Drakenstein Stud’s champion sire Trippi’s good season continued this weekend, when the evergreen son of End Sweep was represented by a trio of local winners.
Trainer Glen Kotzen sent out Trippi’s daughter Trippi’s Girl to pick up the fourth win of her career, when the four-year-old won the Noble Tune (USA) KwaZulu-Natal Breeders MR 88 Handicap at Greyville on Saturday.
Ridden by Craig Zackey, Trippi’s Girl dug down deep to best her male rivals and score a short neck victory in the 1400m contest.
Bred by Bruce Le Roux, the four-year-old was produced by the National Emblem mare Vasilisa.
Her champion sire also enjoyed a notable double at Turffontein the following day, when his talented sons Trip To Heaven and African Ruler both won their respective races.
Bred by Highlands Stud, the brilliant Trip To Heaven, despite being slow away at the start, ran on smartly over 1160m to pick the eighth win of his career when victorious on Sunday.
First past the post in the 2016 G1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge, Trip To Heaven, whose latest win pushed his earnings to over R2.2 million, has four graded victories to his name –including two scores in the G2 The Merchants and has been second twice in both the G1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship and G1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.
Six-year-old Trip To Heaven is trained by Sean Tarry and was ridden to victory by Lyle Hewitson.
Trippi is also sire of former G1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint runner up African Ruler, who picked up his seventh career win when scoring over1160m at Turffontein on Sunday. The Paul Peter trained five-year-old ran on stoutly to score by a 1.4 lengths under the urgings of in-form jockey Warren Kennedy, with African Ruler pushing his earnings to R874 325 in the process.
South Africa’s Champion Sire in 2015-2016, Trippi has once again enjoyed a memorable season this year, with his numerous high class performers including exported G1 SA Classic hero Lobo’s Legend, unbeaten 2yo stakes winner Lesedi La Rona, Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes winner Miss Katalin, and the G1 performers Chimichuri Run and White River.
The champion will be represented in the 2018 G1 Vodacom Durban July by his sons Gold Standard and White River.