Riverton Stud
Breeders of Equus Champion Sprinter, Captain of All, the highest merit rated horse in South Africa and the joint second Best Sprinter in the World in the 2015 Longines World Best Racehorses Rankings. In 2022 Riverton bred Gr1 winner Astrix and in 2021 Gr1 winner Pearl of Asia kept the Riverton Stud flag flying high.
Riverton Stud has had the privilege of producing the winner of the G1 Tsogo Sun Medallion three times with Captain of All 2013, Potent Power 2012 and Link Man 2010 (born & raised at Riverton for Tawny Syndicate) all for trainer Dennis Drier. In 2017 Al Mariachi placed 3rd in the G1 Tsogo Sun Medallion for trainer Brett Crawford assisted by Peter Musket.
In 2013 Riverton Stud had the highest strike rate of stakes winners with 18% stakes winners/runner. An impressive achievement for a stud that only has 12 to 15 yearlings entering the market each year!
Captain of All – from Champion Sprinter to Champion Freshman Sire
With phenominal speed, the 2nd Fastest Horse in the World, earned an overall international ranking of 121. The Multiple Gr1 winning Equus Champion Sprinter and course record breaker, Captain of All, was ranked equal to such outstanding racehorses as California Chrome (US Horse Of The Year), Cirres Des Aigles, Brazen Beau, Al Kazeem (G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup), Highland Reel (G1 Secretariat Stakes, Hong Kong Vase), Maurice (Japanese Horse Of The Year), Make Believe (G1 French 2000 Guineas), Postponed (G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes), and G1 Dubai World Cup hero Prince Bishop.
Captain of All took up stud duties at Klawervlei Stud in August 2016. He was the first Gr1 winning son of his multiple award winning champion sire, Captain Al, to stand at stud. In August 2019 he was crowned Champion Freshman Sire!
Other Recent Top Performers
Riverton-bred Astrix won the Gr1 TAB Premier’s Champions Challenge in 2022 and Pearl of Asia the Gr1 Mercury Sprint in 2021. Chere For Me won both the Lady’s Slipper Stakes L and the Eastern Cape Fillies Nursery L in 2022 to win the Champion 2 Year Old Filly at the Eastern Cape Awards. She’s A Cracker won the Spook Express L in 2021.
Cirillo streaked ahead to win the Betting World Gr2 Hawaii Stakes on the 7th March 2020 to take his earnings to over R5 M. Previously he won the 5 Million CTS 1200 in January 2019 and the 2.5 Million Ready to Run Stakes in November 2018 and has finished narrow seconds in four features.
Al Mariachi won the 1st feature of the Mauritius season – the Noble Salute Cup Group 3 on Saturday 20th June 2020. The 6 time winner also won the Gr 3 Umkhomazi 2017 and the KZN Million 2017 and placed 3rd in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion.
G3 Cape Summer Stayers/G3 Chairman’s Cup winner Gimme One Night and classy G3 Kenilworth Fillies Nursery winner Cousin Liz kept the flag flying in 2019.
Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion winner and 2012 KZN Champion Two-Year-Old Male, Potent Power, was renamed Rocket Let Win in Hong Kong – he won the 2013 Nam Long Shan over 1000m, a class 3 handicap worth HK $1, 000 000.00, ran 3rd in the prestigious Hong Kong Longines International Jockey Championship and won a feature race, The Hong Kong Golf Club Centenary hcp. In 2015 he won the HK$ 800,000 feature race, The Hong Kong Golf Club Centenary Cup hcp over 1200m and on the 6 January 2016 he won The Great George Handicap for HK $800,000 over 1200m at Happy Valley.
Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion winner and 2010 Equus National & WPOTA Champion 2 Year Old, Link Man (bred for Tawny Syndicate) also won the Gr3 Spring Challenge, the Gr3 Tony Ruffles Stakes, the 2011 R1 Million Gauteng Guineas before being one of several horses bumped in the KRA Guineas.
Other top performers include 2012 Gr 2 Drill Hall Stakes winner Tales of Bravery (bred for Victory Moon Syn) who also won the Matchem Stakes G3 and placed 2nd in the Queen’s Plate and 4th in the Met, Equus nominee Princess Sassi and winner of the Gr2 Golden Slipper, Golden Riviera winner of the Equimark Stakes; 2013 Syringa Stakes Listed race winner Secret Obsession, Gr3 and listed placed Intimate Connection, Hard Rock (2011 Cape Racing & Breeding Awards Champion 2 Year Old nominee) won the Gr3 Goldolphin Barb Stakes, and Sheikitupbaby for winning the Spook Express hcp. Masked Lady placed in the 2013 Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship for two-year-old fillies.
Both Tales of Bravery and Liquid Motion have gone on to win Gr1s in Mauritius and Liquid Motion won Champion 4 Year Old of the Year in 2014. Tales of Bravery won the 2013 Barbe Cup and the Banque des Mascareignes Duke of York Cup. Liquid Motion won the 2013 SAA Cargo Princess Margaret Cup and the Rajcoomar Gujadhur Cup in 2014. Previously Holdall and Domino Principle have both won the Mauritius Horse Of The Year Award with Sentinel (winner of the Barbe Cup) also having flown the Riverton Stud flag high. League Of Legends literally ran away from the field to win the Velogic Warehouse And Distribution Services Trophy – Draper’s Mile (1500m) in Mauritius on Sat 5 November 2016.
Dual Grade 1 winner Domino Man beat the champion race horse Dynasty in the Gr1 Cape Guineas and went on to win the Gr1 Horse Chestnut Stakes.
Gr 1 winner Cardinal Fury has the honour of winning the richest open race in the country.