Irish Champion Pathfork, set to stand at Sandown Stud in 2018, enjoyed a impressive weekend.
Not only was the former G1 boylesports.com Vincent O’Brien National Stakes winner represented by his first G1 winner as a sire, but a close relative of the regally bred Pathfork won Saturday’s G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas!
Pathfork, whose trio of weekend winners also included the impressive 2yo winner Marchingontogether, made headlines at Scottsville on Saturday when his unbeaten juvenile daughter Mighty High became her sire’s first ever G1 winner.
Trained by Johan Janse Van Vuuren, and bred by Maine Chance Farms, Mighty High took her record to two wins from as many outings when beating G3 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Celtic Sea and G3 Strelitzia Stakes heroine Inverroche into second and third places respectively in the R750 000 Allan Robertson Championship.
A R120 000 buy from the 2017 National Yearling Sale, Mighty High (now a leading contender for Equus award honours) had won impressively on debut when scoring by 2.1 lengths. The filly took her earnings to R534 375 with Saturday’s G1 victory.
Pathfork, whose 2yo son Victor Forth ran second in a juvenile plate on debut on Sunday, has enjoyed another superb season with his juveniles this season.
Not only is Pathfork sire of the 2018 G1 Allan Robertson Championship winner, but another 2yo filly by the G1 winning Distorted Humor son, Madame Speaker, downed males when landing the Listed East Cape Nursery back in April. Also runner up in the Listed Dahlia Plate, Madame Speaker is one of the best 2yo fillies racing in the Eastern Cape this season, and could well give her exciting sire Pathfork yet more feature race success if she takes part in the Listed Lady’s Slipper Stakes on June 8th.
The blue blooded Pathfork, whose relatives include numerous G1 winners including Breeders’ Cup Mile/Irish 2000 Guineas winner Spinning World, also hails from the same family as Romanised.
The latter, like Pathfork a descendant of the mare Stolen Hour, picked up the first G1 victory of his career when downing champion US Navy Flag to win the 2018 Irish 2000 Guineas by 2.25 lengths.
Ridden to victory by Sean Foley, the Ken Condon trained Romanised (by Holy Roman Emperor) could now be aimed at either the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes or G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.
Pathfork, currently among South Africa’s Leading Sires of 2yos for 2017-2018, is well represented at the 2018 KZN Yearling Sale. His seven yearlings at the KZN Sale include a colt out of a half-sister to G2 winning sprinter Triptique (Lot 99), a filly out of a five time winning daughter of prominent broodmare sire Rich Man’s Gold (Lot 113), and a colt from the same family as French Derby winner and outstanding sire Caerleon (Lot 179).