Just 24 hours after Varsfontein’s young Captain Al stallion Erik The Red celebrated his first winner at Turffontein, the high-class sprinter marked a second success when his daughter Polar Light improved dramatically at her second start to open her account at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
On Saturday the Alec Laird-trained gelding Tenjiku broke the ice for his sire when showing courage down the long Turffontein straight and on Sunday it was another Varsfontein Stud product – this time of the opposite sex – that showed the way when the Paul Lafferty-trained Polar Light finished with a rattle at any price to beat the 8-10 favourite Treasure Island by 1,60 lengths in a time of 64,51 secs for the 1100m straight.
Jaycee Botes steers Polar Light to a good win (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
While the outside going may well have worked in her favour, it was a meritorious victory under Apprentice Jaycee Botes, who was registering his personal ninth career victory.
Trainer Paul Lafferty said that he had liked the filly at the Cape Yearling Sale last year and picked her up for R120 000. She was subsequently snapped up by a few regular Lafferty supporters, including KZN stalwart Eric Buhr, in whose silks she races.
Polar Light is out of the Gimmethegreenlight one-time winner Different Light and her Ideal World half brother View Of The World was carded to race for the Lafferty stable in the fifth race.
Trained by Justin Snaith, Erik The Red was a high-class sprinter who won six of ten starts. The well-bred bay, who won from 1000-1200m, scored in five graded or listed races, including a trio of graded triumphs.
One of 105 stakes winners for his late champion sire Captain Al, whose sire sons also include the sensational One World as well as proven Gr1 stallions Captain Of All and William Longsword, Erik The Red is bred on the same Captain Al/Western Winter cross as Gr1 winners Carry On Alice and Tap O’ Noth, Erik The Red is one of five winners produced by the Western Winter mare Covenant.
The latter, also the dam of Gr1 Gold Medallion runner-up Varallo and the stakes-placed dam of Gr2 winner Cala Muretta, was a top-class performer whose seven career victories included the 2011 Klawervlei Gr1 Majorca Stakes and three other graded victories.
Erik The Red has twelve offspring on the BSA Cape Yearling Sale on Sunday 23 February, and 18 on the CRS Cape Premier Yearling Sale on 13 and 14 March.
