The successful Captain Al sire Captain Of All moved from the Cape to Camargue Stud in the KZN midlands last season and has been a fine boost for KZN breeding.
As a racehorse the imposing three times Gr 1-winning Captain Of All was at one stage rated the second best sprinter in the world and yet he throws classic horses among the speed horses, with three examples being the Vaughan Marshall-trained Linebacker, who after being very unlucky to not win the Gr 1 Cape Guineas won the Gr 1 Cape Derby and the Gr 1 Daily News 2000, and he finished second in all of the Durban July, the Met and the Gold Challenge, the current top filly Fiery Pegasus, who has won the Gr 1 SA Fillies Classic over 1800m and Gr 2 SA Oaks over 2450m, and Shango, who won the Gr 2 Dingaans as well as the Gr 3 Hollywoodbets 2200 and the Gr 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup over 2400m.
However, Captain of All also throws precocious speed, and has produced a Gr 2 SA Fillies Nursery winner, the Paul Peter-trained Springs Of Carmel.
This precociouness can be witnessed in his two-year-old runners this season.
The Sean Tarry-trained Klawervlei Stud-bred two-year-old Captain Al filly Alta Capitana runs in the colours of big owner Laurence Wernars and after a good winning debut over 1160m she lines up in the Highveld Juvenile Winter Fillies Stakes over 1400m on Sunday.
Another promising Captain Of All juvenile is the Weiho Marwing-trained Sister Golden Hair, who after not being disgraced in her first two starts behind the smart peformers Elegantrix and Tenjiku respectively has reeled off two wins and a second in her next three starts.
The Candice Bass-Robinson-trained two-year-old Captain Of All filly Du Maurier has finished second in both starts and should win soon.
Captain Of All is also sire of the Tony Peter-trained two-year-old Captain Selvie, who has a win and a second in three starts and his formlines have been working out well. He also runs in the colours of a big owner, Kenneth Pillay’s Kestorm Investments.
In fact that is something noticeable about the Captain Of Alls at the Sales … not only do they fetch decent prices but they are sought after by big owners.
At the last BSA National Yearling Sale he had two lots, a colt and a filly, and they went for R325,000 and R400,000 respectively and the colt was bought by a big yard, Bass Racing.
Mark Bass also bought a Captain Of All colt at the Cape Racing Sales March Sale Day 1 for R100,000 and the other two Captain Of Alls on that Sale went for R250,000 and R450,000 respectively.
That Sale would have come hard on the heels of some good perfomances by his Piet Steyn-trained gelding Meu Capitano, who beat Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot by two lengths over 1400m on WSB Met day when receiving just 4,5kg and he went on to finish third in the Listed Jet Master Stakes behind one of the most exciting horses in the country, The Real Prince.
At last year’s BSA Cape Yearling Sale Bass Racing bought a Captain Of All filly for R320,000. He only had five on that Sale and one did not reach his reserve of R500,000, while three of them went for R300,000 or more.
Captain Of All sold eight at last year’s BSA Yearling Sale for an average of R326,825 and among the notable buyers were Hollywood Racing, who bought two of them, Justin Vermaak, , Grant Knowles, Kestorm Investments, Andy Williams and Garth Puller.
At Last year’s Cape Racing Sales Premier Yearling Sale Captain Of All’s five lots averaged R260,000 and one of them which went for R450,000 was purchased by big owner Greg Bortz. The other buyers were Justin Vermaak, Gulf Racing Club, Andrew Brand and Vaughan Marshall.
Dennis Drier was the trainer of Captain Of All and he won the Gr 1 Gold Medallion as a two-year-old, the Gr 1 Golden Horse Sprint as a four-year-old and the Gr 1 wfa Mercury Sprint in his final career start as a four-year-old.
He also finished a 0,30 length third in the Gr 1 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m as a two-year-old, was a shorthead runner up in the Gr 1 wfa Cape Flying Championship as a four-year-old and he was also third in the Gr 1 wfa Computaform Sprint that season.
His Mercury Sprint win was one of the finest sprint performances ever seen on a South African racecourse as he beat the five-times Gr 1-winning sprinter and subsequent Equus Champion Sprinter Carry On Alice by 4,50 lengths. That earned him the title of second best sprinter in the world as well as the Equus Champion Sprinter award.
Captain Of All has producd plenty of good sprinters or sprint-milers, including the stakes performers Captain Hindsight, Cartel Captain, What You Are, Captain’s Run, Kiss Me Captain, Trompie, Captain’s Christy, SA Nursery runner up Jerusaleema Rain, Meu Capitano, Ibhele, and more.
It has been something of a mystery how the Riverton Stud-bred Captain Of All has thrown so many who stay classic distances and staying trips, but John Koster of Klawervlei Stud, which was where Captain Of All peviously stood, reckoned it was the influence of the Engliash breeding close up in his female line as he revealed that many of the Captain Of Alls have the rangy conformation of an English thoroughbred as oppposed to Captain Of All’s short-coupled, strongly built conformation.
Captain Of All arrived at Camargue Stud halfway through last season and will have first class care from one of racing’s most passionate industryman, Brett van Laun.
Brett said the handsome bay stallion had settled into his job well and he is looking forward to the new career of the only son of Captain Al to be standing in the renowned KZN Midlands breeding region.
