MIXED BLESSINGS

Summerhill Gates - Picturesque Calm before the Storm
(Photo : Leigh Willson)

“The second biggest snowfall
in the past eighty years.”

We penned a piece earlier in the week about the destructive capacity of a big snowfall, not knowing that that very night, we suffered the second biggest snowfall in the past eighty years. Of course, if you’re a tourist, the precincts of Mooi River resemble a winter wonderland, and while the moisture and “free” nitrogen is welcome, the cost in the end runs to millions. Roofs collapsed, vehicles are damaged, hundreds of trees are down, fences buckled under them, roads blocked and all hands on resurrection.

The scene is quite surreal: on the one hand, there are bulldozers, TLBs, tractors and trailers buzzing up and down; entire staff outside of those essential to the welfare of the horses and the comfort of the Hartford guests, chain-sawing, pulling and dragging debris about, while the roads and roadsides are littered with tourists, snow fighting, building snowmen and generally believing that this is the best time ever.

The Summerhill brochure carries a reference to the Great War’s Battle of Delville Wood, and while we couldn’t reproduce that for you in all its gory misery, if you’d been in the vicinity of a gum forest on Wednesday night, you’d have had all the sound effects. Our Australian trees, the gums and the wattles, I’m afraid were not built for snow, and it doesn’t take long for their boughs to succumb to dismemberment. Kilometre after kilometre, the evidence is there, and there are months of work ahead before we look like the Summerhill you know.

Meanwhile, life goes on, despite the absence of electricity, which means we face something of a crisis without being able to pump water, and having to host a wedding at Hartford House this weekend. At least the hotel has a large output generator, which is keeping the guests warm, but after three days, Eskom are apparently still far from the point of restoring the electricity supply. Some seventeen steel towers were dragged down together with their powerlines.

It’s at times like this that you remember what it means to work with a team of champions: as they say in the classics “‘n boer maak ‘n plan”, and we’ll work something out. Thank heaven for understanding guests. Sadly, just a handful, those that were in Johannesburg at the time, managed to attend Wednesday evening’s National Racing awards ceremony, where Summerhill picked up its eighth consecutive Breeders Championship.

Click here for the full results of the 2012 Equus Awards.

THE CUP RUNNETH OVER

Northern Guest
(Photo : Summerhill Stud)

SOUTH AFRICAN HORSERACING
Season 2011/2012

If you’ve been reading these columns, you already know the bursting pride with which Summerhill is celebrating its eighth consecutive Breeder’s Championship. This is a country with a rich tradition in horsemanship, and we are surrounded in the racing game with professionals whose talents match those of others across the world. We’ve often pointed to the achievements of our trainers in the international realm, and the fact that one of the most sought-after jockey’s titles, (Hong Kong), has been in South African hands for 19 of the past 20 years. It follows then, that back at home, you can expect matching achievements among those who ply their trade in South Africa, and there are several.

Lest he should be lost in the wash, the winningmost achiever is Northern Guest, Summerhill’s most famous resident of all-time. He clinched his tenth Broodmare Sires’ title this year, beating the modern day record of Mr. Prospector in the process.

Mike de Kock ascended to his seventh Trainer’s title, his third in a row, and to put these into perspective, remember, several of his best horses are abroad, yet his earnings this season were almost 50% better than his nearest pursuer.

Jet Master made it six Sires’ premierships, with five Group One winners - quite astounding! In any normal year, horses like Silvano and Var, who chalked up the most stakes winners with two champions respectively, would’ve been standouts; but they were relatively pale by comparison with Jet Master, who should finally be recognised as “the greatest stallion of all time”. We need to recall here that he was a R15,000 weanling, that there were no stakes winners in his first four dams (the family resided here, so we know it intimately), and that he has made it in the most competitive stallion environment in our history.

Markus and Ingrid Jooste have aspired to their fifth Owner’s title, and Anton Marcus, who contributed handsomely to that award, took the Jockey’s Championship for the second year running. Spare a thought here for young Gavin Lerena, who rode his heart out (and broke it in the process), in going down by one winner on the last day of the season. Both these fellows were exemplary in their professionalism, and both are grand ambassadors for the game. Lerena will have his day, and many of them to boot, but for now, Anton continues to be the standard by which our jockeys are measured, not only for his riding talents, but for elevating the profession from the perspective of his conduct, his gentlemanliness and the adage that there’s no substitute for hard work.

