Bush Hill Stud enjoyed a great double at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Wednesday, and in particular Race 4 with their retired imported stallion King’s Chapel, taking the 1st and 3rd positions.

It was also a double in the process for Bush Hill Stud breeder Allan Peters and trainer Gareth Van Zyl, as well as Warren Kennedy who is leading the Jockey championship this season.

Daidala (King’s Chapel – Koukla) won by over a length, with Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge and KZN Breeders Series leader Bint El Malak finishing third.

Its the 2nd win for Daidala who has also placed twice previously. Race 5 saw Irish Flame Bush Hill-bred filly Slievanorra surge forward to win over 1950m under Warren Kennedy. Out of Bluebell Wood, the filly has been consistent and now won and placed twice from 4 starts.

Bush Hill Stud have the exciting Flying The Flag babies to debut, and his first runner Cecca finished 4th on Friday afternoon for trainer Alan Greeff under Teaque Gould over the Fairview Polytrack.

Well done to Bush Hill Stud.

KZN featured on Gold Cup Day with #kznbred Spiced Gold producing Gr3 Umkhomazi Stakes winner, Chimichuri Run, whilst Summerhill-bred Railtrip finished second in the Gr1 Thekweni Stakes, with Noble Tune’s Play Another Tune fourth in the Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes. Another interesting results for Rathmor Stud was Will Pays – a half-brother to Rathmor broodmare Rattled, the dam of Gr2 winner Harry Lime.

KZN opened the eLan Gold Cup day with the first two winners on the card – a flying finish by Irish Flame juvenile gelding Perpetual Flame under Muzi Yeni for Nathan Kotzen. The gelding bred by Bruce Le Roux is out of Case Stated by London News, has placed second on three occasions and had the much deserved win by almost five lengths from Podcast, and enjoyed the length in trip over 1900m.

Irish Flame stands at Bush Hill Stud and is bringing home the winners, the handsome and classy son of Dynasty is currently boasting almost 32% winners to runners for the season.

Top Classman looks above average and followed through with a third career win in the second race. the Mogok has placed five times previously and earned over R250 000 to date from 13 starts for Frank Robinson and breeders Scott Bros.

Chimichuri Run, who recently was sold at the BSA Super Sale to dissolve a partnership for R1,6-million, rewarded owner Chris Van Niekerk with a facile win by almost five lengths in the Gr3 Umkhomazi Stakes. The handsome chestnut Trippi juvenile colt is out of Greenhill Farm-bred Gr1 winning mare by Kahal, Spiced Gold, bred by Drakenstein Stud. He has won twice and placed three times from all of his starts.

Another Trippi to impress came from Summerhill Stud, as Railtrip, beautifully bred out of a Galileo mare, finished a length off Return Flight in the Gr1 Thekweni Stakes. The filly trained by Chesney Van Zyl is sporting an impressive race record with a win and three seconds and a place from all of her starts.

Play Another Tune for Gavin Van Zyl, out of Another Goat, ran fourth in the Gr1 Premiers Champions Stakes over 1600m. The consistent juvenile gelding has won and placed from five of his six starts and was only three lengths off the winner Soqrat (AUS) who has been hailed as a future stallion prospect.

Another added result for Rathmor Stud was that of Will Pays – the six year old by Imperial Stride won the Gr1 Mercury Sprint by a length and is a half-brother to Rathmor resident broodmare Rattled.

Rattled has already done Rathmor proud by producing Gr2 winning Var gelding Harry Lime, and Eightfold Path 2-time winner, Mbali.

Will Pays has won 11 races and placed 11 times and earned over R1,8-million in stakes. Rattled and Will Pays are out of the speedy dam Rattlebag by Jallad.

Rattled sold her Ideal World filly in Session 1 of the National Yearling Sale earlier this year for R250 000.

Well done to the winning connections of the following horses and once again KZN has done itself proud with big results from small numbers.

Bush Hill Stud, perennially among KZN’s leading breeders, will, once again, be offering a high class draft at the National Two Year Old Sale this year.

The Mooi River based farm, which has produced the likes of G1 winners Wolf Whistle, Stellite and Zirconeum, offer six juveniles at the Two Year Old Sale in 2018. Their draft is dominated by resident sire and Dynasty sired Horse Of The Year Irish Flame, the sire of three of their six lots.

First of the Irish Flame sired two-year-olds from Bush Hill is King Of Tara (Lot 25), a colt whose Jallad sired dam is out of Fillies Guineas second Asmara. From the same family as recent G2 Merchants winner The Thinker, King Of Tara is bred on a similar cross to the Dynasty sired G1 winners Eyes Wide Open, It’s My Turn and Liege.

