Maine Chance Farms’ inform stallion Vercingetorix has been supplying a flurry of winners of late, and the champion son of Silvano came close to having a feature race double at Scottsville on Sunday.

Not only did Vercingetorix’s top-class son Seeking The Stars capture Sunday’s G3 Byerley Turk (1400m) in impressive fashion, but Vercingetorix’s G1 Allan Robertson Championship winning daughter Vernichey ran a close second in Sunday’s KwaZulu-Natal Stakes (1000m).

One of two feature race winners on the day for both trainer Vaughan Marshall and jockey Anton Marcus, Seeking The Stars, making his first start since finishing sixth in the G1 Cape Racing Presents The Cape Guineas where he finished clear of subsequent Triple Crown winner Malmoos, justified favouritism with a fluent display in the G3 Byerley Turk.

Hitting the front 300m from home, the Klawervlei Stud bred colt stayed on strongly to hold off top weight, and recent G2 Senor Santa Stakes victor, Vars Vicky by a clear-cut two and a half lengths.

Seeking The Stars, a R425 000 buy from the 2019 CTS Ready To Run Stakes, has now won four of eight starts for earnings of R840 750, with the colt’s previous triumphs including facile wins in both this season’s G3 Cape Classic (beating subsequent Derby winner Linebacker) and De Grendel CTS Ready To Run Stakes.

Out of the Count Dubois mare Schism, Seeking The Stars is one of several top-notch three-year-olds representing Vercingetorix this season.
Others include the aforementioned G1 winner Vernichey, and the likes of Forever Mine, Nartjie and Rascallion, with the latter regarded as a likely Vodacom Durban July horse.