Owner: Summerhill Stud URL:http://blog.summerhill.co.za Join Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 01:28:29 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Summerhill Stud is South Africa's Champion Racehorse Breeder. Updated daily with breeding and racing news, views and information. Site statistics:Click here
The DANEHILL and MACHIAVELLIAN Affinity : It's always good when a plan comes together 2008-05-02 09:03:08 Readers of our annual Stallion brochure will have acquainted themselves with the fundamentals behind our acquisition strategies involving our stallions. Remember, we are first and foremost the principal source of Northern Dancer blood in South Africa, having stood his two most successful sire sons in southern hemisphere history, in Northern Guest and Rambo Dancer. The influence of these two stallions on the reservoir of broodmares in the KwaZulu-Natal region, is such that the general band of breeding stock in KZN as a whole, also bears a fairly strong resemblance to the profile of mares at Summerhill. As a result, there is an obvious duty on us to seek out those stallion prospects which suit the broader majority of mares best. Of course, as you’ve heard the “scratches&rdquo Read more:always
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DANEHILL in the ascendancy... again. 2008-05-01 21:36:32 Danehill (Inge Thalund)The opening Group One race of the European season (the Prix Ganay) at Lonchamps, witnessed another winner at the highest level for the imperious Danehill. Duke of Marmalade a close r
CHAMPIONS DAY this Saturday 2008-05-01 11:05:10 Basil MarcusThe fields for Saturday
’s big day at Turffontein have just been released and gratifyingly, runners from Summerhill are deeply represented in all but two of the eight Stakes events. Despite the tragic loss of Emperor Napoleon our biggest and surest hope on the day, we still have four out of the fourteen entries (almost 30% in South Africa’s richest race the Gomma Gomma Challenge). They are Pick Six (last year’s hero), Catmandu, Desert Links and Fork Lightening. Catmandu and Desert Links are the two “wild cards”, and on a straight line of his form in the Horse Chestnut (Gr1), Catmandu will go close at the weights to turning the tables on the winner of that race, Our Giant. All things being equal, which they aren’t because he’s drawn 13 ou
MIKE DE KOCK : A tribute to IMBONGI 2008-05-01 03:10:26 Mike de Kock (hkjc)You might’ve thought the most famous South African on Sunday was Mike de Kock, following yet another staggering international victory in Hong Kong with Archipenko. You would’ve thought he might find the “small beer” we all savoured with Imbongi's win in the KZN Guineas at Greyville on Saturday, somewhat trifling. Not a bit of it. Speaking to Mike yesterday, he sai Read more:tribute
THEKKADY : When your ship comes in... 2008-04-30 14:38:00
It never rains, and then it pours, and then some. After Imbongi’s famous win in the KZN Guineas on Saturday, we’d hardly expect another big one in just days. At Scottsville this afternoon, the Ready To Run graduate, THEKKADY, blew home in the Sunday Tribune Strelitzia Stakes (Gr3) for old Summerhill stalwart, Michael Azzie. She comes
from a long and distinguished Aga Khan family, and was co-bred by Summerhill and two of our dearest English friends, Bill and Barbara Marshall.
More Glitter for SOLSKJAER 2008-04-30 08:15:53 Yeats and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Manchester United’s surge towards another European Championship after last night’s victory over Barca, reminds us all of their first big win in this competition some years back, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knocked in three goals to grab the silver.
