Bernard Fayd’herbe and African Night Sky win the Winter Classic (Pic – Wayne Marks)
The crown for the Cape Winter Series has proved deceptively elusive. Winter Solstice nearly got there in 2004 and in 2006, the mighty Pocket Power galloped into our history books by becoming the first horse to win it after a slight injury forced him to sit out the Durban season.
Marinaresco won the Guineas and the Classic in 2016, with Whisky Baron significantly taking home the second cheque for both. And when Marinaresco absconded to the lure of the bright lights and big cheques of Durban, Elusive Silva quietly collected the Winter Derby silverware in June.
This year, Justin Snaith tilts at adding a Winter Series triumph to his already storied career with the 3yo son of Dynasty, African Night Sky.
About African Night Sky
Bred by Highlands Farms Stud back in 2013, African Night Sky was led through the ring as lot 57 on the 2015 CTS Cape Premier Yearling Sale and knocked down to Fred Crabbia for R850,000.
He debuted over 1200m in very soft going at Durbanville on 28 September 2016, beating Greenflashsunset home by 1.25 lengths under Craig du Plooy. He was then sent out over 1400m at Kenilworth on 22 October, again with Craig du Plooy in the saddle and made it two on the trot with a 1.25 length victory over Summer Sky. Jono Snaith picks up the story. “He was one of the horses we discussed early on in the season with Fred Crabbia. At the time, Fred had two good three-year-olds in Zodiac Ruler and African Night Sky and African Night Sky was one of our main contenders for the $500,000 CTS Mile. Unfortunately things went wrong. He got a kick on the hindquarter, which resulted in a strain and it just niggled him a bit. We gave him a rest to try and fix it, but we were under pressure for time and the race came just too soon. We gave him a prep over 1400m and he looked OK (African Night Sky contested a 1400m MR81 Handicap at Kenilworth on New Year’s Eve, being short headed into second by Rinjani), but he didn’t run to expectations in the CTS Mile. He wasn’t disgraced, but it wasn’t his form and it wasn’t his run.”
African Night Sky enjoys a beach outing (photo: Snaith Racing)
While African Night Sky was having a well deserved break, the team debated taking him to Durban. “Fred had Zodiac Ruler which had just run 2nd in the Cape Derby and we decided he’d be a contender for the KZN Guineas and the Daily News,” continues Jono. “He’d performed well in Durban the previous season, so we already knew he does well there. If you take a horse to Durban, you don’t know whether they are going to enjoy it and whether they are going to shine, but Zodiac Ruler had a good track record in Durban and he’s subsequently done well there. I think he’s possibly the horse to beat in the Daily News – him and Al Sahem. Anyway, this created an opportunity for Fred to say, ‘Let’s leave this one in Cape Town.’”
African Night Sky returned to the track on 1 April 2017, finishing 2.2 lengths off Icon King in a 1400m Pinnacle Plate and then it was straight into the Winter Series. He won the Gr3 Highlands Stud Winter Guineas by 1.25 lengths from Our Mate Art on 29 April and followed up with a 0.25 length win – again over Our Mate Art – in the Gr3 Highlands Stud Winter Classic on 21 May 2017. While there is no such thing as a dead cert, he seems a fairly strong contender to take the Derby – and the Series – in 4 weeks’ time. If he is successful, it will be a credit to Highlands Stud Part of Ridgemont as both the sponsor of the race as well as standing his sire, Dynasty.
Winter Crown
Bernard Fayd’herbe and African Night Sky – third leg looms
Are they going to go for the full house? “We’re going to try,” confirms Jono. “I don’t think it will be a strong field and on his pedigree, he should see out the trip, so yes, all being well, he’ll run in the Derby. Then we’ll give him a break and aim him at the 2018 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and Sun Met. It’s a no-brainer. You just have to look at past Winter Series graduates to see that horses that win are huge contenders in the Met.”
“Horses that run in the Winter Series have a long track record later on,” continues Jono. “Look at Pocket Power and Marinaresco. Last year Marinaresco won 2 and Elusiva Silva won the 3rd leg. It’s such a good advertisement for the race. I also think it’s a very clever race for Highlands to sponsor because they are breeders. It’s a race that I think is a real ‘come on’ series where horses just improve later on and turn out to be decent horses. African Night Sky is a very nice horse and definitely one to follow. He’s a typical Dynasty – they just get better with age. I don’t think it’s the last time you’ll hear of him.”
Chris Snaith, who works with the colt every day, relates that Jane Thomas found the colt. “She’s never been given much recognition for her role in finding him. He’s a beautiful moving horse with tremendous scope – 1400m is on the sharp side for him. He wants a mile – 2000m to be effective.”
Jono concurs. “The main thing is that he’s a very sound horse. The Monday after the Winter Classic, we trotted him out for our vet, Dave Timpson and he absolutely floated.”
“Jane Thomas chose African Night Sky and my dad chose and bought his full sister, Blue Rhone Sky at the 2016 CTS Johannesburg Ready To Run sale. She’s showing a lot at home and at R350,000 she was a steal.”
Commenting that it’s turning into something of a vintage season for Fred Crabbia, Jono agrees, “Fred is in a really good space at the moment. It’s My Turn is a huge runner in the July at the weights, Zodiac Ruler is a huge runner in the Daily News and then he will go on to the July. Fred is being rewarded for his generosity at the sales!”
