by Sarah Whitelaw

Red Saxon’s thrilling victory in Saturday’s G1 WSB SA Classic provided his sire Red Ray with a notable first G1 success.

Winner of five races, Red Ray scored his biggest career win when victorious in the 2016 G1 Mercury Sprint, and finished second or third in five other G1 races.

A very classy two-year-old himself, Red Ray won his first three starts impressively -including the Listed Somerset 1200 (a race also won by South Africa’s reigning champion sire Gimmethegreenlight) and was game when runner up to Willow Magic in the G1 SA Nursery of 2013.

However, Red Ray put up arguably his finest performance on the track when thrashing subsequent Horse Of The Year Legislate when victorious in the 2013 G3 Elusive Fort Cape Classic.

Red Saxon hails from his sire’s first crop, with this crop also responsible for smart filly Alula’s Star and useful Zimbabwe galloper Manvir, while another from this crop, Sting Ray, saluted for a third time when victorious at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Monday.

Red Ray joins Capetown Noir (Bohica, Under Your Spell) and What A Winter (Clouds Unfold, Russet Air, Warrior’s Rest) as sons of Western Winter to have produced at least one G1 winner at stud.

One of the best stallions to stand at stud in South Africa in recent memory, Western Winter headed the South African General Sires List on three occasions, and left behind nearly 100 stakes winners, headed by champions Winter Solstice, Yard-Arm, Argonaut, Bad Girl Runs, Capetown Noir, Fearless, Ice Cube, Lady Windermere and What A Winter.

The son of Gone West has also become a fine broodmare sire, with Western Winter South Africa’s Leading Broodmare Sire of 2017-2018.

However, what was perhaps most impressive about Western Winter was his consistent strike rate and fine statistics. Not only did Western Winter sire 11% stakes winners to foals, he had the eye catching statistic of siring 75% winners to foals.

Red Ray’s success is also a further tribute to his remarkable dam Nacarat. The latter, by far and away the most successful broodmare daughter of former South African Horse Of The Year Pas De Quoi, not only produced Red Ray but also the latter’s G1 Thekwini Stakes winning own sister Nania, and that pair’s graded stakes winning brothers Bishop’s Bounty and Brutal Force. This season’s G2 Cape Merchants winner Vikram is out of G3 Prix Du Cap winner Vermilion -a full-sister to Red Ray.

Red Saxon himself is out of a talented racemare in the form of Rodeo Sioux. The latter, also trained by Joe Soma, made 31 starts, winning from 1600m to 2600m and finishing second in the G3 Racing Association Handicap, Listed Spook Express Handicap and Listed Queen Palm Handicap.

Rodeo Sioux, a full-sister to the smart Chief Sioux, is in turn out of the winning Dancing Sioux -a daughter of successful broodmare sire Qui Danzig. (Among the number of star performers produced by Qui Danzig mares is champion Via Africa, the dam of this season’s G1 XXXX Golden Rose winner In The Congo).

Rodeo Sioux, whose dam is a full-sister to the dam of the G3 placed dam of Listed Bauhinia Handicap winner See You Tyger, is directly descended from an unnamed Lesterlin mare -who also features as the ancestress of Natal Guineas winner, and hugely influential South African broodmare, Preston Pan.

Red Saxon is also a feather in the cap of his underrated broodmare sire Casey Tibbs. The latter, a son of the immortal Sadler’s Wells (who accrued a remarkable 18 leading sire of broodmare titles), also rates as the broodmare sire of dual G1 Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again, the latter’s high-class half-brother Horse Of Fortune (aka Strongman), G1 Woolavington 2000 heroine Do You Remember, the latter’s G3 winning half-brother Made To Conquer (runner up to Do It Again in the 2018 July), G2 winner Snapscan, high-class sprinter Speedpoint and G1 SA Derby winner Samurai Warrior.

Do You Remember has since gone on to enjoy success as a broodmare -she is the dam of US stakes winner Burning Ambition -who ran third in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. 

Picture: Red Saxon (far side) keeps Safe Passage at bay in the WSB SA Classic (Candiese Lenferna).