Picture: The Paardeberg yearlings have spent most of their lives running out together and have never been stabled, so look well grown and good boned, like lot 263, a Master Of My Fate filly (via Meta)
If a hardy yearling, who is going to withstand the rigours of racing, is what buyers are looking for then the first ever draft sent to the BSA National Yearling Sale by the country’s newest stud farm, Paardeberg Stud, will be a good option.
Paardeberg shareholder and stud manager, Sally Bruss, has vast experience in breeding thoroughbreds and revealed, “The interesting part about these yearlings is they have never been stabled. Usually yearlings are prepared by keeping them stabled for months, being closed up and mollycoddled and hand-walking them and hardly turning them out … this lot have never seen the inside of a stable.”
These yearlings were born at Sorrento, where Sally resided and managed the stud during a short partnership with Sorrento Stud Farm.
She continued, “They are all nice yearlings. It is interesting because they have continued to run together in their groups in the paddock and have never been separated. I think they look really healthy and robust and well grown. Excercise grows the muscular skeletal system and a number of people have said to me, ‘Wow, they are well grown, with good bone’ and I’m wondering in years to come whether it will sink in that we confine young horses too much, for too long … after all, excercise is the best thing for a young horse.”
The yearling colts pictured together in February
Sally was the stud manager of leading breeder Lammerskraal Stud for many years and she revealed, “I have always disliked sending babies into training too soon, because they are standing in the stables at least 22 hours per day. How good can that be for them? At Lammerskraal we broke in all our two-year-olds and I sent them in when I believed them to be mature enough. The two-year-olds still ran together. We used to go and fetch them early in the morning to give them a brush and excercise them before putting them back in the paddock rather than them standing an additional six months in a stable while waiting to get fit enough to race. It is more beneficial for a young, developing racehorse to be out in the paddock, moving as much as possible, rather than standing in a box or being confined on its own to a tiny ring.”
She said, “I am happy with the string. They are all athletic, well-made horses and travelled well up to the Sales ground (arrived at 04H30 on Tuesday morning).”
Paardeberg have sent up a string of ten horses to the Sale.
Four of them are by Master Of My Fate (two colts and two fillies), one is by One World (colt), one by Querari (colt), one by Rafeef (filly), one by Soqrat (filly), one by The United States and one by What A Winter.
Their first lot is Lot 16, a Master Of My Fate colt out of Listed placed What A Winter mare What A Player, who has had one runner by Vercingetorix, Storm Player, who won by 5,25 lengths second time out. This colt is from the family of Kodi Bear (Kodiac), who won the Gr 2 Celebration Mile at the Glorious Goodwood meeting in 2015 (This yearling’s second dam is a half-sister to the dam of Kodi Bear).
Lot 35 is a filly by The United States out of Listed-winning 1200m to 1400m mare Comtesse Dubois, who is from the family of the like of Gr 2 winners Biarritz, Outstanding Star and Kapil.
Lot 188 is a Master Of My Fate colt out of Listed winner over 1800m Insignis (Go Deputy), who is from the family of the like of dual Gr 1-winning champion Ice Cube and Gr 2 winner Jagged Ice.
Lot 192 is a Querari colt out of Gr 3-placed Izora (Western Winter), who is a three-parts sister to Equus Champion Spinter (Russett Air) and an own sister to the dam of dual Gr 1 winner Make It Snappy.
Lot 210 is a One World colt out of a twice-wining Western Winter mare whose second dam is Gr 2 winner Trojan Belle, who is a half-sister to Gr 1 Cape Guineas winner Little Ballerina (Truely Nureyev).
Lot 254 is a What A Winter filly out of a Oratorio Gr 2 runner up, who is from the family of Triple Crown winner Abashiri and Equus Horse Of The Year Yard-Arm.
Lot 263 is a Master Of My Fate filly who is out of a twice-winning full-sister to the dam of Lot 210 (see above).
Lot 264 is a Rafeef filly, who is out of a placed Captain Al mare and this filly is a half-sister to the smart Gr 3-winning speedster Strawberry Bear (Flying Flag) and from the family of the like of champion sprinter Nhlavini and Gr 1 winner Mystery Guest.
Lot 312 is a Soqrat filly out of a three-time winning What A Winter mare and this filly’s third dam is the top broodmare Nacarat, dam of Gr 1 winners Red Ray and Nania and four other stakes winners.
Lot 378 is a Master Of My Fate filly who is out of a five-time winning Go Deputy mare, who is from the family of July winner Royal Chalice and Gr 1 winners like Set Afire, Rudra, Red Ray, Nania.
Meanwhile, Paardeberg’s British-bred imported stallion Expert Eye looks to have a promising colt in France called Rock Hunter. This smart Amy Murphy-trained colt, who is out of a Dutch Art mare, won by three lengths over five furlongs at Chantilly on debut.
Sally said about the Acclamation stallion, “He has settled down nicely. He made a very good impression at our open day and we sold some more shares in him after the day.”
The finishing touches are being put to the state of the art barn on the farm, so everything will be in place by the new breeding season.
