Star four-year-old, and Bloodstock South Africa purchase, Captain’s Ransom showed her class when running out a fluent winner of the G3 Diana Stakes (1400m) at Durbanville on Saturday.
Remarkably, she was one of three BSA graduates to land a graded race this weekend, with Big Burn victorious in Sunday’s G2 Joburg Spring F and M Challenge (1450m) and MK’s Pride landing Sunday’s G2 #ThisIsRacing Joburg Spring Challenge (1450m) on the same card.
The Justin Snaith trained Captain’s Ransom made it back to back wins in the G3 Diana Stakes when storming home, under Richard Fourie, to land the Durbanville feature race for fillies and mares by a length and a half, with another BSA buy, Marmalisa, finishing third.
Bred by Moutonshoek, the Suzette Viljoen owned filly, who made her four-year-old debut on Saturday, has now won seven of just nine starts for earnings of nearly R1 000 000.
The Captain Al filly, a R225 000 buy from the 2019 National Yearling Sale, had proved to be one of the best fillies of her generation last season when Captain’s Ransom captured all of the G1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas, G1 Majorca Stakes, G2 World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas and G3 Diana Stakes.
She is out of the unraced Red Ransom mare Cinna’s Ransom -a half-sister to G3 winning sprinter Black Rock Desert.
Bloodstock South Africa also enjoyed a notable graded stakes double on Sunday courtesy of the Narrow Creek Stud bred Big Burn and the Summerhill Stud bred MK’s Pride.
Both Big Burn and MK’s Pride are trained by Paul Peter and both horses were ridden on Sunday by Warren Kennedy.
Willow Magic. Image: Candiese Lenferna
The former made it four wins from just five starts when making all to win the 2021 G2 Joburg Spring F and M Challenge by over a length and a half, beating last season’s G1 winning filly Under Your Spell into second place in the process.
Winner of The Lady’s Stakes (Non-Black Type) and Bloodstock SA Sales Cup in her two previous starts, Big Burn races for ASSM Racing Syndicate (Nom: Mr A Chadha) and Ian Levitan.
A daughter of Elusive Fort, and full-sister to top-class gelding Catch Twentytwo, Big Burn was a R300 000 buy from the 2020 National 2YO Sale.
Offered for sale at the 2019 Ready To Run Sale, charismatic four-year-old MK’s Pride showed his class when defeating a top-class field in Sunday’s G2 #ThisIsRacing Joburg Spring Challenge at Turffontein.
The Willow Magic colt dug down deep in the closing stages to hold off both Bingwa and multiple Equus Champion Got The Greenlight to claim the G2 prize by just over half a length.
Racing for Mr Koos Nkale, MK’s Pride has now won seven of just 14 starts, with the colt’s previous triumphs also including last season’s G2 Ilha Bela Hawaii Stakes and Peermont Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup.
