That Querari has served Maine Chance with distinction over the past decade was underlined this past weekend at Hollywoodbets Durbanville, where he celebrated a one-three in the Gr3 Matchem Stakes, victory going to Questioning and third place to another son, the multiple Gr1-placed At My Command.
Majestic Querari – a son of Oasis Dream out of the Acatenango mare, Quetena (Pic – Freemanstallions)
Querari has always found himself overshadowed by barn mates Silvano and Vercingetorix, yet has proven himself a fine stallion in his own right.
A profound influence for precocity, the German-bred is the complete antitheses of the stoutness that country is renowned for.
Notwithstanding the fact that Querari never raced at two and that his best racetrack efforts were over 2000m, his progeny tend to show the toe his sire line is renowned for. In fact, he has headed the juvenile sires list on two occasions (2019 and 2022), no surprise, since his sire Oasis Dream is a renowned speed influence, as is his grandsire Green Desert.
Also, his grandam Quebrada was a champion juvenile and was sired by Devil’s Bag, an undefeated juvenile who was voted America’s champion 2YO after winning all five starts, including the Gr1 Laurel Futurity in track record time.
The sire of 43 stakes winners to date, Querari’s progeny are ideally suited to the South African racing programme with its emphasis on speed. To that end, he has sired champion sprinter Rio Querari, who despite physical problems, captured the Gr1 Computaform Sprint, Gr2 Post Merchants winner Kangaroo Jack and Pinnacle Peak, who claimed the Gr3 Man O’War Sprint.
However, for all the speed he imparts, he is also a dab hand with milers, as proven by his other Gr1 winners, the fillies Querari Falcon and Bavarian Beauty, both of which scored their signature wins in the Thekwini Stakes.
Corne Orffer drives Champion Stayer Master Redoute through for a dramatic victory in the World Pool Gold Cup (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Then there are Gr2 Dingaans winner Monks Hood, Head Honcho, who won the Gr2 Premier Trophy, and Gr3 Cup Trial winner Campari Kampala. He has even managed to sire a champion stayer in last season’s Gold Cup winner Master Redoute!
The Matchem was a second Gr3 success for Questioning, given that he had opened his stakes account at three in the Gr3 Cape Classic over the same 1400m trip. That was an auspicious effort, as he was followed across the line by subsequent Gr1 Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot and Green With Envy, whose Gr1 Cape Derby/Daily News 2000 double earned him the coveted title of Champion 3YO colt.
After failing to stay the Guineas trip, Questioning reverted to sprint distances and to great effect, his Matchem victory coming off two wins and three places in as many starts.
The four-year-old is yet another feather in the cap of veteran owner Alec Foster, who bred him from the Captain Al mare Wheredowego.
On the track, her finest moment came in the Gr3 Kenilworth Fillies Nursery, where she asserted her authority by three-quarters of a length. As a broodmare, she has come up trumps with her first four foals.
Senso Unio wins the 2023 Settlers Trophy (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
In addition to Questioning, she has produced Settlers Trophy winner Senso Unico to Twice Over, Gr2 Fillies Guineas third Labyrinth to Oratorio, and the six-time winning Gimmethegreenlight filly Golightly. Her next two foals are also fillies, a juvenile by Vercingetorix and a yearling by What A Winter.
Wheredowego was bred at Dr Bennie van der Merwe’s Moutonshoek and like both her son and sire Captain Al, was trained by Vaughan Marshall. Her dam, the Fort Wood mare Pin Number, is a winning full sister to Gr1 SA Derby and Gr2 Gold Circle Derby third Service Ace, while National Assembly half-brother Flight Alert won the Gr1 Cape Guineas.
Grandam Beltel, a daughter of Bush Telegraph, showed little on the track but counts amongst her siblings the champion sprinter Senor Santa, Gr2 Natalia Stakes victress Magic Model and the stakes winners Rock-Candy and Above The Law.
For what it’s worth, Questioning is living proof that the incomparable taproot mare Drohsky continues to exert her influence on South African racing. He traces to her winning daughter Lindro, who did her bit to maintain family honours. In addition to Questioning and his immediate relatives, she is also ancestress of notable Gr1 winners Night Bird, Majestic Crown, Distinctly, Wagga Wagga and Yamani.
Querari stands at Maine Chance Farms for a 2024 fee of R45 000.
