South African bred and raced champions made their presence felt in major racing events and award ceremonies last week.
Sensational stallion Justify, who is inbred to South African champion Hawaii, came up with his first US champion when his daughter Just F Y I was crowned Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old filly for 2023 at the Eclipse Awards ceremony held at Palm Beach on Thursday 25 January.
Newly crowned Eclipse Champion Just F Y I wins the 2023 Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf (Pic – Coolmore)
Yet another success for the former US Triple Crown winner came when the Justify sired Alpha Bella won the Gr3 La Prevoyante Stakes presented by Ketel One Espresso Martini at Gulfstream Park last Saturday.
Alpha Bella is the 26th stakes winner for Justify, a son of the phenomenal Scat Daddy.
The latter, whose grandsire Hennessy is out of the Hawaii mare Island Kitty, is also the sire of 2017 Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Mendelssohn -whose son Mendelssohn Bay won the Gr3 UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan on Friday 26 January.
South African bloodlines have also been to the fore in Australia recently, with French Group One winner Royal Meeting (Invincible Spirit), whose dam was a champion in South Africa, making a very bright start to his stud career.
Royal Meeting, who shares his sire with the likes of I Am Invincible, Kingman and exciting young South African sire Digital Age among others, came up with his first winner and first stakes winner when his first crop daughter Hayasugi won the Gr3 Sportsbet Blue Diamond Preview at Caulfield on Friday 26 January.
Rock Opera’s son Royal Meeting in action – he has made a bright start to his stud career (Pic – Godolphin)
Hayasugi was just the fourth runner for Royal Meeting up until then, and Royal Meeting has subsequently climbed to seventh on Australia’s Leading 1st Season Sires premiership for 2023-2024.
Royal Meeting is out of South African bred champion Rock Opera (Lecture) –South Africa’s Champion 2YO Filly of 2005.
A full-sister to Gr2 The Nursery winner Hit Song and the Gr1 placed dam of dual South African Gr1 winner Van Halen, Rock Opera (whose half-sister Royal Drummer produced Gr1 winning sprinter Gulf Storm, Gr3 winner Seattle Singer and East Cape star Global Drummer) won all four starts at two with her two-year-old campaign ending in a two length defeat of outstanding broodmare Secret Of Victoria (dam of four stakes winners including Saturday’s Listed World Sports Betting Summer Juvenile Stakes winner Roman Agent) in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship.
Royal Meeting, like his dam, was a Gr1 winner at two, winning the Gr1 Criterium International of 2018. In landing the Criterium International, Royal Meeting accounted for the following year’s Gr1 Qipco 1000 Guineas/Gr1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas Hermosa (whose full-brother The United States stands at Moutonshoek).
While he failed to win again, Royal Meeting did manage to finish third, behind dual Australian Gr1 winner Streets Of Avalon (Magnus), in the 2019 Gr3 Ladbrokes Moonga Stakes.
A half-brother to the durable Heavy Metal (whose 15 wins included the 2018 Gr2 Godolphin Mile), Royal Meeting is a direct descendant of Polly Mahal (Arabian Night II), whose numerous high-class descendants also include Gr1 winners Along Came Polly, Indira, Marie Galante and Young Rake.
