The 2014 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas has not only attracted some of South Africa’s best 3yo fillies, but also some of the best bred.
Between them, the sires of the runners in Saturday’s R1 million classic have won no fewer than 15 sires’ premierships. Runners in the Fillies Guineas are by sires whose progeny include three previous winners of the race, and a staggering total of over 470 stakes winners. Safe to say, the winner of the 2014 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas will have considerable value as a broodmare!
Redoute’s Choice
MAJMU. An AUS $300,000 yearling buy in Australia, Majmu is by one of the world’s great sires in Redoute’s Choice. One of Danehill’s finest sire sons, Redoute’s Choice’s 100 plus stakes winners include 26 at Grade 1 level, and his offspring to have raced in South Africa include a pair of Equus Award winners, as well as Wylie Hall, the demoted winner of last season’s Gr1 Vodacom Durban July. The flashy grey Majmu is out of the ill-fated Chilean Grade 1 winner, Spontaneous, whose sire, Hussonet, was champion sire in Chile on no fewer than seven occasions and has been responsible for over 90 stakes winners to date.
Tapit
GREY LIGHT. This beautifully bred filly is a daughter of outstanding US sire, Tapit. Represented by a pair of graded stakes winners this weekend, Tapit has produced offspring who have earned in excess of $15 million in 2014 alone, and he is on track to register his first general sires title. To date Tapit (by Pulpit) has been represented by no fewer than 18 stakes winners in 2014, a tally which includes Untapable, winner of this year’s Gr1 Kentucky Oaks and Gr1 Breeders Cup Distaff. Grey Light’s dam, by champion US sprinter Orientate, is out of former South African sensation Harry’s Charm.
Jet Master
JET SET GO. Bred by the sponsors, as is Cold As Ice, Jet Set Go is by seven times Champion South African sire, Jet Master, the sire of former Fillies Guineas winners In The Fast Lane and Ebony Flyer. Jet Set Go, a full sister to former Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas third place finisher, Jet Trail, is out of the brilliant racemare, Azabu Park, a stakes winner of no fewer than 10 races.
COLD AS ICE. A daughter of previous champion sire, Western Winter, Cold As Ice shares her sire with former Cape Fillies Guineas winner Bad Girl Runs. Out of the brilliant Gr3 Champagne Stakes winner, Viva, Gr2 Choice Carriers Fillies Championship winner Cold As Ice is a half sister to unbeaten sprint star, Viva La Var.
Judpot
DOUBLE WHAMMY. Winner of the Gr3 Lanzerac Diana Stakes earlier in the season, Double Whammy is from the second crop of Kingmambo’s half brother Judpot. A son of champion sire A P Indy, Judpot has produced among his first runners the Gr1 winners Along Came Polly and Forest Indigo, which earned him an Equus Outstanding Stallion award. Double Whammy herself is out of a half sister to former Gr2 Merchants winner, Something Else, and hails from the same family as the brilliant filly Sunera (Gr1 Mercury Sprint).
Flying Spur
ATAAB. Another by a champion sire son of Danehill, Ataab is by former Golden Slipper winner and Champion Australian sire, Flying Spur. From just a handful of local runners, the now pensioned Flying Spur has been represented by such classy stakes horses as Flying Tristram, Flying West and Flying Princess. Ataab, bred by Shadwell, is from an exceptional European family, whose members also include Miss Satamixa (Gr1 Prix Jacques le Marois). Interestingly, Ataab traces back directly in female line to Roquebrune (dam of Triple Crown winner Rock Sand).
Trippi
INARA. Inara is by one of South Africa’s hottest stallions, being one of three Trippi fillies in the race. In the past two weeks, Trippi has been represented by a pair of major feature race winners in Zambezi River and Trip To Heaven, and the son of End Sweep looks destined for a huge season in 2014-2015. Inara is from a magnificent female line – her dam, Mountains Of Mist, is by the outstanding broodmare sire Shirley Heights, whose daughters have produced such supreme performers as Alexandrova, In The Wings and Fame And Glory. Mountains Of Mist herself is the dam of overseas stakes winners Misty Heights and Madeira Mist (Gr3 Dance Smartly Hcp). The latter is also dam of now retired Joshua Tree, a triple winner of the Gr1 Canadian International.
SUNSET TRIPP. It is surely only a matter of time before a Trippi filly wins the Cape Fillies Guineas. Remarkably, Trippi fillies Hammie’s Hooker and Lanner Falcon, have filled the runner up berth in this race for the past two seasons. This filly’s dam, Red Growler, is a daughter of Fort Wood and J&B Met winner, Imperious Sue. Red Growler is also a full sister to Winter Oaks winner, Blue Heather and a half sister to Gr1 Woolavington Stakes heroine, Imperious Star. This is the same family as champion Victory Moon, sire of former Cape Fillies Guineas winner, Princess Victoria.
Count Dubois
CUVEE BRUT. A daughter of former champion 2yo sire Count Dubois, Cuvee Brut shares her sire with this season’s talented sophomores, Door Of Deception and French Navy, as well as seven Grade 1 performers. Like Ataab, Cuvee Brut is a direct descendant of one of the greatest broodmares in the stud book, Devotion (dam of classic winners St Marguerite and Thebais, and ancestress of Rock Sand). The latter, winner of the Triple Crown, is also broodmare sire of arguably the greatest racehorse ever seen in the USA – Man O’War.
JEWELLER’S JOY. The third of the Trippi fillies in the line-up, Jeweller’s Joy shares her sire with outstanding US fillies R Heat Lightning, Miss Macy Sue and Jealous Again, as well as brilliant local females, Hammie’s Hooker, For The Lads, Ha Lucy and One Fine Day. Her dam, Ring Ding, is by champion sire and leading broodmare sire Badger Land, also damsire of former Avontuur winners, Captain’s Lover and Ebony Flyer. Her second dam is a full sister to champion Breyani, who won the Cape Fillies Guineas back in 1982.
