SILENCE IS GOLDEN

Golden Sword and Greig Muir at the School of Excellence
(Photo : Leigh Willson)

GOLDEN SWORD STANDING AT SUMMERHILL STUD

Continuing their policy of only standing stallions of quality racing class, South Africa’s Champion Breeders of the past seven consecutive seasons, Summerhill Stud, have acquired the 122 Timeform-rated son of High Chaparral, Golden Sword. While European racing fans will remember him for his consummate victory in one of the principal Derby trials, the Chester Vase (Gr.3), South Africans and those in the Gulf will recall his rattling finishes from behind in Dubai, where he ran the fastest 2000 metres ever, a record which still stands. It’s arguable though that Golden Sword’s finest moment came in the Investec Derby (Gr.1) at Epsom, where he was beaten a tad over two lengths by the world champion, Sea The Stars. With less than a furlong to go, Golden Sword looked to cause the upset of the decade, as he battled it out with Sea The Stars going to the line. 

While it was expected when he first arrived at Coolmore that his dual Breeders’ Cup-winning sire High Chaparral, would bask in the shadow of his much-vaunted paternal half-brother, Galileo, the former’s career to date tells a vastly different story. With six Group One heroes in both hemispheres, High Chaparral became the first stallion since his own illustrious sire, Sadler’s Wells, to have that many winners at the highest level in his first year at stud. Any association with the progeny of High Chaparral immediately reminds us of So You Think, one of the world’s top-rated middle distance horses of last year, yet it’s a tribute to the class of Golden Sword that he is the next highest ranked among his sire’s stock. That he enjoyed the admiration of his champion trainer, Mike de Kock is evident: “Golden Sword was the best horse of a classy generation in my overseas string. At his best, he was a serious international competitor.” 

Speaking from Summerhill, head stallion man of twenty-five years, Greig Muir, remarked “Golden Sword is a big, elegant horse much in the mould of So You Think, and provides breeders with a welcome source of one of the most valuable bloodlines in the world. We’re delighted to have ventured here with Drakenstein Stud, Wilgersbosdrift Stud, Moutonshoek and long-time Summerhill client, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum. In any other year, he might’ve been a Derby winner, and he would not have been in South Africa if that were the case.”

NATIONAL YEARLING SALE 2012 : FINAL RESULTS

Click above to view results from the
2012 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale…

EMPERORS PALACE NATIONAL YEARLING SALE
TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, Germiston
27 - 29 April 2012

SALE SUMMARY

The 2012 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale ended Sunday on a realistic, but positive note.

The overall average price of R240,441 fell slightly from last year’s average of R250,511, and the gross total dropped from R93,190,000 to R81,750,000. 

However, the figures this year are a far more accurate reflection of the market’s state of being, with the new vendor buy back scheme coming into play this year. Previous years, overall figures hid these same buy backs, and grossly exaggerated the market.

The top priced lot emerged towards the end of the two day sale. A Jet Master colt, consigned by Drakenstein Stud, sold for R1.7 million. An own brother to Grade 1 winner Stratos, the colt named Stratocruiser, was consigned by Klipdrif Stud (as Agent). He was purchased by Glen Kotzen.

Top priced filly on sale was 235, a daughter of Black Minnaloushe. Consigned by Varsfontein Stud (as Agent), the filly is a half-sister to two Oaks winners, Arcola and Princess of Light. She was bought, for R800,000, by D Chinsammy.

Leading vendor at the sale, by aggregate, was Klipdrif Stud (Agent). They sold 17 yearlings for a total of R7,425 million.

Leading vendors by average, five or more sold, were Drakenstein Stud. The farm sold 11 yearlings for an average price of R440,909.

Form Bloodstock were the sales’ leading buyers, by gross aggregate. They purchased 27 horses for a total of R10,890,000, ahead of Park Bloodstock, Mike Bass Racing and D Chinsammy.

Trippi, who has made such a wonderful start to his stud career in South Africa, led the sires list, by aggregate. His 20 lots to sell grossed R10,495,000. Jet Master was second best, ahead of Captain Al, Black Minnaloushe and Silvano.

However, Jet Master led the sires list by averages. The late, great sire sold 15 yearlings for an average of R529,667.

TBA CEO Jan Naude expressed satisfaction with the sales’ overall performance, saying, “I am happy that the average price remained very similar to that of last year, especially when taking into account the state of the market. I also firmly believe this year’s figures are a more accurate reflection, due to the new vendor buy back concept.”

Bloodstock South Africa

www.tba.co.za

TAKE-OFF FOR TRIPPI

Click above to watch Agra winning the Summer Juvenile Stakes (L)…
(Image : Gold Circle - Footage : UpInClass)

TRIPPI (USA)
End Sweep (USA) - Jealous Appeal (USA)

David Thiselton
Gold CircleTrippi, who finished 23rd on the General Sires List in the USA last year having finished 20th the year before, has made a big impact during his short stay in South Africa to date, although this was not unexpected.

