Astute acquisition of the best of blood and the fostering of equine dynasties has served Varsfontein Stud admirably over the years.
Kilauea is obscured as Chase Maujean gets Alexa up on the line – Heaps Of Fun (Deon Sampson in blue) ran third (Pic – JC Photos)
Their beautifully bred Caesour filly Alexa returns to her home paddocks in Paarl at the end of this season but not before grabbing her first stakes win with a terrific late burst to win the R150 000 Listed Syringa Handicap on the Turffontein inside track on Saturday.
Chase Maujean – heart stopper!
After Gunter Wrogemann looked to have timed his front-running bid for glory on the David Niewenhuizen-trained Kilauea to perfection, the Geoff Woodruff charge Alexa swooped in the last stride to nab the luckless Trippi front-runner, who had led almost every inch of the trip.
In yet another confident feature show, underrated rider Chase Maujean got the Woodruff runner up to win by a short head in a time of 97,35 secs.
The 2016 Gr2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas winner Heaps Of Fun, under replacement rider Deon Sampson, had looked dangerous down the inside rail, and ran an improved race to get third.
The Varsfontein white and scarlet is synonymous with top fillies and like many before her, the winner is by the champion farm’s stalwart stallion Caesour, who died in 2013.
Caesour – prolific producer
A son of Nureyev, Caesour made history when his daughters Perfect Promise and Dane Julia became the first South African bred horses to win Gr1 races in Australia and New Zealand respectively.
Alexa is a sixth stakes performer for the Irish bred Darshaan mare Alexandra Bi, a two-time winner in Italy. Alexandra Bi was acquired by the Kalmanson family at Newmarket and has produced a host of outstanding performers.
On the same afternoon, the five-time winner Hostwin Galaxy (Redoute’s Choice) a son of Alexandra Bi’s Gr1 winning daughter Alexandra Rose, ran a cracking third behind Huka Eagle in the 1200m Gr1 Chairman’s Challenge Cup in Macau.
Varsfontein offered two lots (#275 and #276) from this family on the BSA National Yearling Sale earlier this month.
A daughter of Captain Al out of a full-sister to Saturday’s winner was withdrawn. A Judpot colt out of Albizia (Fort Wood-Alexandra Bi) was snapped up for R400 000 by Tawny Syndicate.