DURBAN HIGH SCHOOL 2008-04-30 04:15:42 Founded by the city fathers in 1886, Durban High School is an institution close to Summerhill’s heart, as it produced two of the original founders of Summerhill (as we know it), in Mick Goss, and whilst he was involved, brother Pat Goss. The 6th June witnesses the coming together of DHS graduates of 1968, who gathered here as fourth formers in the Chemistry class of 1966. The boss, still sporting a bit of hair (!) is fourth from the left. We have a number of old (very old!) DHS boys among our blog correspondents, all of them from a much earlier, and no doubt, envious, era!Posted by Marlene Breed
The KZN GUINEAS : A Growing Habit 2008-04-29 04:22:45
Over many decades, the old SA Guineas threw up one great horse after another. Indeed, as an event, it has the highest average merit rating among its placed horses of any race for three-year-olds on the South African racing calendar. How’s that for an event which our programmers believe to be worthy of only Grade Two status these days? And Saturday’s outcome more than vindicated the race’s traditional billing, pitting with very few exceptions, the best three-year-old milers in the country against each other. From a Summerhill perspective, we’ve provided the heroes for the event two years in a row, but in each case we’ve been cast in the role of “giant killers” rather than as the giant himself. Read more:Growing
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STRONGHOLD : When horses win like this, they have a knack of turning heads. 2008-04-28 22:46:18
For several years now, Summerhill boss Mick Goss, has made it part of his regular sermon to chide South Africans for the fact that we seem to have missed the Danehill “boat”. The top end of stallion logs in other parts of both the northern and southern hemispheres are clogged with high-achieving sons of the world’s greatest modern stallion phenomenon, and it seems they can’t get enough of Danehill. The fires in the north are being fuelled by the lofty achievements of Dansili, the Juddmonte flagbearer, and Coolmore’s Rock Of Gibraltar, while the rollcall of breeders who’ve clamoured to the court of their new recruit, Dylan Thomas this season, reads like the “who’s who” of European breeding. In the south, Danehill and his sons occupied Read more:turning
MORE THAN READY : The Shuttle Stallion Concept 2008-04-28 18:05:42 More Than Ready (Team Valor) One undoubted benefit of the shuttle stallion concept is that a stallion can be seen in a new light by breeders in one hemisphere, thanks to his achievements in the other. There's arguably no better example of this than the great Danehill, who was once on the brink of becoming just another stallion on Coolmore's star-packed Irish roster. In 1994, in his fifth season, Danehill's fee was a mere IR9,000gns, which placed him only 10th in the pecking order among Coolmore's Irish stallions. Although he started to flourish with his northern hemisphere runners in 1995, the Coolmore team was prepared to lease him to Japan for the 1996 season, which suggests he still wasn't considered vital to the operation's success.Click here to watch video of Danehill winning the Co Read more:Shuttle
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DAVID RATTRAY : Co-founder of Land Of Legends Honoured 2008-04-28 09:15:48 Those that know us, know too, that friends count. Ten years ago, in an attempt (and a very successful one at that) to develop an awareness that, as a tourist destination, the best places in KZN provided travelers with as enchanting and diverse an experience as anything in the world, we started the Land Of Legends
with our great mate, David Rattray. It’s a matter of great pride to us that he should be posthumously honoured by the University of Natal. We salute you, Doctor!! The Star reported:World-renowned historian David Rattray has been posthumously made an honorary graduate of the University of KwaZulu Natal. His father, Dr Peter Rattray, accepted the doctorate in social science at a graduation ceremony held at the Royal Agricultural Society showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg yest Read more:founder
ARCHIPENKO easy winner in Audemars Piquet QEII Cup 2008-04-27 23:50:15 Archipenko (hkjc)Everything that can be said has already been said about Mike de Kock. Saluting is no longer enough. In Zulu there is a wo Read more:winner
TERRY FINLEY, WEST POINT THOROUGHBREDS : Yearling X-rays 2008-04-27 16:10:47 Terry Finley (west point)Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds made the following comments relating to the recent study in Australia of 80,000 repository X-rays which demonstrated that most common bone abnormalities revealed in X-rays of sales yearlings have no effect on subsequent racing performance.Of course, we spend quite a bit of money performing vet exams at the sales. Plenty of other buyers do as well. The findings of this study don't surprise me in a big way. We know that a good number of these "radiographic issues" identified at the sales can, and are, successfully managed by racetrack vets in conjunction with the trainers. Most professional buyers look at the entire picture when buying horses. So, if we come upon a fairly correct, balanced horse that has a go
IMBONGI Electrifies in KZN Guineas 2008-04-27 05:25:03 Imbongi (Gold Circle)IMBONGI has come on in leaps and bounds since being gelded and the son of Russian Revival followed up his recent Gauteng Guineas win with an impres
ROB WHITELEY, LIBERATION FARM : Yearling X-rays 2008-05-03 13:03:49 Rob Whiteley (Anne Eberhardt)Rob Whiteley, owner of Liberation Farm, made the following comments about the recent study in Australia of 80,000 repository X-rays which demonstrated that most common bone abnormalities revealed in X-rays of sales yearlings have no effect on subsequent racing performance. "The Australian study is monumental in that it uses 2,700+ horses and 80,000 X-rays, and is the first large research effort to relate sales repository X-ray findings to later racing success. Let's hope it is the first of many such studies and that we will see a comparable American study in the near future. Furthermore, let's hope that it also inspires our American veterinary clinics to conduct similar research relating corrective limb procedures and other surgical interventions to