On J&B Met day his first South African runner, the Justin Snaith-trained Agra, who had won on debut, became his first stakes winner in South Africa when easily winning the Listed Summer Juvenile Stakes and maintaining her unbeaten record, while at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale, Trippi finished third on aggregate behind Jet Master and Captain Al and second on average behind Jet Master at R566,667 per yearling of the 21 sold.

Charles Faull of Form Bloodstock recommended the son of End Sweep to Drakenstein Stud’s Gaynor Rupert on his racing record (he won a Grade 1 and two Grade 2s over 1400m at Belmont) and his pedigree, while his progeny had made a good start, he was throwing nice looking foals and, not least, on his “beauty”.

Rupert and her stud manager Ross Fuller went to see Trippi in the USA and were equally impressed.

The decision to purchase him in 2008 paid almost immediate dividends as Trippi was Florida’s leading sire by the end of the season, a title he would have won every year since had he still been standing there, and the following year he had a Royal Ascot winner in Jealous Again, who won the Grade 2 Queen Mary Stakes over 1000m.

To date Trippi has bred 33 American Stakes horses, including a champion, three Graded stakes winners, track record holders and a Breeders Cup place getter.

A few hours after Agra had won at Kenilworth on Saturday, Trippi’s four-year-old son Soaring Stocks collected US$90,000 for his connections when winning the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes over 1200m on dirt at Gulfstream Park in the USA.

Agra looks a splitting image of her father, so it would appear Trippi stamps his foals.

Justin Snaith said he would rest Agra now and would not be taking her to Durban for the Champions Season.

Trippi received an outstanding book of 120 mares last year and this season Ross Fuller will drop him down to 100 mares although his fee of R30,000 nomination fee plus R70,000 for live foal might rise.

Trippi’s stallion companion at Drakenstein Stud is the legendary Horse Chestnut. 

Horse Chestnut, regarded by many as the greatest racehorse South Africa has ever produced, received poor support during his spell in the USA and had dropped down to half a handful of mares by the time he was brought back home.

He had gained a reputation for being infertile, but Fuller revealed that this was a false impression created by a condition he has which does not manifest if he is kept busy.

Horse Chestnut, who is an absolute gentleman in terms of temperament, was kept busy last season with over 100 mares. Another reason he didn’t get good mares in the USA is that his only start there yielded a Grade 3 win and he was probably viewed as only a Grade 3 winner, but in South Africa his famous eight length J&B Met win and his facile wins on the road to Triple Crown glory still live strong in the memory.

Even without the support he deserved, Horse Chestnut sired 141 individual winners in the USA at a rate of 61% winners to runners, while he sired 28 stakes horses and 13% stakes horses to runners.

Extract from www.goldcircle.co.za

THE GREATEST GIFT IN CREATION

Click above to watch an insert on the 2011 Investec Stallion Day and the
official opening of the Al Maktoum School of Management Excellence
(A Jimmy Lithgow Production)

AL MAKTOUM
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE

The world is a very competitive place; it’s never been more so.
Education is the key to the world.
There is only one School of Management Excellence
in the Southern Hemisphere, and it has the best teachers in the world. 

AND THE BEST PEOPLE KNOW IT.

Drakenstein, Highlands, Klawervlei, Maine Chance, Mike de Kock, Summerhill and Wilgerbosdrift.

JOIN THE CLUB : YOUR STAFF DESERVE IT

Heather Morkel +27 (0) 33 263 1081
or email heather@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

HISTORY IN THE MAKING : SOME WEEKEND

Our first students.
(Photo : Leigh Willson)

AL MAKTOUM SCHOOL
OF MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE

The first students to attend our new Al Maktoum School of Management Excellence arrived on Saturday. One of the school’s founding governors, Judge Alan Magid, was here to celebrate his wife, Brenda’s birthday and Saturday marked the anniversary of the passing of Erica Bennett Goss, an inspiration and a major contributor to the establishment of the school. We’ve said all along that the first intake would be limited to six students, but we had seven outstanding applicants successfully negotiating their admission interview. They represent the cream of South Africa’s racehorse nurseries, Drakenstein Stud, Highlands Farm Stud, Maine Chance Farm, Summerhill and Mike de Kock through Stef du Preez’s spelling and pre-training yard.

There was no time wasted, as lessons started yesterday morning for Mziwethemba (Dassie) Stuurman, Marius Losch, Frederick Makerman, Mesuli Mthembu, Thabani Nzimande, Delani Mtshali and Richard Hlongwane, who were spoiled on Saturday evening, with an induction dinner attended by close to fifty people, and laid on by Hartford House. While the meals won’t always be of this calibre, certainly the teaching will, and it’s now up to these fellows, who are attending the only school of its kind in the world, to turn out the managers their interviews suggested they could be.