Maine Chance Farms’ champion sire Silvano’s great season continued at Greyville on Friday night when his Klawervlei Stud bred daughter Epona lifted the Listed KRA East Coast Cup over 2000m, (another Silvano daughter, Silver Stripe ran third in the same race).
In the process, the three-year-old Epona provided Silvano with his 15th stakes win of the season.
Epona, whose previous wins had included the Listed Jamaica Handicap (over subsequent feature race winner Louisiana), took her tally to four wins (she has also been placed three times) from just nine outings. A half-sister to 3 stakes winners, including champion Jay Peg, Epona was a R1.8 million buy from the 2015 Emperors Palace Select Yearling Sale.
She is bred on the same Silvano/Al Mufti cross as G1 winners Bold Silvano, Kings Gambit and recent Derby winner and July hope Al Sahem.
Epona was one of two winners on the night for Silvano, whose Wilgerbosdrift bred son Nebula landed a pinnacle stakes over a mile on the same card.
The top lot sold at the 2014 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale (he was knocked down for R3.75 million), Nebula, winner of the 2016 G3 Betting World Algoa Cup, is now likely to be aimed at the G3 Cup Trial, which connections hope will allow the four-year-old to get into the final field for the 2017 Vodacom Durban July.
Yet another high class son of Silvano, Mr Winsome, dead-heated for third in the G2 Betting World 1900 on the same night.
Silvano, whose yearlings have fetched up to R6 million, has enjoyed a remarkable season in 2016-2017, with his top representatives including the G1 winners Nightingale (Klawervlei Majorca Stakes), Orchid Island (Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic) and Al Sahem (SA Derby).