Is SA Lacking A Sprinting Sire?

Boland Stud’s Harry Hotspur, born in 1971, was an iconic sprinting sire in South Africa (Boland Stud).

Is there a possible gap in the market in SA for a sprinting sire, or of a sire at least capable of producing a world class sprinter.

There are speed sires aplenty, but are their any sires like Mexico II and his son Harry Hotspur, Drum Beat, Golden Thatch, National Assembly and his son National Emblem, Western Winter, Jet Master, Captain Al and Var, among others, who could always be relied on to produce a good batch of sprinters and were capable of producing a world class one?

There appears to have been a steady decline in the sprinting class in the last few seasons considering this century South African breeding has produced the like of Nhlavini (National Emblem), National Colour (National Assembly), Mythical Flight (Jet Master out of a Harry Hotspur mare), J J The Jet Plane (Jet Master), Val De Ra (Var), Shea Shea (National Emblem), What A Winter (Western Winter), Via Africa (Var) and Carry On Alice (Captain Al).

What A Winter and Captain of All are two Equus Sprint champions retired to stud and the former would likely be the closest we have to a sprinting sire, but his crops are quite versatile, although not as versatile as Captain Of All’s or Rafeef’s (the latter being another winner of a SA Grade 1 sprint who is now at stud).

Two of What A Winter’s three Grade 1 winners are sprinters but Warrior’s Rest and Russet Air are hardly in the class of National Colour, Mythical Flight and J J The Jet Plane et al.

Is it time to try and source a top overseas sprinter for stud duties in South Africa?