BIG BROWN defies history in Kentucky Derby 2008-05-05 08:51:09 Kentucky
Derby (Michael J. Marten /Getty)Neither post 20 nor history could stop him. Big Brown (Boundary) was 2-1 in the GI Kentucky Derby on the strength of just three sparkling wins, the fewest any had sported since Regret in 1915. Despite a wide trip, he assumed command at the head of the lane and opened up impressively. “When he turned for home, we knew the game was over, and we were all going crazy,” exalted winning
HARTFORD HOUSE : Nhlanhla Suite 2008-05-05 05:38:59
A journey through the suites at Hartford House recently included among the Top Boutique hotels in South Africa.This week's focus is on Hartford's final suite, the Nhlanhla Suite
(Suite 16).Nhlanhla is one of the Zulu language’s most wonderful words. It really means “good luck”, but it also conjures good fortune, happiness, largesse and all the warm feelings we get when life is kind to us. Dubbed Nhlanhla by the Zulus who brighten our lives every day at Hartford, the name recalls the feelings of our team when they first saw Nhlanhla in its finished form. The suite radiates nature, the colours of our environment, warmth and originality, and as much as anything is a signal example of what the creative spirit can achieve from modest, locally sourced materials. The majority o
CATMANDU silences doubters... again. 2008-05-04 06:27:45 Dominic ZakiFor the second consecutive year, South Africa's richest horserace has been won by a front-running 3-year-old. A year after Summerhill-bred Pick Six's thrilling pillar-to-post victory in the Gr1 Gomma Gomma Challenge, it was the turn of trainer Dominic Zaki's Eddington - the sole representative of his generation in this year's field, to steal the race from the front under an inspired ride from Piere Strydom. She's On Fire followed with another Summerhill-bred, Catmandu, storming through the field for third.Catmandu once again silenced his doubters. He was finishing best of all and his trademark strong finish, so evident in the handicap ranks, has been fairly successfully transferred to Gr 1 level. On this showing, he will be competitive during the Champions Season in Kwa
A Big Week for "Ready-To-Runners" 2008-05-06 22:01:32
We may’ve come away from the Gomma Gomma Challenge meeting empty handed in terms of winners, but we weren’t short of highlights elsewhere. Following on Imbongi’s historic second Guineas victory at Greyville the previous Saturday, and the amazing Hear The Drums in the Arlington Flying Five the same weekend, we thought we were in for a quiet week. Nothing of the sort, she cried, as Thekkady came out on Wednesday to scoop the prize in the Strelitzia Stakes (Gr.3) for Michael Azzie. Just last November, she graduated from the Ready To Run as a R240 000 purchase, and she’s not only taken the Strelitzia, but she’s also more than doubled her own value and added considerably to that of her family. Read more:Runners
NATAGORA steals English 1000 Guineas 2008-05-06 16:58:58 The 11/4 favourite from France, the Pascal Bary-trained grey Natagora, staved off all challengers over the final furlong to win the 1000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket. In doing so, Natagora avenged the unlucky defeat five years ago in this race of her trainer’s brilliant filly, Six Perfections. Natagora, the Champion European Two Year Old Filly of 2007 when her victories included the Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) on English
soil, crossed the field easily from a wide gate, and, much like New Approach in the 2000 Guineas on Saturday, dictated her own terms until quickening up coming out of the Dip. Read more:steals
WILLIAM INGLIS AUSTRALIAN EASTER BROODMARE SALE 2008-05-06 12:01:14 The William Inglis Australian Easter Broodmare Sale got off to a flying start at Newmarket yesterday, with turnover topping $32.7million. Overall, 206 mares were sold at a record average of $159,047 with a clearance rate of better than 83%. Topping Day 1 was the stakes winner Personify (Galileo-Procrastinate), who was knocked down to Kieran Moore for $2million and one of four mares to reach seven figures during the session. This represented an outstanding return for owner Paul Makin, who paid $1,025,000 for Personify last year before putting her in foal to Redoute’s Choice. This was the second time Personify had graced the Newmarket sales ring, as she was sold as a yearling for $650,000 at the 2005 Australian Easter Yearling Sale. G1 AJC Flight Stakes winner Cheeky Choice (Redout
The GOMMA GOMMA Challenge : A tribute to LIONEL COHEN 2008-05-06 07:31:44 Lionel Cohen Just a couple of months ago, we penned a piece in recognition of Lionel Cohen's contribution to the nation’s breeding industry. The big race on Saturday served as another endorsement of this extraordinary man’s talents, when Eddington skated home by some 2 ½ lengths in the Gomma Gomma Challenge
(Gr.1,) defeating most of Gauteng’s top middle distance performers. A couple of things accrue from this victory. Firstly, it illustrates that there is no substitute in the industry for the skills of a proper horseman. Lionel is world-class, and would hold his own in any company anywhere. Let’s not forget, just a week before he bred the Fillies Guineas winner as well. Secondly, it tells us that the three year olds are up there with the older horses, certa Read more:tribute
JJ THE JET PLANE takes Tedelex Computaform Sprint 2008-05-06 02:30:10 JJ The Jet Plane (JC Photos)JJ the Jet Plane captured the G2 Senor Santa Handicap at the Vaal March 24 before following up in the G3 Man o'War Sprint
at Turffontein track last time April 12. Piere Strydom took no prisoners here and after setting his mount alight from the outset, only had to keep the bay up to his work to draw the sting from all but Flintlock, who was closing with every stride.
