Avontuur Thoroughbred Estate’s exciting young stallion Oratorio made headlines in South Africa this weekend with a pair of eye catching juvenile winners.

In the process, Oratorio took his number of South African first crop winners to seven and the son of Danehill is now the country’s second leading first crop sire by stakes and individual winners.

First of the Oratorio winners to salute was the well related Mrs O, who impressed when making a winning debut for owner-trainer Michael Azzie at Turffontein this Saturday.
The filly had cost R500 000 at last year’s Cape Premier Yearling Sale.

Second of the Oratorio 2yos to impress this past weekend was the Avontuur bred Ancestry, who simply romped to victory when scoring by three and a half lengths at Scottsville on Sunday.
Runner up in the Listed Gatecrasher Stakes at his previous appearance, Ancestry could not have won with more in hand and he looks an exciting sort in the making. The colt, a half-brother to G2 The Debutante winner A Womens Way, had been a R850 000 purchase from last year’s Premier Yearling Sale.

Oratorio’s other local first crop performers to impress include feature race winner Arianos Bagofgold, stakes performers Sacred Oration and Sequined, and his sons Arianos Bagofgold, Ancestry and Chantyman all hold entries in the G2 Golden Horseshoe on Vodacom Durban July day next month.

Another son of the triple G1 winning Oratorio, Supreme Orator, is a runner in this Saturday’s Listed Highlands Stud Langerman at Kenilworth.

Oratorio, whose previous crops produced seven G1 winners worldwide, has five quality lots on next week’s KZN Yearling Sale-notably a half-brother to G2 Selangor Cup winner Hard Day’s Night (Lot 29), a filly out of a daughter of champion Southern Spring (Lot 159), and a colt out of G3 Magnolia Handicap winner Fair Rosalind (Lot 224).