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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Those who’ve known Summerhill for the past 40 years, will know how painful it is to be parting with our horses. They have been the mainstay of our lives and the farm was built on their backs. But the time has come, and the timing couldn’t have been less opportune. That said, one man’s adversity is always another’s opportunity, and so the complete dispersal of our stock will undoubtedly be characterized by some of the game’s greatest bargains.

These are the families that delivered up a modern day record of 10 Breeders Championships in the face of the most formidable competition of our time. The broodmares include daughters of the world’s most celebrated stallions, Galileo, Kingmambo, Giant’s Causeway, Pivotal, Fusaichi Pegasus, Mastercraftsman etc. Among them are the mothers of 4 Gr.1 winners and many others with Group-winning progeny or who were Stakes winners and performers in their own right. Both the yearlings and the foals include siblings to these top horses, while its common cause on Summerhill that the most recent crop of foals stands comparison with the best we’ve known.

The mares have been served by some of the nation’s top stallions, including champion sire Trippi; leading sire of 3 Year old Stakes Winners with his first crop, dual J&B Met producer, Ideal World, Duke Of Marmalade, the leading sire nationally of three year old Stakes winners (6 all told) with his first South African crop; as well as a selection of the outstanding young racehorses that populate the Summerhill Stallion barn.

To explain the process, we are hosting the deepest on-line sale of Thoroughbreds ever. The idea is to leave the sale open to offers (on email to info@summerhill.co.za for 10 days).The horses are offered without reserve, so every offer, even if it’s a good home, will be considered.

Earlier this week, it was reported that we were giving all our horses away. While that wasn’t quite accurate, the reality is that in this market, there will obviously be horses unsold, and we will be looking to place those as best we can. Our history reminds us that among those, there will still be “gold dust”. 

To view the catalogue and understand the procedure, please go to www.summerhill.co.za

The Adam Marcus trained Mississippi Burning arrived in KZN last week, and has settled in beautifully.

The Rathmor-bred Captain Al filly, born and raised in Nottingham Road sold for R380 000 at the National Yearling Sale to Mario Ferreira. She is out of a Husonnet mare Spitfire Lady, who was sourced in Australia for Rathmor Stud with the purpose of sending her to their then resident sire Noble Tune.

Spitfire Lady arrived from quarantine in the Cape and the decision was made to cover her to a Cape sire and then send her up to KZN. Mike McHardy described Spitfire Lady as not the biggest but a quality mare at the time. Her first foal was Mississippi Burning – herself not the tallest but beautifully conformed and standing over ground – and she’s a daughter of the mighty Captain Al.

The next successful covering to Noble Tune produced Fire And Ice – a lovely colt, who was knocked down for R50 000 to Willson Coates and sent to Barend Botes to train.

Juvnile Fire And Ice has won his last two starts at the Vaal from six runs and placed 4 times.

Mississippi Burning gave young Adam Marcus his first Gr1 win when she took the Fillies Guineas, ridden by Craig Zackey.

Pending the outcome of the lockdown time to eradicate the Coronavirus that has hit South Africa, Mississippi Burning will be a feature of the KZN Champions Season.

Summerveld trainer Mark Dixon will be targeting his useful filly Silent Crusade at the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on April 26 and depending on how well she does there she might have a crack at the Grade 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg (SA Fillies) Sprint over the same course and distance six weeks later.

The Crusade filly won two of her three starts over 1200m early in her career.

She is out of the talented six-time winning Silvano mare Silver Fantasy, who won from 1400m to 1800m, including the Listed Scarlet Lady.

Dixon said Silent Crusade had just come back into work after being given a holiday after her good third behind Roy’s Riviera and Vistula in the Grade 3 Flamboyant Stakes over 1600m on Boxing day.

The five-time winner’s chief target for the SA Champions Season will either be the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes or the KZN Breeders Million Mile. 

Editors note: Spring Valley Stud are offering a Toreador half-sister at the National Yearling Sale as Lot 397.

-goldcircle.co.za

Clifton Stud’s daughter of Gr3 winner Glenrossal, aptly by Flower Alley, was a fast finishing second for major Clifton supporter and owner Peter White, in the Gr1 Wilgerbosdrift Gr1 SA Fillies Classic.

The race was won by Mauritzfontein’s Summer Pudding, who has now nabbed two legs of the Triple Tiara and will need to see out the 2450m on 4 April in the Gr2 SA Oaks.

Mary Slack of Wilgerbosdrift acknowledged in the presentation that she was very pleased that Flower Alley had produced the second place in the race. Mary has had associated success with Clifton – as her smart Gr2 winner Montreal Mist, by Soft Falling Rain, was crowned KZN Breeders Champion 2YO last season.

The Alec Laird trained filly Marygold won on debut and has placed 3 more times from 6 starts – 2 of them Graded Stakes races. She has earned R299,375 in stakes in the process.

Clifton Stud have a smart draft of yearlings headed to the 2020 National Yearling Sale in April – including an Act Of War half-brother to Spiritofthegroove, and a Kildonan half-brother to Gr2 winner, Montreal Mist and a full brother to 4-time winner Highland Hero. They also have yearlings on offer by young sires William Longsword, Act Of War, Willow Magic, Flying The Flag and Red Ray.

That said, I’ve often said in the past that if Summerhill is ever to be sold, I would prefer it to be in my lifetime. The reason is these are heritage properties in the true sense of the word, and they are populated by some of the best people in the world. It has been paramount in our thinking that if ever we were to part with this legacy, it would be to someone who appreciates its value and who might polish it for all it’s worth. Besides, all these businesses need is a dash of new energy and a modicum of fresh investment.

Remarkably, just as we were making our plans for the year ahead, that very person appeared across our bows. Henning Pretorius is a devoted South African, a self-made, highly successful farmer and a horseman of considerable renown. In the equine sense, his Capital Stud is arguably the premier source of excellence in the production of sport horses on the African continent. We can think of no better combination of investor and driver of the future of the businesses and the brands which Summerhill and Hartford represent, than Henning Pretorius.

Thankfully, the sale of Summerhill and Hartford foresees the continuation of their former activities in conjunction with Capital Stud going forward, in what has the potential of becoming a significant attraction for horse lovers and visitors from across the globe.

For our part, the Goss family is going nowhere. Henning has generously accommodated our mutual wish to remain involved in the day-to-day activities of the business and to maintain our ties with our great friends and patrons of the farm and the hotel, as well as the one institution capable of preparing young South Africans for their futures in the horse industry, the Al Maktoum School of Management Excellence. Having devoted a good deal of our working lives towards the reopening of the country’s export lanes, we look forward to participating in the largesse that will generate for the game’s players. 

And with that, a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all the great friends and acquaintances we have made in our 41 years at Summerhill and Hartford.”

-Mick Goss, Summerhill Stud

Bloodstock South Africa graduate Missisippi Burning showed her class, when romping home to a facile and hugely impressive win in the G1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas at Kenilworth on Saturday.

Bred by Rathmor Stud, the three-year-old daughter of Captain Al was given a superb ride by Craig Zackey, who bought his mount with a strong late challenge down the inside of the track before the pair bounded clear to post a facile three length win.

The Mario Ferreira owned Missisippi Burning provided trainer Adam Marcus with his first G1 success, and with a second graded race triumph on Saturday.

Now a winner of four of only seven races (she has won her last three in a row), the diminutive Missisippi Burning was a R380 000 buy (pictured above) from the 2018 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale, and Saturday’s triumph took the filly’s earnings to R794 052.

A third Cape Fillies Guineas winner for deceased champion sire Captain Al, Missisippi Burning is out of the stakes placed Hussonet mare Spitfire Lady who was purchased by Kerry Jack on behalf of Rathmor in Australia – who won four times up to 1600 metres and who ran second in the Listed Flying Handicap.

Congratulations to all concerned!

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

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

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

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

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

Congratulations to all concerned!

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

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

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