Ridgemont Highlands’ five-time G1 winning stallion Canford Cliffs has come up with a very smart two-year-old in the form of Cliff Hanger. The latter made it two wins from two starts when running out a courageous winner of the G3 Godolphin Barb Stakes (1100m) at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.
A cosy winner of his only previous start, the Yogas Govender-trained Cliff Hanger stamped his G1 Gold Medallion claims with a stirring victory in the 2023 Godolphin Barb Stakes. Under a strong ride from Billy Jacobson, the Canford Cliffs dug down deep, in a three-horse finish, to claim Sunday’s R200 000 two-year-old feature by a head, while accounting for a game Golden Tatjana with the previously unbeaten Outlaw King a further near half a length back in third spot.
Bred by Clifton Stud, Cliff Hanger is out of the Var mare Luneburg.
The unbeaten colt was an R90 000 buy from the 2022 KZN Yearling Sale.
Cliff Hanger is the 22nd stakes winner for Canford Cliffs, whose other group/graded stakes winning two-year-olds include Most Beautiful and Painted Cliffs, with his notable South African bred two-year-olds including Listed City Of Cape Town Summer Juvenile Stakes/Listed East Cape Nursery victor Cliff Top and G1 Thekwini Stakes runner up Rock The Fox.
Himself a six-length winner of the 2009 G2 Coventry Stakes at two, Canford Cliffs had yearlings make up to R325 000 at this year’s National Yearling Sale.