Rabada enjoyed a double on the turf on Wednesday, with his doppelgänger son Addabar winning by over five lengths in hand while Umhlali snuck up on the outside rail under Rachel Venniker to grab victory on the line.

Addabar made a winning return to his form, winning easily under Calvin Habib unextended by over five lengths for owner and trainer, MJ Odendaal, who was heard in his interview to say that if the progeny looked like Rabada, they run like Rabada- which goes for most of them as he is a sire that stamps his stock.

The smart colt had a virus as an excuse for his below par performance in his previous running, and looks to be an exciting prospect for the KZN Champions Season to come in 2024. He is a half brother to Gr1 winner Under Your Spell and Gr3 winner Witchcraft.

The next to follow was Umhlali, a well bred filly out of dual Gr2 winner Fisani by Kahal, winning for the second time for owner Mr Tommy Crowe, trained by Michael Roberts.

Rabada stands at Sandra and Lance Trethewey’s Bloomhill Stud, and its currently boasting a 37.5% winners to runners percentage. From 16 runners this season, he has produced 8 winners and 17 places.

Congratulations to all concerned.

Twice Grade 1-winner Rabada was very well received by a packed Summerveld clubhouse in an unusual stallion day on Saturday for which he was transported down form his home at Wartburg’s Bloomhill Stud down to the KZN’s only major training centre.

The former Mike Azzie-trained Brave Tin Soldier stallion won the Gr 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes as a two-year-old and the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 as a three-year-old.

He is proving to be a fine stallion, despite the limited opportunities he has had, and last season had a 47.8% winners to runners strike rate with eleven winners of 14 races from 23 runners.

This compares to the national champion stallion Gimmethegreenlight’s percentage of 48.2% and although the latter obviously had a lot more runners he also enjoyed a lot more opportunities being an in demand Western Cape-based stallion.

Included among Rabada’s runners is the like of the promising MJ Odendaal-trained gelding Addabar, the Doug Campbell-trained gelding Ermelo and the Weiho Marwing-trained filly Soldier’s Eye.

Addabar, now a four-year-old, has been the subject of a big offer from overseas after cruising to a comfortable win over 1800m last time, meaning he has won all three of his races contested over distances of a mile and beyond in impressive style.

Mohammed Sheik has been brokering a deal between the interested parties in Bahrain, but it will not be easy to complete with the export protocols as they are and also with the timelines in place for travel and the accompanying red tape involved.

He is also the ideal horse to promote the up-and-coming Odendaal stable and if he does not go overseas MJ plans to target him at the next SA Champions Season. As a horse he does not need to rush, he aims to get him there with a competitive merit rating.

In a twist to the stallion day, MJ rode Addabar to the clubhouse grass and he was also paraded.

Ermelo, now a three-year-old, is a big, long-striding individual who has won two out of four starts and he finished a fine 3,25 length third in his last start over 1400m in the Listed Gatecrasher Stakes to the talented Mike de Kock-trained Gimmethegreenlight colt Gimmeanotherchance. 

He is merit rated 96.

The Weiho Marwing-trained filly Soldier’s Eye is merit rated 97 having won two races before finishing fifth in the Gr 1 Douglas Whyte Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville in the last race of her two-year-old campaign.

That high merit rating did not stop her running a close second in a fillies and mares handicap over 1750m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville in her first start as a three-year-old.

Sandra Tretheway of Bloomhill Stud said there had been an excellent turn out on Saturday by a mixture of breeders, owners and trainers to see Rabada in the flesh and there had even been the like of farriers and veterinarians in attendance.

The Summerveld clubhouse was packed.

Onlookers were very impressed by Rabada’s excellent temperament.

He handled the one-and-a-half hour wait to be paraded perfectly calmly and behaved himself impeccably while being shown.

He had to parade in front of 65 onlookers and he also stood perfectly still for photographs.

It was important to show prospective breeders, owners and trainers Rabada’s “most magnificent temperament”, because Brave Tin Soldier’s progeny can sometimes be up tight.

