Oriental Charm shows true courage to get up in the Hollywoodbets Durban July (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Sarah Whitelaw
Few, if any, of the young stallions standing at stud in South Africa today have as much going for them as does Oriental Charm.
A top-class son of South Africa’s reigning champion sire Vercingetorix, Oriental Charm won from 1250m to 2200m during a career which saw Oriental Charm earn more than R5.17 million in prize money.
The bay also hails from one of the greatest families in the stud book, with Oriental Charm’s numerous top-class relatives including such breed shaping stallions as Danehill, Halo, Machiavellian and Northern Dancer.
An uber game galloper, Oriental Charm finished first, second or third in seven graded stakes, with his graded stakes wins headed by the 2024 G1 Hollywoodbets Durban July. In that race, the three-year-old Oriental Charm accounted for champions Cousin Casey, Royal Victory and Green With Envy, as well as the likes of See It Again, Double Superlative and Purple Pitcher.
At four, Oriental Charm showed his class when he won the G2 World Sports Betting Green Point Stakes before going on to finish runner up in both the G1 World Sports Betting Cape Town Met and G1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge.
Oriental Charm’s sire Vercingetorix was Champion Sire in South Africa in 2024-2025, when he also headed the Leading Sires of 2YOs and 3YOs premiership. The champion son of Silvano was responsible for an astonishing 23 black type winners in South Africa last season, with this tally including such G1 winners as Double Grand Slam, Mia Moo and Gladatorian.
To date, Vercingetorix has been responsible for 62 stakes winners, with this tally including champions Cousin Casey, Double Grand Slam, Mrs Geriatrix and Nebraas.
His son Oriental Charm was produced by the smart racemare Souk, a three time winner who ran second in the Listed Sweet Chestnut Stakes.
A daughter of the Zabeel sired July winning champion Greys Inn, Souk is out of the Strike Smartly mare Tagine, a full-sister to G1 SA Derby winner Bouquet-Garni.
Souk, whose granddam Bay Tree is a full-sister to both multiple G3 winner Queen’s Bay and the dam of G2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks winner Frances Ethel, is directly descended in female line from Futurity Stakes winner Mother Goose, one of the most important broodmares in the stud book.
Not only is Mother Goose the ancestress of legendary sires Danehill, Northern Dancer, Halo and Machiavellian, her descendants also include another highly successful sire in the form of Arctic Tern, as well as such top-class gallopers Bago, Cannonade, Chou Croute, Coup De Genie, Denebola, La Prevoyante, Maxios, and 2024 G1 Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River.
Another top-class member of this family is Sajiyr, winner of both the G1 ARC Prix Maurice de Gheest and G3 Blandford Bloodstock Abernant Stakes in 2025.
Oriental Charm has settled in well to stud life, and is enjoying life at Drakenstein Stud. He was quick to learn in the covering shed, and is a horse with a great temperament and libido. Should his progeny inherit any of their sire’s talent and heart, then Oriental Charm will enjoy a very successful career at stud indeed!
