Former champion sprinter Via Africa has firmly put the spotlight on the success of South African-bred broodmares based in Australia.
Last weekend, the daughter of Var joined the ranks of stakes producers when her second foal, the Snitzel colt In The Congo, scored a hard-fought win in the Gr3 San Domenico Stakes.
Trained by Australian legend Gai Waterhouse, the three-year-old won for the second time in three starts, whilst making amends for his unlucky second in the Listed Rosebud at Randwick.
Via Africa
Via Africa was sent to Australia following a stellar racing career during which she won ten races and never finished off the board in 16 starts.
Trained by Duncan Howells, she defeated Mercury Sprint winner Red Ray in the Gr1 Cape Flying Championship and twice won the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint. Via Africa has a newly-turned juvenile filly by Golden Slipper winner Vancouver, and was covered by Redoute’s Choice stallion The Autumn Sun last spring.
She is just one of a select number of South African-bred mares whose loss to the gene pool is keenly felt.
For the purpose of this article, we go back to the nineties and the export of the lightning fast Geordoba.
Trained by the late Buddy Maroun, this daughter of Cordoba from the illustrious ‘Lily’ family arrived Down Under as a Gr3 winner of ten races.
She visited some notable stallions during her broodmare career. To Danehill she bred stakes-placed Zyzzxx, and when mated to his son Commands, she produced the New Zealand stakes winner Khemosabi.
Australia also became home to the blue-blooded Lady’s Delight.
Imported in utero by Maine Chance Farms, she was by Northern Dancer’s son Local Talent out of the Roberto mare You’re My Lady, whose half-sister Razyana achieved lasting fame as the dam of Danehill.
Northern Dancer
Even better, their dam Spring Adieu was a Buckpasser half-sister to the immortal Northern Dancer!
Trained and part-owned by St John Gray, Lady’s Delight became a Gr1-placed stakes six-time winner. Coupled with her top international bloodlines, she too, caught the eye of the shrewd Australians and was soon on her way Down Under.
South Africa’s loss once more became Australia’s gain, for in addition to producing the stakes winning Snitzel filly Express Power, Gr3-placed Rezyana and stakes-placed Sunday Service, she is also ancestress of the high-class galloper Ace High.
Trained by ex-pat David Payne, the son of High Chaparral captured both the Gr1 Victoria Derby and Gr1 Spring Champion Stakes, was runner-up in the Gr1 Australian Derby and earned in excess of A$2.2 million.
Al Mufti’s champion daughter Arabian Lass, a four-time Gr1 winner bred by Ascot Stud, was covered by Fort Wood and sent to the UK in foal.
Al Mufti
She had produced a winner by Montjeu by the time she departed for Australia, where she became the dam of the stakes winning filly Soldier’s Lass and the stakes-placed Dash For Home.
Ascot Stud acquired her Danehill Dancer daughter Arabian Jazz, who returned to South Africa and ran third in the Gr3 Syringa Handicap.
Australian breeders have always put a high premium on speed and precocity, which made the Count Dubois filly Asylum Seeker yet another alluring prospect. She had won both the then Gr1 Golden Slipper and Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery when trained by Roy Magner. She was good enough to be named the champion juvenile filly.
Australian dollars once again prevailed, which proved to be money well spent, for amongst her six winners from as many runners to date are the stakes performers Scarlet Dream and Runaway Girl, both by Sebring.
The former put together a string of graded places which include a second in the Gr1 Australian Oaks, while Runaway Girl twice placed at Gr3 level.
For a breeder, there is nothing like international success and in that respect, Varsfontein Stud has certainly tasted plenty Down Under.
The exceptional Caesour filly Perfect Promise was foaled and raised at the farm on behalf of then stud manager Hendrik Winterbach. She won the Gr1 Cape Fillies Guineas and went on to make history as the first South African-bred filly to score at Gr1 level in the C F Orr Stakes.
Retired to stud in Australia, Perfect Promise bred the Gr3-placed stakes winner More Energy to Fastnet Rock, and stakes-placed Hard Promise to Danzig’s son Hard Spun. Her Rock Of Gibraltar daughter Caesour’s Promise is dam of stakes-placed Caesour’s Dream.
Varsfontein can claim outright breeding rights for their overseas Gr1 producer Alexandra Rose.
Alexandra Rose
The daughter of Caesour, a Gr2 winner of the Golden Slipper, was purchased by Team Valor, for whom she won at Gr3 level in the States.
She too has spent her broodmare career in Australia, but as fate would have it, her best foal, the Animal Kingdom filly Oleksandra, raced with distinction in the States! She carried the Team Valor silks to seven victories and put her dam on the map with a last-to-first victory in Belmont Park’s Gr1 Jaipur Stakes. Covered early this year by leading American sire Into Mischief, she closed out her career in June with a sensational victory over male rivals in Belmont Park’s Gr3 Poker Stakes, where she looped the field from 20 lengths off the pace to get up on the line
Also dam of the stakes-placed Redoute’s Choice gelding Hostwin Galaxy, Alexandra Rose foaled a Mendelssohn filly early last spring before visiting Australian powerhouse stallion Snitzel.
National Colour – led in by Sean Tarry with Brett Smith in the irons
Champion sprinter and Joint Horse of the Year National Colour also spent her broodmare career Down Under. Ironically, her two best offspring, the Redoute’s Choice colts Rafeef and Mustaaqeem earned their Gr1 stripes in South Africa.
Whilst the latter was exported, Rafeef is now based at Ridgemont Highlands and judged by the excellent start he has made to his stallion career, the country’s leading freshman stalllion looks set to continue his dam’s legacy.
History still has to judge another Australian-based champion, the Sean Tarry-trained Carry On Alice.
2020 Snitzel colt ex Carry On Alice on left
The daughter of Captain Al was voted South Africa’s top sprinter in 2016/17 following an illustrious career which saw her triumph in five top level sprints and rack up more than R4,5 million in earnings.
She has to date produced a juvenile and a yearling colt, both by Snitzel and returned to him in 2020.
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