Picture: The mighty three-times national champion sire Gimmethegreenlight
Varsfontein Stud are not only celebrating their 50th anniversary at the moment but also their best ever season.
They are coming off their top amount of earnings ever (Varsfontein Stud progeny raked in R22,153,894), their highest ever position on the national Breeders log (third), their best ever number of stakes winner (14) and stakes wins (21) and their resident stallion Gimmethegreenlight was champion stallion for the third time and he repeated his feat of also being leading stalllion of three-year-olds and two-year-olds, a treble achievement in one season that had never been done before since at least 1953, if not ever, and he has now done it twice.
Gimmethegreenlight is getting on a bit, so had his book limited to 95 mares last year and he will cover the same amount this year.
His young four-year-old son Sandringham Summit is fully booked and will start covering in about two weeks time (the covering season starts in September).
Stud manager Carl de Vos said about Sandringham Summit, “He’s settled in nicely, he’s still a bit babyish, but he will be alright. He’s very popular and is full, he’s got a very nice book.”
Master Of My Fate (Jet Master) finished fourth on the national sires log last season and it was his fourth successive top five finish, with a high of second place to colleague Gimmethegreenlight happening in the 2020/2021 season.
He is popular and so is Erik The Red (Captain Al), who had 14 lots sold at the BSA National Yearling Sale for an average of R392,857.
Carl said about those two stallions, “We are very fortunate, they are well booked, but you see they are well syndicated.”
Carl and his team are very busy at present with foaling season having started and they are preparing 20 lots for next week’s BSA August Two-year-old Sale, 17 of their own and three as agent.
Of their own 17 their are eight by Gimmethegreenlight, four by Master Of My Fate, two by Erik The Red, one by boom sire Vercingetorix, one by the new kid on the block One World and one by Danon Platina.
Lot 293 is an interesting Gimme colt being out of a three time-winning Judpot mare who is a half-sister to Erik The Red.
Lot 330 is sure to attract interest too being by Gimme out of the Listed-winning Jet Master mare Touch The Sky, who is a daughter of the matriarch and champion broodmare Mystic Spring. This grey colt is a full brother to the Varsfontein homebred filly Rotunda, who ran eleven times for the Peter Muscutt yard for two wins, three seconds, three thirds, a fourth and a fifth.
Lot 228 is a Gimme colt who is closely related to Master Of My Fate. He is out of an unraced full-sister to the Gr 3-winning Dynasty filly Hastagyolo, who in turn was out of a Jallad half-sister to Master Of My Fate.
The Vercingetorix Varsfontein are selling is a also going to attract a lot of buyers. This colt, Lot 180, is out of the successful Fort Wood broodmare Justthewayyouare, who is a half-sister to Master Of My Fate. That makes this colt a half-brother to Triple Crown winner and now sire Malmoos.
The One World colt Varsfontein are selling, Lot 86, also has an interesting pedigree. He is out of an unraced British-bred Camelot mare who is a half-sister to Fastnet Rock filly Tenerife Song, who was the champion three-year-old filly in Turkey.
An Erik The Red colt who will attract some interest is Lot 257 as he is out of a Jallad half-sister to Gypsy’s Warning and he himself is a half-brother to Gimmethegreenlight Listed-winning filly Queen Forever.
A Master Of My Fate colt who is beautifully bred and up for sale is Lot 91, a colt out of a Var twice-winning half-sister to both Gr 1 winner Juxtapose (Judpot) and to the current exciting Listed-winning speedster Pineapplemintgreen (Gimmethegreenlight). His dam is also a half-sister to the Captain Al mare Sun Sentinel, dam of the crack East Cape filly Luna Halo.