Irish Flame filly Fire Faerie (Lot 261) is out of the smart Toreador sired Flitter, whose dam is a full-sister to the stakes placed Gay Fortuna –dam of July winning champion Marinaresco, while the well related King Mouse (Lot 361) is an Irish Flame colt whose five winning siblings include G2 Emerald Cup hero The Mouseketeer and East Cape Nursery victor Lt Jerry Mouse.

Former Bush Hill Stud resident Toreador consistently sired high class performers prior to his death, with his top offspring including Equus Champion Link Man and dual G1 winner Bull Valley. Toreador is represented by two in this draft –Queen Of The Ring (Lot 353) is a filly whose dam is a half-sister to the smart, stakes performer Royal Bounty, while Toreador is also sire of a colt (Lot 412) from the same family as 11 time stakes winner Warning Sign.

Last but by no means least, Western Winter sired triple G1 winner and Equus Champion Capetown Noir is represented by a member of his first crop in the form of Bishop’s Court (Lot 323). This colt is very closely related to the Western Winter sired stakes winner She’s All That (dam of G1 performer Kilcoy Castle), and his third dam won the SA Fillies Guineas.

The 2018 National Two Year Old Sale takes place on August 16^th and 17^th and the catalogue is available online at www.bsa.co.za

-Sarah Whitelaw / bsa.co.za

Sunny Bill Du-Toy will look to emulate his sire Irish Flame on Saturday, by taking the Gr1 Daily News 2000. A dead-ringer for sire in looks, he has won his last three starts on the trot by a combined almost 10 lengths over 1800m – 2000m. Irish Flame stands at Warwick and Karin Renders Bush Hill Stud.

Irish Flame by Dynasty, contrary to thoughts of too much stamina in his blood, has a phenomenal turn of foot his jockey Kevin Shea has been heard to say – proved when he won the Gr1 SA Derby from an inform and brilliant Pierre Jourdan by an astounding 9 lengths over 2450m!

He went on to place second in the 2010 Vodacom Durban July, and after export overseas he continued his brilliance, running in a Conditions Plate to win by 3.25 lengths in the UK over 2200m, setting a new course record whilst carrying top weight and giving 6kgs of weight to the second placed horse. Irish Flame is a big horse, oozing class and quality with a big cat like walk – he really is a stallion that needs to be seen in the flesh.

In a tough and competitive world, trainers will do almost anything to keep their customers happy, sportingpost.co.za reports.

But when an owner came up with a ‘fun’ name for one of her star babies that didn’t meet with her approval, Summerveld trainer Alyson Wright put her foot down with a firm hand, as it were.

That ‘star baby’ has turned out to be one of the better 3yo’s in KZN this season, and probably the best son of former SA Horse Of The Year and Equus champion Irish Flame (Dynasty) that we have seen to date.

His name is Sunny Bill Du-Toy, and after the Hollywood Syndicate’s newest champion impressed when registering a hat-trick of wins at Greyville on Wednesday, he could take his place in the R2 million Gr1 Daily News 2000 on Saturday 2 June.

The Sunny Bill Du-Toy story started at the 2016 KZN Sibaya Yearling Sale, where Alyson Wright loved him.

“He was my kind of horse and I always liked him. I decided to bid to R80 000. But stopped there and the late Mr Adriaan van Vuuren got him for R85 000. I knew I couldn’t have taken him on in a bidding war and felt a bit disappointed. But then he came up – still unnamed – five months later at the November Mixed Sale. We got him for R30 000,” says the horsewoman with a sharp eye for a winner.

The Hollywood Syndicate were quick to include him in their fleet and set about naming the strapping athlete.

“His name comes from a bunch of racing crazy lads connected to Hollywoodbets – some employees, some punters, some mates – who go to the Breeders’ Cup each year,” explained Owen Heffer.

Owen said that the initial name proposal was ‘Salty’, which is Ian Stangroom’s – one of the Breeders’ Cup gang – nickname. But this was rejected by the NHA.

The next suggested was the popular eatery name, ‘The Salted Pig’, but  Alyson Wright put her foot down at this point, refusing to allow her champ and baby to carry that tag.

“We need our trainer to be happy, so we relented and gave it some more thought. He was then named after another one of the Breeders’ Cup/Las Vegas boys, Suneal Batohi, who has been a regular at Hollywood since day one. Terry Commerford has always called Suneal  ‘Du Toit’,  as he couldn’t pronounce ‘Batohi’  correctly – especially after a few beers,” laughed Owen.

Suneal’s nickname is ‘Sunny Bill’ and that is basically how Sunny Bill Du-Toy got his name!

As for Sunny Bill’s programme and a possible run in the Gr1 Daily News, Owen says the future planning is entirely in Alyson and Kevin Wright’s hands as they are the professionals – ‘and of course Alyson picked him’.

