Ridgemont’s top-class stallion Rafeef had another big day at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday. Not only did Rafeef supply two winners on Sunday, but his relative Azzurri won the third race at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.
Rafeef gelding Outlaw King picked up the second graded win of his career when he downed a high-class field to win Sunday’s G2 De Grendel Cape Merchants over 1200 metres.
Winner of the 2023 G2 Tabgold Umkhomazi Stakes, the Dean Kannemeyer trained four-year-old showed his class when storming home, under Sean Veale, to land Sunday’s R500 000 sprint by a length and a quarter.
In the proccess, Outlaw King defeated such high-class stakes winners as Surjay, Future Variety, Seeking The Stars, Cosmic Highway, Celtic Rumours, and Waterberry Lane.
Bred by James Armitage, Outlaw King has won four of 11 starts and has earned just under R1 000 000 in stakes.
Outlaw King, who is out of the Greys Inn mare Way Of Escape, was a R300 000 purchase from the 2022 National Yearling Sale.
He was one of two winners on the day for his G1 Computaform Sprint winning sire Rafeef. The latter is also the sire of Heal And Soul, who won the first race at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday.
Under Kabelo Matsunyane, the Brett and James Crawford trained three-year-old made a winning debut when he won Sunday’s Equifeeds Maiden Plate (1200m). The Rafeef gelding was always up with the pace, and went away to score cosily by a length and a quarter.
Bred by Ridgemont, Heal And Soul is out of the Silvano mare Hope Solo.
Sunday’s winner Azzurri, a three parts brother to ill-fated G2 SA Fillies Nursery winner Basadi Faith, hails from the immediate family of Rafeef himself. The son of Pomodoro provided Chad Little with a first winner since he returned to the saddle when victorious in the third race on the card.
Riding Azzurri in the Class 5 for the in-form Lucinda Woodruff yard, Chad rode for his life to get the Pomodoro gelding’s head down to pip Calvin Habib and Mela Strength in an exciting finish under sunny skies.
A son of legendary Australian sire Redoute’s Choice, Rafeef is enjoying another excellent season in 2024-2025 with the Ridgemont resident currently fifth on the general sires list.