Yellow Star based Kildonan is having a purple patch, with seven winners in March alone countrywide and nine places. Five of the wins have been over the past week!

Boasting 19 wins from just 30 runners, he is sporting a 40% winners to runners percentage for the season, with over R50 000 in average earning per runner and R1,5-million in stakes earned for the current season.

A sire that has produced the likes of star fillies Gr2 winner Rosier and Gr3 winner Beach Goddess, he has also produced the speedy Vision To Kill and Gr1 Mauritius Cup winner, Scotsnog.

Kildonan is from the family of Shah’s Star, Dunsinane, Festive Forever and Carry On Alice – a family steeped in speed, Kildonan by Rich Man ‘s Gold set a Scottsville record when winning the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint – and beat the times of several great horses including the great international speedy Gr1 winner, JJ The Jetplane. Kildonan was hugely versatile as well. Primarily a speed horse, he also placed in the Vodacom Durban July.

Yellow Star have welcomed a beautiful foal by Noble Tune (Unbridled’s Song) out of Magical Trip by Trippi, and a beautiful Kildonan for owner and breeder Ted Hughes.

A cross that produced Triple Gr1 winner Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song x Trippi) who stands at Lane’s End and has just seen his first yearlings sold for up to $310 000. Liam’s Map won the Gr1 Breeders Cup Dirt Mile and set a new track record, and ran the fastest Woodward since 2004. He stands alongside Noble Tune’s half-brother Honor Code at Lane’s End Farm.

Magical Trip, out of a Model Man mare is a winner and placed four times.

Another arrival is a chestnut foal by Kildonan x Dont Mention It by Tobe Or Nottobe. The dam won six times and placed on seven occasions. Kildonan produced almost 30% winners to runners last season.

Ted Hughes has purchased Golden Sword and he stands at Yellow Star Stud this season. Golden Sword, who placed a stride behind the great Sea The Stars in the English Derby and is a full brother to Gr1 Melbourne Cup winner Rekindled, will be getting a select band of mares this season. Golden Sword’s half-brother won at The Curragh on the weekend for trainer Aiden Ó Brien.

The well related Firth Of Tay proved the star attraction at Thursday’s Cape Mare Sale, held for a first time at the Mistico Equestrian Centre. Consigned by Wilgerbosdrift, the mare was knocked down to John Kramer for R300 000.

Yellow Star’s Kildonan is in form with 33% winners to runners currently, excluding his winner last night for the stable of Alyson Wright. He also had a superb winner for the yard of Paul and Beth Gadsby on Wednesday at Scottsville with Clifton-bred Kildonan Lad whilst Vision To Kill is an exciting prospect for Champions Season.

The Gadsby’s have a brilliant Kildonan filly in their yard named Vision To Kill – now a three time winner from five starts with a second place, she showed her mettle in her last run where she handed top multiple stakes placed Barbosa a half a length beating, over the 1000m stretch at Scottsville.

She also defeated the likes of Isca and Natal in the process. Out of Royal Vision by Alami, the filly is bred by former Gold Circle Chairman Robert Mauvis, owned in partnership by Robert and Sam Osman. Robert and Sam also own Kildonan Lad in partnership.

Another Kildonan to impress was the recent debut run of Pina Colada, a Scott Bros-bred juvenile who had a fast finishing second at Scottsville for the stable of Gary Rich and looks an exciting prospect.

From small numbers the champion sprinter’s progeny frequent the winners enclosure and he has had Graded Stakes winners with the likes of Rosier and Beach Goddess, as well as feature horses Tribute To Kylie, Night In Tahiti and now Mauritian-based Scotsnog.

A winner of the Gr1 Premier Champions Stakes and the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint in a record time that the likes of JJ The Jetplane couldnt better, Kildonan’s ability and courage stretched as far as the Vodacom Durban July where the sprinter specialist finished four lengths off behind the subsequent winner Hunting Tower.

At the 2016 National Yearling Sale, Mary Slack of Wilgebosdrift purchased a Clifton-bred Kildonan colt for R250 000. He is out of Esterel by Var, named Highland Hero.

At the recent Cape Yearling Sale which averaged R58 000 for a yearling sold, a handsome chestnut colt sold for R60 000 at a sale that favoured the buyer’s market. He is out of Indira by Tiger Ridge, the second dam is Rat Burana, Equus Champion filly in 2007.

Kildonan stands for a fee of R5000 at Yellow Star Stud.

Kildonan’s daughter Beach Goddess won the R150 000 Listed Laisserfaire Stakes yesterday at Kenilworth for trainer Brett Crawford.
Crawford stable rider Corne Offer knows Beach Goddess well and he allowed her to come forward just behind the pace at the 600m, as Our Destiny went for broke a length ahead.

