Cathy Martin of Hadlow Stud has given us an update on First Arrival at Hadlow Stud and the mighty mare’s daughter who has joined her, currently in foal to Visionaire.

Both mares are owned by Anne and Bruce Nicholas of Hallmark Thoroughbreds.

First Arrival is worthy of a Broodmare Of The Year accolade – the smart Northern Guest mare is the type that every breeder wishes to have standing in their paddocks, having produced two Group horses that were exported amongst them – that in itself an impressive feat.

Her daughter, The Party’s On (by Muhtafal) is in foal to Gr1 Kings Bishop winner Visionaire and has a Duke Of Marmalade yearling colt at Hadlow. She has bred three winners to date by Jay Peg and Pathfork, and already the grand dam to a winner.

First Arrival, herself no slouch on the track and earning Spey Bridge Champion 3YO Filly in 1999 with 6 wins including two Gr3’s, has produced 10 runners and 10 winners, 7 of them achieving Black Type.

They include Let’s Rock And Roll, a full brother to The Party’s On, voted Equus Champion 3yr old male sprinter in 2006 and include a Gr1 win in the Golden Horse Sprint. The next foaling produced Beat Patrol, another by Muhtafal who was Gr3 placed with 6 wins, and the next to impress was a 2008 colt by Western Winter, Rock The Country, who managed to win Zimbabwe’s major features including the Castle Tankard.

First Arrival produced a Jet Master filly in 2010, aptly named In The Fast Lane, trained in South Africa by the Snaiths. She would also provide another Equus Award for her dam, voted Equus Champion 3YO Filly in 2014, with 5 wins including 2 Gr1’s – the Woolavington 2000 and the Cape Fillies Guineas. She was exported to Great Britain.

Light The Lights, a full brother to Rock The Country, followed after that and won the Gr2 Peninsula Handicap for Glen Kotzen. The gelding was sold on to race in Dubai, where he has won three races including a Gr3 and a Listed in the care of Mike De Kock. He has since changed hands, trained by S Seemar for owner Sean Ewing.

Two more Black Types followed – a filly and a colt by Philanthropist respectively, Gr3 placed Party Crasher and Gr1 placed Pack Leader.

Wendy Whitehead was chosen to give Keep On Dancing a hands on approach, a beautiful daughter of Silvano. Wendy says after winning at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, “We went the extra mile for this girl as she had a severe injury as a youngster which left her claustrophobic, which caused her to box walk (run) her stable. Jane Thomas, thank you for your trust in me – we built her a paddock outside with a shelter roof and we haven’t looked back, she is happy and produced this fantastic result for owners Bruce and Anne Nicholas Hallmark Stud!” It appears we may see more from Keep On Dancing when racing makes a return in SA.

Jane Thomas has a 2yo colt in pretaining named Summa Cum Laude (by Vercingetorix) and First Arrival’s last foal is a yearling filly, another by Vercingetorix who has made a deep impression already in his young stud career.

The top priced yearling sold for First Arrival was Light The Lights, knocked down for R1,2-million at the 2014 National Yearling Sale. Her progeny averaged R494 444 each for 9 babies sold at auction in her lifetime.

Congratulations to the Nicholas family for a mare that has brought them plenty of success and joy, and may First Arrival enjoy her retirement in Mooi River.

Raised at Cathy and Jonathan Martin’s Hadlow Stud in Mooi River for St John’s Graystone Stud, the chestnut is out of Jet Master mare Bennie And the Jets. Ronnie’s Candy has a Mogok half-sister (2yo) who has just entered pretraining, and her dam has a yearling by Bezrin.

Cathy reports that unfortunately Bennie and the Jets didn’t have a foal this year, but she is in foal to Potala Palace for the 2020 season.

Ronnies Candy is a nominee at the KZN Breeders upcoming annual Awards, where she is in the category for Champion 3YO Filly and Champion Middle Distance Filly.

Her Race Record is 4 wins and 7 places – including the Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery where she beat Celtic Sea, the Gr3 Starling Stakes where she again beat Celtic Sea and Running Brave, a win at the Vaal before her Gr2 yesterday.

She has also placed in three other Graded Stakes races and has earned R842,775 in stakes.

Congratulations to all concerned!

In other KZN related news, young Klawervlei sire Captain Of All is making a name for himself.

The Gr1 winning son of Captain Al looks to be taking the baton from his champion sire. He is out of a #kznbred Fard mare Serious Side, who was bred by Robert Smith. His son Shango won the Gr2 Dingaans yesterday for trainer Sean Tarry. Captain Of All was the leading juvenile sire this past season by Stakes Earned.

With the opening of breeding season on Saturday, KZN farms are welcoming new mares to the broodmare band this season, including a full sister to African Night Sky and PE Champion Beataboutthebush.

