Champion Turf Sprinter of Ireland, France and Dubai, A CASE OF YOU (IRE) lands in South Africa on Friday 19th April 2024, the fastest horse to come here since VAR (USA), who won the same race, the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamps (Gr1) twenty years ago.
Winner of Europe’s 1000m Sprint Championship, the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamps (Gr1)
Bought by Mrs Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud, A CASE OF YOU, is an imposing beast of a horse, a 16.2 hands ball of muscle, who weighs in at 585kg. He is what you would expect a champion sprinter to look like.
A CASE OF YOU campaigned across the globe and was thoroughly tested as a racehorse: He ran 22 times in six different countries – UK, Ireland, France, USA, Dubai, and Australia – against the best sprinters in the world, on all surfaces turf, synthetic, dirt, winning on firm, yielding and heavy ground, campaigned for five straight seasons and earned £1,162,956 in 7 wins from 1000m to 1300m.
In short, he was an admirable racehorse and must have had an incredible temperament to be away from home so often, and adapt to varying conditions so readily and always give of his best.
A Case Of You winning the Gr3 Anglesey Stakes at 2 (Pic – Racingfotos.com)
A Case of You began his career very smartly, using his dominant frame to win two of his first three starts in Ireland including the Anglesey Stakes (Gr3) at The Curragh.
As a 3 year old, he won the premier 1000m race in Europe, the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamps (Gr1), a breed shaping event invariably won by the fastest horses in the world.
The ground came up soft, A Case Of You sat back in 6th.
“It all happened so quickly”, said his jockey Ronan Whelan, “we I came out of the pack, I said to myself, oh grand, I’m going come and nice second here – and all of a sudden, he’s getting closer and closer, and I say, Jeez, I have a chance here to get the result and win on such a big day, it was hard to describe the happiness”.
On A CASE OF YOU he said “ He’s literally brought me around the world, put my name on the world’s stage, Ado and everyone in the yard, we can never be more thankful to him.”
As a 4 year old, A CASE OF YOU travelled across the world and his best victory came in Dubai, where he defeated a high class field of international sprinters in the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint (Gr1) over 1200m, this time leading from start to finish on a hot sweaty day in 1 min 8,07secs, the second fastest in the history of the race.
Behind him were Gr1 sprinters from England, Ireland, France, America and Japan, incl. Naval Crown (Royal Ascot Platinum Jubilee Gr1), Air de Valse (Prix de l’Abbaye Gr1), and Casa Creed (four Gr1 wins in USA).
A Case Of You “a magnificent horse, another Gr1” wins the $1m Al Quoz (Gr.1) in Dubai.
A CASE OF YOU is a Mr Prospector line stallion from the Gone West branch which has done so well in South Africa.
His sire HOT STREAK, one of the fastest sprinters of his day, is by IFRAAJ, Champion sire of 2 Year Olds and Sire of Sires, including Coolmore’s latest Champion Sire, Wooten Bassett, the €150,000 service fee stallion who has now sired 10 Gr1 winners.
“We are very excited to have the European sprint star A Case Of You,” said Drakenstein’s Kevin Sommerville, “especially now that Cape Racing has created such an intense programme of big two year old races, including the Cape Slipper.
“He is such a big powerful animal, he looks the perfect replacement of the late Champion Sire of Sprinters and two year olds, VAR (USA), who won the same race that he did, and produced so many outstanding champions in South African racing. He’ll pick up Var’s mantle so well – ‘the Need for Speed’ and will be popular with breeders and buyers alike.
He will stand his first season at Drakenstein Stud this season at a stud fee of R25,000.
