‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man’. Winston Churchill’s famous phrase applies in more ways than one to Ridgemont’s Redoute’s Choice crackerjack Rafeef, who produced yet another well-taken dual sex feature double at Turffontein on Classic Day.
Rafeef’s 2yo daughter Glastonbury wins the Ruffian (Pic – JC Photos)
Blood once again rules the land and Rafeef’s potent power-packed pedigree, coupled with the Horse Of The Season’s racing record as a Grade 1 winner of 6 races from 1000m to 1400m, have equipped his offspring of both sexes with superior ammunition.
Not many sires can boast Gr1 winners from 1000m to 2400m, and Rafeef again stepped up on Saturday, with two feature race winners on sticky gound at Turffontein.
The in-demand sire’s 2yo daughter Glastonbury was first up, as she made it two wins from three starts with an emphatic victory – her sire’s 23rd stakes winner – when scoring in the Wilgerbosdrift Listed Ruffian Stakes.
South Africa’s only lady jockey, Rachel Venniker was full of praise for the Paul Matchett trained Glastonbury, who now looks a serious candidate for the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship in May in the KZN Capital City..
Bred by Pippa Mickeburgh, Glastonbury had won on debut before finishing second to very promising fellow Rafeef daughter Easy Tiger, at Turffontein in February.
Glastonbury is out of the Gimmethegreenlight mare Gimme London and was a R250 000 purchase from the 2024 Premier Yearling Sale.
14! Rafeef’s soldier son William Robertson sets up a date in the Computaform Sprint with a top win on Saturday (Pic – JC Photos)
In the process she became one of three two-year-old winners this term for her in-form sire.
The Corne Spies-trained Rafeef gelding William Robertson is a firm fan favourite, as the 6yo does not know how to have an off day!
On Saturday he set up a bid to follow in Rafeef’s hoofprints in the Gr1 Computaform Sprint at end March, when he registered his fourteenth career success in winning the TAB Gr3 J J The Jet Plane Stakes.
The Ridgemont bred gelding romped home under Ryan Munger to score in impressive style and now looks beautifully poised to add a Gr1 to his Gr2 and Gr3 trophies.
Rafeef also celebrated a third place in the same race behind William Robertson, with his son Mover And Shaker staying on smartly.
Rafeef’s 2024/25 season is flying and with five months left, there is plenty of water to run under the bridge.
At sixth on the national General Sires premiership table, Rafeef is in the big league mix and his graded stakes flagbearers include Chasing Happiness, Mon Petit Cherie, and Outlaw King. Clearly bigger days lie ahead!
Rafeef has 16 lots going through the ring at the CRS Premier Yearling Sale at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on 13 and 14 March, and a further 34 lots on the BSA National Yearling Sale in April.
