Barely days after champion Mrs Geriatrix stretched her unbeaten record to six wins from as many starts, breeders Clifton Stud welcomed her new half-brother into the world.
“At 23h05 on Wednesday night, Velvet Glove gave birth to a Master Of My Fate colt, a half-brother to Mrs Geriatrix,” reported Peter Blythe.
Peter Blyth of Clifton Stud (Pic- Candiese Lenferna)
“She’s kept us waiting, as she was due to foal three weeks ago in mid-September, but you don’t fiddle, you just let nature take its course. He’s a healthy colt with a lot of his sire about him, down to the big blaze.”
Velvet Glove is scheduled to visit Danon Platina, whose daughter White Pearl nearly put paid to Mrs G’s perfect record at Turffontein last weekend.
Peter added: “I would love to send Velvet Glove to Vercingetorix, but the service fee is a bit too steep for me and besides, you simply cannot get to him,”
While Velvet Glove and her foal will make the journey to Mauritzfontein, her daughter has left for the Western Cape and a Cape summer campaign.
Eden Roc – adapted like a true professional (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Peter also has news of Eden Roc, who is standing his first season at Clifton.
“He already has 13 or 14 mares scanned in foal, so is off to a brilliant start. He’s easy to work with and covers like a charm. In fact, he’s taking so much out of himself, he hasn’t let down at all and still looks like he’s in training!”
There has been steady support for the Gr1 winning son of Var in a province where the mare numbers have dwindled in recent years, which makes it difficult to fill a stallion’s book. Nevertheless, Peter is confident of the young stallion’s popularity.
“There are new bookings to Eden Roc almost daily and I will be pleased if he can get up to 70 mares.”
