Summerhill Sales will be offering an exceptional draft at this year’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale.

The draft includes two-year-olds by such proven and popular stallions as Duke Of Marmalade, Trippi and Visionaire, as well as a large number of youngsters from the first crops of Summerhill Stud’s exciting G1 winning sires Act Of War and Willow Magic.

Dynasty’s Cape Guineas winning son Act Of War is represented by no fewer than 20 members of his first crop in Summerhill Sales’ draft. Act Of War’s first crop includes Heat Seeker (Lot 6), a half-brother to former Ready To Run Cup winner Winter Star, Million Dollar Man (Lot 18), a colt whose dam is a half-sister to G1 winner Love Struck, Mauby (Lot 84), a half-sister to the stakes placed, and recent winner, Blushing Bride, and Lady Of The Flame (Lot 105) –a filly bred on very similar lines to four time G1 winner and Horse Of The Year Futura.

Possibly the pick of Act Of War’s draft is Wabi Sabi (Lot 71), a half-brother to none other than dual G1 winner, and current Summerhill sire, Rabada with this colt hailing from a strong, black type family.

Dubawi’s versatile G1 SA Nursery winner Willow Magic also has some exceptionally appealing members of his first crop in this draft. They include Pulpit Rock (Lot 47), a colt whose dam is a half-sister to Equus Champion Icy Air, Willy The Wizard (Lot 57), a colt whose dam is a half-sister to Fillies Guineas winner Fisani, and Somasonic (Lot 99), a half-brother to Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup winner Vi Va Pi Pa.

Willow Magic’s draft also includes Toocoolforschool (Lot 54), a beautifully bred half-sister to G1 SA Derby winner Hero’s Honour and G1 Thekwini Stakes runner up Rail Trip, and Thamasanqa (Lot 79). The latter, a colt out of the G1 performer Lisa Anne, is a half-brother to 2 winners notably charismatic G1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic winner, and millionaire, Takingthepeace.

Champion Sire Trippi is represented in this draft by Rite Of Passage (Lot 132), a colt out of a G3 placed Var mare from the same family as Trippi’s US G1 winner R Heat Lightning, while Trippi’s stablemate, Duke Of Marmalade, is the sire of Royal Support (Lot 87) –a half-sister to 3 winners, including the very classy filly Pej.

Other attractive prospects in this imposing draft include the Visionaire colt (Lot 28) out of Golden Slipper winner Dignify, Futura and G3 winner Extra Zero’s son Trillionaire (Lot 37), and Giggin (Lot 106), a Capetown Noir half-brother to exported Merchants winner The Thinker.

The catalogue for the 2019 Ready To Run Sale can be viewed online at www.bsa.co.za and pre-sale gallops will be available for viewing shortly before the sale.

Watching Closely (Lot 3) is a filly by short-lived G1 Middle Park Stakes winner, and prolific sire of juvenile talent, Crusade.
This filly, a half-sister to two winners, is out of a four time winning Kahal own sister to Sea Cottage Stakes winner Fenerbahce, and Watching Closely is bred on the same Crusade/Kahal cross as the very classy Butchie Boy.

The well related Crusade (he was a half-brother to a dual Oaks winner) is also sire of Northern Warrior (Lot 113), with the latter being a son of classy stakes winner Roc ‘N Rose.

Champion Action (Lot 24) is a colt by Eightfold Path, with the latter sharing his sire Giant’s Causeway with current sire sensation Shamardal. This colt is a half-brother to five winners notably Queen Palm Handicap heroine Roc ‘N Rose and further back this is the family of Met winning champion Mark Anthony.

Proven sire Philanthropist, who has been responsible for stakes winners in all of Canada, Hong Kong, South Africa and Zimbabwe, is responsible for a colt (Lot 89) whose dam is a ¾ sister to multiple Equus Champion Nhlavini, while proven G1 sire St Petersburg is sire of Winter Monarch (Lot 92) –a filly whose dam is a half-sister to Woolavington Cup winner Music Of Time.

Dynasty sired Horse Of The Year Irish Flame is the sire of Irish Bru (Lot 111), a half-brother to two multiple winners including the smart Pillaroftheearth. This colt’s granddam was an Australian stakes winning daughter of Golden Slipper victor Pago Pago, and this is the family of G1 Perth Cup winner Meliador.

-bsa.co.za

The Ato gelding Chijmes confirmed again that he is no slouch when leading all the way to win the R150 000 Listed Sea Cottage Stakes at Turffontein on Sunday to give claiming apprentice Denis Schwarz his first feature success.

Runner-up in the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup last November, Chijmes had accounted for the highly regarded Green Haze last time and was stepping up to the 1800m for the first time on Sunday.

A relentless galloper, Schwarz had the Gary Alexander charge out dictating matters and into the final 200m it was clear that it was going to take a good one to grab him.

At the line, he was just under a length clear of Atyaab with Owlinthetree showing encouraging post maiden form to bank third a neck back.

The winner’s time was 112,52 secs.

The winner has now won from 1200m to 1800m in short time and looks worth following! Apprentice Schwarz is on 30 winners this season and is another worth following.

A R110 000 Summerhill Ready To Run Sale graduate, Chijmes was bred by the longstanding champion breeders and is a son of Ato (Royal Academy) out of the four-time winning Russian Revival mare, Sophie’s Choice. She has produced two winners at stud.

A winner of 3 races with 1 place from 6 starts, Chijmes has earned R287 500. This is the family of the speedy Outcome, Crimson Palace, Seraphos, Royal Glitter and Princely Heir amongst others.

Summerhill also had a second place with Running Brave, finishing a close second to Storm Destiny in the Gr3 Three Troikas by a head over the 1400m. The daughter of Brave Tin Soldier has won twice and placed seven times from 10 starts in good company. Brave Tin Soldier stands at The Fort Stud and has got all of his mares in foal for the 2018 season.

Another result for KZN stallions, Mambo In Seattle’s Vontreo, bred by Boland Stud, finished a flying third in the Gr3 Tony Ruffel Stakes to the talented Hawwaam, less than a length off. From only three starts, the Greenstreet Bloodstock purchase for owner Mr C Augustin has won and placed from all three of his starts.

Mambo In Seattle is having another good season at stud and stood his first KZN season at Clifton in 2018.

-extract sportingpost.co.za

The Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale exceeded all expectations with KZN’s Summerhill Stud and Far End Racing Stables leading the first two places on the top Vendors list.

Summerhill had an exceptional sale with Mick Goss overheard to say this was his best draught he had ever brought to the Ready To Run, which included siblings to three Gr1 winners! The draft was outstanding and immaculately turned out and the Summerhill stable block constantly abuzz with a flurry of potential buyers.

In a very tough current economic climate, Summerhill averaged R190 339 for their 59 Lots sold. Their top price was for a handsome well grown colt with plenty of quality by Trippi out of the grey mare Jordie by Fard.

The half-brother to twice Gr1 winner (and now sire at Summerhill) and to Black Type River Tyne, who sadly passed away at Piemonte Stud, Hurricane Harry is also a half-brother to grey Gr1 Daily News 2000 placed Glider Pilot. Knocked down to one of the greatest supporters of horseracing in South Africa, Mr Nick Jonsson, Hurricane Harry sold for R2,3-million.

The others to impress were The Sandwich Man, a beautiful chestnut colt that stood over ground with with plenty of substance, sold to Fortune Racing for R1-million. A half-brother to Gr1 winner Takingthepeace, the Duke Of Marmalade colt is a half-sibling to two winners for dam Lisa Anne. This is also the damline of Brave Mary and African Appeal.

The other Gr1 sibling to impress was the beautiful Capetown Noir Ennoble (Lot 73), out of the star Galileo mare Grail Maiden. He sold for R500 000 to to Mr M Spencer – the dam has produced three winners – two of them Gr1 horses, the first is SA Derby winner Hero’s Honour, followed by Gr1 2nd place Railtrip.

Another impressive Capetown Noir was the half-brother to Gr3 winner Royal Pleasure and 3-time winner Samsonite. He created fireworks early in the sale as Lot 7, sold to EIB for R425 000.

The Capetown Noir’s proved very popular – the three-time Gr1 winning son of Western Winter sold 13 Lots for just over R190 000 each – this is his first crop of 2yo’s. They were snapped up by the likes of Form Bloodstock, Azzie Racing and Nick Jonsson amongst the buyers.

Jane Thomas had a great sale, and her sales topper came in the form of a stunning Captain Al colt for R1-million. Named Captain Carmel, he is out of a Fort Wood mare from the family of Set Afire, Red Ray and Brutal Force. The leading pretrainer of several Gr1 winners and Equus Award winners, Jane averaged an impressive R189 737 for 19 Lots sold from a quality draft of athletic horses with quality pedigrees.

Congratulations and thank you to the vendors, buyers and underbidders for the support of the #kznbred racehorse!

A survey of racing success as a factor of how much money you spend was recently undertaken in Australia. While its outcomes were “Aussie” specific, it’s probably fair to say, they’re likely to have universal application wherever horse racing is conducted as a serious commercial pursuit.

The answer, rest assured, is that the more money you spend, the more success you will have. The only problem is that the spending/success relationship is not a linear one. To boost your success from the bottom of the ladder to the top – a 25 fold increase – requires 300 times more money. But that has always been the way in most markets. Incremental gains come at a premium.
Or at least that’s the way it used to be. Until the “Ready To Run” concept of conducting racehorse sales was invented. You see, the Aussie figures are extrapolated largely from conventional sales, where the bloodstock is presented at the walk. Except there are no “walking” races, so to be able to pick them on the “run” as it were, opens a window of insight to the buyer which was hitherto denied.
And that’s where the difference resides, where the good “eye” for a good horse is often as good as a big wallet. It helps of course, if you have both. You see, in the South African context of the Ready To Run at any rate, there are countless examples of exceptional thoroughbreds being plucked from the less expensive ranks of the catalogue and going on to illustrious (not to mention very lucrative) careers on the racecourse. Naturally, success has come to those at the top end too, the beacon among them Horse Of The Year, Igugu, but the ratio of achievement among the “cheapies” has been wholly disproportionate to the results of the survey.
In recent times, the Emperors Palace version of the Ready To Run (which incidentally, is the original) has spawned close on 40 millionaires, the newest among whom have only just completed their three year old careers. They included three of the best of their generation, one of which, Brave Mary, fetched a modest R40 000.

Doubtless as an encouragement to buyers, the sales founding consignor, Summerhill, has over the years punted the “value-for-money” proposition to its customers, no better illustrated by the annual issue of a list of its most accomplished alumni go to the “Hall Of Fame at https://www.summerhill.co.za/ready-to-run-hall-of-fame#ready-to-run-stakes-winners ”.

Which is a rich reminder of the rewards awaiting those who are willing to work for them.

The superbly bred Equus Champion Capetown Noir is strongly represented in the Summerhill Sales draft at the 2018 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale, which is due to take place at the TBA complex on November 4^th.

Summerhill will offering no fewer than 15 two-year-olds from the first crop of Capetown Noir, one of the very best sons of triple champion sire Western Winter.

Capetown Noir, who shares his sire with prominent Cape stallion What A Winter among many other stars,

The handsome bay, whose half-sister In The Dance recently made a winning debut, was South Africa’s Champion Miler of 2014, and his eight wins included all of the G1 Cape Guineas, G1 Investec Cape Derby and the G1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate. One of eight winners out of Broodmare Of The Year Akinfeet, Capetown Noir earned more than R2.7 million during his illustrious career.

Well supported since retiring to stud, Capetown Noir bids to follow the likes of Jet Master, Captain Al, Dynasty, What A Winter and Pomodoro to become a high class South African bred stallion and he has a cracking draft at this year’s Ready To Run Sale.

