Paul Matchett and Robin Bruss lead in Hazlo Grande after Philasande Mxoli had ridden him to victory. Picture Credit: JC Photos
The Paul Matchett-trained Erupt colt Hazlo Grande won Thursday’s fifth race at the Vaal Classic track running in the colours of Saudi Arabian owner Mr Majed Mahal W Albugami.
Bloodstock agent Robin Bruss was behind the initiative to get Mr Majed involved in South Africa racing.
Mr Majed has had two runners in SA to date, Hazlo Grande and the Big Sky Ranch-bred Gimmethegreenlight two-year-old colt Princeofgreen, who is a out of unraced Count Dubois mare Princess Nicky and was bought at the National Yearling Sale for R425,000.
Robin’s Northfields Stud bred Hazlo Grande, who is by Erupt out of the three-times Listed-winning Medaglia D’Oro mare Mina Salaam (1200m to 2000m), which makes Hazlo Grande a half-brother to the classy sprinter True To Life (Duke Of Marmalade), who won two Grade 3’s and had a Grade 1 runner up finish and two Grade 1 thirds.
Hazlo Grande, as the pedigree suggests he should be, looks to be a mile-and-a-half horse.
On debut in a maiden over 1400m he stayed on steadily for second behind the runaway 9,25 length winner Stratospheric and he looked to be crying out for further.
He was duly entered in Thursday’s 1800m maiden and from pole position Philasande Mxoli had him handy before he stayed on strongly to win by half-a-length from one of the market rivals Puerto Plaza.
Neil Bruss, Robin’s late brother, had a long association with Saudi Arabia as a trainer.
Since the first thoroughbred he bred in 1975 he reached a height of keeping just eight broodmares, but affordability has allowed him to operate with an average of just five.
Yet he has bred eight Grade 1 winners, including winners of all of the big three, The Vodacom Durban July (Do It Again), The Sun Met (Zebra Crossing) and the Premier’s Champions Challenge (Deo Juvente).
Bruss’ beginning point when matching pedigrees is to produce a horse that will stay the July distance.
Hazlo Grande fits the bill with dam Mina Salaam winning up to 2000m and Erupt being by Dubawi and having won two Grade 1s over the 2400m Derby distance.
However, included in his philosophy is the belief that horses who win the July and Met invariably have the speed to win over sprint trips, so he views finding a combination of speed and stamina as being all important.
The fact that Hazlo Grande’s half-sister True To Life is a top class sprinter, despite being out of stamina influence Duke Of Marmalade, shows that he managed to get the speed and stamina mix correct.
Considering Robin aims to breed a July horse, it is incredible that with such a small operation he has managed to breed the statistically greatest July horse in history, Do It Again. This great dual July-winning gelding is by Twice Over out of Casey Tibbs mare Sweet Virginia, who beat the boys in both the Grade 3 Winter Classic and Grade 3 Winter Derby.
Robin’s first Grade 1 winner was Basic Instinct (Comic Blush-Joyfields (Northfields), who won the Grade 1 Golden Spur sprint in 1998.
His mare Teclafields (Northfields) gave him three Grade 1 winners, Circle Of Life (Complete Warrior), who won the Garden Province Stakes in 2000, African Lion (Shalford), who won the Champions Cup in 2003 and Zebra Crossing (Jallad), who won the 2006 Met.
Circle Of Life is the dam of the Premiers Champion Challenge winner he bred Deo Juvente.
Robin bred the 2011 Grade 1 Mercury Sprint winner August Rush, a colt by Var out of the Zimbabwean-bred Huntingdale mare Bushgirl.
He also bred the 2018 Mercury Sprint winner Will Pays, who was by unfashionable sire Imperial Stride out of Jallad Grade 3 winner Rattlebag.
Robin has a couple of cost-cutting methods, which do not compromise on the aim of breeding the best to the best.
Of the eight Grade 1 winners he has bred, only one of them was by a proven stallion and that was due to a foal-share agreement he had made with Drakenstein Stud. That horse was Deo Juvente, the son of Trippi, who won the 2017 Grade 1 R4,5 million Champions Challenge and was second in the Summer Cup.
He also says, “It is better to own the daughter of a Group 1 winner than a Group 1 winner herself.” He has used that theory to own Group 1 class mares without having to pay for the Group 1 status.
One of his other quotes is, ““The Aga Khan called breeding playing chess with nature.”
Hopefully, Hazlo Grande will turn out to be a useful horse.
Paul Matchett said about him, “He is a big baby and has a lot of improving to do, but what we have seen is quite good and he can only get better.”
Robin said, “He’s very green and it’s very nice to to see he is by Erupt and he’s starting to stay on, because a lot of Erupts have shown speed. But, really he is a mile-and-a-half horse, so I’m hoping Hazlo Grande will go a mile and a half.”
Mr Majed looks to have a lot to look forward to with this Erupt colt and his well-bred Gimmethegreenlight colt should improve on his two runs to date when he goes over further.