The stallion day has led to more business for Rabada and since Saturday and yesterday he had already gained an extra ten mares.

Tretheway said about the day, “It was fantastic. He was well received and it was a positive, good event for our industry which needs positive vibes.”

There have also been clients who could not make it to the stallion day who have visited the stallion at the farm instead.

There has also been interest from the Cape.

Rabada stands for R10,000 payable on a live foal, but as an incentive Bloomhill Stud have given a special incentive offer in which a breeder sending two mares will get one cover free of charge.

Another incentive for the resulting Rabada crop of this season’s coverings is that the first one of them to win a Gr 1 in KZN will earn a R50,000 bonus for the owners.

Tretheway said these incentives confirmed Bloomhill Stud’s belief in Rabada as a stallion and their commitment to both him and to the horseracing industry.

Bloomhill Stud is one of the newest thoroughbred breeders on the block.

Sandra has always loved horses and the family farm just outside of Wartburg has always had a riding horse or two for their use.

Hence she travelled to the Summerhill dispersal sale a few years ago intending to buy one or two riding horses.

Instead she returned with a number of broodmares.

She has been advised on breeding by Mick Goss, the owner of the multiple champion breeders Summerhill Stud.

Sandra concluded, “Rabada is going to be one of the commercial stallions and he just needs the support. I said to the people on Saturday, ‘With the stats he has got, which is not an emotional thing, can you afford to ignore him.’”

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Images: Candiese Lenferna

Former Gr 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes and Gr 1 Daily News 2000 winner Rabada was left out of the annual Sires Catalogue and therefore he will be transported down to Summerveld on 16 September for a “Stallion Day”.

Sandra Tretheway of Bloomhill Stud in Wartburg said, “We’re going to bring him down to the people and we’re inviting all the owners, trainers and breeders just so they can see him in the flesh because obviously his progeny are doing so well at the moment. It’s something a bit unconventional but we need to do it because when buyers see his progeny at the sales they can say, ‘We’ve seen the stallion and he’s actually magnificent.'”

An incentive will be announced at the stallion day.

She continued, “We’ve had some nice support for him recently but not enough. We’re sitting on about 12 mares and I would like to get it up to 20 or 30, so it will take some serious marketing on our part after he was left out of the Sires Catalogue.”

She added, “He’s looking magnificent and has covered three already.”

Unfortunately the dam of one of his recent success stories, Addabar, is deceased. However, they are hopeful he could still get the dam of his Listed Gatecrasher Stakes third-placed Ermelo.

Rabada has some quality mares booked to him.

They include the Gr 3 Strelitzia Stakes runner up Me Time (Gimmethegreenlight), who is due a foal to him and will be covered again; he has just covered Strelitzia Stakes winner Elegant Blush, who is also dam of two stakes-placed horses; he will be covering Mary Liley’s three-time winner Noodle.

Bloomhill have 14 mares of which six are so far booked to Rabada, while five are going to the Cape to be covered by respectively all of Jet Dark (who is part-owned by Tommy Crowe, who owns the dam of Ermelo), Rafeef and What A Winter.

One of Mick Goss’s mares on the farm is going to Danon Platina.

Meanwhile, the Doug Campbell-trained Ermelo has Cape Town aspirations. The big rangy type unfortunately burst through the starting stalls in the Gr 1 HKJC World Pool Moment Of The Day Champion Stakes at the end of last season and had to be scratched. He knocked himself slightly during that incident but Doug is targeting him at the Non-Black type Model Man Mile at Hollywoodbets Greyville on October 22 and he then might target some big Cape races.

The stallion day for Rabada at Summerveld will on Saturday September 16 will start at 10 a.m.

Please rsvp to Sandra at stud@bloomhill.co.za for catering purposes.

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Bloomhill Stud resident sire Rabada, a Gr1 winner at ages 2 and 3, has seen his progeny frequenting the winners box almost 50% of the time last season and he looks to be continuing the momentum.

