Australian-bred 3YO Oh Susanna won her third straight G1 race in South Africa on Saturday, capturing the Woolavington 2000 at Greyville.
Oh Susanna, by Street Cry, was winning over 2000m in her first run for 126 days and despite the magnitude of the task was sent out favourite.
Racing for the first time as a 2YO in April last year, Oh Susanna won only one of her first six outings before producing a second in the G1 Kenilworth Paddock Stakes in December.
She hasn’t been out of the winners’ circle since.Oh Susanna is among 20 G1 winners (118 stakes winners overall) for her late sire Street Cry, whose sons include Street Sense, Street Boss, Whobegotyou and Shocking.
However he will surely go down in history as one of the truly remarkable sources of female talent, given that he’s the sire of both Winx (25 wins in a row) and Zenyatta (19 from 20).Oh Susanna is out of the Touch Gold mare Sharp Susan, the winner of six in North America including the G2 Lake Placid Stakes and is a close relation to G1 winners Spring At Last, Sharp Lisa and Foundry.
Sharp Susan was originally purchased out of a US sale for $2 million by Australian interests in 2008 before Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud bought the mare for $1,050,000 at the 2012 Easter Broodmare Sale in Sydney.Unfortunately, Sharp Susan’s first foal for Drakenstein – a Street Cry colt – died at an early age. Her next foal, a Bernardini filly, raced in South Africa as Biblical Susan.
On a free return to Street Cry Sharp Susan produced Oh Susanna.Drakenstein’s Racing Manager, Kevin Sommerville said: “Gaynor Rupert is passionate about her breeding and racing and is very hands on, particularly when it comes to the purchase of bloodstock and planning of matings.
“It’s Drakenstein policy to sell the colts and race the fillies and that’s definitely worked in our favour with Oh Susanna.“Gaynor has a real vision for the industry and has steadily built up her broodmare band from just a couple of mares to around 95 which are currently on the books.
“Breeding horses in Australia and then bringing them across to South Africa can be an expensive exercise, but when you have results like this, it’s all worthwhile.”Sharp Susan was exported to Ireland in 2016 but has a 2YO Exceed And Excel colt named Signore Fox in the Team Snowden stables in Sydney that was purchased for $300,000 at the 2017 Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Her final Australian born foal, a Fastnet Rock yearling filly named Fast Susan, has been retained to race by Drakenstein Stud
