Drakenstein Stud’s champion sire Trippi made the perfect start to the 2018-2019 racing season when represented by a pair of winners, from just three runners, at the Vaal on Thursday.

His five-year-old son Torre Del Oro made it win number five when prevailing in a tight finish to Thursday’s second race, a MR 84 handicap over 1000m. Trained, like Trippi’s top sprinting son Trip To Heaven, by Sean Tarry, the Dr Ian Heyns bred gelding pushed his earnings over R400 000 with Thursday’s win.

Out of the Fort Wood mare Fort Sylvia, Torre Del Oro had been fourth, to paternal half-brother African Ruler, at his previous outing.

That formline got a double boost with not only Torre Del Oro but African Ruler both winning on Thursday. Trippi sired gelding African Ruler impressed on Thursday when he won under a staggering 62.5kgs over 1400m –registering his eighth career victory in the process.
The Paul Peter trained African Ruler, runner up in the 2016 G1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, has now earned over R930 000 and he looks set to take his earnings past the R1 million mark in the not too distant future.

South Africa’s Champion Sire in 2015-2016, Trippi enjoyed a superb season in 2017-2018, when his top performers included exported G1 SA Classic winner Lobo’s Legend, the unbeaten filly Lesedi La Rona, impressive G3 Umkhomazi Stakes victor Chimichuri Run and Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes victress Miss Katalin.

Trippi, who will be joined at Drakenstein Stud this season by his high class son Gold Standard, has a single lot on offer at the 2018 National Two Year Old Sale –a filly (Lot 152) who is from the same family as Breeders’ Cup Mile winners Miesque, Karakontie and Six Perfections and recent standouts Alpha Centauri and Study Of Man.

To date,  Trippi is the sire of 72 stakes winners and nearly 150 stakes horses in total.