Klawervlei Stud’s champion sire Captain Al yet again came to the fore in several major races run on Vodacom Durban July day last Saturday.
The eight times champion sire of 2yos was represented by his 13th stakes winner this season when his Normandy Stud bred son Crowd Pleaser made all to capture Saturday’s G3 Betting World 2200 in impressive fashion.
Trained by Johan Janse Van Vuuren, Crowd Pleaser (a R380 000 buy from the 2015 CTS Ready To Run Sale Presented by Lanzerac Hotel & Spa) was runner up previously in the G3 Cup Trial and his victory (his fourth overall) on Saturday pushed his earnings up to R580 012. The colt is now likely to be aimed at some of the feature races during next season’s Cape Summer Season.
The very next race, saw Captain Al’s dual graded winning son Captain Splendid (victorious in the recent G3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup) finish first past the post in the G3 SABC Gold Vase-only to lose the race on an objection and subsequently get demoted to second.
Bred by Varsfontein Stud (and out of a half-sister to their G2 winning young sire Master Of My Fate), Captain Splendid pushed his earnings to R780 750 with his runner up effort in the Gold Vase.
Another son of the sire, Celtic Captain (bred by Patricia Devine), went close to giving Captain Al yet another feature race when beaten just a length into second place in Saturday’s Listed Daisy Business Solutions Handicap over 1600m on the same day, while Captain Al’s very exciting son Captain And Master (bred by Zandvliet Stud) stamped himself a potential classic contender with a fast finishing third in the G2 Durban Golden Horseshoe.
Captain Al, already damsire of G1 winners Gunner, Potent Power and Same Jurisdiction, also made news as the broodmare sire of Saturday’s KZN Yearling Sale Million winner, Al Mariachi, who has now earned more than R700 000 and who ran third in the recent G1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion.
Currently second on the General Sires List, Captain Al has had yet another outstanding season in 2016-2017, with his progeny winning such major races as the G1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas, G1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship, G1 South African Fillies Sprint and the G1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.
Captain Al is joint leading sire of stakes winners for the season, with his offspring having claimed 17 black type races already during 2016-2017.
His 12 individual juvenile winners this season including Listed Langerman winner Tap O’Noth and Listed Summer Juvenile Stakes winner Call To Account, the above mentioned Captain And Master and impressive debut winner Snowdance.