MJ Odendaal’s Addabar, which is Rabada backwards, looks a smart sort and has now won back to back over distances of 1600m – 1800m at both of KZN’s racecourses for the former champion jockey.

It is his third win to date from a handful of runs with two places.

The four year old gelding is a half brother to Gr1 winner Under Your Spell and Gr3 winner Witchcraft.

He was bred by Summerhill Stud and bought as a weanling by Robyn Klaasen-Peter who sold him under her Suikerbosview Stud banner at the 2021 National Yearling Sale, knocked down for R150 000 to MJ.

Rabada, a very handsome son of Brave Tin Soldier, has already had four winners in August and his percentage is already rocketing to 25% winners to runners, last season he ended on 47% for the season with 23 runners, 14 wins and 51 places with an AEPR of an impressive R57 000.

His only representative at the recent August 2YO Sale, bred by Blue Sky Thoroughbreds and a first foal for dam Just Chaos who won four races including a Listed, sold for R140 000.

Standing at Sandra Trethewey’s Wartburg stud farm, Rabada will be presented to the public on 16 September. A venue will be announced. Be sure to save the date.

Rabada stands for a very accessible R10 000 live foal this season.

Leading KwaZulu-Natal thoroughbred nursery, Spring Valley Stud, will be offering a pair of well related two-year-olds at the upcoming November Two Year Old.

Both lots in this draft were sired by Spring Valley’s well performed young stallion Rabada, whose five wins, from just ten starts, included scores in both the G1 Premiers Champion Stakes and G1 Daily News 2000.

Onnetilia (Lot 1), the very first lot to go through the ring, is a filly out of a winning half-sister to brilliant G2 Southern Cross Stakes winner Fairyinthewoods and to speedy Laisserfaire Stakes heroine Comet Chaser. Her granddam is a stakes placed half-sister to top filly Tarn Fairy, and this is also the family of star Eastern Cape filly Yoshie and Derby winner Mr Winsome, to name but two.

Zatara Magic (Lot 36) is a well bred half-brother to five winners, including G3 DSTV Gold Vase runner up Before Noon and last season’s Listed World Sports Betting East Cape Derby/Listed East Cape Guineas winner Jaeger Moon.

Out of a five time winning half-sister to the dam of last season’s stakes winning two-year-old Twice The Trip, this colt’s granddam is a half-sister to former Horse Of The Year, and five time G1 winner, Yard-Arm.

Looking to buy a two-year-old from the first crop of a top-class racehorse? Come and inspect Spring Valley Stud’s two lots at this year’s November Two Year Old Sale!

#kznbred Rabada, a twice Gr1 winning son of Brave Tin Soldier bred by Summerhill Stud, has relocated to Bruce and Delia Le Roux’s Spring Valley Stud in Mooi River.

The very handsome stallion has his first foals on the ground, and will be yearlings in August.

Initially in training Michael Azzie and ending with Brett Crawford, Rabada retired a 5-time winner, including the Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes as a two year old, and the Gr1 Daily News 2000, as well as the Gatecrasher Stakes (L).

He carries a pure Summerhill pedigree, being out of a Fard / Braashee mare – Jordie.

His sire Brave Tin Soldier stands at The Fort Stud – the sire of two Gr1 winners including export Brave Mary, and Gr1 runner up Running Brave.

Brave Tin Soldier was the most expensive weanling in the world at his time of sale, knocked down for a record US$3-million.

Rabada is a half-brother to the grey Glider Pilot, who also placed 4th in the Gr1 Daily News 2000 and to River Tyne, who is a 4-time winner and placed in the Listed Ladies Slipper. This is the female line of Naan Khaatay and Tomorrows Miss.

He is a stallion that has quality in abundance and stands 16.1.

Summerhill Stud has been sold and now stands sport horses for Capital Stud and owner Henning Pretorius.