Alyson confirmed that it is possible that Sunny Bill Du-Toy will run in the Daily News but that a final call will be made before final declarations on Monday.

We asked her how good he is.

“We don’t know really as we don’t have the horses to test him against. But he has won three on the polytrack on the trot. He has done nothing wrong.”

Will he go as well on the turf?

“Yes, I have no doubt he will be as effective on the grass. We just have more polytrack racing – that’s the only reason he has been racing on that surface.”

We asked Anton Marcus, who rode him at his Maiden win, what he thought of Sunny Bill Du-Toy.

“He is progressive and above average!” Anton told the Sporting Post on Friday.

Just goes to show that R30 000 can still buy a decent racehorse – and a whole lot of fun and thrills!

The Hollywood Syndicate currently has 21 horses in training, based in stables in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape.

His sire Irish Flame stands for a fee of R10 000. The last #kznbred to win the Gr1 Daily News 2000 was Rabada.

Bush Hill Stud’s Redoute’s Promise is the first son of Australian super sire Redoute’s Choice to retire to stud in South Africa, out of South African-bred champion mare and dual Gr1 winner in two countries, Perfect Promise by Caesour.

[View Bush Hill Stud’s KZN Yearling Sales draft with links to catalogue pages below]

Yesterday, his winning half-brother More Energy (by Fastnet Rock), further boosted the pedigree when he placed second in the Gr3 Qld Tatt’s RC Tattersall’s Cup over 2200m by a neck under South African Jeff Lloyd, from only five starts. The colt has now five and placed six, earning A$156,325.

Their Hard Spun half-brother, Hard Promise, is also Gr3 [2nd] placed after a close second, a position he maintained throughout the race, in the Gr3 Ladbrokes Zeditave Stakes at Caulfield over 1200m – on Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes day earlier this year. In total, Perfect Promise has produced three winners at stud and five as a second dam.

South African international Gr1 winning super star mare Perfect Promise, by broodmare extraordinaire Caesour, won eight races over distances of 1000m – 1600m.

After winning the Gr1 Cape Fillies Guineas, Gr3 Diana Stakes and the Listed Prix Du Cap, she carried forward her good form to land the Australian Gr1 CJ Orr Stakes and the Gr2 Emancipation Stakes.

Her full sister Irridescence also had her share of South African Gr1 wins in the Woolavington 2000 and SA Fillies Classic, and would go on to beat sire Australia’s dam, the great Ouija Board in the Gr1 QE II Cup in Hong Kong, after securing a Gr2 in Dubai.

Sire Redoute’s Choice has been a phenomenon at stud with three Champion Sire titles, 32 individual Gr1 winners and a sire of sires at stud – he has been crowned the best son of Danehill at stud today.

His sons at stud are excelling with the likes of Snitzel, Not A Single Doubt and Stratum and Beneteau.

Bush Hill Stud, who birthed and raised Gr1 winner and KZN Yearling Sales graduate Seal for Dr Ian Heyns, have the following horses in their draft at Sibaya. Toreador produced his second Gr1 winner with Bull Valley in the Tsogo Sun Sprint this year, whilst Irish Flame has produced two winners from a handful of runners to date.

All of Bush Hill Stud’s draft except Lot 224 qualify as KZN-breds, which means they qualify to enter the KZN Breeders Race Day with stakes of R2,8million to be won on the day. Horses are identifiable by stable door posters and hip stickers in the sales ring. 

Bloodstock South Africa have introduced a further incentive of R40 000 to all 2017 BSA yearling sale graduates, who win their Maiden Juvenile Plate in 2018.

Tick the box for your yearling to qualify for the 2018 KZN Yearling Sale Million. 

KZN’s young sires are off the starting blocks. Bush Hill Stud’s promising young sire and former Horse Of The Year Irish Flame got off the mark as a sire when his son Gizmo thrashed his rivals to break his maiden by three and a quarter lengths on Monday.

Bred by Kerry Jack, the Dorrie Sham trained Gizmo, who had been placed at his last two outings, is out of the National Assembly mare Border Baby. Gizmo is a half-brother to winner and Stakes Placed Shizam.

His sire Irish Flame was an outstanding racehorse, who was South Africa’s Horse Of The Year in 2010. He won six races locally, including the G1 SA Derby and G1 Daily News 2000, and also won over 2200m in Britain.

Irish Flame, who was also second in the 2010 G1 Vodacom Durban July, retired to stud having won from 1600-2450m and he earned more than R2.7 million on the track.

One of 10 G1 winners sired by Horse Of The Year Dynasty, Irish Flame was produced by Winter Oaks winner Clock The Rock, who also produced Irish Flame’s Winter Oaks winning own sister Irish Myth.