Hadlow Stud have acquired a winning full sister to African Night Sky, named Blue Rhone Sky. Her mating is still to be confirmed but Cathy and Jonathan Martin are very excited about the acquisition.

African Night Sky is a 6-time winner over 1200 – 2400m, including the Winter Guineas Gr3, Winter Classic Gr3, Winter Derby Gr3 and the Cup Trial Gr3.

Hadlow also have the three parts sister to Hawker Hunter, Book Of Verses by Master Of My Fate. Book Of Verses will visit Crusade this season who recently relocated to Clifton Stud. Her half-sister Hawker Hunter has produced 2-time winner and Gr3 2nd placed The Sun Also Rises.

Piemonte Stud have a quality broodmare band and this year they are taking Burning Mist and Sanctuary to Global View.

Burning Mist by Trippi from a family of Clifton Stud that includes Abashiri and Yard Arm, is a winner and placed seven times. Six year old Sanctuary, bred by Backworth Stud who have a number of their progeny at stud around the country, is by National Emblem out of a Fort Wood Mare. She is a 4-time winner who placed 16 times. This is the immediate family of Gleaming Sky and Glittering Temple.

Gimme Now will visit Master Of My Fate for the season. The half-sister to Comebackanddance, this is the outstanding family of Along Came Polly, Young Rake and Van Halen amongst others.

The beautifully-bred Beataboutthebush by Gimmethegreenlight raced to great success for the Scribante team. Retiring and 8-time winner, she won three Listed races including the Breeders Guineas and East Cape Paddock Stakes twice. She also placed in the East Cape Oaks and Ladies Bracelet. Beataboutthebush, a half-sister to True Master, will be visiting Soft Falling Rain for the season. This is the damline of Do It Again and Dancewiththedevil.

In other mare news, Dancewiththedevil recently foaled a Querari, whilst Vin Fizz who deserves a broodmare of the year accolade after producing Pierre Jourdan, Champagne Haze and Belle Rose is due to foal to the very well related and well bred Flying The Flag at Bush Hill Stud.

One of the most expensive mares sold at auction in SA for R2,6-million, Rathmor Stud’s Queen Of Spain (IRE) will be visiting Dynasty this year. She has a Frankel yearling and foaling to William Longsword this season.

Amongst KZN’s broodmare band for 2018 is #kznbred five-time Gr1 winner Dancewiththedevil at Cathy and Jonathan Martin’s Hadlow Stud, for owner-trainer and breeder St John Gray.

Having produced two Silvano’s previously, her first foal now a quality two year old growing out at Hadlow Stud, Dancewiththedevil is due to foal to Querari this season.

Dancewiththedevil was voted Equus Champion Older Female in 2011 and St John earned Equus Breeder Of The Year. She was also voted KZN Breeders Horse Of The Year on two occasions.

By Modus Vivendi, she has an interesting damline that includes Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again, his Hong Kong based multiple winning half brother Horse Of Fortune, as well as Folk Dance and sire War Lord.

Retiring a 9-time winner and returned from the UK, she won R3,938,425 from age 3 to 5 over 1160 – 2000m, including the Horse Chestnut Stakes, Gr.1 on two occasions, Empress Club Stakes Gr1, Gold Challenge Gr1, Summer Cup Gr1, Acacia Handicap Gr3 and placed 5 times, second in the Joburg Spring F & M Challenge Gr3. 

Mooi River farm, Hadlow Stud, will be represented by a six strong draft at the 2018 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale.

Among the Hadlow draft is a colt (Lot 254) from the first crop of triple G1 winner, and Equus Champion Capetown Noir.

Named Proud Eagle, he is out of a winning half-sister to the seven time winning dam of Cape Nursery winner Captain Chaos, and he is bred on similar lines to G1 winners Nania, Red Ray and Set Afire, all of whom were sired by Western Winter –the sire of Capetown Noir.

Red hot sire Querari is the sire of Your Pace Or Mine (Lot 345), a colt out of a winning Var half-sister to three stakes performers. This is the same family as multiple G1 winner Captain America, who has earned over R5 million in prize money.

Multiple champion What A Winter has made a sensational start to his stud career and was Champion First Crop Sire in South Africa last season. The four time G1 winner is sire of Carol Singer (Lot 453), a filly out of a three time winning sister in blood to G3 Tony Ruffel winner Announce Speed. This is the same family as multiple stakes winner and Broodmare Of The Year Trade Enquiry.

Breeders’ Cup runner up Noble Tune has made a bright start to his stud career and the son of Unbridled’s Song is responsible for Gaelic Storm (Lot 375). This bay colt is a half-brother to five winners, most notably 16 time stakes winner Celtic Fire. This is the same family as G1 winners Eldoriza and Juxtapose.

