Klawervlei Stud’s John Koster was thrilled to witness the Equus Horse Of The Year award being presented to the connections of Captain’s Ransom, who is a daughter of the late great Captain Al.
The current success of Klawervlei was built on Captain Al’s potency as a stallion.
John said, “Captain’s Ransom winning Horse Of The Year has capped a stellar stallion career for her sire Captain Al. With 25 individual G1 winners, he has been a breed shaper in the SA stud book. This award confirms his legacy as one of the great home bred stallions ever.”
Captain’s Ransom was involved in an epic battle for the Horse Of The Year Award with her Justin Snaith-trained stablemate Jet Dark (Trippi).
The latter won two prestigious weight for age Grade 1’s, the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the HKJC World Pool Champions Cup, and he also finished second with topweight in the country’s most famous race, the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
However, Captain’s Ransom was the only horse of the season to win as many as four Grade 1s (the Cartier Paddock Stakes (1800m), the Schweppes Majorca Stakes (1600m), the SA Fillies Sprint (1200m) brought to you by The Witness and the Mercury Sprint (1200m).
Her amazing finishing burst from seemingly beaten positions also endeared her to the public.
It might well have been the public who swung it her way as she did finish two points (152 points to 154) behind Jet Dark on the points table.