Solskjaer Retires
A decision was made at the weekend to retire Solskjaer, following consultations between his Australian owners and trainer Charles Laird. Speaking from Perth, Dr Barry Clements announced they had decided to call it a day, as it was evident they were running out of time with the horse. “With all the attendant problems that have plagued him throughout his career, there were no guarantees we could get him to where we wanted in order to win a Group One race, and since the original plan was to buy him for stud, it made sense to get him to Summerhill sooner rather than later”.
Solskjaer is the highest ranking son of Danehill in South Africa at present, enjoying a Timeform rating of 120lbs, and as a Group Two winner of the Royal Whip Stakes he joined the likes of Alleged, High Chapparal, Pilsudski, The Bart and Dubian on the honours board at The Curragh racecourse. He is as well bred as any son of Danehill, being one of three Group winners from his dam including Yeats, winner of last year ’s Coronation Cup (Gr.1) in England.
Equipped with an imposing physique and being a Stakes winner from a mile to 10 furlongs, he is well suited to the local breeding scene, with the added advantage of being one of very few high performing sons of Danehill in South Africa. At the time of writing, Danehill and his sons occupy six of the top ten positions on the Australian sires log.
Expressing his dis-appointment that Solskjaer had been unable to regain his full fitness and hence his earlier form, Summerhill’s CEO, Mick Goss said that, with the breeding season so close at hand, they were left with little alternative. “Both Charles Laird and Anton Marcus were convinced he had it in him to win a Group One race this season, and had suggested we re-route him to the Champion’s Cup at the end of July. The issues with his hock meant we couldn’t rely entirely on getting there though, and it was logical to bring him home. He is already well booked for the season as breeders need little convincing about Danehill, and this is a particularly outstanding representative of the line”.

The Man Behind Solskjaer
Ever since the publication of the initial entries for the Vodacom July, there has been conjecture as to whom the “Aussies” are behind the top weight, Solskjaer. The answer is a Kimberley born-and-bred Perth based
pediatrician by the name of Barry Clements, affectionately remembered in local rugby circles as a man who
represented both Western Province and Natal on the wing, when he wasn’t organizing a party for his pals at some other venue. Barry Clements has been a racing man since his earliest days at UCT, and his love of the game in South Africa has never dwindled,
notwithstanding his present abode.
The Solskjaer story started about a year ago when Barry expressed an interest in investing in a stallion and leaned on an old friendship, asking Summerhill Stud’s Mick Goss (a rugby and party compatriot) for advice. Mick steered him in the direction of Ireland’s famous Coolmore Stud where Solskjaer, was chosen from a group of fifteen serious prospects. The original plan with the 120 TFR rated son of Danehill was to take him to Dubai for the World Cup meeting, and then on to Aus for his stud career.
However, one persuasive phone call from Mick to his old mate changed all of this and resulted in Solskjaer being rerouted to South Africa where the plan was to give him a few more outings in the run-up to South Africa’s premier race, the Vodacom July, before he makes his way to Summerhill on the occasion of their Stallion day, the Sunday immediately after the July.
Speaking from Perth, Clements indicated that the main intention behind the acquisition of Solskjaer was obviously his stud career, bearing in mind that he has already achieved his 120 Timeform rating, and has the pedigree and stature to deserve his place at any farm in the world. Even in Australia where there are close to 80 sons of Danehill at stud, there are very few with a 120 TFR rating. “But Mick and I are both sporting fellows, and we thought we would be failing in our duty to this horse if we didn’t give him the opportunity to express himself at the highest level in SA before he goes off to the farm. Unfortunately, given that we’ve have had a very brief and interrupted preparation period, it’s possible we could run out of time, and if so, we’ll ask no more and will send him back to the farm well ahead of the breeding season. This will be decided after his next run in discussion with Charles Laird, his current trainer”.
Suggestions that we might be devaluing him by running him, are probably misplaced. You can’t take his pedigree, his outstanding looks and his 120 Timeform rating away from him, but like any other horse, he’s a living being and as this game is still a sport, we would love the South African racing public to see this horse in action - hopefully at his best – before he goes to stud.”
Linda Norval, Stallion Sales Manager at Summerhill indicated that there had been considerable interest in Solskjaer at the recently concluded National Yearling Sales, and she was confident he would attract not only the best mares in Kwa Zulu Natal for the forthcoming season, but also good numbers from the other side of the Drakensberg.

