His sire Silvano hardly needs any introduction, a two-time multiple Group 1 winner in Hong Kong, Singapore and America, winning 7 races during his racing career, over a variety distances ranging from 1400m to 2200m, and was rated Timeform 126 at the conclusion of his racing career. He has had a profound influence on racing and breeding here in South Africa, producing many Grade 1,2, & 3 winners, and his brilliant son Vercingetorix who, like his sire, was a globe-trotting Group winner and is now a champion sire in South Africa. Recently the first two past the post in the iconic Durban July, Oriental Charm and Cousin Casey were both by Vercingetorix.

Celestial City’s dam Halfway To Heaven, a daughter of Jet Master and Grade 3 winner herself, has turned out to be an outstanding broodmare, producing the Grade One winners Golden Ducat (Philanthropist) and Rainbow Bridge (Ideal World). Thanks to her versatility at producing winners at the highest level, Halfway To Heaven was awarded the title of Broodmare Of The Year for 2018/2019 and 2019/20120 seasons.

Carrying a much-vaunted bloodline, Celestial City is a much-welcomed boost to the stallion ranks in KZN where he will stand alongside Act Of War, for a service fee of R30 000 LFF.

For further information you can contact Jess Carreira on 082 496 9410.

Pictures credit for Celestial City: Lara Coulon.

KZN have welcomed international breeder Michael Moroney to the KZN Breeding ranks, based in Ireland, Michael Moroney’s maroon and green racing colours in the name of the The Poet’s Syndicate have been a familiar sight on South Africa’s racetracks for some time already.

Michael has enjoyed many winners in South Africa and World Pool Gold Cup day proved the cherry on top, with his online sale acquired Pray For Rain winning the LHKIR In December Umngeni Handicap Listed, aptly with Lyle Hewitson aboard for father and trainer Carl Hewitson. It was Michael’s first international trip to South Africa and it paid off handsomely.

The son of Soft Falling Rain won again recently at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.

Michael started off with a mare Magic Potion, and his first foal is a now gelded son of Hat Puntano, as yet unraced and in training with Carl Hewitson named Magic Hattrick. Magic Potion is by Malhub from the family of Luna Child, Ollivander and Sparkling Gem.

A smart acquisition who has produced a smashing Willow Magic colt at foot this season, is African Angel, a 2-time winning daughter of Mogok from the family of Irish Flame and Gr2 winner, Meadow Magic.

Michael has four more mares in foal this season – they include Rise (Noble Tune), a six time winning mare in foal to Danon Platina, New Orleans is in foal to Fire Away and Capriana, a grey by Toreador out of a Shaamit mare, is confirmed in foal to Eden Roc.

There is also Accidental Tourist, a 4-time winning daughter of Gimmethegreenlight out of a Jet Master mare, has been confirmed in foal to Eden Roc – an interesting mating, as Eden Roc’s half brother Sandringham Summit is by Gimmethegreenlight.

African Angel has been confirmed in foal to KZN’s exciting young son of War Front, Declarationofpeace.

Michael had a lot of fun with the above maiden mares mentioned, who won multiple races for The Poets Syndicate before their retirement to Winnie Fourie’s Grace Stables in Nottingham Road, where The Poets Syndicate’s horses are also pretrained. Winnie provides a full service for owners prior to their horses departing for racing stables, from foaling to sales preparation to pretraining from the farm, once known as the famed Invermooi Stud.

Welcome to Michael Moroney and we wish him all the best with his future breeding endeavours.

African Angel’s impressive Willow Magic colt this season.

Godswood, by Blue Sky Thoroughbreds resident sire Willow Magic, produced his eighth career win for breeders Bush Hill Stud on the weekend at Turffontein.

Out of a Jallad mare Bluebell Wood from the family of multiple Gr1 and 14-time winning Roland’s Song as well as 8-time and Gr1 winner Contador, the gelding started his career with Paul Peter and is owned by Barend Botes, trained in partnership between Botes and Mr Vosloo.

He defeated a flashy Pinnacle field in the process under Siyanda Sisobo, carrying feather weight and beating the likes of Graded Stakes winners Maharanee, Under Your Spell, Smorgasbord and Eden Roc amongst the field, by over a length.

Willow Magic has a reputation for producing multiple repeat winners and his runners have earned almost R2-million in stakes this season.

Bush Hill Stud are on 32% winners to runners for the season.

Broodmare Roses For Lizzy pulled off a rare feat for breeder Bruce Le Roux, producing three winners in one week and included in that result a double on Sunday at Hollywoodbets Greyville.

The National Emblem mare seems to produce a stamp amongst her progeny and all by different sires – whilst none of them are the tallest, they certainly make up for it in substance and strength with stout top lines, well muscled and good bone and all with a penchant for speed.

Justaguything, a handsome 6yo son of Just As Well, pulled off his 8th career victory on 4 January and managed back to back victories. He beat Blackwhitedynamite home over 1200m. A picture of consistency for the past year, Justaguything has had 14 starts in the past year, winning three of those and only out of the money on one occasion! Not a bad return for a yearling sold for R130 000 at the 2018 KZN Yearling Sale.

Trained by Gavin Van Zyl for owners Lucky Vest 12 CC (Nom: Mr S Govender), Team G Racing and Messrs E A Budlender & P R Rencken, he has earned R651,750 in stakes.

Four days later the double came, starting with the Kom Naidoo trained Aunty Lizzy – a daughter of Crusade. The chestnut filly won by almost a length, beating the decent Graded Stakes Placed Irfaans Boy, as well as Pray For Rain amongst the field. Ridden by Kabelo Matsunyane, Aunty Lizzy won for the 6th time in the NBT African Holly Handicap. The four year old is owned by Miss Trinisha Pillay, Messrs Kenny Govender & S Govender and 1000m seems to be her game. Unsold on an online sale, the chestnut filly has earned just over R400 000 in stakes to date.

The day ended with Michael Roberts trained Calulo, winning for Ralphs Syndicate and pocketing a lucky punter R1,5-million from the Hollywoodbets Punters Challenge. She was 8/8 for winning Hollywoodbets Punters Challenge winner Alan Barkhuizen on the day, ridden by Rachel Venniker – who stated it was a special win as well for her, as Calulo gave Rachel her first win as an apprentice in July 2021.

It was the 5th career win for the daughter of Toreador who also relishes a sprint distance of 1000m. Calulo was a R25 000 buy from the KZN Yearling Sale in 2019, and has earned R290 000 to date.

Roses For Lizzy by National Emblem has a pedigree loaded with speed and Black Type; out of a Harry Hotspur mare, Cockney Pride can be found under the second dam in the pedigree, followed by two South African exports under the third dam – Grand Emporium who excelled to win the Gr1 Daily News 2000, the Gr1 Triple Crown 1600 and two Gr2’s in Dubai for stakes of R701,930 and £8,250.00.

The other is Gr2 winner Singapore Sling, who earned R1,383,750 and HK21,321,511 respectively.

It is also the family of Arcsa / Equus Winners Whistling Dixie and Ice Cube.

Bruce Le Roux, who now breeders in partnership with Tinus Gericke under the Blue Sky Thoroughbreds banner, is enjoying another exceptional season with almost 38% winners to runners and just over a R1-million in stakes earned from 32 runners. Blue Sky Thoroughbreds is not far behind, with 35% winners to runners.

Congratulations to all concerned on great results!

A strong and hardworking figure behind the scenes of the Thoroughbred breeding industry, Warwick Render of Bush Hill Stud has enjoyed success at the highest levels, breeding the likes of Gr1 winners Zirconeum, Stellite and Dubai resident Wolf Whistle amongst many. Warwick is also a TBA Council Member, a former Chairman of the KZN Breeders Club and currently the Vice-Chairman.

We have a chat to Warwick to find out more about the man behind Bush Hill Stud – a family managed establishment with his wife Karin and son Jason and get his thoughts on what it is like to be a Thoroughbred breeder.

How did you get into horses and the breeding world? 

I was interested in horses from a very young age, and started to ride at about five or six, but growing up only ever really had experience of stock horses used for working with cattle on friends’ farms in Zimbabwe.

After my first year at university I was looking through the Farmer’s Weekly magazine and came across an advert for an assistants job on a thoroughbred stud farm, (I had little idea such opportunities existed for people in the normal world). I phoned to apply for an interview and two days later packed my suitcase, drove for two days to reach Roodefontein Stud in Plettenberg Bay and started work the next day, that was at the beginning of 1990.

How long have you been at Bush Hill Stud? 

We purchased the farm in April 1998, so going on 24 years now.

What motivation about breeding horses makes you get up in the morning?

First and foremost the well-being of the horses in our care.  The positives and the potential of the animals we work so closely with. The reward of walking through a paddock of happy healthy horses, admiring a rewarding new born foal, or a smart youngster developing or seeing an old friend happy in her paddock appreciating the fresh pastures you have provided, there are so many aspects of farming, livestock and nature that I find rewarding – it goes without saying that they all bring their own challenges, hence the need to focus daily on the positives and resolve small issues before they develop into big issues. There is great motivation and reward in seeing an animal that has been critically ill nursed back to full strength, and rehabilitation of racing or other injuries is definitely a highlight of the job.  We are blessed to have many wonderful owners who understand and appreciate the efforts and progress of their horses.  

What is your best achievement to date?  

After some turbulent times in our economy and more specifically the racing and breeding industry as a whole, I feel it an important achievement to still be participating in this unique and special industry.  To survive the tough times not only for ourselves, but for the many longstanding employees who have risen to challenges, learnt and loved the individual mares and avidly follow the progress of progeny, and who are so appreciative that horses are the animals providing for them and their families. This achievement we recognize and are grateful for.

What breeding theory do you have when it comes to matings?    

It is always a challenge to try to strike the balance between breeding what you hope and believe will be a racehorse, and what you think may have commercial appeal. 

Standing stallions for owners and syndicates takes a big dose of commitment, courage and boldness,  especially in these very competitive times when I believe the market tends to pass a stallion by too quickly. To contra this, we always try to send a portion of our mares to more proven commercial options.

In terms of choosing matings we go with the normal practices of going through pedigrees and families and looking for pointers, and making use of some of the computer programmes available has certainly made this easier in recent times, but the physical attributes probably play the biggest part in our thinking – then look for a reason on paper to vindicate your thoughts – you can nearly always find a reason to see why a mating was good once the horse is in the winners box.

Do you have a special story you can share?  

Many many stories  – but these would take a book to relate – not sure if it would be a James Herriot, Wilbur Smith or Monty Python flavour –  probably all of the above.  We have been blessed to share time with many horse people including trainers, farriers, veterinarians, stud masters, owners – it seems horses attract a particular ilk of person – mostly stern, preoccupied, of few words, but when the ties come off, outrageously funny stories abound – roll on the floor, tears kind of stories that keep one giggling for years to come. A common thread runs through horse people – long days, short tempers, hard decisions, and endless nights tending to individuals – patience and fortitude born out of grief after losing a special horse, and gratitude when an animal recovers.   

This horse world is a mixture of salt and sugar, and a wealth of knowledge and wisdom learnt over the years, and many many lump in the throat times.  

Yearlings headed to sales this year, what can buyers look forward to? 

I believe we have a very nice spread of yearlings for the various sales this year and amongst them are individuals with appeal to most sectors of the market.

Naturally we are excited to be taking the first crop of New Predator’s foals to the sales, the first of these will be at the National Yearling sales where we expect him to have some good representation. In addition we have a spread of youngsters by proven sires from around the country including Willow Magic, Querari, Rafeef, Master Of My Fate, Captain Of All, William Longsword and Pomodoro along with some of the new and exciting prospects such as Lancaster Bomber, Heavenly Blue and Hat Puntano.

Any special foals on the ground this season?

 It is always a difficult thing to single out foals and we are thrilled with the crop we have been blessed with this year. The first of Last Winter’s foals arrived and they have been exceptional – one that we really like is a colt from the “Mouse” family that has served us so well [including Gr2 winner The Mouseketeer], this colt being out of Penthouse Mouse.

The second crop of New Predator foals have been just as impressive as his first and it would be hard to single out individuals here, a very smart half sister to this past season’s very promising two year old, the Gr2 placed Remember When, would have to be one of the highlights along with a half sister to the Gr1 placed Neptunes Rain.