His 15 lots on offer from Summerhill include:

Lot 2 Clifton Cougar –a half-sister to 4 winners notably G2 Merchants winner The Thinker

Lot 6 Numerical –this colt is a half brother to 8 winners including speedy stakes winner Onehundredacrewood

Lot 7 Jinger Jack –from the same family as last season’s Broodmare Of The Year Strawberry Lane, this colt is a half-brother to G3 winning two-year-old Royal Pleasure

Lot 12 Highfalutin –this filly (inbred to champion sire Northern Guest) is a half-brother to no fewer than 10 winners including G1 performer Lostintranslation, and his dam is a sister to a Met winner

Lot 14 King Pink –a ½ brother to G2 performer Highly Decorated, this colt is out of a G2 winning half-sister to Guineas/Zabeel Mile winner Imbongi from the family of William Longsword

Lot 16 Onemoretime –this colt’s 7 winning half siblings include G2 winner Winning Leap

Lot 72 Go Daddy –this colt is a half-brother to short lived Ready To Run Cup hero Big Bear

Lot 73 Ennoble –out of a  stakes placed mare by the world’s premier sire Galileo, this colt is a half-brother to G1 SA Derby winner, and Summer Cup entrant, Hero’s Honour and G1 filly Railtrip

 Catalogue pages for all the Capetown Noir progeny on sale can be viewed at www.bsa.co.za

So It’s True…

The Best Ready To Run draft ever

Nobody worth his salt in the sport of racing needs an introduction to Pat Shaw – he’s as much a totem of the game in South Africa as Vincent O’ Brien was to Ireland and Bob Baffert to America. You don’t reach those heights as a racehorse trainer without a gifted eye, an abiding intuition and dare we say it, a smattering of courage and “chutzpah”. While some of those legends might’ve chosen to be excluded from the latter category, there’s no escaping it for Mr Shaw.

So when Pat Shaw, both an avid player and a close observer of the Ready To Run for close on three decades, rocks up at Summerhill and says unequivocally that this year’s draft trumps all others, you must know he’s making a big statement.

Don’t worry, he’s not suffering from amnesia. He’s keenly aware that last season’s three year olds included an unprecedented three Group One winning graduates of the sale, and that the latest crop of juveniles already counts Chesney Van Zyl’s Group One performer, Railtrip in its number.

Yet he’s adamant, there’s never been better. And for those who hibernate in the lee of the Hottentots Holland, there’s comfort in Pat’s admiration of the first crop of Capetown Noirs “Strong, athletic horses, very much in the mould of their grandfather Western Winter, and my goodness, great movers”.

For those with aspiring candidates for this year’s tenth edition of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, here’s the latest log from the NHRA.

The BIG movers towards qualification for the tenth renewal of the world’s first Ready To Run sales race, turned up at Turffontein on the weekend. While the odds of getting a run this year are better than they’ve ever been (16 out of a catalogue of just 50 odd,) it’s getting hot at the top of the log, with the Group One performer, Railtrip, setting the benchmark. A rapidly closing runner-up in the Thekwini Stakes from the worst of the draw on Gold Cup day, Chesney van Zyl’s filly is a half-sister to the SA Derby ace, Hero’s Honour, which suggests that her Galileo dams’ Capetown Noir colt in the 4^th November sale will be something of a premium item. The race and the sale incidentally have been joined at the hip with Emperors Palace for much of its 20 years in business.

Back to the shakers: the first on Turffontein’s Saturday card was the scene for the breakout of a smart sort in Chijmes, an impressive son of Pat Shaw’s dual Group One hero, Ato from the distinguished Summerhill family of Royal Glitter, Right Royal Rage, Princely Prospect, Choice and Rusty Pelican. With daylight over his field, he looks to go to post for the Cup under the silks of former Mauritius Turf Club chair, Jean Marc Ulcoq and his wife Clotilde, as well as former Jockey Club chair, Ronnie Napier and wife Bev. Saddled by the Alexander boys, Gary and Dean, the ink on Chijmes’ page was scarcely dry when Hylton Odendaal’s Visionaire daughter, See Me Run (cost a modest R50 000), was equally dominant over a classy assembly of sophomore fillies back at the main track Monday. That run had the look of a “qualifier” too, and while the handicappers’ panel still has to have its say, it looked a dinkum shoe-in from this distance for the sister to Duke Nukem. Her mom, Guest Gallery, is another with a handy Ready To Run candidate at this year’s sale, a filly by Capetown Noir.

Of course, no-one will be surprised to see the Alexanders with a few slots at the gate. They’re what you might call “veterans” of the finest trophy in racing with previous winners, Pierre Jourdan and Champagne Haze, on their CVs.

For the current log positions go to www.bsa.co.za or http://www.summerhill.co.za/ready-to-run-news/