Irish champion Pathfork, standing at the Sandown Stud for 2018, enjoyed a quick-fire double on Friday, with his runners scoring in two different provinces.
First of the Pathfork runners to win on Friday was the Connemara Stud bred Starflash, who made it three wins in a row when scoring for trainer Tara Laing and jockey Chase Maujean at Fairview on Friday. In scoring a half length win in a pinnacle stakes over 1000m, the gelding took his number of wins to six with Starflash having now earned close to R400 000 in prize money.
Starflash, whose wins have all come over 1000m, was a R250 000 buy from the 2015 March Yearling Sale.
His G1 winning sire was also responsible for Friday night’s Greyville scorer Leslies Pathtofame who romped home to score a two and a quarter length maiden over 1200m for trainer Frank Robinson and breeder Normandy Stud. The four-year-old Leslies Pathtofame is out of Trigger Finger mare Simone and he was a R200 000 buy from the 2016 Cape Premier Yearling Sale.
Pathfork, a half-brother to recent G1 Summer Stakes runner up War Of Will, is a son of US champion sire Distorted Humor. That son of Forty Niner made headlines over the past weekend, with his 2yo daughter Restless Rider winning the G1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland on Friday –with the filly making it three wins from just four starts.
Restless Rider, a 17th G1 winner for Distorted Humor, is now a leading contender for the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies to be run this November.
Distorted Humor, whose offspring include 150 black type winners, is also sire of promising US stallion Maclean’s Music whose son Complexity won the G1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park this weekend.
Pathfork, whose 3yos this season include the unbeaten G1 winner Mighty High, has two lots on the 2018 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale and four lots on the 2018 CTS Ready To Run Sale.