This is the same family as champion 2YO Smackeroo, recent Derby runner up Rocketball, and graded winners Flaming Corn, Meadow Magic and Vertical Takeoff.

Like outstanding sires Captain Al, Dynasty, and Jet Master, Irish Flame was bred in South Africa. One of the first sons of the great Dynasty to retire to stud, the triple Equus Champion is well represented by six quality lots at the 2017 KZN Yearling Sale next month.

Irish Flame has had five other places, including Piemonte Stud’s Giovanna who has placed twice from three starts. Giovanna was one of his top two prices at Nationals to date, selling for R150 000.

The other was a smashing filly off the 2017 Nationals that will be trained by Alistair Gordon, a half-sister to Black-Type Mr Whatever.

 

Scandal provided her dam Lewinsky’s Lover with the rare feat of producing two speedsters that have set blistering fast records on two tracks in South Africa – the aptly named half siblings include the imposing son of Miesque’s Approval, Humidor who shattered Kildonan’s Gr1 record at Scottsville.

The Fairview and South African 1000m record was broken for the second time this year when the Muhtafal filly Scandal bolted home to win the R100 000 Glendore Sprint on Friday.

The turf track record was shattered just ten months ago by Blizzard Belle, who set 54,55 secs.
The non black-type feature seven horse line-up included Cape Flying Championship hopeful Villa Del Largo and Gr1 winner Normanz.

The in-form Zackey, who has quickly entrenched himself in the SA top 4, appeared to get his crop momentarily entangled in the reins at about the 300m, but he recovered quickly as Scandal moved ahead and went on to hold Normanz by 1,75 lengths in a record breaking 54,38 secs. The Corne Spies-trained Scandal was the only filly in the race.

A R375 000 National Yearling Sale purchase, Scandal has won five races on both surfaces with six places from 19 starts for stakes of R327 325.

Bred by Backworth Stud, she is designed to be quick – being a daughter of Summerhill’s ill-fated ‘General’, Muhtafal out of the two-time winning Jallad mare, Lewinsky’s Lover.

Her son by Miesque’s Approval, Humidor smashed Kildonan’s record in a clocked time of 66,98 seconds over 1200m, thus beating the course record of 67 seconds flat set by the Mike de Kock-trained Kildonan when winning one of the strongest Gr1 Golden Horse Casino Sprints of all time, beating three other Gr1 winners in Mythical Flight, War Artist and Rebel King. International speedster JJ The Jetplane couldnt better the time in previous years.

There is more to come from Lewinsky’s Lover, including a smashing bay Oratorio filly named Love Theme. She sold for R450 000 at the 2016 KZN Yearling Sale to Bruce Le Roux and is owned in the partnership of Bruce and Tinus Gericke (who own and race Gr2 winner, A Woman’s Way) as a racing and future broodmare prospect for Spring Valley Stud.

Lewinsky’s Lover has a Byword colt yearling presently being aimed at the National Yearling Sale in April 2017.

Lewinsky’s Lover, a daughter of Jallad out of a Politican mare, has produced an outstanding and correct Irish Flame colt this year, which Keith Russon describes as “oozing quality, very much like his sire. A very exciting future prospect!”

Keith describes the mare as not particularly eye-catching if you had to pick her out in a paddock, and as not having the best front and back legs – therefore Keith has had to mate her carefully.

This attention to detail and selecting the right stallions has resulted in beautiful correct foals which have fetched good prices at sales.

Keith describes how, “we nearly sold the mare, and after she produced this magnificent flashy correct foal (Humidor – named after a cuban cigar), we decided to keep her and sent her to Muhtafal which produced Scandal. It is just incredible how this mare is producing so much speed!”

Lewinsky’s Lover’s sales prices have been as follows:

Caviar (by Var sold for R80 000 at NYS) – five wins, earned R398 450

Humidor (by Miesque’s Approval sold for R200 000 at NYS) – five wins, earned R340 000

Scandal (by Muhtafal sold for R375 000 at NYS) – three wins, earned R220 000 and Stakes Placed

Love Theme (by Oratorio sold for R450 000 at KZN Yearling Sale) – as yet unraced two year old.

A two-time winner herself, she has produced three winners including Var filly Caviar, a five-time winner who placed five times.

Lewinsky’s Lover’s second dam is Soho Secret, this is the top family of London News, Lady Brompton, King’s Gambit, Hack Green, Covenant and Promisefrommyheart to mention but a few.

Don’t miss the progeny of Lewinsky’s Lover at the sales.