The super consistent Beach Goddess stalked the leaders and always looked too strong as she grabbed the game Our Destiny at the 100m and went on smartly to win convincingly by 0,75 lengths in a time of 65,52 secs.

“Beach Goddess started picking it up at the 800m and I just left her in the open at the 600m and rode her with the hands. There was a stage I thought we may have gone a touch early, but she is classy and ran all the way to the line,”  Corne said.

Trainer Brett Crawford enjoyed a great day at the office. He said that Beach Goddess had ‘a heart as big as herself’.

“Things didn’t really go for her in the Diana Stakes at Durbanville. The course was running quickly and she just never got into it. But she is very effective down this track and we will keep her to the fillies sprints for the time being,” said Crawford.

Raced – and technically bred by Ian Longmore – Beach Goddess is from the second crop of former Equus Champion Sprinter Kildonan, who stands at Yellow Star Stud after commencing his career at Wilgerbosdrift.

A dual stakes winner, Beach Goddess took her stakes tally to R412 175 with her 4 wins and 5 places from 10 starts. She is likely to line up next in the Sceptre Stakes in December.

Kildonan is also the sire of Gr2 winner Rosier, trained by Glen Kotzen.

A racehorse with a deeply competitive spirit and obvious ‘big match temperament’ to achieve what he did which can be seen in his impressive debut at Scottsville.

In the 2007 Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint Kildonan set a track record at Scottsville that international speedster JJ The Jet Plane couldn’t better, and was broken earlier this year by another KZN-bred, Humidor.

Kildonan set a record time of 67.00, with JJ The Jet Plane winning the same race in 2008 in a time of 67.62.

Trained by Mike de Kock, Kildonan was unbeaten in his first three starts at age 2, and went on to win five races in total.

Kildonan raced in top company from distances of 1200 – 1600 metres from age 2 to 3, and he earned R878 994 in stakes, with a merit rating of 115. His wins include the Graham Beck Stakes Grade 3, and placing second in his last career start in South Africa, the Champions Cup Grade 1 by just 0.75 of a length behind African Appeal.

Kildonan placed third in the Gold Challenge Gr1 to Successful Bidder and was voted Equus Champion Two Year old colt of his year.

Mike de Kock obviously didn’t take Kildonan’s talent for granted and sent him to Dubai, however Kildonan injured himself in training and never got to compete where he would have no doubt been a strong contender. He was sent back home to his birthplace, Wilgerbosdrift to begin his breeding career in 2009 and relocated to Yellow Star Stud in 2012.

Earlier this year an outstanding Kildonan colt sold for R250 000 at the National Yearling Sale consigned by Clifton Stud as Highland Hero, his dam a half-sister to Captain America.

Kildonan stands at Yellow Star Stud.

 – extract sportingpost.co.za

“What an exciting race result for Backworth Sunday afternoon at Scottsville! Backworth-bred Humidor won in style over 1200m, breaking Kildonan’s course record. Humidor’s race record now stands at 3 wins in a row, and a 4th from just 4 starts!” — Keith Russon

Wilgebosdrift-owned Esmaltina has foaled a Kildonan colt at Yellow Star Stud in Mooi River.

The grey Argentine mare from the renowned “E” family that has had phenomenal South African success, is a 5-time winner including the Gr3 Jacaranda Handicap has previously produced E-Jet (bred by Scott Bros) a 4-time winner who took home the Gr2 Colorado King Stakes.

The record-breaking speedy Kildonan is still owned by Wilgebosdrift and currently boasts an impressive winners to runners percentage of 33.3% (according to the current NHRA stats as of 15 November 2015) from his 18 runners with 51 races between them. Named Champion 2YO colt, Kildonan (a son of Rich Man’s Gold) won the Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes and Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint – the latter race saw a record set that has yet to be toppled, and amongst the many classy horses that have had the opportunity to change this, include the great JJ The Jet Plane.

Kildonan’s courage as a racehorse is even more notable when you read his race record – a Champion Sprinter who finished four lengths off Hunting Tower in the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July over 2200m. He then ran second to African Appeal in the Gr1 Champions Cup less than a month later over 1800m, showing great diversity in his racing abilities.

Kildonan was exported to Dubai but returned home after being unable to race due to injury. His notable filly to date has been Gr2 Debutante winner Rosier, who also won the East Cape Fillies Nursery (Listed).

Esmaltina is a daughter of Equalize out of Farnesio mare Esmarada, and amongst a slew of Champions in this female line is the likes of Empress Club under second dam Elysee. A few other names that stand out amongst the lengthy pedigree is Ecurie, Epoque, sire Elusive Fort and Rathmor Stud’s racing and future broodmare prospect Eventual Angel. Under the third dam is Escoleta Fitz, Eventuail and Emerald Beauty.

Wilgebosdrift are registered with the KZN Breeders Club, and this is their first born “kzn-bred”. Congratulations to Mary Slack of Wilgebosdrift Stud.