There are no fewer than nine stallions with their first NYS yearlings on offer at the Germiston sale.
Remarkably, seven of the nine first crop sires mentioned are either Grade One winners or official champions!
Await The Dawn
The deceased Await The Dawn, by triple US champion sire Giant’s Causeway, was an exceptional talent, whose six wins include three group victories.
Remarkably, Await The Dawn won his three group wins by an aggregate of more than 16 lengths!
Among his wins was the Gr2 Hardwicke Stakes, won previously by Harbinger, Doyen, St Paddy, Jeune, Jupiter Island and the great mare Park Top.
From the family of champion sire Rainbow Quest, Await The Dawn’s NYS draft includes a filly out of a half sister to Gr2 winner First Again (Lot 85), a filly out of G3 Poinsettia Stakes winner Hot Reception (Lot 137), a filly out Syringa Handicap winner Ithala (Lot 155), and a half brother to ill-fated Gr1 performer Lostintranslation, whose dam is a full sister to Gr1 Met hero Angus (Lot 337).
Byword,winning the Gr1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Royal Ascot
Byword, whose first yearlings have fetched up to R2 000 000, was a top class racehorse, whose seven wins included the Gr1 Prince Of Wales’s Stake at Royal Ascot (a race also won by such stars as Dubai Millennium, Fantastic Light, Ouija Board and Duke Of Marmalade).
A half brother to multiple Gr1 winner Proviso, and from the same family as the great sire Court Martial, Byword’s 13 NYS yearlings include a filly from the same family of Danehill and Northern Dancer (Lot 3), a half sister to Gr3 winner Sky Rise (Lot 198), and a beautifully bred half brother to Gr3 placed stakes winner Easy Game from the same family as 2016 Gr1 Golden Slipper winner Capitalist (Lot 324).
Crusade (Mr Greeley – La Traviata)
Crusade, who is from the same male line as former champion sire Western Winter and successful SA sires Count Dubois and Visionaire, was a top class racehorse.
Like the world leading sires Sharpen Up, Bold Lad, Diesis, Petingo and Oasis Dream, he won the Gr1 Middle Park Stakes.
A half brother to a filly, Seventh Heaven, who holds an entry in the 2016 Gr1 Investec Oaks, Crusade’s 25 strong draft includes a filly out of the G1 placed mare Lite Spark (Lot 191), a half brother to Gr3 winning 2yo The Plunderer (Lot 194), a colt out of Fillies Guineas winner Pacific Blue (Lot 243), and a filly whose Gr3 winning dam is a three parts sister to Gr1 winner and R3 000 000 plus earner Captain America (Lot 443).
Eightfold Path (Giant’s Causeway – Divine Proportions)
There are fewer better bred young sires in South Africa, than Gr3 winner Eightfold Path.
A son of Horse Of The Year and multiple champion sire Giant’s Causeway (whose top sire sons include the mighty Shamardal), this horse is out of the once beaten champion Divine Proportions, a dual French classic winning half sister to Gr1 winner and Gr1 sire Whipper. This is the family of top class sires Pentire and Shirley Heights. His eight lots on sale include a filly whose dam is a half sister to ill-fated Equus Champion Wild One (Lot 83), a half sister to Gr2 winning juvenile Harry Lime (Lot 283), and a colt whose dam is a daughter of former champion and Gr1 winner Kundalini (Lot 437).
Irish Flame
Irish Flame, one of three sons of the great sire Dynasty (by Fort Wood) to be named Horse Of The Year, was an exceptional athlete, who won three Equus Awards.
A multiple Gr1 winner and classic star, he defeated a string of outstanding runners in his campaign, including the likes of Pocket Power, River Jetez and Bold Silvano. Also successful in Britain, Irish Flame is from the same family as high class siblings Lion’s Blood and Swartland.
He has a trio of yearlings on offer including a three parts sister to the Dynasty sired superstar Beach Beauty (Lot 25), a filly from the family of the great Fort Wood champion Horse Chestnut (Lot 284), and a colt, bred on a similar cross to multiple Gr1 winner Siren’s Call, from the famed Drohsky family (Lot 289).
Marchfield son of A.P. Indy
A P Indy’s son Marchfield, a former second leading first crop sire in Canada, was a dual champion and classic winner.
A millionaire, Marchfield shares his dual champion sire with the outstanding stallions Bernardini, Malibu Moon and Pulpit, as well as the very successful SA sire Judpot. Out of a Broodmare Of The Year, Marchfield is from the same family as former top class SA sires Home Guard and Peaceable Kingdom. He has five yearlings on sale including a colt out of a half sister to G1 winner Orbison (Lot 9), a filly out of a stakes winning 2yo from the family of Dansili and Banks Hill (Lot 177), and a filly whose stakes placed Dynasty sired dam is a granddaughter of champion League Title (Lot 295).
Oratorio – proven internationally
A leading sire in Europe with 8 international Gr1 winners and 70 Gr runners Oratorio, whose first yearlings have sold up to R3.2 million, has been immensely popular since arriving in South Africa.
A triple Gr1 winner and champion, by the great sire, and sire of sires, Danehill, Oratorio’s top performers include such champions as Banchee, Beethoven, Cherry Collect and Horse Of The Year Military Attack (the latter lines up in Sunday’s G1 QE II Cup in Hong Kong).
He has 15 lots on sale, including a colt out of G1 filly Felix The Cat (Lot 86), a colt out of Var’s Oaks winning daughter Princess Of Light (Lot 272), a colt out of G3 winner Purple Dragon, and a half sister to Derby winner Silvano’s Jet (Lot 351).
Twice Over
Twice Over was a magnificent performer and European Champion, whose 12 victories included four Gr1 races.
Third to the mighty Zenyatta in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the charismatic champ’s wins included a pair of wins in the Gr1 Champion Stakes, as well as both the G1 Coral Eclipse and G1 Juddmonte International. From the potent Mr Prospector male line, Twice Over is from the same family as US legend and outstanding stallion Damascus. He has 13 lots on sale including a filly out of Equus Champion Escoleta Fitz (Lot 75), a filly out of champion Monyela –a close relative of the great Horse Chestnut (Lot 220), a filly out of a half sister to millionaire Tales Of Bravery (Lot 336), and a half brother to QE II Cup runner Horse Of Fortune, whose dam is the top class racemare Sweet Virginia (Lot 367).
What A Winter – brilliant sprinter
Another outstanding Mr Prospector line sire with his first yearlings on sale this year, is triple Equus Champion What A Winter.
Himself a four time Gr1 winner who earned over R3 000 000 in stakes, What A Winter’s first crop have been in great demand in 2016, and the NYS should prove no exception.
A son of triple champion sire Western Winter and from the family of Big Game, Mossborough, Sickle, Sir Tristram and the mighty Hyperion, What A Winter has nine lots on offer.
These include a colt out of a Gr3 placed half sister to Gr2 winner Chant De Nuit (Lot38), a filly out of Medaglia D’Oro stakes winner Mina Salaam (Lot 212), a filly whose four time winning dam is a half sister to Gr1 winner African Appeal (Lot 250), and a half sister to Gr3 performer S’il Vous Plait whose relatives include 2016 Gr1 Lockinge contender Kodi Bear (Lot 322).