-extract sportingpost.co.za

Warwick Render of Bush Hill Stud presented the stallions:

We believe that we are very fortunate at Bush Hill to have put together a band of stallions that offers an opportunity for all. We are proud that this has been vindicated in the market place this year by the fact that at the National Yearling Sales and the KZN yearling sales both of the top priced progeny of KZN stallions were sired here at Bush Hill. I highlighted last year that we offer the first and only son of champion sire Fastnet Rock to stand in South Africa, the first son of Champion sire Redoute’s Choice to stand in South Africa, the first Equus horse of the year son of Dynasty to stand in South Africa, to date the most successful son of the phenomenal Danehill to stand in South Africa, and the first triple Gr 1 winning New Zealand Horse Of the Year – and now we are thrilled to add an international graded stakes winning son of what is currently the most influential stallion in the world in Galileo.

The real reason we are here is to introduce to you our stallions for this season. In recent times it has not been easy in this industry that we are all so passionate about and it is indeed devastating to see the diminished number of breeders in South Africa and in particular this province, but as the Afrikaans saying goes “Aan houers wen”. But there has to be a little more to it than just hanging in there, we have to be bold, committed, positive and above all believe in the future. We also have to be smart and a healthy dollop of luck goes a long way. I want to take this opportunity to encourage you all to stick together, support each other and keep on at what we do because by all accounts there is a major turn around coming, its merely a matter of when. With breeding being the long term project it is we have to prepare ourselves now for the upswing, because if you wait for it to arrive the momentum will be too great to jump on board at that time. So please don’t miss the boat now because you will be sorry later!

A major part of that planning for the future lies in investing in breeding stock, both mares and stallions. We have done a phenomenal job of doing this in KZN in recent times for right now we have one of the most promising bands of young sires we have ever seen in this province. And today we are introducing the newest of these who in the words of his trainer Mike de Kock “has the credentials to stand up to anything else in this country.” And a little later in the day Mike will be telling you more about why he thinks so.

FLYING THE FLAG

We are most grateful to have Mike de Kock here to share with you his feelings on this horse which he will do a little later in the day when we show you a short video on him.

So where do I start when talking about a horse with the credentials of Flying the Flag. I guess the best way is to do it in a manner that I have mentioned in previous years and that is simply by using facts. Facts are a wonderful thing for a simple person like me because they don’t require any dressing up or flowery spiels, they talk for themselves.

But firstly on behalf of all breeders in KZN I have to express our extreme gratitude to Mary & Jessica Slack, Coolmore Stud, and Mr Javett for not only making a horse of this calibre available to us but also in allowing us the opportunity to invest in him. Without them we would undoubtedly never have managed to get a horse of this value here in these tough financial times. I am certain that as a province we will show our gratitude in the best way possible and that is by supporting him with the right mares.

So let’s look at some of these facts.

First and most obviously he is by the mighty Galileo who is certainly the best stallion in the Northern Hemisphere if not the world at the moment. It is no mistake Galileo is a champion for his sire Sadler’s Wells was a breed shaping champion whose sire in turn Northern Dancer was probably the most influential sire on the thoroughbred in recent times. Little wonder then that amongst all his other great horses Galileo has produced the greatest racehorse we have seen in Frankel and if the start he has made at stud is anything to go by he will add further proof that Galileo is just as good a sire of sires as his esteemed lineage predicted he would be. We can go on for ages extolling the virtues of Galileo, but I am sure it would just be a case of preaching to the converted. But suffice to say that in the current season – even without Frankel – he is again leading the European sires log with almost double the earnings of his nearest rival.

So let’s break down some of the less obvious facts. Flying The Flag is out of a mare who won no less than 3 Gr1 races in Ireland, we would be excited if she had won one Gr 1 race but to have a mare good enough to win three including the Irish 1000 Guineas is truly epic. Following on from her performance she has started her stud career in much the same manner with her first foal being a graded stakes winner in Flying The Flag and his younger full sister has just started what looks to be an equally promising career with her placing second first time, winning her second start and due to compete next week in a Gr 2 event in only her third start. This is a young and very active family.

Next fact, Halfway to Heaven is by Pivotal. Pivotal is a multiple Gr 1 winner himself, a sire of Gr 1 winners of both sexes and a damsire of Gr 1 winners. He is a multiple Champion sire in Europe, and a proven producer of speed and of two year old performers, little wonder there as he was a winner of the King’s Stand Stakes himself. But as importantly in this instance is his prowess as a damsire where he is in fact currently the only sire in Europe to rank in the top ten broodmare sires while still actively at stud.

Talking about that true mark of speed the King’s Stand stakes here is another incredible fact, both of the next names in Flying The Flag’s pedigree were winners of this great sprint race. Firstly his Grand dam the exceptional Cassandra Go and in turn her sire Indian Ridge also won this race, again he was a multiple Gr 1 winner himself, and sire and broodmare sire of Gr 1 winners of both sexes.

