Can Erik The Red become another Captain Al sire sensation like One World? (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Sarah Whitelaw
Last season, One World ran rampant over his fellow first crop stallions in South Africa. Not only did the Klawervlei Stud bred champion son of Captain Al end the season as South Africa’s Leading First Season Sire, but One World ended the 2023-2024 season as South Africa’s second sire of two-year-olds by prize money.
The Drakenstein Stud resident, who set a new South African record for the number of juvenile winners for a first season sire in a South African season, was the country’s Leading Sire of 2YOs by winners (30) in 2023-2024. The Equus Champion also made his mark in various juvenile feature races last season, with One World colt One Stripe landing both the G3 City Of Cape Town Cape Of Good Hope Nursery and G3 Winter Nursery, and One World two-year-olds Lion Rampart, also second to One Stripe in the Winter Nursery, and Miss World finishing first and second respectively in the Listed Somerset 1200.
Inevitably, One World’s progeny were in high demand in sales rings across the country in 2024. The Met winning champion was the Leading Sire, by Aggregate, at the 2024 KZN Yearling Sale, while a pair of One World colts made R900 000 apiece to jointly top this year’s Cape Yearling Sale.
It remains to be seen if this season unveils another dominant first season stallion, but there are, without question, a number of extremely exciting sires represented by their first runners this season.
DECLARATIONOFPEACE
War Front -Serena’s Cat
He will be looking to follow in the hoofsteps of the likes of War Front sons Lancaster Bomber and Fire Away, who were first and third Leading First Season Sires, respectively, in South Africa in 2022-2023.
Declarationofpeace, whose three career wins all came at the age of two, was himself a precocious two-year-old who got off the mark at the second time of asking when scoring by six lengths over five furlongs at Dundalk. He would go on to contest the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes, G1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes and G1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes before claiming the Listed Qatar Juvenile Turf Sprint Stakes at Del Mar that same season. Declarationofpeace, who shares his sire War Front with champion two-year-olds Air Force Blue, Brave Anna, and U S Navy Flag, is a half-brother to US champion Honor Code (sire of G1 winners Honor A.P., Max Player and Maracuja), and late Cape sire, and dual graded stakes winner, Noble Tune.
Declarationofpeace, bred to come up with some quick two-year-olds, has some very well bred two-year-olds in his first crop including a half-sister to high-class sprinters Bartholdi and Bohica, a half-sister to champion Lady In Black, and a colt whose dam is a three time winning half-sister to 2020 G3 World Sports Betting Gold Cup winner Paths Of Victory. The latter was sired by Declarationofpeace’s half-brother Noble Tune.
ERIK THE RED
Captain Al -Covenant
Erik The Red shares his outstanding sire Captain Al with the aforementioned One World as well as proven Grade One sires Captain Of All and William Longsword. Bred on the same Captain Al/Western Winter cross as G1 winners Carry On Alice and Tap O’ Noth, Erik The Red is one of five winners produced by the top-class Western Winter mare Covenant. A half-sister to the champion dam of successful sire Master Of My Fate, Covenant won seven times, from 1000m to 1600m, winning all of the G1 Majorca Stakes, G2 Southern Cross Stakes and G2 Sceptre Stakes (twice). She is not only dam of Erik The Red but also exported G1 Gold Medallion runner up Varallo, who has also been successful in Hong Kong, and the stakes placed Scandola. A daughter of Fort Wood, Scandola has also enjoyed success at stud, having producing 2022 G2 Western Cape Fillies Championship third Gimme’s Lassie and the latter’s G2 World Pool With Gold Circle Debutante winning own-sister Cala Muretta. Scandola is also dam of promising three-year-old Roccapina, who followed up a runner up effort on debut with an impressive maiden win before just being beaten into second on her only other outing. As a daughter of One World, Roccapina is very closely related to Erik The Red.
Himself a speedy, precocious sort, who won graded stakes at both two and three, Erik The Red won six of ten starts including the G2 Cape Thoroughbred Sales Cape Merchants, G2 Epol Umkhomazi Stakes and G3 Kepu Cape Of Good Hope Nursery.
