Unraced Danzig horse National Assembly enjoyed plenty of success during his time at stud in South Africa.
National Assembly
Despite starting his career covering relatively modest mares, National Assembly left behind more than 40 Gr1 horses headed by champions National Emblem, National Colour, National Currency, Soft Falling Rain, Enchantress, Forward Filly, Historic Lady and National Bay.
Other notable performers sired by National Assembly, whose progeny by and large were known for their speed and precocity, included the Gr1 winners Big Brass, Bold Thatch, Duchess Daba, Flight Alert, Grand Format, Ndabeni, Secretary General and Trust Antonia.
The bay was Champion Sire of 2YO’s three times in South Africa in total, with his stock headed by more than 60 black type winners.
The influence of National Assembly, whose relative Philanthropist is the sire of recent Gr2 Glorious Goodwood Premier Trophy winner Golden Ducat, remains to the fore in recent results.
National Assembly is broodmare sire of rising star sire Vercingetorix (Silvano), while his champion daughter National Colour is the dam of another promising sire in the form of Rafeef (Redoute’s Choice).
The latter, at the time of writing, is South Africa’s Leading First Season Sire with three of Rafeef’s first four runners having won – including Saturday’s winner Dockofthebay.
Rafeef
Rafeef’s dam National Colour, arguably her sire’s finest daughter, was South Africa’s Joint Horse Of The Year in 2005-2006. Her son won six of just ten starts, and showed his class when he won the 2017 Gr1 Computaform Sprint – on the same day his own brother Mustaaqeem won the Gr1 SA Nursery.
While Rafeef is showing promise early on in his stud career, former Equus Champion, and Gr1 Jebel Hatta winner, Vercingetorix, is firmly established as one of the rising sire stars in South Africa’s breeding firmament.
Out of National Assembly’s high-class daughter National Vixen (who won five times up to 1400m and ran second in the Gr3 Champagne Stakes), Vercingetorix (unbeaten in South Africa), has already sired 19 stakes horses from his first two crops.
South Africa’s Leading Sire of 3YO’s and Leading Second Season Sire of 2019-2020, Vercingetorix has already supplied graded stakes winners in each of his first two crops.
.Vercingetorix stands at Maine Chance
His first crop is headed by the graded stakes winners African Warrior (Gr2 Umkhomazi Stakes), Ikigai (Gr2 Gauteng Guineas), while his second contains the likes of Vernichey (Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship) and Seeking The Stars (Gr3 Cape Classic).
Vercingetorix’s second crop also includes the very talented Rascallion –who ran on for third place in the recent Gr1 Cape Guineas, while Gr1 Daily News 2000 runner up Padre Pio is another high-class member of his initial crop.
National Assembly, whose daughters have also produced the likes of champion Laverna, Rafeef’s champion brother Mustaaqeem, and Gr1 winning two-year-old Happy Valentine (sired, like Vercingetorix, by Silvano), also sired short-lived Equus Champion Soft Falling Rain.
The ill-fated Soft Falling Rain
The latter’s first crop included a pair of graded stakes winners in the form of Montreal Mist and East Cape champion World Radar, as well as Memorial Mile winner Marmara Sea. While Soft Falling Rain’s second crop is yet to yield a stakes winner, this crop has already produced 20 winners, headed by Gr1 Golden Horse Medallion runner-up Pray For Rain.