Cassandra Go was an exceptional race filly who was brilliantly fast with four of her six wins coming in stakes races and all of them at 1400m or shorter, highlighted by her win in the King’s Stand stakes and her second in the July Cup. This half sister to Verglas has gone on and proven herself a phenomenal broodmare, producing four stakes performers and second dam of a Gr1 winner in America and of a champion sprinter in France & Germany.

As mentioned Mike will tell you more about how he rated Flying The Flag, but before then let me go back to some of my facts. Fact he was fast enough and precocious enough to win his first start as a two year old, and to run second in a Gr 2 over 1400m in his second start, his final start as a two year old was in a Gr1 in dead going which he hated. Fact he was so highly regarded by his breeders and then owners Coolmore along with his trainer Aiden O’Brein that his first three starts of his three year old career in the space of three weeks were in three Gr 1 races in three different countries, namely the French 2000Guineas, The Irish 2000 Guineas and the Epsom Derby. Thank goodness for us he never won any of them otherwise we would most certainly not be looking at him here in lowly Mooi River! His next two starts as a three year old were a third in a stakes race followed by a four length victory in a Gr 3. He then joined Mike’s yard and he will tell you more about that. But suffice to say he was victorious in Dubai and Gr 1 placed there after a break of a year. The fact that this horse raced effectively over the time period he did in as many countries as he did is testament to his character and temperament.

The final fact that I find so exciting with Flying The Flag is just how compatible he is to our local broodmare pedigrees – he is one of the easiest stallions I have ever found to mate mares to, an extremely important factor in his potential success as a stallion.

IRISH FLAME

Every year that we present this horse we say the same thing and invariably so do most of you when we chat afterwards. He is the epitome of class and quality and should not be underestimated. Yes we do not expect him to be a champion sire of two year olds – but neither is Dynasty. All good things come to those who wait and I am certain you will not have to wait too long if the quality of his progeny is anything to go by. After all at the end of the day we all want to win the big races and that’s exactly what Irish Flame did and it’s exactly what his sire did too.

If this horse’s credentials needed any vindication it surely lies in the fact that Drakenstein stud have just this year taken on not one but two stallions with the exact same credentials as him. All three very similar to their father, multiple Gr 1 winners and Equus three year old champions and Equus Horse Of The Year title holders. But just for a change we got the jump start and got the first of them from the first crop of Dynasty.

To quote one of Highlands biggest advertising points for Jackson and that is he is a son of Dynasty who has twice won the Equus outstanding sire award and is also the first 3yo Horse Of The Year in SA to sire a 3y.o Horse Of The Year from his first crop to race. And Irish Flame is that horse!

I think that one fact speaks volumes about just how good Dynasty has been as a sire and that is simply that never before have we seen any local stallion have so many sons retired to stud here. Looking at the quality of those sons and the regard they are held in it can only be a matter of time before he makes one hell of an impression as a sire of sires.

It is very interesting to draw a few parallels between Irish Flame and his father for they are most striking. Dynasty won The Daily News 2000 – Irish Flame won the Daily News 2000. Dynasty won The Cape Derby – Irish Flame won the KZN Derby and the South African Derby, and who can forget the sensational manner in which he downed the mighty Pierre Jourdan by a massive 9.5 lengths.

Dynasty won the Durban July at three – Irish Flame was touched off for second, thanks to bad luck in running, in the Durban July at three.

One can only wonder at what more he may have achieved here had he not gone overseas at this stage, as Mike de Kock conceded the conditions there never suited the horse.

They both had full siblings that though stakes winners never lived up to what they themselves achieved. Dynasty’s dam was a one time winner by an unfashionable sire while Irish Flame’s dam was a stakes winner by a July winner.

In short if you can get in you can pay the money to go to Dynasty or you can go to the younger version right here at home for a fraction.

KING’S CHAPEL

From a South African Horse of the year we move on to a New Zealand Horse of the year, also as a three year old. A triple Gr 1 winner over 1200m, 1400m and 1600m he broke the respective course records on each occasion. A horse good enough to take on the best in the whole of Australasia he was beaten by a nose in a Gr 1 by Grand Armee which meant he was also touched off by this horse from the title of Australasian Champion.

But as with any sire there comes a point at which we must not measure him only by what he has achieved himself but by the achievements of his progeny and while we have not yet seen his name in lights yet as a sire locally King’s Chapel has made an impact there too. Throughout the season he has produced winners on a regular basis and has had progeny placed at Gr 2 and Gr 3 level, in fact in one ten week spell he had eleven winners locally and 5 internationally and a third in a Gr 2. Had he continued that form for the whole season who knows where he would be on the sire’s lists. In saying that he has maintained a respectable position on the second season sires log and as I alluded to he continues week in and week out to produce results on the international stage, with obviously diminishing representation in all of Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and of course New Zealand.

