Maine Chance Farms’ multiple champion sire Silvano enjoyed a Super Saturday at Turffontein on Champions Day, with his progeny winning three of the 12 races carded on Saturday.
Silvano’s Turffontein treble was highlighted by a brilliant display by his 3yo son Hawwaam, who romped to a facile four length score in the G1 The Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000 metres.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, the Mike de Kock trained Hawwaam made it win number five from just six starts when running out a decisive four length winner of the R4 000 000 Champions Challenge.
Hawwaam, whose beaten rivals included dual Horse Of The Year Legal Eagle and G1 Gbets Gauteng Summer Cup winner Tilbury Fort, had previously won all of the G1 SA Classic, G2 Dingaans and G3 Tony Ruffel Stakes, and is clearly without doubt one of the best horses in South Africa at the moment.
Hawwaam, who has now earned over R4.3 million, was a R1 000 000 buy from the 2017 National Yearling Sale.
He is a second Champions Challenge winner for Silvano, whose July winning son Heavy Metal won the race back in 2013.
Hawwaam was one of two graded stakes winners for Silvano on Saturday, with the son of Lomitas also responsible for Saturday’s G3 Gold Bowl winner Sunshine Silk.
The latter, a four-year-old Gold Star Stud bred filly, made it win number six when scoring a courageous half length win in the R500 000 Gold Bowl, with the Geoff Woodruff trained filly taking her career earnings to R926 200 in the process. (Silvano is also broodmare sire of Gold Bowl third place finisher Tirzan).
Bred on the same Silvano/Al Mufti cross as G1 winners Al Sahem, Bold Silvano and Kings Gambit, Sunshine Silk was making it back to back graded wins, with the filly having won the G3 Caradoc Gold Cup last time out.
Silvano’s other success on Saturday came when his 2yo son Tree Tumbo got off the mark when romping home over 1600m for trainer Sean Tarry. Bred, like Hawwaam, by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, the colt relished the step up in trip on Saturday and scored a clear-cut three length win.
Silvano, whose own sister Shina is the dam of Friday’s G2 KRA Fillies Guineas winner Santa Clara, has also made waves as a sire of sires this season, with his Equus Champion Vercingetorix currently South Africa’s Leading First Crop Sire for 2018-2019 both by earnings and individual winners.