Western Winter
Capetown Noir, impressive winner of Saturday’s Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, gave his late, great sire, Western Winter, a fourth win in the Queen’s Plate.
Western Winter’s sons, Winter Solstice and Yard-Arm (both of whom were subsequently named Horse of the Year) won the great race on three occasions. Winter Solstice triumphed twice, in 2005 and 2006, while Yard-Arm conquered champion Dynasty to win the Queen’s Plate back in 2004 – giving their sire a remarkable hat trick of wins.
Western Winter is now joint second leading sire of Queen’s Plate wins, tied with Jet Master (whose son Pocket Power won the race four times), but unfortunately both sires are now deceased. However, the most successful sire in Queen’s Plate history is six times champion SA sire, Fairthorn. The latter’s offspring won the Queen’s Plate five times – and included arguably the race’s greatest winner – dual winner Sea Cottage.
Here is a list of most successful Queen’s Plate sires (by wins):
Fairthorn – 5 (Sea Cottage twice, Inverthorn, Muscovite, Fair Weather)
Western Winter – 4 (Capetown Noir, Winter Solstice twice, Yard-Arm)
Jet Master – 4 (Pocket Power four times)
Jallad – 2 (Free My Heart twice)
Bush Telegraph – 2 (London News, Crimson Waves)
Complete Warrior – 2 (Wainui, Counter Action)
Flirting Around – 2 (Wolf Power twice)
New South Wales – 2 (Over The Air, In Full Flight)
Drum Beat – 2 (Chichester twice)
Noble Chieftain – 2 (Peter Beware, Roderick)
Kipling – 2 (Top Secret-twice)
Denturius – 2 (Black Cap twice)
This past weekend was a good one for Western Winter’s descendants, with Western Winter son, Argonaut, being represented by three winners – including the classic trial winner, Ernie or Else. A former Equus Champion 2YO, Argonaut has now been represented by 15 first crop winners.
The Winter legacy also lives on, however, off the racetrack itself. Western Winter offspring are also beginning to excel in the show-jumping arena. His talented son Jagged Ice, winner of the Gr2 Green Point Stakes, was the reserve Eastern Cape champion and was also placed in the World Cup qualifiers.
Rider Nina Versfeld rates the Western Winter line highly as jumpers, mentioning other progeny of the sire to excel over jumps, such as Wild Kodiac and Weston Ryder. She says the Western Winter offspring have the “perfect balance of physical athleticism and strength, with a sound mind and GREAT work ethic. They are all calm, kind and sensible horses, but incredibly sharp, and able to use that sharpness when it counts in the ring, a temperament definitely inherited from their sire.”
Nina has good experience of Western Winter himself, having worked with Lammerskraal (home of the former champion sire) for the past six years. The influence of this great stallion is unlikely to die out soon, with such exciting young future sire prospects What A Winter, Capetown Noir and Red Ray, to name but a few, yet to represent their sire.
Capetown Noir’s great win kept the Gone West male line in the headlines in South African features. Gone West is also sire of promising young sire Sail From Seattle, responsible for recent Gr1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas winner, Elusive Gold (who appears likely to continue his career in Hong Kong).
Another Gone West line star of the Cape Summer Season is the brilliant filly, Fairyinthewoods. A daughter of Zafonic horse Count Dubois, Fairyinthewoods (a runner in Saturday’s Sceptre Stakes) has won her last six in a row – highlighted by an impressive score in the Gr2 Tony Taberer Southern Cross Stakes.
The Gone West male line also recently made history in Dubai when Elusive Quality (Gone West) daughter Shuruq became the first filly ever to win the Al Maktoum Challenge (Round 1). Should the magnificent Capetown Noir himself enjoy success at stud, he will follow in the footsteps of former Queen’s Plate heroes Jet Master and Foveros – two of the greatest stallions ever to stand at stud in South Africa!
Classic Contender For Queen’s Plate Hero
Wolf Power
The flying grey, Wolf Power, was one of the greatest racehorses of his generation. South Africa’s Horse of The Year in 1983, Wolf Power’s 18 wins included the J&B Met, the Schweppes Challenge twice and Queen’s Plate twice.
Fittingly enough, the former dual Queen’s Plate winner came to the fore as the broodmare sire of a legitimate US classic contender, when his unbeaten maternal grandson, Midnight Hawk, won Saturday’s Gr3 Sham Stakes by an easy 1.75 lengths. Midnight Hawk is out of former Texas champion 2yo filly, Miss Wineshine.
Midnight Hawk (Midnight Lute) is the 10th graded stakes winner produced by a Wolf Power – also broodmare sire of US Horse Of The Year, and dual Breeders Cup Mile winner, Wise Dan (Wisemans Ferry), and dual Santa Anita Handicap winner, and Gr1 sire, Milwaukee Brew (Wild Again). It could be a productive spell for Wolf Power’s grandsons, as Wise Dan is strongly fancied to be named Horse of The Year for a second consecutive year at a ceremony on January 18th.
Wolf Power mares have also done well in South Africa – producing the likes of Lady Linney (Gr3 Jacaranda Hcp), Gone Wild (Ladies Mile) and last season’s Winter Oaks winner, Schism.
Redoute’s Choice: A True Legend
Redoute’s Choice
Leading Australian sire, Redoute’s Choice (sire of Sunday’s Gr3 London News third Wylie Hall), recently made headlines when a yearling son of the top stallion was knocked down for $1 000 000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast sale. He was the 64th Redoute’s Choice yearling to make $1 000 000 – a truly remarkable achievement.
Redoute’s Choice’s legacy, however, looks set to grow well outside his backyard. Shuttling to the Aga Khan’s French farm Haras de Bonneval, Redoute’s Choice covered an exceptional book of mares during his first Northern Hemisphere stint last year.
Mares covered by the champion included unbeaten Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe winner Zarkava and Born Gold – dam of triple Breeders Cup Mile winner, Goldikova. Redoute’s Choice has also enjoyed good success in South Africa. From just a handful of runners, his representatives include SA Derby hero Wylie Hall, Equus Champion 2YO Musir, Fillies Mile runner up Thin Red Line, Grade One performer Solid Choice, and G2 Astrapak 1900 winner, Bishops Rock.
Local grandsons of Redoute’s Choice include the talented performers Castlethorpe (Winter Guineas), Mujaarib (Charity Mile), Unannounced (won six in a row), Tennessee Strategy (2nd Gold Medallion), and Tajmeel (Betting World Oaks).
To date, Redoute’s Choice is the sire of 108 stakes winners – 23 of which are Grade One winners. He is Danehill’s most successful sire of Grade One winners – having sired more than Dansili, Fastnet Rock, Exceed And Excel and Danehill Dancer.
– Sarah Whitelaw
