Varsfontein Stud’s red hot resident sire Master Of My Fate was yet again to the fore this weekend, when his two-year-old son Master Of Illusion made an impressive, winning debut at Greyville on Sunday.

Trained by Dennis Drier (who had also trained Master Of My Fate), the Varsfontein Stud bred Master Of Illusion stayed on smartly to record a first out win on Sunday, when landing a juvenile plate over 1200m, when getting up to win by a head under jockey Sean Veale.

The gelding, who is bred on the same Master Of My Fate/Captain Al cross as unbeaten Ruffian Stakes winner Basadi Faith, was a R900 000 buy from the 2018 National Yearling Sale.

Master Of Illusion, who had been third in a barrier trial prior to Sunday’s win, is the fourth juvenile winner this season for Master Of My Fate, whose previous 2yos include Basadi Faith, Driving Miss Daisy and Purple Persuasion.

The latter, whose progeny recently won five races over a weekend, has made a hugely impressive start to his stud career with Master Of My Fate’s early crops having already yielded multiple graded stakes winning millionaire Twist Of Fate, Derby Trial hero Gift For The Gap (a likely contender for Saturday’s G1 SA Derby), the above mentioned Basadi Faith, G1 contender Goliath Heron, and Kenyan star Silverstone Air –to name but a few!

A strapping son of champions Jet Master and Promisefrommyheart, Master Of My Fate has 26 lots on offer at the 2019 National Yearling Sale, including a filly (Lot 1) whose stakes winning dam is a full-sister to G1 winners Nania and Red Ray, a colt (Lot 62) bred on similar lines to Pocket Power and River Jetez, and a filly (Lot 156) out of G1 Golden Slipper/G1 Thekwini Stakes runner up My Kazzie.