If ever a horse was said to have a stallion’s pedigree, then recent Hollywoodbets Durbanville maiden winner Boogified certainly qualifies.
Boogiefied sheds his maiden at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Thursday 3 August (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
As we reported earlier, he is the first local winner sired by American Triple Crown winner Justify, whose racing career consisted of just six perfect starts at three.
A son of much-missed Scat Daddy, he embarked on a stallion career shuttling between the States and Australia, and whilst he never raced at two, his progeny came out running early, to the extent that he had the Australian First-Season Sire title sewn up a long time ago.
As for Boogified’s dam Love To Boogie, La Plaissance Stud owner Sabine Plattner purchased the daughter of Trippi for R550 000 at the 2015 National Yearling Sale, a fair amount justified by a power-packed pedigree.
With her first four dams all being stakes winners, she is out of the accomplished sprinter Jalberry, whose pedigree reveals no less than three lines of the legendary Australian sire Star Kingdom.
Trained by Geoff Woodruff, she claimed both the Gr3 Pretty Polly Stakes and Goldfields Sprint, before earning valuable Gr1 black type when third in the SA Fillies Sprint.
When Love To Boogie entered the sales ring, this daughter of Jallad had already proven her paddock prowess as the dam of the filly’s stakes-winning full brother On This Rock and of Count Express, who placed at Gr2 and Gr3 level. In addition to which, her own sister Strawberry Lane had produced a Gr1 winner in Cape Guineas winner Solo Traveller.
Solo Traveller
Remarkably, whereas Jalberry was a sprinter pure and simple, her Australian-bred dam Taineberry won the Gr2 Oaks at Hollywoodbets Scottsville under Kevin Shea.
Put into training, Love To Boogie went on to carry the Plattner silks with distinction. After winning her first two starts, she earned small black type third time out when beaten a neck in the Listed Olympic Duel Stakes and later came into her own to claim the Listed Off To Stud Stakes, followed immediately by the Gr3 Diana Stakes.
Love To Boogie wins the Gr3 Diana Stakes in 2018 under Bernie Fayd’herbe (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
By the time her racing career came to an end, the family fortunes had been substantially embellished. Her year-younger half-brother Purple Diamond won the Gr2 Durban Golden Horseshoe, her exported half-brother Mr Fantastic had earned Gr3 black type in Singapore, whilst Strawberry Lane garnered Equus Broodmare of the Year honours as the dam of two Gr1 winners, following Redberry Lane’s victory in the Gr1 Garden Province Stakes.
Instead of retiring Love To Boogie to La Plaissance, Mrs Plattner made the bold decision to send Love To Boogie to Australia and chose newcomer Justify as her first mate.
Mrs Plattner’s private trainer André Nel trained Love To Boogie and saddled Boogified to his first win.
Plattner Racing trainer Andre Nel chats to Jono Snaith
Granted, it was only a maiden and the colt has big shoes to fill, nevertheless he is thrilled that Love To Boogie has broken her duck as a broodmare with her very first foal and remarked: “She’s a good banker to have as a broodmare. She was very sound and let’s be honest, her pedigree page speaks for itself.”
Love To Boogie currently resides at Kia Ora Stud, as does her most recent foal, a yearling colt by young resident stallion Prague, a Gr1-placed sprint son of Redoute’s Choice.
The colt was a bit of a last hurrah, as he was foaled very late, hence the mare was rested. This spring, she has been penciled in to visit yet another son of Redoute’s Choice, champion The Autumn Sun.
Flashback to a peak Plattner moment in 2013! Yogas Govender, Tina Plattner and Sabine Plattner lead the Met winner Martial Eagle in
Love To Boogie’s second foal, a coveted filly by Galileo’s champion son Churchill, has been sent to South Africa and is currently at La Plaissance.
Stud manager Morné de Villiers describes her as “a very nice filly” and confirmed that both Love To Boogie and her Prague colt will return to South Africa next year.
“Hopefully the mare will be well in foal by then,” he remarked.
By the way, when Love To Boogie was sent to Australia, she was accompanied by Ngaga, who was returning to her birth country as a Gr3-placed stakes winner of the Listed East Coast Cup.
Ill-fated Ngaga seen winning the 2018 Listed East Coast Cup (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Alas, this Fastnet Rock half-sister to the mighty Igugu won’t be returning to South Africa for tragically, she had to be euthanized last year after breaking a leg while in foal to Churchill. She leaves just one foal, a 2021 colt by American Pharoah, also an American Triple Crown winner.
He has arrived at La Plaissance but as Morné explained, “the long journey from Australia via Europe took a lot out of him, but thankfully he appears to have turned the corner and is improving with leaps and bounds.”
Kudos to Mrs Plattner for having the courage and conviction to send two valuable mares halfway across the globe and at great expense.
Let’s hope Boogified’s sparkling maiden victory will be the first of many and that one day, he may grace the stallion barn at La Plaissance.
Here’s a flashback to the 2013 Met:
