Great Weekend For Rathmor Stud

Rathmor Stud had great success with the half-siblings of their first season sire Noble Tune, as well as local news from the Gatecrasher Listed run at Greyville on Saturday.

After Noble Tune’s Bernardini half-sister Lady Serena opened the Belmont carnival with her second win to date, their half-brother by A.P. Indy, Honor Code turned on the afterburners and flew home in the $1.25 million Gr1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park, with last year’s Gr1 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist getting up for second place.

Speedster Private Zone set the mile event up perfectly for his Shug McGaughey-trained rival, clocking speedy early fractions.

It was an impressive last-to-first run from Honor Code under jockey Javier Castellano, who powered up on the outside after three-quarters went in 1:08.74. Tonalist was also making up ground from far back, but had nowhere near the powerful kick of the A.P. Indy ridgling, who finished 3 3/4 lengths ahead.

The mile was run in 1:33.18 on a fast track by the Lane’s End Racing and Dell Ridge Farm runner, who rebounded from fifth in the Gr2 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs. It was the first Gr1 win for Honor Code, who won the Gr2 Remsen Stakes last year as a 3-year-old but was sidelined with a slight tear in his right hind upper suspensory.

The Gr1 Met Mile is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” event for the October Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Honor Code was bred in Kentucky by Dell Ridge out of the Storm Cat mare Serena’s Cat, and improved his record to five wins and two seconds from eight starts.

The Belmont race day saw American Pharaoh sweep home to take the Gr1 Belmont Stakes, the first horse in 37 years to win the American Triple Crown.

American Pharaoh’s pedigree is another outstanding example of the Fappiano x Storm Cat cross, exactly the same as that of Noble Tune. It is also a pedigree that has produced current American champions which include Eclipse winner Close Hatches, Carpe Diem and Shared Belief.

It is really exciting to have secured a stallion of this stature for South Africa and further encouraged by the huge interest breeders have in sending mares to him, countrywide. We look forward to Noble Tune’s first foals to arrive in August 2015.

In more Rathmor news over the weekend, a new addition to the broodmare band of Rathmor Stud – Summer Angel (by Jet Master) – saw her Jay Peg two year old colt, owned in partnership with Alesh Naidoo’s Fire Racing Trust and Marcus Jooste, finish second in the Gatecrasher Listed yesterday. Exit Here has now placed second from both of his starts.

Summer Angel, the dam of Gr3 Umzimkhulu Stakes winner Eventual Angel, is in foal to Noble Tune this season and has a lovely weanling colt by Judpot.

From the phenomenal “E” family that has produced third dam Epoque, Empress Club, Elusive Fort, Escoleta Fitz, Epoque and Esmaltina (dam of Scott Bros’ E-Jet), Summer Angel has produced three runners and two winners to date.

Noble Tune’s stallion day takes place 19 July 2015 at Rathmor Stud, be sure to save the date.

– extract bloodhorse.com