“While I have to admit to some personal sentimentality, it’s every stud man’s ambition to stand a horse of his own breeding. The end of 2018 will mark forty years of our existence at Summerhill; in that time, we’ve bred a number of top class performers as you know, yet I have to say that in Rabada, we’ve at last reached the point of standing a horse that embodies just about everything we as breeders have been trying to produce for the past three hundred years. Apart from being an outstanding racehorse, he is the embodiment of physical perfection, and moves as well as any horse I’ve had the privilege to behold.” – Mick Goss, Summerhill Stud

Predictably Predictable

It’s 53 years since the nation’s favourite son, Sea Cottage survived the assassin’s bullet in the shadows of Durban’s Ellis Brown viaduct. And a lot of the “Duzi’s” water has passed under the portals of that edifice since the Summerhill upstarts, Imperial Despatch and Bianconi levelled their patrician counterparts in the season-defining Champion Juvenile. Yet it ranked, and it rankled even more, as the biggest piece of local racing affrontery when the aptly-named Rabada claimed the 2016 crop’s highest rating in the same event with his thunder bolt against the cream of the nation’s bluebloods. On the floor that day were the subsequent Equus champion and Triple Crown laureate, Abashiri, and the regally related dual Group One performer, Prospect Strike.

Yet it was all quite predictable: our hero had entered the fray off an unbeaten pair of opening rounds and a knockout race record in the Listed Gatecrasher. His lucrative migration to the East coast called now for the young man to go West, where sadly a nasty collision put paid to a tilt at the time-honoured Cape Derby, and almost his career. Only an act of ambitious clairvoyance could have divined a return bout between what looked like the emergence of a racing totem and the Derby hero, It’s My Turn, but few remembered what Rabada was made of.

That irresistible combination of grunt and grit took him to within a half-length of the laurels in the KZN Guineas, and voila! the Derby winner became his next Group One victim in the Daily News. It was all so predictable: ever since Imperial Despatch had served as the flagship in the R2 million epic, the same tide had borne a positive armada of top performers in the race from the same farm.

In the process, Rabada would become the only colt of his generation to win Group Ones at two and three, claiming two of South African racing’s monuments. His reputation was intact. His record read 10 starts, 5 victories and 3 seconds. The other two were claimed by injury, the last one a terminator. A multimillionaire with R2.6million in the locker, he’d banked ten times his cost at an average of R265 000 a start. Some racehorse.

Yet in so many ways, it was also predictable. The best South African-performed stallions and some of the country’s greatest racehorses, Jet Master, Dynasty, Captain Al and Foveros, all had rather plebeian female origins; it was the “mongrel” in them that made them the heroes of their era; it was the grunt and the grit that hallmarked their progeny.

This week, it was announced that Rabada was returning to his original home to perpetuate the farm’s record in championing the cause of the Northern Dancer story. Irresistibly, they’re asking if it’s not all too predictable?

“I don’t know anything about predictions, I’ll leave that to the prophets” said stallion barn boss, Richard Hlongwane. “What I know is that I’ve worked with several Champion stallions in my twenty eight years at Summerhill, and I’ve seen Sadler’s Wells, Danehill and Galileo, Sunday Silence and Deep Impact during my stints at Coolmore in Ireland and more recently at Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley in Japan. I can honestly say Rabada was a standout from the day he was born; he ranks alongside the best of them for his physique, his power and his presence, and like all of them, he could walk for England (or Ireland or Japan!)”.

Now that’s predictability!

Quote from Michael Azzie, his trainer:

 “An absolute joy to train, he was my pick for the July ahead of Abashiri; I just wish we’d been able to run him there. He had brilliant two year old speed and the class to carry it over 2000 metres. Remember, he won the Daily News without the stick, which tells you that besides his natural talent, he was as genuine as the day was blue. Despite the problems I had with his feet, he was as good a horse as I’ve had the privilege to train. Imagine how good he’d have been if we’d not battled with his feet?”.

The first entries for the Vodacom Durban July are in and several KZN-breds are amongst them – including half-siblings, dual Gr1 winner Rabada (from the stable of Brett Crawford) and his grey AP Arrow half-brother, Glider Pilot.

