Dual Gr 2-winning Brave Tin Soldier mare Running Brave with her Vercingetorix colt (Picture supplied)
Alex de Wet is believed to be South Africa’s youngest stud manager and he is excitedly awaiting the Fire Away sibling of Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Oriental Charm at Owloon Stud, which he manages for the German investor Christian Elleke.
Meanwhile, a stunning looking Vercingetorix colt was born at Owloon to the gallant former Fanie Bonkhorst-trained Brave Tin Soldier mare Running Brave, who was known for her front-running courage and her good partnership with Muzi Yeni.
Owloon Stud is a boutique stud based in Rheebokskloof Valley, Paarl.
It is in capable hands because despite Alex’s youth he is steeped in thoroughbred breeding.
He is the son of experienced Prosper Stud owner Jikkie de Wet.
Christian Elleke is new to the game having just started out four years ago (he started Owloon Stud four years ago) and is going to race and breed.
The horses he has in training at present are mostly in partnership with Gary Player.
Owloon Stud will have their first homebred runners next year.
Owloon have 14 mares in all and apart from Hollywoodbets Durban July-winning producer Souk and dual Gr 2-winning mare Running Brave they also have the like of Gr 1 third-placed Snow Palace (Potala Palace) and multiple Graded-placed five-time winner Flichity By Farr (Go Deputy).
They bought most of their mares off the track.
A number of them have Gr 1-winning relatives.
Oriental Charm, who was bred by Vaughan Koster’s Cheveley Stud, is a son of the 2010-born Greys Inn mare Souk.
Souk was a three-time winner from 1200m to 1600m and was a runner up in the Listed Sweet Chestnut Stakes over 1400m.
Oriental Charm was her fourth foal.
Souk was later moved to Anton Shepherd’s Beaumont Stud.
Anton sold Souk to Owloon Stud after Oriental Charm’s July heroics.
Souk arrived at the Paarl Boutique stud farm in foal to Fire Away and is due to foal down in the next two to three weeks.
Souk has a very deep pedigree and boasts Spring Adieu, a Buckpasser half-sister to the mighty Northern Dancer, as her fifth dam, while Sir Tristram, one of Australasia’s greatest ever sires, is on her top line.
There is plenty of black type in Souk’s family which boasts the like of SA Derby winner Bouquet-Garni close up and further down there is dual Gr 1 winner Ace High as well as this year’s SA Oaks winner Frances Ethel.
Fire Away has produced five stakes winners from just two crops to race to date.
Meanwhile, Vercingetorix and Running Brave were an ideal match as they bring the famous Nijinsky II – Storm Bird cross.
Vercingetorix has Nijinsky on his top line and Running Brave has Storm Bird on his top line.
Pedigree expert Ken McLean predicted in the 1980s that the combination of Nijinsky II and the similarly bred Storm Bird would one day be a potent one. At the time, Storm Cat — Storm Bird’s most important stallion son — had yet to cover a mare and as McLean pointed out, the cross was likely to be at it’s most effective when it had receded to the third and fourth generations of the pedigree, and beyond, so the prophecy took some time to reach fruition.
By 2008 the cross had produced 120 stakes winners, at least 60 of them graded and 20 grade I.
The Vercingetorix – Running Brave mating brings the Nijinsky – Storm Bird Cross 4 X 3.
Furthermore, both Vercingetorix and Running Brave had tremendous fighting spirit on the track, so this Owloon colt is sure to attract a lot of interest at the sales one day.
See more pictures of Running Brave and her Vercingetorix foal below:
Owloon, like most stud farms, will sell most of their colts and keep some of their fillies.
They are close to being a name on the race track and at the sales and look likely to produce good quality racehorses.