With the great support he has had here to date we have little doubt you will still be hearing plenty more of him.

REDOUTE’S PROMISE

Redoute’s Promise boasts a pedigree that demands respect from any self-respecting Australian and so by all rights should do the same for us as South African breeders. Let’s use some of those fact things again to put this into perspective. I feel at this point I should digress very slightly and thank Susan Rowett for joining us today and I have no doubt she will view this horse with some special interest as both his mother and her sister were bred at the beautiful Varsfontein Stud. His mother, Perfect Promise, was the first and to date the only South African bred horse to win a Gr 1 in Australia, this subsequent to her showing her class locally by winning The Cape Fillies Guineas Gr 1, the Gr 2 Emancipation Stakes and the Diana Stakes, along with seconds in two further Gr1’s and a Gr 2.

But this is only part of the damline and the woes it caused the Australians because Perfect Promise’s full sister was a filly called Irridescence who in the Gr 1 QE II defeated the Australian’s beloved Ouija Board becoming the second South African to win this race after London News did so and reaffirmed all of our beliefs that we had a product in South Africa fit to take on the rest of the world. Irridescence further proved this by winning in all of Dubai, Hong Kong, UK and America. This after securing the title of Equus champion three year old classic filly courtesy of her victories in the SA Classic, The Woolavington and the Gerald Rosenberg.

With perfect Promise being by Caesour this young stallion is now a representative of the most successful cross in the world for Redoute’s Choice and that being with mares with lines of Nureyev.

Redoute’s Choice himself does not need much introduction and has been in the news very recently as a sire of sires with his son Snitzel breaking the forty year old world record of thirty individual two year old winners in a season. The likes of his local Gr 1 winners Majmu and Wylie Hall have proven the Redoute’s Choice’s potency is just as effective in South Africa as it is elsewhere in the world. Just how potent is that? Well we are talking 30 individual Gr 1 winners behind only, dare we say it Galileo and Giant’s Causeway in the world. He has 32 two year old stakes winners (7 of them Gr 1 winners) out of his 134 total.

He has been an equally dominant sire of sires with 17 of his sons having produced stakes winners and eight sons who are already sires of Gr 1 winners.

We have been thrilled with Redoute’s Promise’s first crop of foals and believe this horse has the potential to be just about anything, and we are obviously not alone in that for many of the prominent breeders in this province have seen fit to support him.

TOREADOR

I believe it speaks volumes about Toreador that when I sat down to write about this special horse, I read what I had written last year and typically everything held true for today, except maybe just a little bit stronger and more proven. I guess the biggest attribute is that I don’t really need to say much for he has done all the talking for himself already.

He is the third of the stallions shown to you today to have enjoyed the privilege of being trained by Mike de Kock and I have no doubt that Mike would happily vouch for the tremendous heart this horse had, something that can never be measured but a vital aspect of every successful racehorse and something that a sire needs to pass on. This he does in no uncertain terms for his progeny have always fought with distinction well above their weight and there is never a week that goes by when he doesn’t provide someone with a good return.

Every crop he produces an exceptional horse and last year on champions day he had a two year old colt run second in the Gr 1 in Prospect Strike, coming from an impossible draw, and this year on July day we saw Misty Burnam run second in what is now a Gr 2 for the two year olds, and hopefully tomorrow he can go one better. I would just like to take a moment to congratulate Anton & Judy on their great achievement on July day of running second in both two year features – remarkable feat from a small band of mares. We must also acknowledge the major part Anton has played in making this horse available to us all here in KZN and in turn thank everyone for doing the horse justice by giving him a full book of mares each year. Gratifyingly the rewards have been forthcoming at the sales with his first KZN crop of yearlings having been on sale this year where he has once again proven himself to be tremendous value for money. Little wonder there as he looks likely to end the season eight of the active sires on the National Sires log, and most significantly his earnings have not been dominated by any one individual, his biggest earner having earned a mere 8% of his stakes by comparison to some of the horses above him, a few examples would be Trippi who leads the log, principal earner 37 %, Silvano 21% , Go Deputy 50%. Again if more proof was needed of just how consistent a producer he is.

CURVED BALL

Grant Knowles representing Klawervlei Stud introduced Curved Ball, the only son of Fastnet Rock in South Africa at stud to date. Curved Ball has produced three juvenile winners from only just over a handful of his first crop to race, and many of those from that year we haven’t seen step onto a track yet. Trainers who supported his first crop have returned to the sales grounds to purchase the progeny of this handsome stallion subsequently, having reported back how happy they are with the Curved Ball’s in their stables and consider them and their abilities highly.

