Ridgemont Highlands’ rising star sire Rafeef had a good day at Turffontein on Saturday afternoon, with Rafeef’s daughter Ipso Facto landing the Listed Ormond Ferraris Oaks Trial (2000m) and Rafeef gelding Positive Attitude victorious in the second race on the same card.
Under a well-timed ride by Ryan Munger, Ipso Facto stormed into the front close home in Saturday’s R150 000 feature for three-year-old fillies, and she kept finding more in the closing stages to land her first Listed win by just over a length and a quarter.
It was back-to-back wins for Ipso Facto, who had scored at Turffontein last time out.
Trained by Ashley Fortune, Ipso Facto has now won three of just eight starts.
Out of the Machiavellian mare Awaited, Ipso Facto was an R300 000 purchase from the 2021 August Two Year Old Sale.
Ipso Facto is the tenth stakes winner produced from the first two crops of G1 Computaform Sprint winner Rafeef, whose other flagbearers from his current crop of three-year-olds include G1 Gold Medallion winner Thunderstruck and G2 Jonsson Workwear Dingaans hero Union Square.
The son of Redoute’s Choice also enjoyed success on Saturday when his Joe Soma-trained son Positive Attitude powered home to shed his maiden by a length and a quarter.
South Africa’s Leading First Crop Sire of 2020-2021, Rafeef has 19 lots on offer at the 2023 National Yearling Sale, including a colt (Lot 152) out of G3 Track And Ball Oaks winner Zante, a half-sister (Lot 258) to G2 Debutante Stakes winner Montreal Mist, and a half-sister (Lot 329) to G3 Three Troikas Stakes queen Sprinkles.