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#KZNBred#KZNWinner#ActOfWar#ConneMaraBlack#TurffonteinRacing

Thanks to JC Photos for the pictures.

#KZNQuality#CliftonStud#MysteriousErik#ErikTheRed#MarkDixon#yearlingsales2024

@mark_dixon_racing_stables_ @Clifton Stud @Bloodstock South Africa

Thanks to JC Photos for the pictures.

#KZNBred#CliftonStud#FrenchWarLord#ScottGaskell#yearlingsales2024

@Clifton Stud @Sporting Post @Gold CircleBloodstock South Africa

Thanks to JC Photos for the pictures.

#KZNBred#CliftonStud#FrenchWarLord#ScottGaskell#yearlingsales2024

@Clifton Stud @Sporting Post @Gold CircleBloodstock South Africa

Thanks to JC Photos for the pictures.

#KZNBred#CliftonStud#TitansOfWar#RoyMagner#yearlingsales2024

Roy Magner RacingClifton Stud

#kznbreds Enjoyed three wins on Sunday at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, with Cathy and Jonathan Martin’s Hadlow Stud enjoying a winner and a second place on the day.

Hadlow’s day started off with the handsome Canford Cliffs colts improving over the mile to finish second for owner Mrs Kuhn, The Honorable Justice Kruger and Mr Krishen Naidoo, trained by Duncan Howells. The colt is well bred out of a Jet Master mare, Touch The Clouds. This is the family of Red Ray and Brutal Force.

Hadlow followed with up with Tienie Prinsloo filly Im The Buzz, the first of a double for the Prinsloo stable and a double for sire Flying The Flag. A consistent sort who collected her second career victory for the Prinsloo family, Im The Buzz has also placed eight times previously. The dam All Abuzz is by Bezrin, in turn out of Polonaise who produced 11-time winner Formation. This is the famed family of Kochka, Jay Peg and Whiteline Fever.

Clifton-bred Flag Man won Race 4, another eye catching colt who was purchased by the Gareth Van Zyl stable for owners Messrs Larry Nestadt, Reon Barnard, Dave MacLean and Gary Player. When the race looked sewn up by El Dante, Flag Man showed an impressive turn of foot to win by half a length going away under Athandiwe Magudlwa. Out of a good Brazilian imported mare Irresistable Chris (Mark Of Esteem) with whom the Van Zyl stable has enjoyed success with sibling Admire Me, also owned by Larry Nestadt. Flag Man has now won two races in a row from only four starts and has placed in the rest, relishing a mile trip and looks to be a horse to follow for KZN’s coming Champion Season.

Clifton Stud also had a second place in Race 2 with Oratorio filly, Run To Rio.

The day was concluded with Bush Hill-bred Willow Magic gelding, aptly named Shot Of Courage, winning for trainer Timothy Pretorius and passionate owners Mr C M Zoghby & Mrs T F Zoghby. Out of Lee Danzig, herself a top producer of multiple winners including Graded Stakes Placed Malak El Moolook, multiple front winning sprint filly Magicallee (Willow Magic) and the talented Reign As Kings, the Gr3 winning Qui Danzig mare has produced 8 winners in total, boasting 20 wins between them all!

Shot Of Courage is blind in one eye, but that hasn’t stopped the bay gelding doing his best in every outing and built his confidence in 2023, with 15 runs in that year alone for three career wins and only out of the cheques in three of those starts – the type of horse every owner loves in a stable. He won under Serino Moodley over 1000m by a length and a half. Breeders Warwick and Karin Render of Bush Hill Stud have achieved 14 wins this season and almost R2-million in stakes earned. He has earned R237 000 in stakes for his winning connections.

Congratulations to the winning connections!

Champion Sandringham Summit will return to his birthplace Varsfontein Stud for stallion duties at the conclusion of his racing career.

The champion in action (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)

Leading consultant John Freeman has been mandated to syndicate the son of resident champion Gimmethegreenlight for stallion duties, and he confirmed that “shares literally flew off the shelf” which speaks volumes for the colt’s popularity with local breeders.

“Varsfontein will retain 20 of the 46 shares on offer,” he added. “Thanks to all of the star breeders that are participating.”

Although the colt remains in training – he is after all still just three – Sandringham Summit already boasts impeccable stallion credentials as a juvenile Gr1 winner who has the looks and pedigree as befits his R1.7-million price tag as a yearling.

Trained by David Nieuwenhuizen, the colt made heads turn when he came from an impossible position to win the Gr2 Golden Horseshoe at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Durban July day and earned his Gr1 spurs in the Premiers Champion Stakes, at the expense of by downing the hitherto unbeaten Main Defender, who was over two lengths adrift at the line.

Named last season’s Champion Juvenile, Rakesh Singh’s star colt was perhaps an unlucky loser in this seasonal debut when narrowly beaten by his old nemesis in the Gr3 Betway Graham Beck before finishing third in the Gr2 Dingaans.

Remarkably, he is Gimmethegreenlight’s second Premiers Champion Stakes winner and was preceded by first-crop son Gunner, who likewise, is out of a Captain Al mare.

Significantly, Sandringham Summit offers breeders a wonderful outcross pedigree, free of the all-pervading Northern Dancer and Mr Prospector blood in the first four generations.

His dam Townsend won both the Gr2 Odessa Stud Fillies Championship and Gr3 Diana Stakes, and in addition to Sandringham Summit, she is also dam of Gr1 Gold Medallion winner Eden Roc, who has just finished covering his first book of mares at Clifton Stud.

