Last weekend’s Jacaranda Handicap at Turffontein reminded us again why this wonderful sport keeps us enthralled. In a heartwarming, feel-good result, the Listed race went the way of the veteran mare Rouge Allure, who opened her stakes account with a popular victory on what was her 95th career start.
At an age where her contemporaries have already dropped their second or even third foals, this hard-knocking daughter of Kahal is still going strong at the ripe old age of eight and races with the zest of a horse half her age.
Rouge Allure scores her first stakes success last Saturday (Pic – JC Photos)
A member of racing’s Millionaire club, the thirteen-time winner is every owner’s dream and was bred by former Summerhill supremo Mick Goss, who races her in partnership with Albert Rapp.
Mick was undeniably thrilled with the mare’s first black type success and admitted: “Yes, we’ve had some thrills in the game, but I have to say, this one was right up there with them.”
Mick Goss – still loving it
Elaborating as to why Rouge Allure is still in training at such an advanced age, he added: “I wanted to send her to stud at the end of her four-year-old season but I have always been outvoted by my partner Albert, who kept telling me how old he is and that she could be his last decent horse! As it happens, the vote has been right, she’s a living replica of the Iron Horse!”
Black type has proven to be elusive and one would think the older she gets, the more difficult it becomes. However, the chestnut gave notice of what was to come when she chased home Pin Up in the Gr3 Acacia Handicap two weeks prior to the Jacaranda.
A stakes win has undoubtedly enhanced an already fine pedigree.
Rouge Allure is the last stakes winner sired by the late Kahal, who died in 2014. The Shadwell bred arrived at Summerhill Stud a multiple Group winner, having shown his prowess on the racetracks of Britain, France, the States and Dubai.
He made an immediate impact with his first crop, which included champion filly Bold Ellinore, who incidentally, was out of a mare by the champion breeders’ iconic stallion Northern Guest.
Kahal (Machiavellian – Just A Mirage)
Kahal would go on to do both Summerhill and KwaZulu-Natal proud as the leading stallion in the province, carving out a reputation for himself as a consistent sire of gallopers of the highest class, over all distances. In addition, he became a permanent fixture amongst the country’s elite, finishing as high as third on the General Sires List in 2011.
Rouge Allure’s female family also hails from a world-class stud, that of the revered Juddmonte Farms. She is the best foal out of the Pivotal mare Mekyaas, whose dam Land Ahead, is a Juddmonte-bred half-sister to American Gr1 winner Contredance and to Gr2 winner Skimble, the dam of dual Gr1 winner Skimming.
Many breeders are hesitant to invest in older mares, however, history shows that many a hard-raced mare has become a successful broodmare. One such mare was the grand American-bred champion Dahlia. Twice voted British Horse of the Year and named America’s Champion Turf Horse, she won 16 of her 46 starts and was an 11-time Gr1 winner on three continents.
Significantly, her dam Charming Alibi was a tough as teak racemare and won sixteen of her seventy-one races.
Dahlia’s efforts on the track were matched by her performance in the paddocks as she became the dam of six stakes winners, amongst which the Gr1 winners Dahar, Rivlia, Delegant, and Dahlia’s Dreamer.
Closer to home, those that readily come to mind include the stakes winning Foveros mares Grecian Gale and Festive Forever, both of which were still winning at age six.
The former was trained by the late Buddy Maroun, whose horses raced often and hardly spent time standing idle in a stable! A Gr2 winner of eleven races, Grecian Gale proved herself a top notch broodmare as the dam of two Gr1 winners, the champion filly Wendywood and Summer Cup winner Malteme.
Festive Forever – 1996 Gr1 IGN Gold Cup
Festive Forever, out of champion Festive Season, was very much her mother’s daughter and became Tony Millard’s first of two Gr1 Gold Cup winners, winning the marathon event three days after her official sixth birthday. She too, became a Gr1 producer, her Western Winter son Fearless sharing Champion juvenile honours after winning the (then) Gr1 Golden Horseshoe and subsequently placing at Gr1 level in Hong Kong.
As to Rouge Allure’s future, Mick has the last word: “She can’t go on forever. Three runs back Albert said we need to think about retirement, but after the Jacaranda, who knows, you can’t predict Albert!”
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