In exciting news for the breeding industry, it was announced earlier this week that boom Ridgemont-based Redoute’s Choice stallion Rafeef will stand for a fee of R120 000 in the new breeding season.
A champion and Grade 1 winner on the racetrack, Rafeef has established an indelible reputation as a stallion who has the ability to sire stakes winners across the speed and stamina spectrum, his elite winners from 1000m to 2450m stamping him as the most exciting SA-based sire for some years.
South Africa’s leading freshman sire of 2021, Rafeef has gone on to greater things and emerged as a big-hitting successor to his champion dam National Colour’s sire National Assembly, who also stood at the famed Robertson nursery.
Rafeef is currently challenging established champion elders Gimmethegreenlight and Vercingetorix, both on the champion logs and in the sales arena.
The supreme athlete matches both of the aforementioned with seven black-type winners, while his AEPR of R80 953 is bettered only by Pathfork, Lancaster Bomber, Gimmethegreenlight, and Vercingetorix.
Rafeef’s first three crops boast stakes winners percentage of 13%, 14% and 15% – the last season bettered only by champion, Trippi.
“From his first three crops (with limited numbers) Rafeef has consistently produced results on the racetrack, and it is fantastic to see him challenging the top tier of stallions in the country – most notably with his stakes winners percentage. After consultation with Jehan Malherbe, representatives from Shadwell Stud, and the shareholders we felt that he deserves his service fee to reflect his results,” said Ridgemont’s Craig Kieswetter
Given Rafeef’s exponential growth in stature in the past term, the season-on-season increase in his service fee from R20 000 nomination and R70 000 live foal last season, to R30 000 nomination and R90 000 live foal in the new term, has to be considered great value in a market set for take-off following the recent news of the opening of the EU export gateway.
