Three-year-old What A Winter gelding Stratospheric has always been an eyecatching individual and a move to the Highveld to take advantage of their right-handed galloping courses was always going to be interesting.
It turned out to be more than interesting because the imposing, long-striding individual relished both the course and new front-running tactics to win the second race over 1400m at the Turffontein Standside twilight meeting today by 9,25 lengths.
He did not beat much but stopped the clock in 85,09 seconds, 1,87 seconds better than the class average despite a penetrometer reading of 23, which can not be called fast going.
It not often one sees a horse going fast out in front up the taxing Turffontein Standside hill and still maintaining a gallop all the way to the line.
It is also not often anybody will be excited about a horse who has won at the tenth time of asking.
However, he has only ever once missed the frame despite facing the like of Charles Dickens, Seeking The One, Champion Warrior, Montien etc.
He also relished going right-handed on a galloping course and being allowed to stride out in front and of course it also highlighted how strong Cape Town maidens are.
The big Drakenstein Stud-bred gelding has an excellent pedigree on his side.
He is out of the Jet Master mare Stratos, who rattled off a Graded race hattrick for Mike Azzie in the 2007/2008 season, winning the Grade 3 Yellowwood Handicap over 1800m, the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge over 1600m and the Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes over 1600m in successive races.
At stud Stratos has, among others, produced the useful Graded-placed Abercrombie and the talented but enigmatic Orpheus, who showed how good he potentially was when winning the Listed Sledgehammer over 1800m on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly by 6,75 lengths.
Suzette Viljoen is the owner of Stratospheric and will now have good reason to be optimistic about the future for the R800,000 Cape Premier Yearling Sale purchase.
