Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Bold pays off for Parkers - part 1 of 2

David Thiselton
A disappointment of almost twenty years standing was forgotten in an instant for Ascot Stud’s Ashley and Rose Parker when Bold Silvano won this year's Vodacom Durban July. In 1991 their imported USA-bred horse Al Mufti was caught on the line and beaten by Flaming Rock in the big race. Ascot Stud are the breeders of Bold Silvano and Ashley and his wife Bev shouted him home in the July from the Racing South Africa box in the north wing. Rose, Ashley’s mother, is an outstanding horsewoman who has a very successful track record of selecting stallions. Al Mufti, who was Champion Sire in the 1999/2000 season, was the best of them. As time passed, Al Mufti’s dam Lassie Dear proved a phenomenon and she is now a leading name in one of the most sort after stallion producing families in the world. Lassie Dear’s daughter Weekend Surprise produced the USA Horse of the Year and twice North American Champion stallion, A. P. Indy, as well as Preakness winner, Summer Squall, who produced a Kentucky Derby winner, Charismatic. Other top horses and sires that have stemmed from Lassie Dear are Lemon Drop Kid who won the Belmont Stakes and is a successful sire, Duke Of Marmalade who won five consecutive Group 1 races and now stands at Coolmore, Wolfhound a twice Group 1 winning sprinter and local sire, and many more. Al Mufti has become a sire of sires himself having produced the record-breaking sire of two-year-olds Captain Al, who finished second in 2008/2009 and third last season on the National Sires log, as well as Victory Moon, The Sheik and Cataloochee. Al Mufti sired at least 10 Grade 1 winners and his many worldwide stakes winners won over distances from 1000-2800m.
He is now retired. A.P. Indy, who is by Seattle Slew, is the most successful stallion hailing from Lassie Dear, so it is not surprising that the newest stallion purchase by Ascot, Sail From Seattle, is out of a Seattle Slew mare. The thinking was obviously to find a good match for Al Mufti mares.
Sail From Seattle is by the Mr Prospector stallion, Gone West, and he won four races in seven starts on dirt and turf, from 1100-1400m, including a Listed event. He is a half-brother to Hello Seattle (Deputy Minister), who was a Grade 1 winner and Canada's Champion two-year-old filly. Sail From Seattle is a very good looking dark bay who stands at 16 hands one-and-a-quarter inches.
Breeders were impressed and he had a book of 103 mares in his first season and about 100 this season, including many Al Mufti mares. He has about ten foals on the ground already and they have been described as “nice” by Ashley.

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