Variety Club – Champion For Klawervlei
The brilliant son of Var has sent ripples of excitement throughout the South African breeding industry
29th March 2015
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The brilliant son of Var has sent ripples of excitement throughout the South African breeding industry
Shakespeare wrote “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” In Variety Club’s case, he definitely seems to fall in the first category.
He was retired to stand at champion breeders Klawervlei Stud after an illustrious track career and the Longines award is yet another recognition of the brilliance of one of our modern day champions.
Topping the board with a rating of 130 was the Japanese-bred Just A Way (Heart’s Cry – Sibyl). The six-year-old, whose track victories include the Dubai Duty Free and the Gr1 Yasuda Kinen, has recently joined his sire Heart’s Cry at the Shadai Stallion Station’s Hokkaido farm
Japan’s Just A Way has led the way for most of the year while Australia, Kingman, The Grey Gatsby and South Africa’s Variety Club currently share the title of co-2nd highest rated horse in the world.
Guineas winners include the legends Hawaii, Politician, Colorado King and Empress Club – to name a few. Sarah Whitelaw lists her personal selection of Guineas highlights over the past two decades
In an announcement issued on Thursday, 2 October 2014, Mayfair Speculators have confirmed that SA Horse of the Year Variety Club will be retiring to Klawervlei Stud. The champ is expected to arrive home in early December and will commence stud duties in 2015. A stud fee will be announced in due course.
‘We are now looking at our options which are basically retiring him to stud or racing him for another year…’
In a statement that will leave fans anxious about the big chestnut’s future, Mike de Kock says ‘it’s decision time for Markus’.
I remember, a year before my Dad died, sitting around the table at my Aunt’s the Sunday after the 1975 Met. They had won on Sledgehammer, but agreed that William Penn would have given Sledgehammer a hiding on any day of the week
Variety Club is rated joint second on the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings
‘I called the owner and before I could even make the offer he excitedly told me that a certain South African bookmaker had just called 10 minutes earlier to make an offer of R5m’
