When Winchester Mansion won Saturday’s Gr1 Hollywoodbets Durban July, he placed his sire Trippi among an elite group of stallions to have been responsible for both the Met and July winner in the same season.
Trippi, whose now retired son Jet Dark won the 2023 G1 World Sports Betting Cape Town Met, is responsible for 90 stakes winners and was South Africa’s Champion Sire in 2015-2016.
In years gone by, the only other stallions to have captured the July/Met double with different horses in the same season were Royal Prerogative with Mark Anthony (Met) and Royal Chalice (July) in 1988, and Silvano sired Martial Eagle (Met) and Heavy Metal (July) in 2013.
Winchester Mansion (blue cap) makes it a big win fin for his sire, Trippi (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Winchester Mansion is the 13th Gr1 winner for Trippi, with Drakenstein Stud’s veteran sire having had a truly fantastic season in 2022-2023 thus far.
Trippi has been responsible for the following Gr1 winners in South Africa this season -Charles Dickens, Jet Dark, Trip Of Fortune and the aforementioned Winchester Mansion.
Between them, they have captured five of South Africa’s top contests- the Gr1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas, Gr1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge, Gr1 WSB Cape Town Met, Gr1 H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes and the G1 Hollywoodbets Durban July.
Winchester Mansion is one of nine stakes winners for Trippi this season, and he was one of three runners (Pacaya and Trip Of Fortune being the others) in the 2023 Hollywoodbets Durban July for his Vosburgh Stakes winning sire.
While the current season surely ranks as one of the very best in South Africa for Trippi in terms of sheer quality, the Drakenstein resident has been a consistent source of black-type winners since landing in South Africa, with Trippi responsible for nine stakes winners last season, seven in 2020-2021 and 11 black type winners in 2015-2016.
Trippi (Pic – hamishNIVENPhotography)
One of the more striking features of Trippi’s success this season is the versatility of his progeny.
From his two-year-old daughter October Morn romping home to a six-length win in the Perfect Promise Sprint over 1200m this season to his son Crome Yellow claiming the Gr3 Merchants On Long Chairman’s Cup over 2500m, Trippi has been responsible for black type winners over a range of different distances this season.
His remarkable success can also be seen in his Average Earnings Per Runner index, with his AEPR for 2022-2023 standing at R165 729 at the current time -far above that of any stallion currently active at stud in South Africa.
The bay has also made his mark in South Africa as a broodmare sire this season, and Trippi is currently third on the Leading Broodmare Sires premiership for 2022-2023.
His daughters have been responsible for eight black-type winners of 11 black-type races in South Africa this season, with this list headed by Gr1 Pongracz Cape Flying Championship/Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint winner Gimme A Prince (Gimmethegreenlight).
With a lengthy list of daughters yet to be represented on the racetrack, Trippi’s legacy as a broodmare sire looks set to be felt for years to come.
