Lammerskraal Stud’s exciting sire Visionaire was once again in the news this weekend.
The former G1 King’s Bishop Stakes winner is the sire of talented sprinter The Thinker, who downed a top-class field of speedsters to land the G2 World Sports Betting Merchants over 1160m at Turffontein’s delayed Summer Cup meeting on Sunday.

Bred by the Summerhill Stud, The Thinker produced an impressive turn of foot to power home to a 1.1 length win going away, landing the first feature race win of his career in the process. In the process, The Thinker accounted for all of G1 SA Nursery runner up Naafer, G2 Hawaii Stakes winner Captain Aldo, Equus Champion Talktothestars, and dual G1 winner Bull Valley. (The Thinker has now beaten champion Talktothestars 3 times).
Owned by Mayfair Speculators, and trained by Johan Janse Van Vuuren, The Thinker was ridden to victory by Donovan Mansour.
The gelding, who was produced by the Northern Guest mare Radiant Lass, has now won five of just 11 outings –and looks a leading light among the current crop of sprinters. The Thinker was one of two runners in the Merchants sired by Visionaire, with former G3 Byerley Turk hero Africa Rising, making his long awaited return to racing, being the other.

The Thinker, bred on the same VIsionaire/Northern Guest cross as Fillies Guineas winner Heaps Of Fun, was a R180 000 buy at the 2015 CTS Johannesburg Ready To Run Sale.
His sire Visionaire has enjoyed a good patch of late, and is also responsible for the recent sales topping colt at the Summerhill Ready To Run Sale.