There have been few, if any, better bred stallions to retire to stud in South Africa than the late Tiger Ridge.
A son of legendary sire Storm Cat and US Broodmare Of The Year Weekend Surprise, Tiger Ridge was a three-parts brother to Gr1 Preakness Stakes winner, and successful sire Summer Squall (sired, like Storm Cat, by Storm Bird) and half-brother to US Horse Of The Year, and multiple champion sire, A.P. Indy.
Tiger Ridge (Storm Cat – Weekend Surprise)
Both Summer Squall and A.P. Indy became hugely successful broodmare sires -to date, Summer Squall mares have bred the likes of US champions Stevie Wonderboy and Summer Bird, while the late A.P.Indy is damsire of over 250 stakes winners.
Tiger Ridge, whose North American crops yielded the likes of US millionaire Leah’s Secret and Windsor Castle Stakes hero Strike The Tiger, left his mark in South Africa with eight crops.
His notable South African flagbearers were headed by Equus Champions Cherry On The Top and Nother Russia, short-lived Gr1 Cape Guineas winner Noah From Goa, Gr1 Summer Cup winner Wagner and Gr2 winning millionaires Kavanagh and Trophy Wife. Other graded stakes winners sired by Tiger Ridge in South Africa included Isphan, Maybe Yes and Tiger’s Retreat.
Not surprisingly, given his own pedigree and the quality of mare he covered, Tiger Ridge is making his presence felt as a broodmare sire.
The late son of Storm Cat ended the 2021-2022 racing season 11th on South Africa’s Leading Broodmare Sires List, with the progeny of Tiger Ridge mares earning more than R5 000 000 and claiming six black type races in South Africa last season.
Tiger Ridge’s influence as a broodmare sire was also felt at Fairview on Friday, when his maternal granddaughter Santa Therese (Flower Alley) captured the Listed Jockey Club Stakes.
Out of the Tiger Ridge mare Santa Clarita, Santa Therese has now won four black type races, with the mare having also captured the Jockey Club Stakes in 2021.
Santa Therese wins the Listed Jockey Club Stakes last Friday (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Santa Therese was one of five black type winners produced by Tiger Ridge mares last season, with others including Gr3 Kenilworth Fillies Nursery winner Epsom Girl (Pomodoro), In Full Flight Handicap/Marshalls World Of Sport Umngeni Handicap hero Isivunguvungu (What A Winter), the aforementioned Santa Therese, Gr2 4Racing SA Fillies Nursery winner Maharanee (Flower Alley) and Gr3 Three Troikas Stakes winner Sprinkles (Elusive Fort).
Tiger Ridge is also broodmare sire of South African G1 winners Orchid Island (SA Fillies Classic) and Pearl Of Asia (Mercury Sprint), while his North American daughter Leah’s Secret produced G3 Westchester Stakes winner Nicodemus (Candy Ride).
Tiger Ridge, who spent his South African stud career at Wilgerbosdrift, is also maternal grandsire of Driving Miss Daisy (Master Of My Fate) -runner up in all of the Gr1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas, Gr1 Cartier Paddock Stakes and Gr1 Woolavington 2000, while the smart Marigold Hotel (Querari), a half-sister to Maharanee, is out of the Tiger Ridge mare Indira. His brilliant daughter Cherry On The Top, while yet to produce anything approaching her own merit, is dam of Gr1 SA Fillies Classic third Blossom (Silvano) and the smart Seventh Gear (Captain Al).
Perhaps tellingly, Tiger Ridge was inbred to US Triple Crown winner Secretariat (an outstanding broodmare sire), while his granddam Lassie Dear was a daughter of Buckpasser, an even greater broodmare sire.
