of the horses proudly continuing his legacy.
Last month the Act Of War daughter became only the fourth filly in history to have accomplished this feat.
“It gives us such joy to see the horses continue to succeed and be a part of something so exciting.
“War Of Athena was not the most striking specimen at the BSA Ready To Run sale. She wasn’t much to write home about as a yearling either. She comes from a tiny family. Her great granddam was a 2400m champion filly in Europe, who was also really little.
“She has the most amazing speed – placing in a Gr1 as a two-year old and having gone on to win the oaks over 2450m. She is clearly a versatile filly.”
Mick says War Of Athena was sold ‘for a steal’ at R30 000.
“But I really could not be prouder of the success she has brought her owners and the Summerhill Stud name – 11 major race winners for Summerhill since November tell the story!” he adds with tangible pride.
Mick Goss offers his invaluable advice at the BSA 2018 Ready To Run Sale (Pic- Candiese Lenferna)
As the sun sets on a golden era at Summerhill Stud, many of the horses bred at the farm are still running, and will continue to grace our racetracks for many years to come.
Another Summerhill bred, Bohica, placed in the Gr1 4Racing Computaform Sprint at Turffontein on Saturday. He is a handsome gelding who went through the 2018 BSA Ready To Run Sales ring and sold for R300 00 to the Azzie racing team.
Mick’s also chuffed with his home-bred champion Rabada’s first crop selling so well at the 2021 BSA National Yearling Sale. The son of Brave Tin Soldier’s four lots sold for an average of R133 333.
“We could not be happier with his results – and, in fact, as a horse who stood for a modest fee, we are very pleased! We can only hope that this relays into his season at stud this year.”
Rabada stands at Bruce Le Roux’s Spring Valley Stud and continues to impress the veteran with his well grown, athletic and very correct foals. Mick has pledged his full support- and the Summerhill honour roll of champions suggests it may pay to follow the smart money!
“Rabada is a stallion that has quality in abundance, standing at 16.1hh. I cannot wait to see his progeny on the racetrack,” enthuses Goss.
He has retained shares in a handful of mares- Jordie and Red Lady being two of the noteworthy. And his share in Rabada will mean that a racemeeting won’t go by without him checking the results when the offspring hit the track next term.
The magnificent Rabada- now standing at Spring Valley Stud
Reflecting back on the recent BSA National Yearling Sale, he thought it an overall success, given the current climate.
“Like every sale there were the highs and lows. I thought it very positive though to see some new buyers entering the fray. And let’s face it, Covid-19 has struck our industry very hard. The Hong Kong support was also most encouraging, given the fact that we are still in limbo on the export protocol front. We just need to keep the vigour up, keep our heads down and keep going. We’ve been through times like this before and South African racing always finds a way to pull through.”