Townsend is a half-sister to Gr1 Champions Challenge hero Regal Ransom. This is also the female line of Gr2 Guineas winner Zapatillas and Gr2 Dingaans second Shoemaker, both of which were bred at Varsfontein.

-sportingpost.co.za

**Eden Roc stands for R10 000 live foal and is owned by the KZN Breeders Club.

Clifton, the breeders of current Equus Champion 2YO filly Mrs Geriatrix, presented another classy draft at the final sale of the year, and their beautiful and appropriately named What A Winter filly sold for R375 000 to Scott Gaskell, a great supporter of the Rosetta based farm owned by Peter and Jenny Blyth. This was the top price for a #kznbred at the sale and for the top priced filly from the province.

Winter Miracle was presented as Lot 77, by What A Winter out of Crusade’s 2-time multiple Listed winner (4 wins in total), Covered In Snow. Incredibly, the two year old bay filly was born during the heavy snowfall of that year at Clifton Stud which attracted much social media attention.

She descends from a Clifton family that has stood the farm in good stead, that of Glenrossal, Marygold and Joshua’s Crown.

Blue Sky Thoroughbreds presented another sterling draft, and their top selling colt of the province was Lot 35, sold to Fabian Habib for R340 000. Named Rafa’s Choice, the juvenile colt is out of a Stratum mare from the family of Singapore champion Better Than Ever and sire Parade Leader.

Blue Sky Thoroughbreds topped the KZN Breeders at the sale overall, averaging R151 250 for all 16 Lots consigned, of which 100% were sold.

Congratulations to the buyers and thank you to the underbidders for their support.

Peter and Jenny Blyth’s Clifton Stud continue to fire and they enjoyed a double at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday.

Flag Man kicked off the day for Clifton, trained by Garth Puller for Mr and Mrs Steadman – Flag Man’s half sister Capetown Beauty had finished second to the talented Addabar in the previous race. It was the colts third start and he had earned a cheque in his two previous starts.

Irresistible Chris by Mark Of Esteem, a half sister to Eyeofthetiger, the same broodmare sire as the brilliant Celtic Sea, has produced five winners, three of them with 12 wins between them.

The mare has a ’22 Canford Cliffs to come through, named Lord Wimborne.

Aspoestertjie, meaning Cinderella in Afrikaans, is a well built daughter of Coup De Grace out of Galileo mare Mrs Everest, won her third race for trainer Carl Hewitson and new owner Mr P Foo-Kune, who had just bought the mare and enjoyed a return on his investment.

This is the family of another Galileo mare in South Africa, Grail Maiden – the dam of Gr1 winner Hero’s Honour.

Clifton Stud have nominees in both of KZN Breeders Awards 2YO Categories, with the outstanding Mrs Geriatrix and Gr3 winner Cliff Hanger, respectively.

Well done to all concerned.

The 2022-2023 racing season was a memorable one for Clifton Stud. The KZN farm ended that South African season responsible for 29 winners of 44 races last season, with Clifton’s flagbearers of 2022-2023 headed by G3 Godolphin Barb Stakes winner Cliff Hanger and the brilliant Mrs Geriatrix.

The latter, Equus Champion 2YO Filly of 2022-2023, went unbeaten in five starts at two, when Mrs Geriatrix captured all of the G1 Allan Robertson Championship, G2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper, G2 World Sports Betting SA Fillies Nursery and Listed Ruffian Stakes. The daughter of Vercingetorix has since gone on to make a winning three-year-old when she captured the Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (Fillies) most recently.

Clifton Stud will be bringing a smart draft of 12 two-year-olds to the 2023 November Two Year Old Sale, with this draft including lots sired by the likes of Act Of War, Danon Platina, Fire Away, Master Of My Fate, New Predator, One World, and What A Winter.

Understandably, Peter Blyth is confident of a good showing at the upcoming BSA auction, and Peter picked out a few potential stars from his draft worth keeping an eye on.

Lot 77 Winter Miracle f By What a Winter – Covered In Snow
A really lovely racey, well balanced filly.

Lot 83 Gun Barrel c Fire Away – Daphne Garland
By Fire Away, who is really coming to the fore as a sire. He is a late foal but is developing all the while. A half brother to Jaimala, who was an acceptor to last year’s Summer Cup and on his way up, unfortunately he passed away a week before the event. This colt has a smart female line. A racey medium sized colt who will develop into a smart horse.

Lot 89 Lady Platina f Danon Platina – Duchessofmarmalade
She is a lovely filly. A good walker, by Danon, say no more!

Lot 119 c One World – Greendale
By One World who is a popular sire. This colt is out of a Captain Al mare and he was a nice looking yearling.

Clifton’s draft for the November Sale can be found in Block E at the TBA Complex in Germiston.

Peter and Jenny Blyth’s as yet undefeated daughter of Vercingetorix, Mrs Geriatrix, deservedly took home the award for Equus Champion 2YO Filly.

Champion Two-year-old Female Nominees (Distance Immaterial)

• Bavarian Beauty
• Mrs Geriatrix
• Winter Cloud

Winner: Mrs Geriatrix

The Magical Lady Syndicate (Nom: Natalie Turner)’s MRS GERIATRIX (Vercingetorix – Velvet Glove) was bred by Peter & Jenny Blyth’s Clifton Stud and was a R200 000 purchase from the 2022 BSA National Yearling Sale.  Trained by multiple SA Champion trainer Sean Tarry, Mrs Geriatrix posted an unbeaten 5 race win streak for the season, including the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship, Gr2 WSB SA Fillies Nursery and Gr2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper on Hollywoodbets Durban July Day for earnings of R1,025,000.

Congratulations to Clifton Stud.