A smart full sister to MK’s Pride stands out in what has been a very nice crop of Willow Magic foals born on the farm this year.

We again have a lovely spread of outside proven stallions including foals by the leading sires Gimmethegreenlight, What A Winter, Master Of My Fate and Querari (a cracking colt out of our Zirconeum/Stellite family).

We have several very nice foals by the up and coming Act Of War.  

What makes you proud to breed in KZN? 

Personally I don’t like to regionalise our breeding industry more than necessary, in these times more than ever we need a breeding community that stands together. In saying that I am very proud of the fact that KZN has always managed to punch well above its weight in terms of capital expenditure relative to results, this I believe proves just what a good area, for many reasons, KZN is to breed top class horses.

Bush Hill Stud is the biggest breeding facility in the province of KZN, any comments on the future of the industry? 

Like most breeding operations that are not funded by outside capital we and most of our clients have been forced to be fairly harsh in cutting back numbers and trying to maintain quality.

This has been a country wide trend, but it has now meant that the supply/demand ratio is at a very favourable level for breeders, something that was reflected in general at the sales this past year. In a year where there was every reason for sales to be depressed every sale delivered well above everyone’s most positive expectations, especially the regional level sales.

I believe that now with the positive changes happening in racing and a general commitment to the rebuilding of what racing should be we will see this positive trend continuing. It is great credit to the breeders that through the TBA and BSA we have played a major role in the boosting of stakes for our sales graduates and this is a fine example of what can be achieved with the right people and energy behind things.  

Tell us about New Predator’s first crop that will be going to sales this year?

It is always an exciting time taking the first crop of a stallion to the sales in particular when they are as pleasing as the first foals of New Predator have been. He is a stallion that offers much that should appeal to the South African buyer. He was a tough as teak Gr1 quality sprinter miler , with the speed to have beaten such top notch sprinters as Rafeef and the class to have toppled a horse of the quality of Legislate.

His pedigree backs this up in that he offers many aspects that are so suited to a lot of the dominant lines and families we have in our South African pedigrees, he being by New Approach, probably the son of Galileo who has been the biggest speed influence, out of a mare by the champion Fastnet Rock. We expect he will be well represented at the National sales as he covered a very respectable book of mares in his first crop and we are most grateful for support shown from a wide spread of breeders.

Tell us how it feels to produce a Gr1 winner? 

Exhilaration, pride, a huge sense of achievement and satisfaction once the reality sinks in.  Also enormous gratitude to the owner, and trainer for producing the horse to full potential. Each and every individual involved in the care and training and riding of these horses must be recognized, because all are an integral part of the machinery and excellence it takes to achieve a Gr1 win.

How many mares do you stand and tell us about your stallions?

The number of mares on the farm is always a moving target – we aim for adequate numbers to support the stallions we stand, plus additional mares to support outside stallions and ensure a good spread of what our country has to offer in genetics.

We have discussed New Predator, suffice to add that we, and the breeders in KZN as whole are most appreciative that Laurence Wernars chose to back us with this horse and support KZN in such a big way, and to facilitate the involvement of all in him, we all hope he gets the rewards he deserves.

Willow Magic needs little introduction and the support he received this past season shows that people are recognising just what a start he has got off to in his career, with his three year old crop of the past season he was right up there in the top five active sires with his AEPR index – a fair measure of a sires ability across the board. He was a Gr 1 winning sprinter as a two year old and has thrown this speed in many of his progeny, but his class from Dubawi has come through, resulting in top performers at all distances. 

Though he has had a very good number of winners Flying The Flag has not yet lived up to what we hope for from him and that is for a top level performer or two, he has a pedigree that is as good as it gets and judging by the fact that many of the trainers who have his progeny have returned to buy more this past season we are still of the belief that his class may yet emerge.

Last Winter had his first foals born this season and they were very pleasing.

He is a horse who has perhaps flown a bit below the radar having arrived late in his first season. He was a racehorse with unbelievable ability , ranked by Longines in the top 5 turf horses in the world to race in the first quarter of 2018, after his phenomenal run in the Met –  who can forget the way he finished that day, always worth watching that run again, an unbelievable turn of foot.