Another interesing entry, which is the third from Champion breeders Summerhill Stud, is the filly that South Africa’s eyes are on for this weekend – Takingthepeace, who is attempting to become the first KZN-bred to win the Triple Tiara.

Bush Hill Stud are represented with 2-time winning son of Visionaire – Throng – entered by Champion trainer Sean Tarry along with Matador Man.

Matador Man by Toreador may also try his hand again at the KZN Breeders Million Mile the week before to make it a double and match No Worries record.

Matador Man, who placed third in the Gr1 Champions Cup and won the Secretariat Stakes Listed, won again recently for his connections, interestingly Glider Pilot was just behind him.

Rabada is back in training with Brett Crawford after injury and it will be fantastic to see the twice Gr1 winning son of Brave Tin Soldier back in action again.

The five year old entire last raced in November 2016 and looks a picture in Summerveld.

His year younger brother Glider Pilot, who has half an ear missing from an accident as a youngster, is Merit Rated at 106 and has showed signs of brilliance.

In his last win over 2000m in February this year, he defeated amongst the field Brazuca and Bankable Teddy.

Amongst his four places with two wins from only seven starts, Glider Pilot finished fourth in the Gr1 Daily News 2000 behind Edict Of Nantes (a race his half-brother won previously) and left in his wake the likes of Copper Force, Zodiac Ruler, Africa Rising and Pagoda amongst others.

An exciting entry to see is St John Gray’s Dawn Assault. The only Stakes Winning son of Call To Combat, born and raised at Hadlow Stud for St John Gray, Dawn Assault has won six and placed 14 times.

He recently took the Drum Star Listed from Gr2 winner Secret Captain, with Kilrain and The Elmo Effect amongst the field.

The Vodacom Durban July will be taking place on 7 July this year – with the KZN Breeders Race Day taking place the week before at Greyville, and the Golf Day on 1 June leading up to Africa’s Greatest Horse Race.

Contact us if you would like to join us for the KZN Breeders Golf Day and KZN Breeders Race Day – vouchers towards the purchase of a KZN-bred yearling are up for grabs, for the KZN Yearling Sale taking place at Sibaya just the week after the KZN Breeders Race Day, and before the Vodacom Durban July.

See you there!

Geoff Woodruff’s Grade 1 Daily News 2000 entry Pagoda arrived at Summerveld on Wednesday night looked to have travelled well. The five-times champion trainer lamented his bad luck with draws in Durban this season and his pair of horses he brought down were the latest to be “drawn out in the bush”.

Mogok gelding Pagoda is currently in 15^th place on the Vodacom Durban July log and Woodruff aims to “pop him into the July” with a low weight. He clarified, “The Daily News is always a tough race for the Johannesburg horses because they have just come off a long, hard season and it is more a race to keep the horses going for the July and also to show them the course.”

He reckoned Pagoda was a July type of a horse and the big race had always been his target. He said, “He is small and neat and has a nice turn of foot. If you have a three-year-old coming into the July with 53kg or 54kg you know you are in the hunt.”

Pagoda would, as things currently stand, have to carry 53kg. However, off his 101 merit rating he would be 2kg under sufferance. Last time out in the Grade 1 SA Derby over 2450m on the tough Turffontein Standside track, Pagoda was running close up to the eventual winner Al Sahem midway through the race when an incident caused him to be shuffled right to the back.

Woodruff said, “That was not the plan at all, but Gavin (Lerena) had him on the rail and he became caught in a box behind a slowing horse.” Pagoda then ran on strongly from last to finish a 1,75 length second. Woodruff said realistically Pagoda might have finished closer, but doubted he could have won the race. He also felt realistically Pagoda would not be able to reverse form on Saturday with Al Sahem facing him at level weights again.

As things stand, Pagoda will receive 0,5kg from Al Sahem in the July. However, if the latter converts favouritism on Saturday the weight differential might change significantly.

