WINNING LEAP RARING TO GO

Winning Leap
(Photo : JC Photographics / Summerhill Stud)

CANON GOLD CUP (Grade 1)
26 June 2010

A chat with trainer Dominic Zaki early this morning, revealed that our Gold Cup aspirant, Winning Leap, has travelled well, and is ensconced at his Summerveld stables, from where he will launch his assault tomorrow.

Dominic says there’s only one “stopper”, as far he’s concerned, and that is his 21 points in penalties that he’s picked up for his last two striking victories. Winning Leap has grown to almost 17 hands, he’s stays all day, and Dominic says his acceleration grows as he matures.

“He’ll be a formidable four year old, and I have unending faith in the challenge of the progeny of Labeeb”.

The circumstances of the purchase of his grandmother, Karafa, from His Highness the Aga Khan, were amusing. Mick Goss, elder brother Pat and erstwhile Summerhill general manager, Anton Procter, were attending the Tattersall’s December Sales in England in the mid 80’s, and they had devised a secret code for their agent, the late and famed Joss Collins, whereby Joss would keep bidding for as long as Pat kept his deerstalker hat on his head. Understand, it was mid-winter in the UK, snowing and hats were imperative.

When the bidding approached the 80,000 Guineas mark (around a R1 million today, and already well beyond where Summerhill normally shops), Pat, who for all intents and purposes was the trio’s banker, decided to call it enough, and raised his hand to remove the deerstalker.

The mare, however, was descended from the most famous of Aga Khan’s family’s, the one which produced the legendary stallion Nasrullah, Royal Charger and Kalamoun, and Mick and Anton would have none of this stopping. To the complete bewilderment of the auctioneer, they thrust their hands on Pats head to keep the deerstalker in place, so that Collins would not give up the pursuit.

“Was that a bid, sir?” enquired the auctioneer, and Mick Goss was quick to reply “and how, sir”, and so, at a 100,000 guineas, Summerhill became the proud owner of this wonderfully bred mare. The brothers proceeded to breed an Italian 2000 Guineas winner from the mare, before her importation to South Africa, and while the family’s been a little slow in getting going here, Summersault, dam of the Gold Cup fancy, has shown signs of a serious revival. Victory in tomorrow’s time-honoured event, could signal its greatest moment in South Africa.

HARK, THE HERALD ANGEL SINGS

Anton Procter
(Photo : Summerhill Stud) 

“ANTON PROCTER - SUMMERHILL OLD BOY”

Among the many congratulatory notes we’ve received recently, was one from ex-Summerhill GM, Anton Procter, a highly successful breeder in his own right in more recent times.  His note and our response tells it all, and reminds us of where we’ve come from, what we stand for and were we’re hoping to go to.

Note from Anton :

Dear Mick and the team,

I know this is a bit belated but just to say well done again on being the best breeders in South Africa.

Your other great achievement is to have Northern Guest as the champ broodmare sire. Not bad for a stud that had to sell firewood to pay the wages in the early days.

Proud to be a Summerhill old boy,

Best Wishes.
Anton Procter

Our response :

Proc, many thanks for your congratulatory note.  It’s especially welcome, coming from you and Judy, and many thanks for the reminder about the firewood. 

You were here throughout the formative years of Northern Guest’s career, and you will no doubt recall us tuning in to the BBC (for which you had the only signal in the district!) to listen to El Gran Senor’s Dewhurst and Derby runs.

His achievement of 8 Broodmare Sires titles (7 in a row) is apparently without precedent (according to Ada vd Bent) and I have little doubt that a good deal of the success we’ve enjoyed of late, is attributable to the foundations we laid together in those days, and the very considerable luck that came our way in the form of Northern Guest.

As always, our warmest regards,
Mick