Add to this he has the looks to have been a R 3.7m yearling, being by a Champion sire in South Africa in Western Winter, who has already sired champion sires in SA, and he is out of a mare who was a Gr1 winner here and who in turn was by another local champion sire in Silvano.  What more could one want!

We wish Bush Hill Stud all the best for 2022 and look forward to the progeny of New Predator! Bush Hill Stud can be contacted at bushhillstud@futurenet.co.za.

Karon Totman is a relatively young breeder in the KZN Breeders ranks and she tells us a little more about her breeding operation, which she bases with Karin and Warwick Render at Bush Hill Stud.

“High Eagle Stud started at the beginning of the 2018 foaling / breeding season, with a few of the foundation broodmares from the great Scott Bros, who as we know never fail to produce some great horses.  

“The 2018 crop was our first which produced two colts and two fillies by Crusade, Capetown Noir and The Apache. “

“In January 2020, High Eagle Stud underwent some restructuring and reshuffling.  It was at this point that I decided to start again from scratch with a handful of select maiden mares and I moved High Eagle Stud’s home base to the well-renowned Bush Hill Stud. Warwick and Karin have been nothing short of amazing and I am so grateful for their ongoing assistance, advise and support.”

Karon goes on to say that she was hoping 2020 would launch High Eagle’s first year for sales, however with COVID striking in March 2020 ‘turned everything – including sales – upside-down!’ 

From the 2018 crop, NAUTICAL STORM opened the winners account in Zimbabwe, winning just her second start for trainer Thomas Mason.

Karon explains that Nautical Storm was High Eagle Stud’s first foal, born and bred by Scott Bros, raised by High Eagle Stud.  “She didn’t show much on her debut run and after a long rest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her second run.  I think my neighbours heard me screaming her home!” says with a laugh.

“In the moment, I was so focused on watching only her that I actually missed half the race and only when I watched a replay a bit later, did I realise what a gutsy win it actually was! Being raised by High Eagle Stud was more than enough for me and I couldn’t be prouder of her.”

“It was a very emotional moment so I think it’s best for me to watch my babies race from home, behind closed doors! I can only hope that I get the honour & privilege of that indescribable feeling again in the future.”                

Karon talks about her Lot on offer at the November 2YO Sale, taking place at the TBA Complex this week. “We are very excited to present SIRENS OF SILENCE (colt by Crusade) on offer as Lot 15 from Bush Hill Stud as Agent.

The Crusade colt is out of In Moderation by Mogok, from the family of African Grey and Gr1 winner Scarena.

“Next year will be our first proper year for sales, which I am looking forward to but albeit a bit nervous! Our 2020 crop includes three colts – two by New Predator and one by Mambo In Seattle, and a filly by Willow Magic.”   

High Eagle Stud’s mares for the 2021 season have visited the likes of New Predator, Last Winter, Willow Magic, Act Of War and the grey son of Deep Impact, Danon Platina.

Karon ends off by saying, “We do have our own racing colours and one day it would be fantastic to race one or two of my own babies, however for now I need to keep my head out the clouds and my feet on the ground!”

We wish Karon all the best for her future and luck at the sales!

Winnifred Grace Fourie has been fascinated by horses since before she could walk. Growing up as a farm girl she had her first horse by age 6 and never grew out of her love for the animals.

Her father, ‘Smiler’ Fourie was a cattle auctioneer so Winnie was surrounded by animals and the buzz of the sales ring her entire life.

Winnie Fourie – connecting with her horses

“It’s difficult to truly know when my love for horses began. My passion for horses was always there within me since before I can even remember. All I know was that it was from a very young age and my love for horses continued to grow and still continues to grow today,” Winnie says with a smile.

“There of course have been times when I wasn’t involved with horses at all, when I was at school or studying at university. I would drive past and see the horses in the paddocks and wish I could be surrounded by them again. I was a farm girl at heart even then and I don’t think I ever grew out of it.”

Winnie only joined the thoroughbred industry at the age of 29. She had been working as management on a piggery when she decided she couldn’t do it anymore. Applying to an ad in the Farmers Weekly, a South African couple in the USA were looking for an intern on their very own stud farm.

