Tear up your 2010 front row tickets...

Tear up your 2010 front row tickets...


It doesn’t get any better than this. How could it? Watching history in the making is; ring side, nail biting stuff. On Friday we sent you a note to tell you that Captain Al had hit the 19 winner mark – no sooner had that note gone out than he had TWO MORE and HE GOT ANOTHER ONE TODAY – he has equaled his own 2yo record AND with R1 628 150 he has just set a new stakes record for 2yo earnings.

His wins have included some important classic indicators and time honoured markers for hope of better to come including the Gr2 Debutante Stakes, Gr3 Fillies Nursery (he got 1st, 2nd and 4th in that race) and the listed Somerset Plate (and he got 4th in that too). We can wax lyrical all day about this, but thought we’d let you study the statistics for yourself (the statistics below don’t include his winner today – Kissing Cousin won 1st time out on the sand for Dominic Zaki just a few minutes ago).

When studying these statistics please note how many feature wins and feature places have been recorded by this crop – more than when he set the record as a Freshman Sire. This has to do with the upgrade in his mares. His mares have got better each year and this will definitely have an effect on his overall performance in future.

He had 4 winners in 3 days last week to notch up his 21st juvenile winner on Saturday. There are another 9 weeks left in the season, so the big question is where is he going to take that record to this year? There is no question that SA’s favourite stallion is going to smash his own record – he can’t miss. The record he set in 2005 had remained unchallenged for some time before he and Jet Master had a ding dong battle to break it. Captain Al will be the first stallion to break the record with his 1st crop and then rewrite it again in the same year that he sets a new earnings record.

Tribute must be made to the John Koster and the Klawervlei chaps for the way in which they gave this home bred boy the chance to become such a formidable force in our industry. He has fastidiously upgraded his mares each year to enable him achieve this milestone. The South African thoroughbred industry has come of age. The 3 stallions at the top of the General Sires Log right now are all SA-bred. Just think of what it means to the quality of our bloodstock that all of the hundreds of millions of Rands that have been invested in importing high calibre breeding stock have enabled us to breed top class race horses that are now passing that racing class through their sons. This is a vital development and crucial to the wellbeing of our industry in future. It’s actually more than all of that – it’s monumentally significant.

As a stallion manager I am extremely proud to be part of the syndicate that owns Captain Al. They are a very positive and dedicated bunch of breeders who have not only enjoyed the success of their investment but have let so many others enjoy it with them. That’s why I am so happy to have acquired Jay Peg for my stallion portfolio – so many of the Captain Al team have joined the new syndicate and will be as much as asset to him as they have been to The Captain. “The Peg” is a natural successor in our quest to breed with true local racing class and the fact that he has had his ability tested internationally is a huge feather in his cap.

Captain Al is the Leading Sire in South Africa at the 24th May by % winners/ runners – 53%. He is also 2nd on the General Sires Log. He is 3rd Leading Sire by AEPR (Average Earnings per Runner) All Ages.

He is the best!!