KINGS GAMBIT scores decisive win in Edblo SA Derby 2008-05-05 22:01:23 Kings Gambit (Gold Circle) With a fifth in the March 1 G2 Gauteng Guineas and second in an allowance plate here at Turffontein a fortnight later to recommend him for the G1 SA Classic, Kings Gambit’s odds of 40-1 seemed to reflect his chance in that 1 1/8-mile contest here last time April 5. Turning that logic on its head with a game win, there was no element of surprise this time as he followed up in clear-cut fashion to reward favourite backers. Settled behind the leading group early, he allowed Classic Oasis first run inside the final quarter but always had that rival covered and cut him down in the final furlong for a decisive
score. Read more:scores
EDDINGTON caps memorable Gomma Gomma for Piere Strydom 2008-05-05 16:00:44 Eddington (freeracer)Eddington was runner-up to Lion’s Blood (SAf) in the G2 Dingaans here at Turffontein November 24 before winning the Listed Sea Cottage Stakes back at this track January 6. Seventh in the March 1 G2 Gauteng Guineas on his third visit, he returned for a fourth time to run third behind Kings Gambit (SAf) in the April 5 G1 SA Classic and earned his own stripes in the absence of that rival here. Breaking well and taking up the early advantage, the bay capped a memorable day for Piere Strydom by making every yard of the running and registering an ultimately comfortable score.
The Clash of the Giants... or should we call it David and Goliath? 2008-05-07 21:20:21 In his tribute to EDDINGTON’s victory in Saturday’s Gomma Gomma Challenge Gr1, top turf writer David
Thistleton observed that EDDINGTON’s performance was a complement to the quality of this year’s three-year-olds, and in the manner of his victory it’s only hard to disagree. In his two previous outings, EDDINGTON had been comprehensively beaten by SA Derby winner, KING’s GAMBIT in the SA Classic, and prior to that by IMBONGI in the Gauteng Guineas and the SA Guineas. Before Saturday IMBONGI and Cape Derby Winner ROYAL SAGE, shared the distinction of holding the highest rating among the current three-year-olds, though that may have changed after this Saturday. Read more:Clash
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BIG BROWN scares off rivals for Preakness 2008-05-07 16:58:03 Big Brown (John Gress / Reuters)Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown is likely to have a complete new set of rivals
when he attempts the second leg of the US Triple Crown in the Preakness Stakes on May 17. Early indications are that none of the 18 colts that finished behind Big Brown will saddle up at Pimlico.
DOUGLAS WHYTE rides 1000 winners in Hong Kong 2008-05-07 12:50:54 Douglas Whyte (hkjc)Reigning champion jockey Douglas Whyte has become the first to ride 1,000 winners in Hong Kong
, the milestone arriving thanks to four winners at Sha Tin on Sunday. The 37-year-old South African who has won the past seven Hong Kong jockey’s titles, reached win No. 1,000 on Bejewelled in The Li Cup. “Certainly it is an honour to ride my 1,000th winner in Hong Kong. It's hard work and I am very happy about it.,” Douglas Whyte said. Whyte’s effort is all the more impressive when it is considered there are only two meetings a week in Hong Kong.Click here to watch video of Bejewelled winning The Li Cup 2008.Click here to watch video tribute to Douglas Whyte.
OBITUARY: Lostintranslation 2008-05-07 08:45:09 LostintranslationWithout any doubt, one of the most promising three-year-olds in the land, LOSTINTRANSLATION (Muhtafal ex Snooty Lady/Northern Guest), had to be put down last week following a severe bout of Laminitis. Out of an own sister to J & B Met winner hero, ANGUS, LOSTINTRANSLATIO
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