Situated in the prime horse territory of Mooi River in KwaZulu-Natal, Cathy and Jonathan Martin’s Hadlow Stud has been a quality nursery over many years.
Joining The Apache – owned by Winston Chow and the late Robin Scott – is the beautifully-bred Summa Cum Laude.
The handsome horse is the first son of Vercingetorix (Silvano) to stand at stud.
Out of broodmare First Arrival – the dam of two Equus Award winners – he has let down very well since his days in training and is taking his new job in his stride.
The picturesque Hadlow Stud in Mooi River, KZN (Pic- Candiese Lenferna)
“He has the most incredible temperament. That, along with his outstanding pedigree made it a no brainer for his owners to send him to stud,” says lifetime horsewoman Cathy Martin.
“He spends all day in his paddock, living his best life and just being a horse. He is also lunged a few times a week to maintain his fitness for the season,” she says.
As a young stallion, Cathy says she expects him to mature into an even more imposing horse as time goes on.
“His female line is probably one of the best in South Africa,” she says with pride.
He is a three-part brother to Wendy Whitehead’s star filly Keep On Dancing, a seven-time winner including the Gr2 Track And Ball Oaks and Listed Off To Stud Stakes.
To add to his siblings is the Gr1 winning daughter of Jet Master, who was exported, In The Fast Lane. Another export, Light The Lights is a Gr2 winner in South Africa who went on to win multiple times in Dubai.
The family includes siblings like Gr1 placed Pack Leader (Philanthropist), Lets Rock ‘N Roll and Beat Patrol, both by Muhtafal.
First Arrival, by Northern Guest, deserves a Broodmare Of The Year accolade. She is the dam of twelve foals, two Equus Award winners and seven are Black Type with multiple Group wins between them.
She was no slouch herself at the track. Born in 1996, she was Spey Bridge Champion 3YO Filly in 1999 with six wins in Zimbabwe.
“We are delighted with the quality of mares that he is getting in what can only be described as trying times in the breeding paddocks with the diminishing herd numbers.
Summa Cum Laude (Vercingetorix – First Arrival) in his paddock & living his best life
“One of the mares he will be covering is the full sister to African Night Sky, which we are very excited about,” enthuses Cathy.
“Our goal will be to send his progeny through the sales ring. If they look anything like him, we have no doubt they will be very well received.
“We certainly hope his progeny perform to the standard that we’re expecting. He would be a huge asset to KZN as a stallion in the future and reward those who are supporting him now,” she concludes.
Unraced stallions to make their mark in South Africa include his own broodmare sire, Champion Sire and Champion Broodmare Sire Northern Guest, as well as Mogok – the latter who produced two international Gr winners in America and Gr2 winners in Dubai, and Stakes winners in just about every crop he produced.
Don’t hesitate to contact Cathy Martin to enquire about a booking – [email protected]
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