Noble Tune is also the sire of Buzz Word (Lot 522), a colt from the same family as Equus Champions Jay Peg and Kochka. Buzz Word himself is a half-brother to six winners, including 11 time stakes winner Formation, G2 Gold Bowl third Swarming, and the stakes placed four time winner Form Up.

Party Angel (Lot 415) is the name of the filly sired by Vodacom Durban July winning champion Bold Silvano. She is out of a four time winning Trippi half-sister to stakes winners World Focus and Green Keeper, who, between them, won 26 races!

Catalogue pages for the Hadlow draft can be viewed online at www.bsa.co.za

Hadlow Stud have welcomed a special foal late last week, an eyecatching filly by Flying The Flag. What makes her special is her inbreeding to world super-sire Galileo.

It is the first crop to be born for the internationally well related Flying The Flag, whose full siblings include twice Gr1 winning Rhododendron and Gr2 winner Magical.

A Group winner himself and performed at the highest international racing standard, Flying The Flag is out of a multiple Gr1 winning Pivotal mare, and is himself a three parts brother to American Gr1 winning mare, Photo Call.

The foal is out of Reliable, a very well bred daughter of Giant’s Causeway out of a Galileo / Private Account mare.

This cross has produced the likes of Gr1 European champions Gleneagles, Churchill and more recently, Gr1 winner Happily – ironically, Flying The Flag’s full sister Magical has beaten Happily previously.

The foals dam is a winner, and her third dam April Run (IRE) crowned Champion 3-y-o filly in France in 1981 and Champion older mare in U.S.A. in 1982 after securing four Gr1 wins.

Flying The Flag stands for a fee of R20 000 this season at Bush Hill Stud, and is producing eyecatching foals with plenty of size and quality.

Cathy and Jonathan Martin are based in Mooi River, and have bred the likes of Jimmi Choo and Celtic Fire amongst others. They currently stand Bezrin and Announce at their Hadlow Stud.

From 19 horses to race, Bush Hill Stud’s Curved Ball produced his sixth winner this afternoon at the Vaal for breeders Cathy and Jonathan Martin of Hadlow Stud – who also bred the first ever winner by Curved Ball, a juvenile filly in the previous season named Fast And Rocking.

Fast And Rocking, out of an Australian import Terrestrial Rose by Archway, sold for R30 000 at the National Two Year Old Sale and has doubled her purchase price in stakes, in the process defeating the consistent Might As Well  (by Just As Well) into second place, a filly that has won twice and placed 10 times – six of those in second place.

Rivers Edge, a three year old gelding trained by Mr S Ferreira and owned by Miss MM Van Wyk, won third time out this afternoon by almost two lengths after placing in his previous at the Vaal, both races over 1600m. Rivers Edge sold for just R40 000 at the 2015 National Two Year Old Sale, and is out of Badger Land mare River Maiden. This is the dam-line of champions Jeppe’s Reef, Freedom Fortune and Studio Fify Four as well as Disco Al.

Curved Ball is a winner of the Gr2 Dingaans and the only son of the sensational Coolmore sire Fastnet Rock, to stand at stud in South Africa. Fastnet Rock was crowned Champion sire in Australia 2011/12 & 2014/15, a Champion 3-y-o colt and Champion Sprinter in Australia 2004/05.

His top European performers include Fascinating Rock (Champion Stakes-Gr.1, Tattersalls Gold Cup-Gr.1), Intricately (Moyglare Stud Stakes-Gr.1), Qualify (Oaks-Gr.1), Diamondsandrubies (Pretty Polly Stakes-Gr.1), Rivet (Racing Post Trophy-Gr.1, Champagne Stakes-Gr.2), One Foot In Heaven (Grand Prix de Chantilly-Gr.2 & Prix du Conseil de Paris-Gr.2), Cougar Mountain (Joel Stakes-Gr.2), Turret Rocks (May Hill Stakes-Gr.2).

The most striking point to come from Fastnet Rock’s title is the class of stallions he bested – champions such as Lonhro, Redoute’s Choice and More Than Ready.

Curved Ball had three wins from only seven starts in South Africa, taking the Gr2 Dingaans as well as the Sea Cottage Listed. Curved Ball was probably best over a mile like many top sires, scoring his biggest victory in the G2 Dingaans. He met and defeated such top-class performers as Bulsara, Exhilaration, Smanjemanje, Club Victor and Galileo’s Galaxy.

Described as one of the best horses Charles Laird had ever trained, Curved Ball stood for a fee of only R8 000 this breeding season. We will be hearing more from his three year old’s this season!