Oscar Foulkes is enthusiastic, as always, about this year’s Cape Racing Ready To Run sale.
Normandy graduate Rio Querari wins the 2021 Gr1 Computaform Sprint (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Normandy Stud has been a strong supporter of the Ready To Run concept since its inception and has always prided itself on producing the goods with horses that don’t cost the earth.
“When it comes to our horses, we’ve often said that this could be our favourite time of year. Firstly, it’s foaling season. What’s not to love about foals, as they continue our ongoing cycle of hope. Which of these will be the stars of the future? Dare we dream of adding to our tally of L’Ormarins King’s Plate, Cape Derby or Guineas winners? Will we finally breed a Met winner, after five second-place finishes?”
It’s also the time of year when Normandy‘s Ready to Run babies start showing their mettle. They have selected them especially for this sale, so they always begin with high expectations.
Previous drafts have delivered the Grade 1 winners Rio Querari and Sergeant Hardy, as well as numerous Grade 2 and Grade 3 winners. For Normandy Stud, this is a Select Sale, and it’s important to them to have runners that will build on their RTR tradition.
“Closing the circle, RTR prep is when we start seeing the realization of the hopes and dreams of the foal crop from two years ago,” said Oscar.
We generally augment our RTR drafts with yearlings purchased during the course of the year. A few notable Graded stakes-winners from this cohort include Homely Girl, Wonderwall and Bishop’s Bounty.
Oscar’s notes on the current draft:
Lot 16 filly Magmalicious (Erupt (IRE) – Ekaterina)
On both sire and dam sides, this racy filly’s pedigree is very much on the up. She is the half-sister to one of last season’s better juveniles, in Grinkov. He’s recently gelded, and as a Twice Over, is sure to relish classic distances. She’s also a half-sister to a mare that’s produced a couple of promising runners. And, of course, she’s by Erupt, who is having a great run with his first crop of three-year-olds.
Her dam is a half-sister to Mother Russia, backing up her paddock value.
20 filly Public Benefit (Erupt (IRE) – Good Cause)
This big, scopey filly is out of a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Crowd Pleaser, who is one of the horses on our RTR honour roll. She looks like the type of Erupt that will excel from a mile upwards.
31 filly Gimme Shelter (Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) – Lady of the Fleece)
We’ve loved this strapping filly since she was just a few days old. She’s by the sensational Gimmethegreenlight, and she looks every bit a racehorse. Her dam has already bred a black type performer, and she is a half-sister to Fabiana and Star Empire. Lady of the Fleece is also a half-sister to the dam of GG’s Dynasty, a stakes-winner from our 2017 RTR draft.
41 filly Marpori (Potala Palace – Night on the Hill)
This filly gets her name from the hill on which the Potala Palace is built. In this filly’s case, ‘built’ is an appropriate word, because she is … well … built. She makes many colts look weak by comparison. She goes under the heading “could be anything”. Not only is she ‘built’, but she also moves extremely well. This is a prolific winner-producing branch of the Terpsichore family.
42 colt Take a Mulligan (Twice Over (GB) – Nordic Light)
This colt is a half-brother to the rapidly improving Beerenberg, who has won three of his last four starts. His dam is a half-sister to the dam of Rio Querari, and we can see this colt showing pace, too.
You get just one chance to buy this colt on RTR – no Mulligans available – so don’t miss out!
Normandy Stud (agent)
4 colt Unnamed (Duke of Marmalade (IRE) – Coby)
The dam of this colt was a top-class staying filly, and he looks like he’s headed in the same direction. After all, he’s by the same stallion as Ascot Gold Cup winner, Big Orange. He’s big, he’s scopey, and he moves well.
5 colt Tail of the Comet (Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) – Comet Chaser)
This is a cracker of a Gimme colt. He’s got size, scope and substance, and he looks like he can gallop. His stakes-winning Jet Master dam has already produced a black type performer, also by Gimmethegreenlight (full sister).
8 colt Prince of Denmark (Duke of Marmalade (IRE) – Cutey Me)
A neat, high quality colt by the sire of We’re Jamming. He moves exceptionally well.
21 colt Unnamed (Master of My Fate – Greendale)
This is a very smart colt, out of an underrated Captain Al mare. His half-brother, De la Cruz, reeled off three impressive wins at two before being exported (or having the opportunity of earning the black type that was surely headed his way).
28 colt Follow the Band (Vercingetorix – Jo Piper)
He is by South Africa’s hottest stallion, Vercingetorix, out of a five-time winning mare that has a 100% record of winners to runners. A ringer for the 2023 Sales Race.
30 filly Unnamed (Quasillo (GER) – Keep on Dreaming)
Quasillo is producing the goods with very small crops. This filly is a rare opportunity to buy one. Her stakes-placed dam was a five-time winner.
35 filly Montreal (Querari (GER) – Lorne Cottage)
This is a good-sized, scopey filly by top two-year-old sire, Querari. She’s from the family of Horse Chestnut, out of a five-time winning mare with a 100% record of winners from runners. She could be a very smart buy.
55 colt Unnamed (Lancaster Bomber (USA) – Sidera (AUS))
Lancaster Bomber was a rare stallion opportunity for South Africa. This colt is out of a stakes-winning Galileo mare who is out of a Danehill mare, making this a rare opportunity to get a truly international pedigree, but paying in rands!
56 colt Spring Palace (Potala Palace – Spring Orchid)
This high quality colt represents one of the finest Grade I producing families in the Stud Book. This could very well be the next Katak!
64 colt Bohemian Grove (Querari (GER) – Bella Spumante)
This well-grown, high quality colt is a real head-turner. His sire, Querari, goes from strength to strength. We can see this colt adding to his sire’s already lofty reputation. He is likely to be one of the standouts on the sale.
