James Armitage’s Sandown Stud, breeders of such standout performers as Equus Champions French Navy and Magnificent Seven, will be offering a quality draft at this year’s Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale.
Sandown will be offering yearlings by all of champion sire Silvano, Gr1 winners and sires Elusive Fort, Flower Alley and Kingsbarns, and the very popular Cape Guineas winner William Longsword – making this a very attractive consignment indeed.
James Armitage (photo: hamishNIVENPhotography)
South Africa’s reigning champion sire Silvano, whose current flagbearers include all of Kilindini, Zillzaal and Summer Pudding, is represented in this draft by a filly (Lot 241) out of a winning Captain Al daughter of SA Oaks winner Noble Destiny – a full-sister to fellow Oaks winner Royal Prophecy.
Short-lived Gr1 Racing Post Trophy winner Kingsbarns, whose small first local crop includes champion Gabor and Gr2 Concorde Cup hero King Of Gems, is the sire of a filly (Lot 339) whose four time winning dam is a Silvano half-sister to East Cape Nursery winner Scripture, while Cape Guineas winner William Longsword has a filly (Lot 306) on offer whose dam Natural Beauty is a half-sister to four stakes winners including graded stakes winners Priceless Jewel and Royal Badge.
Natural Beauty’s outstanding dam So Royal, also dam of Gr1 sprinter Royal Extravagance and Stormsvlei Mile heroine Crystal Cavern, is represented in Sandown’s draft by an Elusive Fort filly (Lot 401), and this filly is a three-parts sister to the aforementioned Crystal Cavern.
Travers Stakes winner Flower Alley, whose 40 plus stakes horses include the Kentucky Derby winning champion I’ll Have Another as well as recent Ormond Ferraris Oaks Trial winner Fayrooz, has four yearlings in this draft.
Awe Inspiring, a Horse Chestnut half-sister to the Sandown bred champion French Navy, has a Flower Alley filly (Lot 30) on offer, as does Fakazi (Lot 145), herself a stakes winning half-sister to G1 SA Classic hero Love Struck.
Moonlit Magic, the dam of Winter Oaks runner up Moonsong Magic, has a Flower Alley colt (Lot 296) on offer, as does the aforementioned Moonsong Magic (Lot 297) herself.
As previously advised. the Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale has been postponed from its original date of 22, 23 & 24 April 2020.
The proposed new dates are 20, 21 & 22 May 2020, but remain provisional and will be reviewed on 16 April 2020. This mirrors government’s target date for the evaluation of the situation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.