Out a Zabeel mare, Curved Ball is said to be one of the most talented horses Charles Laird ever trained, and Joey Ramsden reiterated the sentiment whilst Curved Ball was in his care. Powerfully stamped by his famous Australian based sire Fastnet Rock, who is producing the goods the world over – with Group Winners produced in England and America. A leading 3rd crop sire in 2015, Fastnet Rock’s winners include Fascinating Rock (Champion Stakes-Gr.1, Tattersalls Gold Cup-Gr.1), Qualify (Oaks-Gr.1), Diamondsandrubies (Pretty Polly Stakes-Gr.1) and Turret Rocks (May Hill Stakes-Gr.2). In 2015 his European yearlings sold for €875,000, €600,000, €455,000, €380,000, €310,000, €305,000 etc.

Grant Knowles thanked Bush Hill Stud for their brilliant care and management of Curved Ball, as well as the breeders present for the support Curved Ball has been given.

Mike De Kock’s thoughts:

“I know breeders are obsessed with speed, don’t think this was a slow Galileo. We know there was speed in his family that he does have. We tried him over a mile and half, we know that Aiden (O’Brien) tried him over a mile and a half as well, he actually failed to stay – he was better shorter. He was held back in his career with a wind problem. We buy a lot of horses out of Ballydoyle – well Jehan Malherbe does – but often they have got problems we have got to deal with. If we had horses like this in SA, if they were Gr1 performed with this pedigree, you wouldn’t be able to afford them – we just wouldn’t get them, so often we do buy horses that do have their little problems. In terms of conformation, he is quite a correct horse – he is a very big horse and he is going to be very easy to mate. The fact that he is by Galileo too – if one looks at the last 10-15 years in Europe, the most prolific sires have been Galileo and Montjeu, I stand to be corrected but neither of those horses won over less then than 10 furlongs or a mile and a half. So that puts paid to the whole speed obsession – you have to look at the Classics. If you put Galileo in a 6 furlong race, he would have won it but there was no point in running him over that trip, as he was a Classic horse – so I wouldn’t be put off by that fact when one considers breeding and mating your mares. In short, Flying The Flag is a horse that if I was a breeder, I would be very confident in supporting. I think he is going to give you size and very correct legs and quite I honestly I would support him with confidence.”

Warwick ended the afternoon by thanking all who contributed towards a wonderful and informative day, and thanked all who attended and supported the stallions.

Flying The Flag stands for a fee of R20 000 this season, and an incentive bonus of R100 000 has been announced for the breeder who produces the Graded Stakes Winner from Flying The Flag.

The first crops from Scott Bros’ respective stallions’ Crusade and Eightfold Path were well received at the recent National Yearling Sale, whilst Irish Flame and Await The Dawn sold one individual each for over R100 000.

Gr1 Middle Park Stakes winner, Crusade, achieved an impressive average for 18 yearlings sold, with a figure of R160 000 each. His two top priced horses – a colt and filly respectively sold for R350 000 and R300 000.

Buyers were impressed with the incredible stamp of Crusade’s progeny. His top priced colt consigned by Clifton Stud saw the yearling, out of a half-sister to Captain America, knocked down for R350 000 to Kuda Insurance. A beautiful grey filly consigned by St Helier Stud, sold for Mr P Kruyer for R300 000.

Other buyers to purchase the progeny of Crusade included Mike Bass, Green Street Bloodstock (2 horses), Kerry Jack Bloodstock, Fred Crabbia, Brian Burnard, Team G Racing, Doug Campbell, Far End Racing and Lezanne Forbes.

One of the best-bred horses to go to stud in South Africa and a French Gr3 winner over 1200m, Eightfold Path sold seven of his first progeny at the Nationals for an average of just over R140 000 each.

The top price overall from the son of Giant’s Causeway out of a five-time Gr1 winning mare, was for a smashing filly consigned by Rathmor Stud, a half-sister to Gr2 winner Harry Lime out of Alami mare, Rattled. She was knocked down to Louis Goosen for R325 000.

Piemonte Stud had one of three Irish Flame’s available on the sale, and the filly beautifully named Giovanna, sold for R150 000 to Pine Lodge Stud. She is the second foal for dam Raw Deal, and a clever mating as the dam is from the immediate family of Horse Chestnut.

This pedigree has nicked with great success to Fort Wood – the paternal grandsire of Irish Flame – to produce Cork Wood, Close The Gap and Mr Brock, amongst others.

The deceased son of Giant’s Causeway who has left just two crops behind, Await The Dawn, saw a filly sold for R120 000 from Summerhill Stud. Named Balindelwe, the filly is out of Gloriosa by Malhub, an unraced half-sister to Poppy and the immediate family of Spring Garland,  Mahubo, Kelly and Victory Moon.

Congratulations to the vendors and buyers and we look forward to their success on the racetracks to come!