“I sent my application through and a week later I got a call from them asking if I was interested. My visa was quickly sorted and off I went to the USA. That became my introduction to the Thoroughbred industry,” she says.

After arriving in the USA and being immersed in the world of broodmares, foals and yearlings. Winnie had found her passion.

“The mares and foals will always be my favourite aspect of the industry. I did a few yearling sales too and eventually travelled to New York for another internship with the well-known Becky Thomas and her company- Sequel Stallions. So really, my introduction to the industry began in America.”

The Grace Stables mares & foals heading to their paddock for the day

She spent fourteen years in the USA, seven as an Assistant Manager to Becky Thomas at Sequel Stallions in New York at her breeding stud.

After struggling with her Green card for a while, Winnie eventually moved to another stud farm, Stonewall Farm in New York, for the CEO of Calvin Klein.

“He always had a passion for horses, so when the opportunity came for him to get a farm of his own, he took it. I ended up working for him for five or so years.

“During that time, I really got to experience working with some top horses. At Sequel I had the pleasure of working with Freud (Storm Cat x Mariah’s Storm by Rahy) who is the full brother to Giant’s Causeway. He is still one of New York’s leading Sires!

“At Stonewall Farm, I was fortunate enough to work with a horse called The Lumber Guy, who ran second in the Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. My time in America was truly well spent and I got to work with some incredible horses. When I came back to South Africa, I was able to use all the knowledge I had gathered over the years and I went to work at Klawervlei Stud for a short stint, just to help out at their quarantine station during the breeding season.

“After that I went to Scott Bros Farm and I worked with them for almost 5 years until the dispersal sale. I have now been fortunate enough to start up on my own with Grace Stables.

“Coming up with a name was a bit of a headache, and everything happened so quickly. My last day was on 31 July at Scott Bros and a week later I was out on my own. A client of mine came to visit Scott Bros in that final week, to possibly buy a horse or two. He told me that if I ever decided to go out on my own, he would support me.

“He ended up sending me twelve of his horses and I had one of my own in the stable. Off we went to Backworth Stud, who had offered to lease me stables and paddocks. It then seemed fitting to use the name Grace, which is my middle name. I’m a big believer and I have faith in the world, having grace that things will all turn out how they’re supposed to.”

Grace Stables located at Backworth Stud in KZN

While things haven’t been all smooth sailing for Winnie, when her first batch of horses left there was a lull at the yard.

Fortunately, Fanie Bronkhorst sent her a few of his mares and she then met another individual who has now shown her massive support and continues to send her mares, foals and youngsters.

“I know that with my clients’ support and through God’s grace, things will continue to grow, and the name Grace Stables has become the perfect fit.”

With the BSA 2 Year Old Sale in less than two weeks, Winnie will be sending three colts to the sale under the Grace Stables banner as a first time vendor.

Lot 307 is a colt by Crusade out of Enchantrix named Kimbolton Castle.

Winnie describes him as an impressive individual and while he is a second foal, his dam is a half sister to the mare Siren’s Call who has just produced the Gr1 performer and Gr3 winner Sound Of Warning. He is described as a tall, well-balanced and striking individual.

Lot 307- Kimbolton Castle (Crusade x Enchantrix)

Lot 218 is named Kodiak Island by Wings Of Desire out of an imported mare Vul Indlela from France.

He is a first foal and his dam was apparently imported by the Oppenheimers, as far as Winnie knows. He is a bit smaller being a first foal but she says there is something special about this colt. While his pedigree may not be as strong, all the colts in his family have performed well and been multiple winners.

Lot 218- Kodiak Island (Wings Of Desire x Vul Indlela)

Lot 25 is an unnamed colt by Mambo In Seattle out of Ikati. 

Winnie describes him as a seriously impressive colt, strong and compact. The breeding is what really drew Winnie to him. She points out that the Mambo In Seattle cross with Al Mufti on the dam’s side has produced multiple Group winners in the past. She expects it could be the same for this colt.

Lot 25- Unnamed (Mambo In Seattle x Ikati)

“Those are my three boys at the sale, they are all so different and they all offer something unique to all buyers,” Winnie tells the Sporting Post.