Bred on similar lines to the Captain Al sired Triple Crown winning sire Malmoos, Erik The Red has a large number of well bred two-year-olds representing him this season. John Freeman, who manages Erik The Red, is very pleased with what he has seen of Erik The Red’s first crop, saying, “The Erik babies are mostly well made and they were well supported at sales to all provinces and a wide range of trainers which is appreciated. Some will hopefully be as precocious as he was. However seeing how scopey some of them are, like the big colt I bought for my new syndicate Pegasus who we expect will take a bit of time, I expect that quite a few will be more than sprinters.”
HAWWAAM
Silvano -Halfway To Heaven
Hawwaam has plenty to recommend him as a stallion. A son of six time South African champion sire Silvano, he is a five time G1 winning champion of triple Broodmare Of The Year Halfway To Heaven, a daughter of seven time South African Champion Sire Jet Master. A winner of ten of 13 starts, including five Grade One wins, Hawwaam shares his sire with current boom stallion Vercingetorix. Like Hawwaam (not to mention the late,great Dynasty), Vercingetorix won the G1 Daily News 2000, and has proved consistently one of the best stallions in South Africa.
The brilliant Hawwaam, a half-brother to 2020-2021 South African Horse Of The Year Rainbow Bridge and to G1 ARF Commemorative Cape Derby/G1 World Sports Betting CHampions Cup winner Golden Ducat, won no fewer than eight graded stakes races during his career, including the G1 Premier’s Champions Challenge (twice), G1 Daily News 2000, G1 S A Classic, and G1 H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes.
Remarkably, between them, Hawwaam, Rainbow Bridge and Golden Ducat won 12 Grade One races!
Hawwaam, bred on the same Silvano/Jet Master cross as fellow G1 winners Kilindini, Silver Darling, and Silvano’s Pride is a full-brother to R7 000 000 yearling buy and 2024 Listed Kings Cup runner up Celestial City, himself now standing at stud.
Wilgerbosdrift’s Shane Van Zyl was very upbeat about Hawwaam’s first crop, having the following to say about his charge’s progeny.”I think he throws a very classy looking horse with scope and a bit of substance, and good conformation.” The son of Silvano has some regally bred two-year-olds in his first crop including Sparkling Rose, a three-parts brother to July winning champion Sparkling Water and the smart Champagne Cocktail.
SUMMA CUM LAUDE
Vercingetorix -First Arrival
Sadly destined to be represented by just a handful of runners, the unraced Summa Cum Laude was the first son of star sire Vercingetorix to be retire to stud. Summa Cum Laude lacks nothing in terms of pedigree. Not only does he share his sire with such G1 winners as Cousin Casey, Oriental Charm and Surjay, but Summa Cum Laude is a son of star producer and Zimbabwe champion First Arrival. A daughter of champion sire and multiple leading broodmare sire Northern Guest, First Arrival, Spey Bridge Champion 3YO Filly of 1999, was an outstanding broodmare, whose ten winners included an impressive six stakes winners.
First Arrival produced a pair of Equus Champions, and G1 winners, in the form of Let’s Rock’N Roll (Champion 3YO Male Sprinter) and In The Fast Lane (Champion 3YO Filly), with the latter dam of speedy young sire Real Gone Kid and his G2 placed full-sister Stiptelik.
First Arrival’s four other stakes winner include Light The Lights (G2 Pensinula Handicap, G3 Abu Dhabi Championship) and the classy Keep On Dancing. A Silvano three-parts sister to Summa Cum Laude, Keep On Dancing won the 2021 G2 Track And Ball Oaks, 2021 Listed KRA East Coast Cup and 2021 Listed Off To Stud Stakes.
Summa Cum Laude’s fourth dam is top racemare and producer Party Time, whose numerous high-class descendants include Consumer Credit, Trademark and Lady Radler -all of whom won graded stakes races in North America. Other stars descended in female line from Party Time include Morisco, Lambarina, Sally Bowles, Heaps Of Fun, Chestnuts N Pearls, and Out Of Your League.
Unfortunately, Summa Cum Laude met with a setback early on his stud career, with Cathy Hadlow saying of the blue blood, “He had little support in his first season. The foals he did get were beautiful. The next year he got more support but became infertile. Those foals were also beautiful.”
