Takingthepeace’s first foal, a colt by Canford Cliffs cleverly named Precipeace, pictured after his workout on Friday morning (Mike de Kock Racing). 

The first foal of the celebrated filly Takingthepeace is pictured above after his workout this morning for the Mike de Kock yard.

The Ridgemont-bred Canford Cliffs colt did not reach his reserve of R300,000 at the BSA National Yearling Sale last year, so Ridgemont have retained him for racing although shares are also held by De Kock himself, Mrs AM Doyle and A Muddyman.

Takingthepeace by Visionaire was selected by Mathew de Kock at the Jo’Burg CTS Ready To Run Sale and he recalled in a Turf Talk article a few years ago, “She had that classic look. I pulled her out and had a good look at her conformation. Then I put her back very quick and closed the stable door. I didn’t want anybody else to see I’d spent longer than usual looking at Lot 121.”

Two days earlier, Mat had been impressed with the breeze-up of a then two-year-old filly initially named Sagano and had also visited her in her stable at the Summerhill Stud Sales Barn.

Meanwhile, Murray Makepeace had cut short a business trip to Scotland and Mat’s childhood friend Mike Shea, son of Mike de Kock’s former stable jockey Kevin Shea, was in attendance at the Jo’Burg Sale too. The pair had decided to take a share in whatever Mat was offering. They wanted to get involved. They were there to invest. For Makepeace it would be a first venture into horseracing.

Sagano was secured for R280,000, almost R100,000 above the sales average and was registered with the name ‘Takingthepeace’.

Shea revealed, “We wanted the word ‘peace’ in the name since it was Murray’s first horse, so we submitted seven or eight names to the NHA for approval. They were all rejected and I said, “What? Are they taking the piss?” And right there, the name Takingthepeace was conceived!”

Takingthepeace’s win in the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas went viral due to a video showing the celebrations of the young connections.

Her win in the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic saw an even wilder celebration.

She was now on the cusp of doing the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara.

It was a fairytale story that captured the spirit of the racing fraternity and everybody was behind the filly before the final leg, the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks.

Unfortunately, she could only manage fourth place.

However, she did go on to win the Gr 3 Victory Moon Stakes in November 2018 as a four-year-old.

She had only two subsequent runs  before being retired after chipping a knee.

Another chapter in the story will soon be written.

Look out for the debut of the cleverly named Precipeace!