Dual South African Horse Of The Year Variety Club, one of the finest thoroughbreds produced in South Africa this century, has returned to the home of his birth -Beaumont Stud.

The chestnut son of Var is set to enjoy his well earned retirement at Beaumont, with the champion set to be ridden by breeder Anton Shepherd’s daughter in the show-jumping arena.

A six time Equus Award winner, Variety Club was South Africa’s Horse Of The Year in both 2012 and 2013, with the chestnut winning 17 of 23 starts.

Variety Club won stakes races in South Africa at two, three, and four before going on to enjoy a hugely successful international career. His 14 wins, from 19 outings, in South Africa were headed by triumphs in the 2011 G1 Cape Premier Yearling Sale Guineas, 2012 and 2013 G1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge, and the 2013 G1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.

Variety Club made history when he won the 2014 G1 Champions Mile in Hong Kong, where he thrashed Hong Kong superstar Able Friend by four lengths, with major international G1 winners Dan Excel, Blazing Speed, Gordon Lord Byron, and Mshawish among those left struggling in his wake. The chestnut champion was the first overseas horse ever to win the Champions Mile, with Variety Club’s other international wins including triumphs in the 2014 G2 Godolphin Mile and G3 Firebreak Stakes of the same year.

A half-brother to Mauritian Horse Of The Year Rhythmically, Variety Club was produced by the winning Secret Prospector mare La Massine.

Unfortunately, infertility prevented Variety Club, who won 13 graded races in his career, from enjoying a career at stud.
Timeform rated Variety Club in 2014 as equal 2nd best horse racing worldwide during that year at 131lbs, which is 16lbs behind the highest ever rating accorded to Frankel in 2012. In the same year Racing Post rated him at 124lbs which is 16lbs behind their highest ever rating accorded to Frankel in 2012. Both Timeform and Racing Post only started rating South African raced racehorses after 2000 and Variety Club is the highest rated South African bred racehorse so far. He remains in 2020 as the highest ever rated South African racehorse by Timeform and in the Longines World Best Racehorse Rankings [2]