Gypsy Queen is the sort of mare that keeps all breeders hopes alive at sales – unplaced in one start at age 3, but a full sister to two Gr2 SA Oaks winners amongst their other Stakes wins – namely Royal Prophecy and Noble Destiny.
Gypsy Queen has no doubt trounced her Bold Black Type sisters at stud, whose progeny have won but not excelled to the the heights of Gypsy Queen.
This is the first crop of Flying The Flag, a full brother to double Gr1 winner Rhododendron and Gr2 winner Magical.
The Var colt is out of Backworth-bred 8-time winner Raise The Bar, a daughter of exceptional broodmare sire Goldkeeper who flew the flag brightly for Backworth Stud in her heyday. Her first foal is already Bold Black Type, the Gimmethegreenlight filly Rose In Bloom winning the Irridescence Stakes and Stakes Placed. The colt sold for R850 000 to Mark Erasmus.
KZN stallions are leading the way for the first season sires in South Africa so far this season in AEPR and Winners to Runners percentages, and the stats make for interesting reading (from www.nhra.co.za as of 15 November).
On Sunday the previously raced KZN-bred Alldressedup led most of the way under Athandiwe Mgudlwa to hold off the unraced Twice Over gelding Sequel. The winner clocked 62,05 secs.
Queen Laurie by Great Britain, out of Maggie Kay, swooped to victory last night for Mr G Maroun as trainer and owner in the Gardenia Listed over 1000m. Bred by Worldwise Breeding Syndicate (Nom: Mr K Hunter), the dam Maggie Kay stands at Yellow Star Stud who consigned a full brother to Queen Laurie at the 2017 KZN Yearling Sale.
No Worries arrived home at the place of his birth yesterday to take up his place as a “babysitter” at Summerhill alongside fellow millionaires, Hear The Drums and Amphitheatre. He’s in the shape of his life, complete with the offset knees that left him out of the conventional sales a horse of his class would otherwise have been consigned to. Long live the new king!
Crusade’s three year olds are flying and he produced his first double yesterday at Greyville for trainers Paul Lafferty and Dean Kannemeyer, whilst KZN breeder Mr Shakti Bunwarie enjoyed a double on the day.
“Anyone at the “Big T” on Saturday would’ve had no illusions about the truth of the adage: Big Bear made sure of that with a pulsating performance in the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, putting to bed two of the nation’s highest rated three year old colts and a Group One winning filly, to deliver its eighth victory in eleven renewals of one of the country’s richest prizes to the KZN nursery, Summerhill.”
THE 2017 Melbourne Cup will be remembered as the day 24-year-old trainer Joseph O’Brien overshadowed his legendary father Aidan O’Brien to create a famous chapter in the race that stops the nation with a full brother to Golden Sword, who was also the youngest horse in the race.