Paddock Stakes Looks A Gem

Next Saturday’s R1 million Cartier Gr1 Paddock Stakes favourite Oh Susanna bids to emulate the high-class Dynasty filly Beach Beauty who registered a double in the prestigious contest in 2013 and 2014.

Sizzling Hot. Beach Beauty (Sean Cormack) strides clear to register the Gr1 Paddock Stakes double(Equine Edge)

It was in 2014 that Beach Beauty would go on to win the Gr1 Majorca Stakes, the Gr2 Drill Hall Stakes and then bowed out in a blaze of glory with a second consecutive victory in the Gr1 Garden Province Stakes on 5 July 2014. She is based at Drakensteuin Stud

Trained by Dennis Drier and ridden to both Paddock Stakes wins by Sean Cormack, Beach Beauty was honoured by the KZN Breeders in 2014.

Then Chairman of KZN Breeders Koos de Klerk conceded at the awards function that their panel had erred in previous seasons by not including the brilliant Dynasty mare in the awards.

Clifton Stud owner Peter Blythe pointed out that, although Beach Beauty had been born in the Cape, her dam was a permanent resident on the late Trevor Armitage’s farm near Volksrust in KZN and Beach Beauty was also raised on the farm.

Beach Beauty’s dam Sun Coast had travelled to the Cape to be covered by Dynasty and after giving birth travelled with her foal back to the Armitage farm.

Armitage had never registered his horses with the KZN Breeders Clubs partly due to his aversion to paper work, but also because he felt it would be wrong, having accepted breeders premiums on his previous farm at Standerton in Gauteng, to accept the same from Gold Circle. Sun Coast was also honoured and named Broodmare of the Year.

So can Oh Susanna emulate the Drier champion and give Justin Snaith a third consecutive win in the feature?

The daughter of Street Cry was the only three-time Gr1 winner during last season in South Africa and was unsurprisingly named SA Horse Of The Year at Equus in August. She also won the Champion Three-year-old filly award and the Champion Middle Distance horse award.

Oh Susanna beats Lady In Black to win the Gr1 Woolavington last season

The Australian-bred was also the first three-year-old filly to win the Sun Met for over 100 years and her owners and breeders Drakenstein Stud have a valuable broodmare prospect on their hands.

Interestingly, there could be an ominous warning in the fact that one of her major obstacles to achieving the Beach Beauty – Paddock Stakes double is another Dynasty filly, also trained by Dennis Drier. Lady In Black, after going down to her in the Gr1 Woolavington last term, recently beat Oh Susanna in a season pipe-opener and she looks to have matured beautifully as a 4yo.

It should be a great race – even if slightly overshadowed by the day’s topliner, the Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.