Ridgemont’s super hot five-time Gr1 winning foundation sire Canford Cliffs has enjoyed a dream season and celebrated a remarkable afternoon at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on last Saturday’s Golden Horse Festival Of Speed raceday.
1,2,3,4! Richard Fourie steers Canford Cliffs daughter Direct Hit to a big win in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Achieving a rare speedway double, the European champion miler marked a breath-taking victory in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship by his unbeaten-in-four starts Ridgemont-bred daughter, Direct Hit, now a feature race victress in the Cape, KZN and her home province of the Eastern Cape, as well as a facile victory by his 4yo son Tenango, who hacked up to win the Gr2 Golden Horse Sprint in the fastest time of the day.
A serious candidate for SA Champion 2yo filly honours at Equus in August, Direct Hit is one of the most exciting prospects around and it will be interesting to hear what the plans are for a filly who has superstar written all over her.
Ridgemont rider Richard Fourie has been aboard at all of Direct Hit’s starts, and said it was ‘very special win’.
“This is a dream come true. It’s mission accomplished,” added the reigning SA champion.
Direct Hit is out of the six-time winning Great Britain speedball Wrecking Ball, who won the 2017 Gr3 Tommy Hotspur Handicap.
Raced by Ridgemont (nominee: Craig Kieswetter) and Devin Heffer, Direct Hit took her stakes earnings to over R1,3 million. The sky looks the limit for the Alan Greeff-trained juvenile.
Direct hitters! Devin Heffer and Craig Kieswetter celebrate the Gr1 success with trainer Alan Greeff (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Canford Cliffs’ progressive son Tenango had the clock-watchers raving after he cruised up the outside to grab top honours in the Gr2 Golden Horse Sprint, coming within a heartbeat of smashing the 1200m course record.
Bred by his part-owner Ian Longmore, Tenango is out of the Trippi mare Tripadvisor.The gelding has won six of his 14 starts and is a galloper in bright form, having won or finished second in each of his last seven starts.
What more can one say about Canford Cliffs, who has enjoyed a big season with his other flagbearers including Listed Betway Swallow Stakes speed queen Almond Sea, and Glenlair Trophy winner Bournemouth, a horse who has won up to 2800m – once again illustrating his sire’s enormous versatility spectrum.
“It’s remarkable to reflect that Canford Cliffs was expected to produce classic horses, yet he boasts features winners from 1000m to 2800m, as well as juveniles who show speed and precocity, and who train on. We are so excited at Direct Hit’s future prospects and are proud to have celebrated another Grade 1 winner for the stud. Congratulations to the connections of Tenango – here’s a fellow who looks all set to cap his short career with a Grade 1 success, sooner rather than later. Our belief in Canford Cliffs has been vindicated and he is maturing like a good red wine. Watch this space,” added a delighted Craig Carey.
Andrew Fortune bonds with Tenango after the son of Canford Cliffs easy win in the Gr2 Golden Horse Sprint (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
With less than half of the starters of big-hitters Gimmethegreenlight and Vercingetorix, Canford Cliffs is snapping at their heels in third position on the National 2yo Sires log and enjoys an AEPR in excess of close to more than double of any of the other of the top five.
Canford Cliffs retired to stud as a four-year-old after suffering a leg injury when second to the mighty Frankel in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
His trainer Richard Hannon said at the time that he was without doubt the best horse he had looked after in over 40 years.
Canford Cliffs enjoyed a successful racing career, winning seven of his 11 racecourse starts and finishing either second or third on his other four appearances.
The son of Tagula first burst onto the scene with an electric performance in the Coventry Stakes as a juvenile and victory in the Irish 2,000 Guineas began a glorious run of form which saw him win five successive Group One races.
Jockey Richard Hughes, who rode Canford Cliffs, labelled him ‘a brilliant horse, the best I ever rode from the first day I sat on him and it’s nice that he fulfilled that potential’.
