There’s a new addition to the vendor list at this year’s Mistico Yearling Sale in the shape of Wind River Farm.
Mina Salaam and her Erupt 2019 colt
The first-time vendor is Sally Bruss, who of course is best known as the former stud manager at the famed Lammerskraal Stud. Sally ventured out on her own last year and has been putting her heart and soul, not to mention a lot of hard work and capital, into refurbishing the derelict 50 hectare property situated in the Tulbagh area.
In less than a year, she has not only put in 900 new fence posts, the farm also boasts a splendid 900m oval sand track, complete with a 300m straight running through its centre.
Last weekend was a particularly satisfying one when four-year-old filly True To Life defeated male rivals in the Gr3 Tommy Hotspur at Turffontein.
True To Life (Gavin Lerena) wins the Gr3 Tommy Hotspur Handicap on Saturday. (Pic- JC Photos)
Sally foaled down the daughter of Duke Of Marmalade when her dam Mina Salaam was a boarder at Lammerskraal.
A stakes winning daughter of Medaglia d’Oro and the champion racemare Circle Of Life, Sally now owns Mina Salaam on a foal-share basis with brother-in-law Robin Bruss.
He sent the mare to Duke Of Marmalade on three occasions, and each time she foaled a filly.
The promising, if short-lived three-year-old winner Vida Es Bella was followed by True To Life, while the third foal is now a juvenile.
Sally elaborated: “I sold the two-year-old full sister to True To Life’s owner Laurence Wernars on the morning of the Tommy Hotspur before she won. She’s a lovely filly, very athletic with a better head than her sister. I actually would expect her to go on to do good things as well. Mina Salaam’s yearling colt by Erupt is similar to True To Life, a big, powerful bay. Mina has a cracking Erupt colt at foot and she is again in foal to him. Robin sent her to Duke three times which hasn’t worked out too badly, so fingers crossed history repeats itself with Erupt!”
But back to the Mistico Sale, where Wind River Farm will offer three yearlings by successful sire Visionaire.
The powerful grandson of Gone West has sired a couple of decent winners lately, notably the promising Glen Kotzen-trained juvenile Good Traveller, a runaway debut winner at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
Sally’s trio destined for the Mistico Sale descend from her powerhouse broodmare Nacarat, whose bounty of successful foals include Gr1 winners Nania and Red Ray, as well as the stakes winners Brutal Force, Bishop’s Bounty, Adobe Pink and Valor Red.
All were foaled and raised by Sally, as was their Gr3-placed Western Winter sibling Vermilion, who is the dam of Victor Rail, the only colt amongst the Wind River trio.
Described by Sally as ‘a bay version of his sire, compact, muscular and well-topped’, the colt’s six winning siblings include the Gimmethegreenlight gelding Vikram, an impressive 3.50-length winner for owner Sabine Plattner at Kenilworth over the weekend.
Vermilion’s daughter Ventura features as the dam of the Visionaire filly Mistress Merlot ‘a racy and athletic dark bay, very typical of her mother.’ By Go Deputy and successful four times on the track, Ventura has come up trumps with her first two foals, both having graced the number one box.
Rounding out the Wind River trio is the filly Scarlet Red, who is out of Nacarat’s daughter Chambre’. By former Lammerskraal sire Rakeen, this dual winner boasts a 100% strike rate as the dam of seven winners from as many runners, amongst which her Western Winter son Mr Roy (Western Winter), who ran third in both the Gr3 Godolphin Barb Stakes and the Darley Arabian.
“She’s a big-bodied filly, just like her sire,” remarks Sally of the mare’s ninth foal. “Kevin and Alyson Wright have her What A Winter juvenile half-brother and they think the world of him.”
Notwithstanding the fact that she has prepared and sold multi-million rand yearlings while at Lammerskraal, Sally is understandably nervous as the Mistico sale approaches: “I’m terrified I’m not going to get a bid for them!” she quips, a remark so typical from a first-time vendor!
