Saturday, 18 August 2012: Summerhill Stud was crowned South Africa's Champion Breeder for the eighth time in succession at the Equus Awards last week while Maine Chance Farms won both the Exceptional International Achievement Award and the Breeder Of The Year Award.
Highlands Farms Stud led the way in the number of individual G1 winners bred during the past season, while both Klawervlei Stud and Varsfontein Stud also bred more than one G1 winner each.
Summerhill Stud’s runners earned stakes of R13 260 953 from 2086 starts almost similar to last year’s return of R13 381 780 from 2141 runs.
Klawervlei Stud finished on R11 869 752 from 1872 runs followed by Highlands Farms on R10 496 810 from 1147 runs, Maine Chance (R9 854 471/ 891 runs) and Scott Brothers (R6 261 536/969 runs).
Owner, breeder and trainer St John Gray’s Graystone Stud was sixth followed by Wilgebosdrift Stud, Varsfontein Stud, La Plaisance Stud and Avontuur Thoroughbred Farms.
Maine Chance won the Breeder Of The Year Award for the best quality performance, which is judged on a combination of average earnings per runner and number of black type wins.
Their four-year-old Atosrseas produced the best international performance of any South African-bred, winning the G1 Krisflyer International Sprint for the Singapore-based combination of trainer Patrick Shaw and jockey Barend Vorster.
Maine Chance also bred the Glen Kotzen-trained Victory Moon filly Princess Victoria, who won two G1 and two G2 races during the season and was crowned Equus Champion three-year-old filly. The two-year-old filly Straight Set, who won a G2 and was runner up in three G1 races, was another black type star for Maine Chance.
Highlands bred three individual G1 winners, the Brett Crawford-trained Dynasty colt Jackson, who won the Grade 1 Cape Derby and Grade 1 Daily News, the Mike de Kock-trained Equus Champion two-year-old colt Soft Falling Rain (National Assembly) and the Sean Tarry-trained two-year-old gelding The Hangman (Jallad).
Varsfontein bred two individual Grade 1 winners, both three-year-old geldings, the Alec Laird-trained Royal Bencher (Greys Inn) and the Greg Ennion-trained Master Plan (Jet Master). They also bred a Grade 2 winner in the Mike Bass-trained four-year-old filly Covenant (Western Winter).
Klawervlei Stud also bred two individual Grade 1 winners, the Brett Crawford-trained three-year-old filly Thunder Dance (Jet Master) and the Geoff Woodruff-trained four-year-old gelding Shea Shea (National Emblem).
Anton Shepherd’s Beaumont Stud bred the Equus Horse Of The Year and Champion three-year-old colt, the three-year-old Joey Ramsden-trained Variety Club (Var), who won two G1s, two G2s, two G3s and was runner up in two G1s.
Chris van Niekerk bred and owned Pomodoro, the three-year-old Jet Master colt, who won the country’s premier G1 race the Vodacom Durban July and also dead-heated in the Grade 1 SA Derby. Pomodoro’s dam Golden Apple was named Equus Champion Broodmare.
The BBP Syndicate (nominee Garth Miller) bred the Vaughan Marshall-trained Equus Champion two-year-old filly All Is Secret (Captain Al), who won two Grade 1s and was runner up in a Grade 2.
The Mike de Kock-trained Equus Champion Older Filly Igugu (Galileo), who won the G1 J&B Met as well as a G2, the Justin Snaith-trained G1 Queen’s Plate winning three-year-old colt Gimmethegreenlight (More Than Ready), and the Charles Laird-trained Grade 1 winning three-year-old colt Delago Deluxe were all bred in Australia.
Three De Kock-trained Grade 2 winners, Golden Chateau, Tajmeel and Amanee, were all bred in Australia, while his five-year-old Grade 2 winning mare Gorongosa, was bred in Ireland and his four-year-old Grade 2 winning filly Welwitschia was bred in Great Britain.
The Ivan Moore-trained Grade 2 winner Ottimo and the Sean Tarry-trained Happy Archer, who added a Grade 2 to her CV, were both bred in Australia.
Argentine-breds captured two Grade 1s via the Dennis Drier-trained three-year-old filly Bambina Stripes (Equal Stripes) and the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Equus Champion Stayer, the six-year-old gelding In Writing (Editor’s Note).
The De Kock-trained five-year-old mare Europa Point (Rock Of Gibraltar), who won two Grade 1s, was bred in Ireland and De Kock’s unbeaten two-year-old Grade 1 winning filly Rumya (Red Ransom) was bred in New Zealand.
