Picture : Just Be Lekker, a granddaughter of Judpot, will be a leading contender for the R600,000 Cape Racing Sales Ready To Run Stakes on October 21 at Hollywoodbets Durbanville (JC Photos)
The retired Varsfontein stallion Judpot has showed his worth this season.
On Saturday a grandson and a granddaughter of his put in eye catching performances.
His grandson Main Defender has become the joint highest rated three-year-old male in the land after slamming them by 6,50 lengths in the Gr 2 Betway Jo’Burg Spring Challenge over 1450m.
The Tony Peter-trained Jagessar Limited Pathfork gelding is out of the Judpot mare Alessia, who was a twice winner over 1600m on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly. Interestingly, she is from the family of the Judpot Gr 1 Golden Horseshoe winner Forest Indigo.
In the previous race on Saturday Judpot’s granddaughter Just Be Lekker finished a fine third in the Gr 2 Betway Jo’Burg Spring Fillies and Mares Challenge, beaten just 1,30 lengths by the hard-knocking Gr 1 performer Feather Boa, whom she faced on weight for age terms.
The Candice Dawson-trained three-year-old William Longsword filly was unlucky too as she hit the rail at the top of the straight and had to to be regathered by Philasande Mxoli.
Her next mission will likely be the Cape Racing Sales Ready To Run Stakes over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on October 21, where the one to beat will likely be the Sean Tarry-trained Tail Of The Comet, who is by Varsfontein’s champion stallion Gimmethegreenlight.
Meanwhile, Just Be Lekker’s half-sister by Captain Of All, the Wendy Whitehead-trained Fort J’Adore, has already reeled off a hattrick this season in just three runs from 1200m to 1400m, two of them on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly and one on the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf.
Fort J’Adore and Just Be Lekker are both bred by the Ralphs Syndicate and are out of the Judpot mare Polly Wolly Doodle, a four-time winner from 1400m to 1800m.
Just Be Lekker is raced by Ralphs Racing and this progressive sort looks to have a bright future ahead of her.
Judpot as damsire has had seven winners of nine races from 34 runners this season and his earnings per runner of R31,032 is the highest in the country for damsires with more than thirty runners.
The A. P. Indy stallion made a flying start to his stallion career with two Gr 1 winners in his first crop, Along Came Polly and Forest Indigo, and two in his third crop, Coral Fever and Juxtapose.
He had one other Gr 1 winner, Flying Carpet.
In all he had 17 stakes winners and was an underrated stallion.