Requiem departs: Solskjaer arrives!
The old saying “as one door closes, another one opens” was never truer than in the past fortnight. Danehill’s Graded Stakes winning son, Requiem, acquired in a joint venture with Markus Jooste by Summerhill two seasons ago, has been the subject of recent international interest, culminating in a substantial offer for the return of the horse to Australia. Although this represented a financial opportunity Summerhill felt it could not pass up, fortunately for South Africans, Markus Jooste felt the same way, the difference being he saw it as an opportunity to buy. As a result, Requiem has been purchased for stud duties at Klawervlei Stud, and will be relocating to the Cape for the forthcoming season.
Greig Muir, Stallion Manager at Summerhill, saw it as a “win-win” situation for local breeders. In the first instance, Requiem already popular among breeders, has been saved for duty in this country, notwithstanding the lure of hard currency. Secondly, it has placed Summerhill in a position to acquire another exceptionally well-performed son of Danehill in the form of Solskjaer, who was otherwise headed for Dubai and Australia.
Knowing the Aus principals involved in the deal, Summerhill’s Mick Goss intervened, suggesting that the horse would be better served by finishing his racing career in SA, and taking up stud duties in Mooi River, where he would be one of just a few highly performed sons of Danehill, as opposed to having to mix it with so many in Aus. The plan, and the idea that he would join Charles Laird for the remainder of his racing career, obviously appealed to the Aussies.
The Solskjaer story is an intriguing one. When Coolmore’s principals acquired their 32% interest in Manchester United, they decided to name their two best juveniles of that year after the two finest players at United. These were Van Nistelrooy and Solskjaer. Most racegoers are aware of the significant impression Van Nistelrooy subsequently made as one of Europe’s leading two year olds, but this was not to be Solskjaer’s lot. He suffered a hock injury in his final work-out before his scheduled juvenile debut, and missed the entire season. He made his racecourse debut at 3 in no less a race than the Irish 2000 Guineas (Gr.1) where the injury recurred, sidelining him for the balance of the season. It wasn’t until four that he made his debut proper in a seven furlong event which he won with daylight to spare. He stepped up to top company for his next start and went down by just a short head in the Meld Stakes Gr.3, only to land the spoils in the Royal Whip Stakes (Gr. 2) next up, a race which counts the legendary likes of Alleged,High Chaparral, Pilsudski, The Bart and Dubian among its celebrated heroes.
In spite of his nagging injury, Solskjaer did his namesake proud with further success in Stakes company at a mile to ten furlongs, competing with the Gr. 1 likes of Maraahel (beaten by just a neck by Dubai World Cup winner Electrocutionist in last year’s Juddmonte International at York) Multazem, Latino Magic and Zarad, performances which earned him the exalted status of a 120 Timeform rating.
Solskjaer is a full-bodied, solidly made horse with an exceptional pedigree. Like Montjeu, he is out of a Topville mare, and is a half brother to last year’s Coronation Stakes ace Yeats, and, a full brother to the multiple Japanese Stakes winner, Tsukoba Symphony. He comes from the immediate family of Champion Filly Lady of Chad, and Group One winners Ivanka and Alcazar.
The plan is for him to compete in three more races before taking up stud duties at Summerhill for the 2006 breeding season. These include a preparation sprint, a crack at the Gold Challenge (Gr. 1) and then, assuming he remains injury free, he is destined to take his place in the July. At the first entry stage for the July, it was apparent that Solskjaer would have the honour of the Number One saddle cloth on the big day. No doubt, he will be the centre of attention at Summerhill on their Stallion Day.
Announcing the acquisition, Mick Goss felt that Summerhill had been fortunate in being in the right place at the right time, bearing in mind Solskjaer was originally acquired for Aus. Danehill could well be the most influential southern hemisphere stallion of all time, particularly when one looks at the exceptional success of his sons Redoute’s Choice, Flying Spur and Danzero in Aus, and the fact that his legacy will linger for decades to come.
“In SA, we appear to have missed the Danehill boat to a degree, and this would’ve been exacerbated had Requiem left our shores. In Solskjaer, we have acquired a horse of great stature, considerable speed and versatility and possessed of an outstanding pedigree. I am not sure you can ask for much more, particularly when you consider that there are not too many horses out there with a Timeform rating of 120, let alone a son of Danehill”.
Rather perculiarly, the official SA handicapper rates Solskjaer “only” MR 106, If he comes back to his form of last year he'll be a certainty for the July - or, if his ratiing goes back up to where it belongs, he’ll have the whole field under sufferance!

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