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THE adage 'you can’t get enough of a good thing' best describes our quest for the offspring of the 'blue hen' mare Mystic Spring.
The extraordinary grey has created her own dynasty and needless to say, we are privileged to count the largest collection of her descendants amongst our broodmare band.
No less than three of her daughters and as many grandaughters - ALL stakes winners by the way - currently grace the Varsfontein paddocks, and in a remarkable twist of fate, includes both Mystic Spring's first and last foals.
Secret Of Victoria was her illustrious dam's first foal and is also our most recent acquisition. A dual Gr.2 winner and Gr.1-placed as a juvenile, she has seamlessly stepped into her dam's footsteps as the dam of the Gr.1 winning duo All Is Secret and The Secret Is Out, both by Captain Al. We purchased her in foal to Vercingetorix and she will visit Erik The Red in his first season. We also own her daughter Canukeepitsecret, who captured the Lady's Pendant and was runner-up in the Gr.3 Strelitzia Stakes. Also by Captain Al, she foaled a Master Of My Fate filly on 5 August and is pencilled in to visit Gimmethegreenlight this season.
Mystic Spring's Jet Master daughter Touch The Sky won both the Oaks Trial and Syringa Handicap and finished third in the Gr.1 Woolavington 2000. She has made a fine start to her broodmare career as her first foal, the Captain Al filly Amy Johnson, won the Perfect Promise Sprint. Both mother and daughter were covered by Gimmethegreenlight in 2020, and while Touch The Sky is only due in October, Amy gave birth to her first foal, a grey filly, earlier this week and will next visit Vercingetorix.
Also destined for the Maine Chance stallion is Victorian Secret, who likewise has a Gimmethegreenlight filly at foot. Out of Mystic Spring's Gr.3 winning daughter Spring Lilac, this Captain Al own-sister to dual Gr.1 winner Snowdance and the stakes winner Juniper Spring, is the dam of Gr.3 Godolphin Barb runner-up Master Of Illusion, a son of Master Of My Fate.
Mystic Spring's Champion daughter Bela-Bela has yet to be represented on the track. Her first three foals are all fillies by Gimmethegreenlight, the oldest of which, the juvenile Ciao Bella, is now in training with Justin Snaith. Bela is one of the jewels in the first book of mares destined for our newcomer Erik The Red. He is a son of Captain Al, whose success with this female line has been profound.
We acquired Mystic Spring's last foal, the Wylie Hall filly Monroe Spring, at last year's two-year-old sale. A smallish, light-framed individual, we have decided not to race her and will instead wait a year before she joins our broodmare band.
As for Mystic Spring, the now 25-year-old is enjoying a happy retirement at Cheveley Stud, where she spent her entire broodmare career.
The mother lode…Susan pictured with Mystic Spring and Vaughan Koster at Cheveley Stud.
A WINNING THREESOME
MUCH to our delight, a trio of three-year-old fillies recently cracked their maidens in the Varsfontein silks.
Our homebred Just Fabulous, a Judpot own-sister to the SA Fillies Classic and SA Oaks winner Juxtapose, made a winning debut over 1400m at Turffontein, after carving out most of the running. Her win came as a pleasant surprise, for as trainer Alec Laird commented afterwards: "We would have been happy with a place!"
Just Fabulous scores first time out (JC Photos).
Barely twenty four hours later, Dynasty filly Forries Forever built on a smart debut second to score a facile victory up the Kenilworth straight. Purchased from Wicklow Stud at the National Yearling Sale, this half-sister to the International Gr.2 winner Forries Waltz was sent off a warm favourite and drew clear to score by a length and a half for Candice Bass-Robinson.
Another homebred to justify favouritism was Silvano's daughter La Folie Douce, who could not have made a more auscipious start to her career. She overcame inexperience to streak to a three-length debut success over 1000m at Kenilworth. |
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This half-sister to Erik The Red has big shoes to fill, but as trainer Justin Snaith commented afterwards: "There were always signs of ability and although she is still green, she got the job done."
NEW ADDITIONS
AT Varsfontein, we continuously strive to upgrade the quality of our broodmare band, and this season we will welcome a number of well-bred and -performed maiden mares to the farm.
As befits his status as Champion Stallion, Gimmethegreenlight will cover a trio of stakes winners.
Silvano's daughter Due Diligence, who won the Gr.3 Starling Stakes, is a half-sister to Gr.3 Fillies Mile victress Ghaalla. The dam Fidelity, is a Captain Al half-sister to Master Of My Fate and Justthewayyouare, the dam of Malmoos.
Due Diligence, a Gr.3 winning daughter of Silvano visits Gimmethegreenlight …
Wylie Wench won the Gr.3
Acacia Handicap and, as her name suggests, she is by SA Derby hero Wylie Hall, while her dam is the champion sprinter Enchantress, who also produced Gr.1 winner Laverna and the Gr.3 winner Nevvay.
Rounding out the trio is Master Of My Fate's daughter American Princess. One of five stakes winners out of our grand broodmare Princess Tobin, she defeated male rivals in the Listed East Cape Derby, definitely a family trait, considering her own-sister Sentbydestiny likewise beat the boys in the Gr.1 Premiers Champion Stakes!
… as will East Cape Derby winner American Princess, a daughter of Master Of My Fate.
Master Of My Fate has little left to prove and will count amongst his consorts the dual winner Croisette, a Var half-sister to Gr.1 winner Juxtapose, while In A Huff is a Judpot half-sister to the Gr.2 winner Third Runway. Another well-related young mare set to visit the son of Jet Master is dual winner Stellar Motion, a Captain Of All half-sister to the Gr1-placed and Gr.3 winner Star Express and the dual stakes winner Star Burst Galaxy.
Gimmethegreenlight's daughter Arc Lamp, a winning half-sister to Gr.2 Fillies Guineas winner Fiorella, out of SA Oaks winner Arcola, is earmarked for Erik The Red, as is Miss Texas. The latter is a half-sister to the Captain Al-sired Gr.1 Allan Robertson winner Miss Florida.
Also destined to visit Erik are two well-bred imports. Watercolormemories, by Kyllachy's Gr.2 winning son Dragon Pulse (raced five times for a win and two places). She is a half-sister to Italian stakes winner Roman Dream, and is a grandaughter of the high-class racemare River Memories, who won the Gr.1 Flower Bowl Handicap at Belmont Park and Woodbine's Gr.1 Rothmans International Stakes.
Unraced Preluna is a half-sister to French 2000 Guineas third Pornichet, who subsequently captured the Gr.1 Doomben Cup in Australia. She is by Iffraaj, who is best known as the sire of Champion juvenile and hot young sire Wootton Bassett.
EQUUS AWARDS
WE scooped up two Equus Awards at this year's awards ceremony. Whilst Gimmethegreenlight was honoured as the country's Champion Stallion, his first-crop son Yulong Prince (formerly Surcharge), was the recipient of an International Achievement Award for Varsfontein, following his victory in the Gr.1 Kennedy Cantala Stakes. A Gr.1 winner in South Africa and Australia, he is the only South African-bred male to taste Gr.1 success Down Under and will stand his first season at stud in Victoria.
END OF SEASON STATS
ADDING to the exceptional achievements of our stallions, we ended the 2020-21 season as the country's fifth-leading breeder by stakes won.
In addition to our International Gr.1 winner, we bred 8 stakes winners of 14 stakes races including 3 individual Gr.1 winners of 4 Gr.1 races as well as the Triple Crown winner Malmoos. Furthermore, we foaled and raised another 6 individual stakes winners of 8 stakes races for our clients. In total, Varsfontein graduates won a magnificent 23 stakes races. |
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