Quickstepgal would not have been around at all were it not for the patience and horse care of Marsh Shirtliff and David Hepburn-Brown of Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Marsh Shirtliff became a public figure in racing during the career of the great Mike Bass-trained Jet Master gelding Pocket Power and his famous white, blue and pinks colours were soon being seen at every Cape Town meeting and beyond.
The popular businessman is now making a name for himself as a breeder and has recently bred two Gr 1 winners, the Joe Soma-trained Captain Of All filly Fiery Pegasus, who won the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Classic by 4,75 lengths last year before her narrow victory in the Gr 2 SA Oaks, and the Tienie Prinsloo-trained Quickstepgal, who won last month’s Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas.
Quickstepgal has a particularly great story behind her and Marsh explained, “I raced her dam Victoriana (together with L Behrmann and Sir William Piggott-Brown). She was very well bred and like Pocket she was a Jet Master, so we expected a lot of her. But coming back from Durbanville races in the float, she went down and the whole partition fell on her and all of the other horses trampled her to the extent she could never race again.”
It was the September of her four-year-old year and she had won three races from 1100m to 1200m in 16 starts. She had placed second in the Gr 3 Champagne Stakes over 1200m in just her third career start as a young three-year-old.
It was touch and go on whether she would survive the accident at all as humane euthanasia was considered.
However, Marsh said, “We thought, ‘We will send her to the farm (to David Hepburn-Brown’s Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud) … let’s see if she recovers.’ She had damaged her back, but she slowly recovered and so we then tried to get her in foal, because she has fantastic blood.”
Victoriana’s half-sister Hammies Hooker (Trippi) and her three-parts brother Gem King (Master Of My Fate) proved, after Victoriana’s racing career was over, how good her pedigree was.
About a year after the accident Victoriana got in foal and she miraculously gave birth to her first foal at Hemel ‘N Aarde almost exactly two years after the accident.
The accident happened on September 29, 2009, and the birth of her first foal was on September 21, 2011.
Victoriana’s first foal was a filly by Marsh’s part-owned hero Jay Peg, who remains the highest earner in South African thoroughbred history having brought in over R40 million in stakes.
However, the first foal only raced once, while the second foal, also a filly by Jay Peg, was placed but did not win.
Victoriana’s first winner was her third foal, a filly by Trippi who won once over 1400m.
Her fifth foal by What A Winter was her first colt and he won three times from 1000m to 1100m.
Quickstepgal was Victoriana’s eighth foal and her seventh filly. She was the result of a cover by the record-breaking stallion phenomenon Vercingetorix.
Marsh sent Quickstepgal to the BSA KZN Yearling Sale and that was where small yard Summerveld trainer Tienie Prinsloo famously took one look at her and said to his wife it was time to go home and when she asked why, he replied, “I’ve found my horse.”
Rakesh Singh purchased Quickstepgal on Tienie’s advice and secured her for what has proved to be a bargain R450,000, especially considering her full sister went for a Sales-topping R1.3 million at last year’s KZN Yearling Sale, purchased by Jonathan Snaith.
Rakesh sold Quickstepgal while in training to the Laurence Wernars family and Harry Willson.
Marsh is set to send Victoriana’s Fire Away yearling filly to this year’s KZN Yearling Sale and Victoriana is currently in foal to Vercingetorix again, although that foal could well be her last foal.
Victoriana shows no sign of discomfort these days, unlike when first arriving on the farm at which stage she had to be closely monitored because she tended to drag her one leg due to the aftermath of the back injury.
Fiery Pegasus’s dam called Scorched is also by Jet Master.
David Hepburn-Brown bought her after she had already produced a few foals including Gr 2 Dingaans winner Shango (Captain Of All), who also won two Gr 3s, as well as the twice Gr 2 third-placed Captain And Master (Captain Al).
Marsh’s first foray with Scorched was actually when he pinhooked her Captain Al son Captain And Master, buying him as a weanling for R340,000 and getting about double that price when the handsome colt was purchased off the Emperor’s Palace Yearling Sale.
David and Marsh went in 50/50 with Scorched after David had purchased her.
Fiery Pegasus was about the third foal they had with her.
Fiery Pegasus was purchased for R330,000 at the BSA National Yearling Sale.
Scorched’s producing days are now over.
