The Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm bred Legal Eagle once again showed his class when running out a convincing winner of Saturday’s G1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate at Kenilworth.
It was a second year in a row that the Greys Inn gelding has won the LQP –and Saturday’s win pushed his earnings to over R7 000 000.
Trained by Sean Tarry and owned by Mayfair Speculators, Legal Eagle was a R425 000 buy from the 2013 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale.
South Africa’s reigning Horse Of The Year, Legal Eagle was winning for the ninth time in just 15 outings, and was also scoring the fifth G1 victory of his illustrious career, which also saw the gelding named Equus Champion Older Male and Champion Miler last season.
He is also a feather in the cap of his sire Greys Inn, who stood at Rosedene Stud for a fee of R30 000 in 2016. (The last sire represented by a dual Queen’s Plate winner was seven times champion sire Jet Master).
Legal Eagle is one of three G1 winners sired by former Equus Champion Greys Inn, whose other top flight winners included Gold Challenge hero King Of Pain and SA Derby winner Royal Bencher.
Other notables sired by Greys Inn include G2 Gold Bowl hero Canterbury Tale (like Legal Eagle, bred by Avontuur), G2 Al Rashidiya winner Forries Waltz (a winner of five of his seven outings) and ill-fated G2 Hawaii Stakes hero Chekilli. The latter earned over R600 000 prior to an untimely demise, and won from 1160m to 1400m.
Their sire was an exceptionally versatile racehorse, who won from 1200m to 2450m, and who raced in no four different countries. Greys Inn, who banked over AUS$1 000 000 in stakes during his career, won or placed in seven G1 races and was South Africa’s Equus Champion 3YO Classic Colt in 2003-2004.
The former July winner had yearlings fetch up to R650 000 last year and the champion son of Zabeel will have four lots on offer at the 2017 Cape Premier Yearling Sale –
Lot 14 – out of a half sister to a G3 winning sprinter, this colt is from the great Party Time family responsible for champions Let’s Rock ‘n Roll, In The Fast Lane and July winner Trademark. Also family of recent Dubai feature winner Light The Lights
Lot 44 out of a winning Jet Master half to a stakes winning speedball (and from the family of smart current performers Dark Force and Mambonick), this colt (whose relatives include Irish 2000 Guineas winner Roderic O’Connor) is from the same family as champion sire Zabeel –the sire of Greys Inn
Lot 58 –out of a winning half sister to a G2 winner, this colt’s second dam is champion and multiple G1 winner Donatella. Family of current smart filly Negroamaro
Lot 154 – out of a winning three parts sister to a stakes winner, and this is the family of G1 2yo Midnight Serenade and July runner up Smanjemanje