Team Valor’s Barry Irwin has announced that outstanding producer, Sunshine Lover, has been retired from the paddocks.
The daughter of Badger Land, and South Africa’s Broodmare Of The Year in 2011, sadly dropped a stillborn Gimmethegreenlight filly on Wednesday, and the decision was then made to retire Sunshine Lover.
Team Valor have retained Sunshine Lover’s two-year-old Master Of My Fate filly, and three-parts sister to multiple Gr1 winner Ebony Flyer, to race and breed from later down the line.
Barry Irwin (hamishNIVENPhotography)
Barry Irwin says of the now retired matron, “She has been a fabulous mare, a once-in-a-lifetime matron that we cherished and she will live out her remaining days at Klipdrif Stud.”
Herself a winner over 1200m, Sunshine Lover has been an outstanding producer -with her six winners headed by the Gr1 Cape Fillies Guineas winning half-sisters Captain’s Lover (by Captain Al) and Ebony Flyer (by Jet Master).
Both Captain’s Lover (who went on to win the G3 Prix du Pin in France as well as the Matchmaker Stakes in North America) and Ebony Flyer (victorious subsequently in all of the Gr1 Majorca Stakes and Gr1 South African Fillies Sprint) went on to scale further heights following their successes in the Cape Fillies Guineas of 2007 and 2010 respectively.
Sunshine Lover has also made her mark at stud through her broodmare daughters -with her daughter Cupid (a full-sister to Ebony Flyer) dam of Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate winner Vardy (by Var) and East Cape Oaks winner Eros’s Girl (by Captain Al), and Ebony Flyer dam of the very smart, now Hong Kong based, Gr3 performer Cot Campbell (by Trippi).
In total, Sunshine Lover has thus far thrown four black type horses including East Cape Guineas third Jabu (by Var), and Racing Association Stakes runner up Cape Cutter (by Captain Al).
Ebony Flyer – in foal to Kingman
Team Valor still have Ebony Flyer in production with partner Gaynor Rupert, at whose Cayton Stud in England she resides. She currently is in foal to sensational young sire Kingman and has foals on the ground by Dark Angel and Duke of Marmalade.
They purchased Sunshine Lover privately, after the emergence of Captain’s Lover as a future prospect.
