Sporting Post’s resident breeding correspondent Sarah Whitelaw takes a brief look at news from a selection of stud farms and finds some exciting developments.
Master sister to Alley
Flower Alley
Clifton Stud have shown confidence in the well performed and proven sire, Flower Alley (sire of Saturday’s Gr1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap hero, Luke’s Alley) by sending him the beautifully bred mare, Withstand The Wind. The latter, safely in foal to the Gr1 Travers Stakes winner, is a full sister to none other than former Horse Of The Year and seven times champion sire, Jet Master, and is also from the immediate family of Gr2 KRA Fillies Guineas winner, Festival Of Fire (Kahal).
Withstand The Wind has returned from the Cape looking superb, and Peter and Jenny Blyth await her foaling with interest.
Another of Clifton’s top class mares is Ananova, dam of the durable and classy G2 Charity Mile winner, Bezanova, who has now banked over R1.6 million in stakes.
The daughter of London News visited Gr2 Premier Trophy hero, Master Of My Fate this season, with the Blyths keen to inbreed to the great mare, Soho Secret. The latter is dam of former Horse Of The Year and champion, London News, and is also third dam of Master Of My Fate, whose crop of foals have arrived to great reviews.
Top sires for Oldlands star producers
Barbara Sanne’s Oldlands’ Stud has sent some of their finest mares to some of South Africa’s most promising young sires.
Tar Heel
Egyptian Reign, dam of both G2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas winner, Go Indigo and Listed Somerset 1200 hero, Tar Heel, has been confirmed in foal to former Equus Champion and G1 Jebel Hatta winner, Vercingetorix (Silvano).
As a daughter of the Groom Dancer horse Kabool, Egyptian Reign looks made for Silvano (sire of Egyptian Reign’s filly foal), whose record with Blushing Groom line mares (representing the potent Nijinsky II/Blushing Groom cross) has proved sensational.
Another top class mare based at Oldlands is Earn A Moon (by the farm’s resident sire, Indigo Magic). Earn A Moon, whose relatives include the top class Oldlands bred Lucky Find and Pay The Piper, is the dam of G3 Final Fling Stakes winner Cat And The Moon (Black MInnaloushe) as well as a Var colt, which fetched R4 000 000 at the 2015 Cape Premier Yearling Sale.
Earn A Moon, whose Silvano filly fetched R1 million at this year’s Premier Sale, has a filly by European champion, Oratorio, at foot and is back in foal to Oratorio’s stable mate, Var. Orange Moon (Dominion Royale), dam of recently retired millionaire, Astro News (Silvano) and his stakes winning half sister, Darling Moon (Indigo Magic) is in foal to top sire, Var, and has a stunning Silvano full sister to Astro News at foot. Her daughter, Darling Moon, is another mare in foal to proven sire and triple G1 winner, Oratorio.
Lammerskraal star in foal to Deputy
One of South Africa’s most successful broodmares in recent years is without question Nacarat.
Brutal Force
A daughter of former Met winner and Horse Of The Year, Pas De Quoi, the four time winner has been a stalwart of the breeding shed. Nacarat enjoyed a good day at Kenilworth on Met day when her sons, Brutal Force and Bishop’s Bounty, (both by Western Winter) finished second and third in the G1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship and Listed The Sun International Summer Juvenile Stakes.
Bishop’s Bounty, who was making his debut when an unlucky third, looks to be yet another top class performer produced by his remarkable dam.
Nacarat, in foal to Lammerskraal’s bang in form sire, Go Deputy, is also the dam of G1 Thekwini Stakes heroine, Nania, Gr3 Cape Classic winner and multiple Gr1 placed performer, Red Ray, as well as high class stakes performers, Adobe Pink (by Go Deputy), Valor Red and Vermilion.
Met heroine’s sister in foal to Vercingetorix
Mauritzfontein Stud certainly had much to celebrate following the running of the recent G1 J&B Met.
Not only is the winner bred and owned by Mauritzfontein, and by their promising and blue blooded resident sire Ideal World, but the farm has a full sister to Smart Call’s dam (the now deceased Good Judgement, in the form of Crown Office. The Horse Chestnut half sister to Greys Inn had a Silvano colt that fetched R1.8 million at last year’s National Sale, and Crown Office has a stunning Tiger Ridge yearling colt, destined for this year’s National Sale. She has a colt foal by the exciting Prince Of Wales’s Stakes winner, Byword, at foot and is in foal to Maine Chance Farms’ popular young champion, Vercingetorix.
Champ’s foal in foal to Dynasty
Sandown Stud, breeders of last season’s Equus Champion, French Navy, are another stud with plenty to look forward to –if the farm’s in foal mares are anything to go by.
Elliodor mare, Redoutable, dam of recent G3 London News hero, French Navy, is back in foal to leading sire Dynasty, while Fenella, dam of Listed Irridescence Stakes winner, Anglet, is in foal to Count Dubois, sire of Anglet’s own sire, Biarritz.
Sandown’s very good producer, So Royal (dam of classy fillies Priceless Jewel and Crystal Cavern as well as the smart 3yo Royal Badge) has been given a rest as she foaled late, while Along The Nile, dam of Gr3 Tony Ruffel Stakes hero, Belong To Me, is in foal to the exciting Flower Alley, sire of Kentucky Derby winner, I’ll Have Another as well as current Triple Crown nominee, Crescent Drive.
Noble Tune foals impress
A Noble Tune foal
One of South Africa’s most exciting young sires is the Rathmor Stud based Noble Tune (Unbridled’s Song). Not only was the handsome stallion a top class racehorse (he won the Gr3 Pilgrim Stakes and was second in the Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at two and was a Gr2 winner at three) but Noble Tune is from a superb female line, with his half brother none other than US Champion Older Male, Honor Code. Another half brother (a weanling) to Noble Tune, by War Front, fetched $2.6 million at last year’s Keeneland November Sale.
Noble Tune’s third dam is none other than legendary racemare and producer, Serena’s Song (whose 18 wins included 13 Gr1 successes). Serena’s Song herself is the dam of Gr2 Gulfstream Park Handicap hero, Harlington, sire of 2015 G1 Breeders’ Cup F&M Sprint winner, Wavell Avenue.
Noble Tune has been hugely popular since retiring to stud, and his first foals (born last year) are really catching the eye, and the blue blooded young horse (he is from the same Unbridled male line as 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah) looks sure to make his mark in South Africa.
