Australian Breeding Stands Tall In South Africa

Australian breeding came to the fore when a son of Lonhro won South Africa’s richest race, the R4.25 million Durban July at Greyville on Saturday.

A half-brother to Australian G1 winner Pride Of Dubai also featured on the program by winning the G3 SABC Gold Vase over 3000 metres.

The Durban July was won by The Conglomerate, an Australian-bred four-year-old by Lonhro sold to his South African owners as a yearling in Melbourne for $160,000.

Another Australian-bred product Mac De Lago, by Encosta De Lago and also sold at the same Melbourne sale in 2013 as The Conglomerate, finished third.

The Conglomerate is raced by leading owners Ingrid and Marcus Jooste and was selected for them as a yearling by their SOuth African trainer Joey Ramsden and racing manager Derek Brugman.

“He was the most impressive specimen. Derek and I did a lot of leg work at the sale and this was the one horse we really wanted,” said Ramsden at Greyvile on Saturday.

The eighth G1 winner by champion sire Lonhro, The Conglomerate is the fifth foal from the G1 Australian Oaks and G1 Ranvet Stakes winner Republic Lass, a daughter of Canny Lad.

Republic Lass was covered again by Lonhro last season.

The Conglomerate has now won six of his 17 starts and R3.425 million prizemoney.

• Legendary South African trainer Mike De Kock made a clean sweep of the placings in G3 SABC Gold Vase when he prepared the first four placegetters led home by the High Chaparral four-year-old Enaad.

Enaad, from the Danehill mare Al Nood, is a home-bred for owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum’s Australian breeding operation and adds to the pedigree of his now retired Street Cry half-brother Pride Of Dubai.

A dual G1 winner of the Blue Diamond Stakes and ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes at Randwick, Pride Of Dubai was retired to Coolmore Stud earlier this year.

Enaad has won three of his 17 starts with eight placings and has earned stakes of R544,350. He provided the late High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells) with his 81st stakes winner.

* AUSTRALIAN-bred Zoffany two-year-old Zodiac Ruler won the G2 Durban Golden Horseshoe at Greyville on Saturday.

Zodiac Ruler (Zoffany x Sybarite by Last Tycoon) made it two wins in as many starts for the Justin Snaith stable.

Zodiac Ruler was a $17,000 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale purchase by Paul Lafferty and is a half-brother to this season’s brilliant Group winning filly Almighty Girl.

He is the seventh winner from the Last Tycoon mare Sybarite, a sibling to South African champion filly and five time G1 winner Laisserfaire and four other stakes winners.

He is the ninth stakes-winner by Zoffany worldwide and is his first bred in the Southern Hemisphere

In The UK the Richard Hannon-trained 3YO filly Light Up Our World (Zoffany x Shine Like A Star by Fantastic Light) won the Listed Coral Distaff.

• DRAKENSTEIN Stud’s homebred Trippi mare Inara won the G1 Jonsson Garden Province Stakes (1600m) at Greyville on Saturday.

The win completed a fine triple of G1 wins this year for Inara after winning the Majorca Stakes at Kenilworth, a race she won last year, and the Empress Club Stakes at Turffontein.

Overall the 4YO Inara (Trippi x Mountains Of Mist by Shirley Heights) has won five G1 races among eight wins and eight placings in 20 starts to become a very valuable addition in time for Drakenstein Stud’s broodmare band.