Val De Ra To Stud
| Val De Ra To Stud 03 May, 2012 – Lisa Barrett |
In a sad ending to an otherwise glorious racing career, KZN champion mare Val De Ra has been retired from racing. Val De Ra was well below her best in Saturday’s running of the Group One Computaform Sprint, and she began bleeding from her off-fore nostril during the race, causing her to finish a lowly 7th in a race which she won in style the year before. It was decided in the light of this, she should be retired and sent to stud. According to reports, she will be sent to Avontuur Stud in the Cape for now, before being sent overseas to stud at an undisclosed location.
In a phenomenal racing career spanning four years, Val De Ra won 11 of her 13 starts, including four Group Ones: the 2011 Computaform Sprint (Gr.1), the SA Fillies (twice in consecutive years 2010 and 2011) and the Cape Flying Championships. In total she earned approximately R1,848,140 in winnings and was able to raise the profile of KZN racing and breeding to new heights.
We can only hope that her progeny can emulate her incredible racing career and put KZN on the international racing map for generations to come.
| Lisa Barrett – Guest Writer “Lisa Barrett”, her psuedonym, currently works at a stud farm in the KZN Midlands – a position she has held for the past eight years. She describes herself as “absolutely and totally besotted by horses” and she is in a fortunate position to work with a stallion she idolises every day. She describes herself as “continually fascinated by every aspect of the racehorse business, especially pedigrees!” |