“We have also had the wonderful Snow Palace with us recently for a break, and she ran a lovely third after returning to work from her holiday. It was good to see her back in the money and actually show an interest in running again.

Snow Palace enjoying her break at Grace Stables before returning to work

“I always have and will continue to follow any horse I have spent time with over the years, from foaling them down to sales prep or even spelling. It is such a pleasure to see horses succeed and knowing that I have played a part, whether it be small or big, in their success.

“That is why it is so important to generate trust with every horse I work with. That is the main focus of Grace Stables – building a foundation based on trust and each horse will grow to be the best they can be!”

-sportingpost.co.za

A breath of fresh air to have such positivity in trying times!

When many other farms are reducing stock and even dispersing in these tough economic times which hasn’t been helped with the arrival of Covid19, Brett Van Laun is in the process of re-establishing Camargue Stud which formerly stood in Mooi River.

Brett has revived his families legacy, this time in the picturesque Caversham Valley in the KZN Midlands, which is situated in the vicinity between Lidgetton and that of the famed Michaelhouse school.

This particular area of the KZN Midlands, just south of Nottingham Road is no stranger to producing a good horse, with the likes of Gr1 winner Spiced Gold (the dam of Gr1 winner Chimichuri Run), Dubai winner Journeyman and even the recent Captain Tatters born and grazed on its lush mountainous lands with good water frontage and plenty of grazing.

When asked about how does he feel about the future of the Thoroughbred in South Africa, Brett replies: “I always swim upstream and see this as a huge opportunity to invest in the industry at rock bottom prices. I’m also hugely optimistic about the [Thoroughbred] industry and believe “I’m buying a share in the trough!”

An enthusiastic Brett says he loves the area and believes the results speak for themselves, “especially when you look at the Breeders titles and stats from small numbers in this province! Horses are in my blood and my younger years were spent growing up on a stud farm in Mooi River named Camargue Stud. I have continued my late Dad’s legacy and have kept the name Camargue Stud.”

Brett says he currently has accumulated 23 mares for the farm, “and still looking for more but we are concentrating on quality not quantity. We are boarding for clients and are honoured to have the owners of #kznbred Gr1 winners War Of Athena And Battle Force [both by Act of War], owned by Dr Rose Waterman-Wenzel and Roy Wenzel, Allan Mellor, the Step aside Syndicate as well as the Buffalo Syndicate all supporting us.

“Ive bought shares in Act of War, Captain of All and a service to Futura and Oratorio on the Cape Breeders auction. We are however still doing matings, so we are looking for shares in more stallions.”

When asked what foals were expected for their first breeding season, Brett replies that he is focusing on Stakes Winners or Stakes Producers. “We currently have three mares in foal to Querari – all Stakes Winners or Stakes producers – two in foal to Captain of All [the sire of Gr1 winner Linebacker], again out of Stakes winners, two Black Type mares in foal to What A Winter, three mares in foal to Act Of War and a Jet Master mare in foal to Erupt. We have a National Assembly Stakes Winner in foal to Canford Cliffs who is producing Group winners overseas.”

A farm rich in racing and breeding history, Brett provides a successful background into the Camargue Stud of old. “We started Camargue Stud in the 1980’s at our peak we had 120 brood mares and bred some great horses such as ARCSA award winning filly Special Key, and Gr1 winner Shoe Express for the Late Roy Eckstein. We also bred Lupine Lady who broke the 13 year old course record at Newmarket over 1000 meters. We produced two Broodmares Of The Year with KZN Breeders, namely Secret Key and Forewarned. 

Brett concludes, “We are passionate about horses and will be focused on individual attention whilst doing boarding of mares, yearling preparations, spelling, pre-training, backing of horses and working with problematic race horses.

In todays day and age with the modernisation of farms and the ability to provide immediate communication and experiences online, which has never been more prominent than it is now, Brett says that he wants their clients to feel part of the whole breeding experience and have provided for it.

“We have set up Webcams to watch live foalings, and will send regular videos of horses to our owners. Clients also have the opportunity to come and stay in our guest cottages so that they can be part of the great life a horse enjoys and thrives on at Camargue Stud!”

Congratulations to Brett and we wish him many winners in the future!

Brett can be contacted on brett@prop247.co.za