In his penultimate start Pagoda was reminiscent of one of the best Mogok’s, The Apache, in that he crept up steadily in the straight until the 300m mark and then when Lerena pressed the button he kicked impressively and went away from the field to win by 3,3 lengths. Chase Maujean replaces the now England-based Lerena and will have to negotiate a number ten draw in a twelve horse field.

Mogok has produced Gr1 winners The Apache, Gypsy’s Warning, Wild One and Orbison to date. Look out for more of his progeny at the upcoming KZN Yearling Sale.

Tyrone Zackey has an interesting runner in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 in the Summerhill-bred A P Arrow gelding Glider Pilot, who is a half-brother to last year’s winner of this race Rabada.

Zackey bought the rangy gelding for owners Kevin and Nadine Backos, his son-in-law and daughter respectively, and Sheddy Habib at a dispersal sale of the late Adriaan van Vuuren.

He said, “That’s why we could not nominate him for a while (red tape relating to Van Vuuren’s frozen assets). The horse did not show me much in the beginning, I think he was a bit out of work, but he then started running equal with his companions and then he started putting some distance between himself and them. He wasn’t working with champions, but then I put him up against a horse who had won a race and after that gallop decided to nominate him.”

It was unusual to see a horse making its debut over 2000m and the race was also run at just after seven o’ clock in the evening. Nevertheless, Glider Pilot was backed from 40/1 into 10/1. The wild cheering from the nearby Zackey box could be heard during the commentary as Glider Pilot got the better of the 16/10 favourite Starpath to win by 0,8 lengths.

Zackey continued, “The rest of the field were more than ten lengths back and I thought well he can’t be bad. And then Starpath came out and won too. So I nominated him for a handicap over the same distance at the Vaal.”

On this occasion he was beaten 1,9 lengths into third. However, Zackey was impressed by two facets of the race.

Firstly, the winner of the race was the five-year-old Amsterdam and the runner up was Jubilee Line. Amsterdam had finished second in the Gr 1 SA Classic as a three-year-old and had consequently been bought out of the Paul Peter yard, ironically by Adriaan van Vuuren, while Jubilee Line has always been highly regarded and was a Vodacom Durban July entry this year. Secondly, Glider Pilot had produced a late surge.

Zackey said, “He wasn’t balanced and he couldn’t get on to the other foot, that comes with inexperience, but when he did he caught the eye.” Zackey now believed he had a horse of some potential.

He said, “Greyville is a tricky course for an inexperienced horse. But we have got a ticket and are going to come down to Durban and have some fun. He can run a little, but whether he can compete with all of those horses who clearly have Gr 1 potential I don’t know, so if he runs a place I will be very happy.”

An interesting form-line for Glider Pilot comes through Hamaan. He received 2kg from the current Daily News third-favourite Pagoda in the Derby Trial over 2000m and was beaten 5,3 lengths. In Glider Pilot’s last start he gave Hamaan 2,5kg and a short-head beating.

Glider Pilot thus has close to five lengths to find with Pagoda on paper, but it should be born in mind that last start on May 11 was only the second of his career, so he is not just there to make up the numbers. He has been priced up a 50/1 shot by the bookmakers and will be ridden by Zackey’s high-flying nephew, Craig Zackey, who is lying in sixth place on the National Jockey’s log.

Glider Pilot and Rabada’s dam recently sold for R800 000 off Summerhill’s Mare and Weanling sale, in foal to Capetown Noir.

Africa Rising is the last of the three KZN-breds represented in the Gr1 Daily News 2000, which was won last year by Summerhill-bred son of Brave Tin Soldier, Rabada.

The Sean Tarry-trained son of Visionaire is a winner of the Gr3 Byerley Turk at Greyville over 1400m. He has won three times from nine starts and placed three times, including in a Gr1 just a length off Gunner, and four lengths off William Longsword in the Cape Guineas.

Out of Braashee mare Sucha Looka, he is a half-brother to three other winners.

-extract goldcircle.co.za