Classic success for Zapatillas (far side)

MASTER Of My Fate can do little wrong of late. The son of Jet Master celebrated not one, but two Graded stakes winners this past month and much to our delight, both are Varsfontein-breds.
First to strike was Zapatillas, who joined the ranks of classic winners with a scintillating last gasp victory in the Gr.2 World Sports Betting Guineas at Greyville, this despite spreading a shoe in the running!
Selected as a yearling by John Freeman for enthusiastic owners Drakenstein Stud, Pamela Isdell and Ravi Naidoo, the colt's win was particularly satisfying, considering he had travelled from Brett Crawford's Gauteng satellite yard, where he had been prepared to the minute by son James.
The Durban July is next for Zapatillas, the second foal out of stakes-placed Mogok mare Moggytwoshoes. She produced his full sister last spring and is once again in foal to Master Of My Fate.
The Cape Winter Series looks within the grasp of Gem King after he added the Gr.3 Legal Eagle Stakes to his victory in the Gr.3 Variety Club Mile Stakes.
He races in the famous white, pink and blue colours of Marsh Shirtliff, for whom the Winter Series has been a particularly lucky one, having won it with the mighty Pocket Power and exported Katak. The final leg, the former Winter Derby, looms large. Now renamed in honour of Pocket Power, Gem King has a date with destiny, so fingers crossed he can follow in those exalted footsteps!
Like Katak, Gem King is trained by Piet Steyn and is the second stakes winner out of Gem Queen, whose first, Hammie's Hooker, was also raced by Marsh in partnership. A daughter of Trippi, her seven stakes wins included a double in the Gr.2 Tibouchina Stakes. Although Gr.1 success proved elusive, she was runner-up in all of the Cape Fillies Guineas, Majorca and Garden Province Stakes.

SHE'S A KEEPER STRIKES AGAIN

She's A Keeper struts her stuff at Greyville

THE decision to keep She's A Keeper in training at five was vindicated when the daughter of Gimmethegreenlight added the Listed KRA East Coast Cup to her already impressive resume. Sent off at cramped odds, she fully justified favouritism with a stylish length victory under the steadier of 61.5 kg.
She's A Keeper has given immense pleasure to the Missing U Syndicate of Rob Knuppe, who bred the five-year-old mare. Relatively lightly-raced, this was her seventh win from just fourteen starts.
She put up arguably her best effort at the Greyville track when beating the boys in last year's Gr.2 World Sport Betting 1900 and subsequently claimed the Gr.2 Gold Bracelet against her own gender. She also won the Listed Scarlet Lady at Scottsville.

WHEN THE SHOE FITS
SHOEMAKER, the Gimmethegreenlight half-brother to Zapatillas, showed that he is too could be a candidate for black type when he made it two from two with an impressive come-from-behind victory over the Turffontein mile.

Shoemaker pictured as a yearling

Gem King gets a well done pat after the Legal Eagle

The unbeaten juvenile is highly rated by trainer Mike de Kock, who had no qualms about snapping up his Master Of My Fate half-brother at the recent National Sale.
Shoemaker races for Naroon Chadha's ASSM Syndicate, as does another Gimmethegreenlight juvenile, the Varsfontein-bred Littlemarysunshine. She broke her maiden at third time of asking and did so with panache.
Clearly relishing the step up to a mile, the filly stormed home to score by almost five lengths at Turffontein.
She is the second winner out of our Judpot mare Little Genie, a fine sprinter who won both the Listed Banyana and Gardenia Stakes.

Oh so easy - Littlemarysunshine strides home unharassed

BELA OFF TO A FLYING START
"She did everything right, she did it like an absolute professional. I was merely the passenger."
High praise indeed from jockey Anton Marcus, after he had piloted Bela Bela's first foal Ciao Bella to a dazzling debut win up the Kenilworth straight.
Trained by Justin Snaith, the daughter of Gimmethegreenlight proved a worthy 2-1 favourite when she charged into the lead 350 m out and stretched away to win unextended by the best part of four lengths.

Ciao Bella as a foal with her proud mum

NATIONAL YEARLING SALE


THE  National Yearling Sale  proved a momentous occasion when our Silvano colt Forest God (pictured above) led the way, selling for R3.3 million.
Form Bloodstock won the battle for the imposing grey, who is bred on the proven Silvano x Jet Master cross which has produced champion Hawwaam and the Gr.1 winners Kilindini, Silvano's Pride and Silver Darling.
A half-brother to black type winner Amy Johnson, the colt is out of Bela-Bela's stakes winning half-sister Touch The Sky, from the wonderful Mystic Spring clan.
The support from owners and trainers at all levels of the market was such that Varsfontein ended up as the sale's leading vendor. A big thank you to all our loyal buyers and to the underbidders, we could not have done it without you!
We wish you every success with your new purchases.

Pictures courtesy of Gold Circle, JC Photos, Chase Liebenberg, Carolyn Erasmus and Jeremy Nelson