Cape farm, the Hemel ‘N Aarde, regularly bring forward a high-class draft to the National Sale, and the farm will once again be offering a top-class draft at this year’s Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale.
Hemel ‘N Aarde will be offering yearlings by all of Gimmethegreenlight, Rafeef, Time Thief, Twice Over, Vercingetorix, What A Winter and Wylie Hall at this year’s sale.
Champion sprinter, and re hot sire, What A Winter has five yearlings in Hemel ‘N Aarde’s draft. Major Maxwell (Lot 60) is a full-brother to debut winner Tread Swiftly out of Ladies Mile winner Butterfly Girl, while the well named Starrywinternight (Lot 127) is a colt out of Stormsvlei Mile runner up Elusive Stars.
The regally bred Milvago (an Encosta De Lago half-sister to Australian G1 winning sire All American) has a What A Winter colt (Lot 275) on offer, as does Miss Big Mamma (Lot 279), with the latter, already dam of the useful Sailor Sam, being a winning Jet Master half-sister to G2 Senor Santa Handicap winner Greek Warrior.
The prolific What A Winter, whose son Warrior’s Rest won the recent G1 Golden Horse Sprint, is also responsible for a filly (Lot 250), whose dam is a dual winning half-sister to G3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup winner Balance Sheet, and this filly hails from the same family as top-class fillies Donatella and Negroamaro.
Equus champion and hugely exciting young sire Vercingetorix has two fillies in this draft –a filly (Lot 304) out of a Galileo three-parts sister to G1 Queensland Derby runner up Rodrico, and a filly (Lot 393) out of a daughter of triple graded stakes winner Joshua’s Princess.
Grue Of Ice (Lot 400) is a Gimmethegreenlight filly whose dam is a daughter of G1 Garden Province Stakes winner Soft Landing, while Old Town Road (Lot 105) is a son of the promising Redoute’s Choice sire Wylie Hall, and this colt is out of a four time winning three-parts sister to G1 WATC Derby winner Cat’s Fun.
Fellow Redoute’s Choice son Time Thief has a half-brother (Lot 330) to Castle Tankard winner Peggson on sale, while champion Twice Over’s only representative is a filly (Lot 278) whose dam is a full-sister to G1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner up Darrfonah and half-sister to G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Dilshaan.
Rafeef, another son of outstanding sire Redoute’s Choice represented here, has two on offer, namely a filly (Lot 51) out of a winning More Than Ready daughter of G3 winner Sugar Babe, and a half-brother (Lot 196) to two multiple winners from the same female line as legendary champion Horse Chestnut.