EIGHT IS THE NEW NUMBER

Summerhill Stud - Equus Champion Breeder 2005 - 2012
(Image : Summerhill Archives)

SOUTH AFRICAN BREEDERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1 August 2011 - 31 July 2012

Mick Goss
Summerhill Stud CEOThe Jockey’s Championship may still be hanging on a thread, but the Breeders’ version is done and dusted. Saturday’s racing finally put paid to any sniff any pretenders may have had to the crown, and so, at last, we can tell the printers to proceed with the 30^th edition of the “Summerhill Sires,” including all references to “EIGHT CONSECUTIVE BREEDERS TITLES”.

There was a point in May, when Summerhill lagged Klawervlei by some R400,000, that we looked like “toast”, particularly considering that we were at a distinct disadvantage in terms of numbers, and there were more to come: the impis were lining up in waves!

It is a tribute to one of the best teams in the world, their sacrifices and their dedication, that the margin in the end will be close to R1,5 million in our favour. It is a tribute to those who support us, to the loyalties of those who keep their horses with us, who buy our stock at the sales, to those that train and ride them, and to our fans in the stands.

It is a salute to the uncertainties of the game, to the adage that inspires the belief that kids from the “sticks”, like us, can prevail against the odds. That you don’t have to own a fortune in order to know the top of the mountain. That hard work, obsession and the sheer love of the game can take you to new worlds of conquest. That “eight” is a brand new number in the modern world of breeding, and that it’s attainable by anyone with the will and the resolve to make it happen.

Yet in the end, it will always be a tribute to our horses. Mankind would do well to recall that our histories were written on the backs of these noble creatures in warfare, on the roads, in the workplace, on the sports fields. It is no different at Summerhill.

This is an enterprise unlike most others of its kind, built solely on the skills of its people and the achievements of its horses. It has given birth not only to the home of the champions, but to a world-class hotel, to the continent’s second largest equine insurer, to an elite horsefeed business and to the only school of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

To those of you who’ve made it happen, and to those that fought the good fight, thank you.

Enquiries :
Linda Norval 27 (0) 33 263 1081
or email linda@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

THIS IS NO WARMING DRAW

SOUTH AFRICAN
BREEDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

There’s plenty of attention focused on the Jockeys’ Championship at the moment, and it seems people have forgotten how tight the Breeders’ Championship is. It remains possible for Klawervlei to eclipse us this weekend, because there’s plenty on offer in the way of prize money, with four Group One’s scheduled for Greyville’s Saturday meeting. We’ll keep you posted as we go into the weekend, but meanwhile it’s comforting to enjoy the support of our good friends. One of racing’s most popular personalities, Nico Kritsiotis, popped a note of encouragement off to us. This is what he had to say:

“With Smanjemanje’s terrific performance at Greyville and another two winners, the champions have pulled clear in the title race. Here’s hoping for a good fortnight to put a cap on it. Manje means now - now is the time!!”

LEADING BREEDERS BY STAKES
1 August 2011 - 22 July 2012

Position	Stakes (ZAR)	Breeder
1	12,825,707	SUMMERHILL STUD
2	11,709,885	KLAWERVLEI STUD
3	10,173,554	HIGHLANDS
4	9,139,257	MAINE CHANCE
5	6,311,897	SCOTT BROS
6	6,030,875	GRAYSTONE STUD
7	5,776,920	WILGERBOSDRIFT
8	4,591,537	LA PLAISANCE STUD
9	4,580,052	VARSFONTEIN STUD
10	4,275,704	AVONTUUR FARM

A DIGNIFIED SENOR

Senor Santa on parade at Investec Stallion Day
(Photo : Dave Scott)

SENOR SANTA
“Summerhill’s very own Usain Bolt”

Jamaican speed sensation Usain Bolt is one of the greatest sprinters of our time, thrilling the world with his incredible speed and flamboyant performances on the racetrack. Here at Summerhill Stud we have our very own equine version: Senor Santa, who was recently paraded at the 2012 Investec Summerhill Stallion Day along with three of the other Summerhill champions of yesteryear; Hear The Drums, Vangelis and Amphitheatre in front of a crowd of more than 700 people from 21 different nations.

Senor Santa fittingly led out the parade, and it was a poignant tribute to the best sprinting son of the iconic Northern Guest, who was a nine-time winner of the South African Broodmare Sires title. Senor Santa was for many years the Champion Sprinter of South Africa, winning numerous Group Ones, his last coming as an 8 year old, and his subsequent retirement to the lush paddocks at Summerhill was just reward for an equine champion. These days Senor Santa is the babysitter for the weanlings, and he spends his days teaching the next generation their movements and imparting a bit of his “X” factor.

The other illustrious champions included: Hear The Drums, South Africa’s winning-most racehorse of the past fifty years, champion stayer Amphitheatre and 14 time winner Vangelis. It was a reminder of where Summerhill has come from, and the horses that helped it to its seven consecutive breeder’s championships.

www.summerhill.co.za