Multiple G1 winner and twice SA Horse of the Year, Variety Club, is set to return to the land of his birth. A decision to retire the globe trotting Champion was recently taken by owners Markus and Ingrid Jooste, who decided to stand him at Klawervlei Stud in the interest of the South African racing and breeding industries.
Variety Club, currently ranked as the second highest rated horse in the world, by the Longines World's Best Racehorse rankings won 17 of his 23 career starts. He won 4 G1's in his native land including the breed shaping Cape Guineas G1, The L'Ormarins Queens Plate (WFA) G1, and was a dual winner of The Rising Sun (WFA) G1. Other notable Group victories included the JWS Langerman G3, The Matchem Stakes (WFA) G2, Selangor Cup G2, The Tekkietown Winter Guineas G3, The KRA Guineas G2 and The Greenpoint Stakes (WFA) G2.
After been crowned as SA Horse of the Year for the second consecutive time in 2013 it was time to take on the world's best. A six month quarantine via Mauritius and Europe was followed by a first up win in the Firebreak Stake G3, at Meydan in the UAE. Despite a rushed prep and still having to brush off a few cobwebs, Variety Club disposed of his opposition with ease, setting a new (unofficial) course record. He ran a creditable 2nd in the Burj Nahaar G3 in his next start, after which he was freshened up for the Godolphin Mile G2 on World Cup night. With a superb display of brilliant gate speed he had the appreciative crowd aghast with amazement as he flashed past the post, defeating another star studded field.
With two International Group victories under his belt, Variety Club travelled to Hong Kong, to take on the worlds best in the Champions Mile G1. Brilliant milers from around the globe assembled to try and wrestle the crown from the locals, a feat which all previous contenders had failed at. Despite another shocking draw, the SA Champ, under the masterful guidance of Anton Marcus, produced a career best performance, disposing of the best Hong Kong had to offer to win comfortably by four. The performance earned him a rating of 126 and left one of the worlds leading jockeys Joao Moreira expressing in amazement "he didn't just beat us, he broke us into little pieces!".
The brilliant sprinter/miler son of VAR, who was bred by Anton Shepard at Beaumont Stud, is expected to arrive at the SA Champion Breeders, Klawervlei stud, early in December. He will commence stud duties in the 2015 season. A stud fee will be announced in due course.
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