This good looking Gold Standard foal is out of Fly To The Moon (Holy Roman Emperor), who is the dam of Hold My Hand (Picture Supplied)
Drakenstein Stud’s son of Trippi, Gold Standard, is undoubtedly one of the best value stallions in the country at the moment and looks ideal for the small breeder.
He stands at R7,500 for a live foal.
That is amazing value for a horse who has two of the top six highest rated four-year-old fillies in the land and who has fetched prices as high as R650,000 at the sales.
Gold Standard also throws exceptionally good looking foals.
In fact this season Drakenstein Stud rate their best looking foal on the ground to be a Gold Standard (pictured above).
Another reason to support him is as a legacy to the iconic stallion Trippi, who made Drakenstein in to the record-breaking Champion Breeders and Champion Owners they are today.
Trippi has just been retired, so his crop being born at present will be his last.
Gold Standard had a mere 36 mares in his first crop and yet two of them, the Glen Kotzen-trained filly Hold My Hand and the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained filly Golden Hostess are merit rated over 110, while the Bass-Robinson-trained filly Gold Poker Game reached a merit rating of 102 and the Alec Laird-trained gelding Star Coin is merit rated 98.
Gold Poker Game is a Listed winner over 2000m (Tattersalls Jamaica Handicap at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth).
All three of the other aforementioned progeny are stakes placed.
Golden Hostess and Hold My Hand have been unlucky to not win a stakes race and they have a good chance of earning bold black type this season.
Golden Hostess has won two Non-Black Type events over 1400m and 1200m respectively and Hold My Hand was a narrow second to her in the 1400m event.
Golden Hostess and Hold My Hand have been most unlucky with draws in big races.
The one occasion Golden Hostess did land a good draw in a Grade 1 was in the weight for age Schweppes Majorca Stakes over a mile. She consequently finished third to two top class individuals, the twice Grade 1-winning Desert Miracle and the Equus Horse Of The Year Captain’s Ransom.
In the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas Hold My Hand was drawn 14 and finished third and Golden Hostess was drawn 12 and finished fourth.
They finished in the same order in the Gr 2 WSB Fillies Guineas and on that occasion there bad luck was not limited to bad draws (drawn 8 and 9 in a nine horse field). In an incident half way down the straight the rider of Hold My Hand appeared to drop his rein and the filly suddenly shifted sideways, interfering with a running on Golden Hostess. They had to be content with third and fourth respectively again.
Hold My Hand ran fourth from draw eleven in the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000, thus following in the footsteps of her father, who finished an excellent fourth as a three-year-old in the Met over that same 2000m trip (that was probably Gold Standard’s career equal best performance together with his eye catching half-a-length second to William Longsword in the Gr 1 Cape Guineas).
Golden Hostess also has a Gr 1 third over 1200m to her name, finishing behind Equus Horse Of The Year Princess Calla and Desert Miracle in the SA Fillies Sprint.
Both Golden Hostess and Hold My Hand are known for their fine turn of foot.
They are merit rated 117 and 112 respectively.
Star Coin has won three times from eight starts and he has a fourth place in a Listed race to his name.
He was subsequently beaten only 4,25 lengths from draw 15 in the Gr 1 WSB SA Classic.
He has not run since that race due to injury, but is being aimed at the Gr 1 R5 million Betway Summer Cup.
Gold Standard had two lots at the last Cape Racing Sales Premier Yearling Sale. His colt was bought by Hollywoodbets for R650,000, while the filly was sold to Glen Kotzen for R225,000.
Gold Standard has an outstanding pedigree.
Not only is he by Trippi, but his second dam is the legendary Terrance Millard-trained Olympic Duel, who won seven Gr 1s including the Met, Mainstay International and Champion Stakes against the boys and she also beat the boys in the Cape Guineas. She also won the SA Fillies Guineas and she won the Paddock Stakes twice.
Gold Standard’s mother Olympic Dam is by another legend in Model Man and although she did not excel on the racecourse she is a half-sister to Gr 1-winner Flying Duel and to stakes winners Lightning Duel and Supreme Duel.
Handsome bay Gold Standard looks to be the ideal stallion for the small breeder and Drakenstein Stud would welcome outside mares.