Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm’s European champion Oratorio enjoyed a weekend to remember this past weekend when the triple G1 winner was represented by no fewer than five winners in South Africa.
The son of Danehill had winners at three different courses over the past weekend, with the Oratorio five timer kicked off by Voices Of Light who scored at Fairview on Friday.
The 3yo gelded son of Oratorio, who is trained by Alan Greeff, picked up his second win, from just eight starts when accounting for fellow Oratorio son, Jephthah, in a graduation plate over 1200m.
Voices Of Light, bred and owned by the Fosters, has now won or placed in five of eight starts.
His red hot sire Oratorio enjoyed more success the very next day, when his talented daughter Regal Graduation romped home for trainer Johan Janse Van Vuuren and jockey Gavin Lerena at Turffontein. The consistent four-year-old filly, who has won or placed in ten of her 13 races, made it win number four when scoring a fluent 1.8 length win in a fillies and mares handicap over 1450m.
The best was yet to come for European champion Oratorio, with the latter enjoying a memorable treble at Scottsville on Sunday.
Oratorio’s KZN treble kicked off with his daughter Giglio (another trained by Johan Janse Van Vuuren) breaking her maiden by 4.2 lengths when romping home over 1600 metres. Steered to victory by Anton Marcus, the 3yo Rosedene Stud bred filly, who was making just her fourth career start, had finished third to the promising filly Blossom at her previous start.
Giglio’s paternal half-brother Mardi Gras, the joint sales topper at the 2016 Emperors Palace Select Yearling Sale, provided Oratorio with yet more success over the weekend when the Johan Janse Van Vuuren trained four-year-old landed a MR 88 handicap over 1200m by half a length. The Avontuur bred gelding, who cost R3.2 million as a yearling, has done little wrong in his career thus far –with Mardi Gras, who ran a close fifth to champion Do It Again in the 2018 G2 Daisy Guineas, having won or placed in nine of his 11 starts.
Oratorio’s fifth South African winner of the past weekend came when the Dennis Drier trained Daydream Believer ran on to post a short head win over 1000 metres in Sunday’s ninth and final race. Bred by part-owner Mrs Jane Trotter, Daydream Believer was winning for a second time when the filly scored on Sunday.
A dual champion sire in Italy, Oratorio’s 90 plus stakes horses are headed by the G1 winners Military Attack, Beethoven, Temida, Biz The Nurse, Van Halen, Banchee, Mourinho and Manawanui.
The son of Danehill has four lots on offer at Wednesday’s Cape Premier Yearling Sale.