Morne

Mauritzfontein’s exciting young sire Danon Platina, who is currently involved in a titantic struggle for the title of South Africa’s Leading First Season Sire of 2022-2023, came up with his 17th first crop winner when his two-year-old daughter Mia’s Harper won at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Tuesday.
An eye catching second at her only previous start, Mia’s Harper was sent off a well backed favourite for Tuesday’s Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Welcomes You Maiden Juvenile Plate (Fillies) (1200m). Under a positive ride from Keagan De Melo, the Dean Kannemeyer trained filly hit the front a long way from home, and Mia’s Harper kept finding gamely to go on and score by a comfortable two lengths.
Bred and owned by Khaya Stables, Mia’s Harper is out of the Captain Al mare Captain’s Corner.
She joins an ever growing list of winners for her sire Danon Platina, Japan’s Champion 2YO Colt of 2014. Others include impressive Highveld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes winner White Pearl, Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (Fillies) queen Betula, and the likes of Oriental Bouquet, Kyomai, Romance In Rome, and Platina Princess.
Danon Platina was the sire of the first three home in the Highveld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes and the first two home in the Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (Fillies) this season.
At the time of writing, Danon Platina had been responsible for more two-year-old winners this season than such star sires as What A Winter, Vercingetorix, Querari, Rafeef and Trippi.
A son of Deep Impact (also sire of the 2023 G1 Betfred Derby winner Auguste Rodin), Danon Platina has 14 lots on offer at the 2023 August Two Year Old Sale.

Mauritzfontein’s red hot young sire Danon Platina came up with his 16th first crop winner when his son Harajuku got off the mark at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Wednesday afternoon.

Trained by Justin Snaith, two-year-old Harajuku had finished second on debut before finishing fourth next time out. However, Harajuku made no mistake in Wednesday’s Cape Racing Sales Maiden Juvenile Plate, when he romped home, under Grant Van Niekerk, to shed his maiden impressively by five lengths.

Bred by Rathmor Stud, Harajuku is out of the Right Approach mare Approach Me.

The colt was a R550 000 purchase from the 2022 Cape Yearling Sale.

Danon Platina, who enjoyed a 100% strike rate at Kenilworth on Wednesday with Harajuku his sole runner on the day, is currently seventh on South Africa’s Leading Sire of 2YOs premiership for 2022-2023.

Other early winners for Danon Platina include Highveld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes heroine White Pearl and Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (Fillies) heroine Betula.

Danon Platina shares his legendary sire Deep Impact with numerous equine stars including Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail. The latter made a huge impression at this week’s JRHA Select Sale, where Contrail had 20 of his first foals sell for in excess of ¥2,570,000,000 and average ¥128,500,000.

Mauritzfontein’s resident stallion Danon Platina, currently South Africa’s second Leading First Season Sire for 2022-2023, enjoyed a big day at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. Not only did Danon Platina’s two-year-old daughter Betula win Saturday’s Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (Fillies) (1300m), another daughter of the sire, Oriental Bouquet, finished second in that R400 000 feature for two-year-old fillies.
Trained by Stuart Pettigrew, Betula was driven out in the closing stages of Saturday’s race to hold off paternal half-sister Oriental Bouquet and claim her biggest win to date by a short-head.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Betula had finished fifth on debut before breaking her maiden next time out. The filly went on to finish runner-up, behind another Danon Platina filly White Pearl, in the Highveld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes, before landing the 2023 Bloodstock SA Sales Cup.
Betula, who has now won twice from just four starts, was an R160 000 purchase from the 2022 National Yearling Sale.
The filly, who is out of the Fastnet Rock mare Boxwood Bouwer, is one of 15 winners to have emerged from Danon Platina’s first crop of runners. This crop also includes impressive Highvevld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes winner White Pearl, who finished fifth in Saturday’s G2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper, and the smart Platina Princess. The latter recently made it two wins from just four starts when she won on KZN Breeders Raceday and she looks like another potentially smart sort for her sire.
Danon Platina, who shares his legendary sire Deep Impact with Sunday’s G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner Auguste Rodin, also had notable success at last week’s KZN Yearling Sale. Danon Platina ended Thursday’s auction as the second Leading Sire by Aggregate, with Danon Platina’s nine-yearlings grossing R2.72 million and averaging R302 222. His top-priced yearling sold was Grey Fantacy (Lot 146), with that Mauritzfontein consigned filly, knocked down to Pound Bloodstock for R550 000.

Japanese champion Danon Platina has made an excellent start with his first runners this season and the son of Deep Impact had another good day at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday when Danon Platina was responsible for two eye catching winners.
His first success at Scottsville came when Danon Platina filly Knockout ran out an easy winner of the first race on the card, the Track And Ball -The Finishing Post Maiden Juvenile Plate (Fillies) over 1200 metres. Trained by Justin Snaith, Knockout powered home, under a confident JP Van Der Merwe, to shed her maiden by just over a length and a quarter.
Bred by Ridgemont Highlands, Knockout had finished fifth on debut before finishing second on her only previous appearance and she looks a progressive filly indeed.
Knockout is out of the Dylan Thomas mare For The Count.
Danon Platina struck again when another two-year-old daughter, Bitcoin Baby, captured the ninth and final race at Scottsville on Saturday. The Michael Miller trained filly sat in second for much of the running of Saturday’s Track And Ball -Umlazi Maiden Plate (F&M) (1600m), before hitting the front 250m from home. From there, the Tristan Godden ridden two-year-old bounded clear to win impressively by nearly three lengths.
Bred by Boland Stud, Bitcoin Baby had finished third last time out and was duly rewarded for consistency with her triumph on Saturday.
Bitcoin Baby, who is out of the Roderic O’Connor mare Parfait, was a R90 000 buy from the 2022 KZN Yearling Sale.
Her sire Danon Platina has now been responsible for 15 two-year-old winners from his first 29 runners, with his early winners including the hugely impressive Highveld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes winner White Pearl, a winner of two of her first three starts.
He shares his legendary sire Deep Impact with no fewer than 195 stakes winners including this year’s impressive G1 Betfred Derby winner Auguste Rodin.

Mauritzfontein’s exciting resident stallion Danon Platina dominated Sunday’s Highveld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes (1400m) at Turffontein, where his daughters White Pearl, Betula and Platina Princess finished first, second and third respectively.
Second on debut, the Mike de Kock trained White Pearl had impressed when she broke her maiden over 1450m last time out, and she duly made it back to back wins with a fluent display on Sunday.
Under log-leading jockey Keagan De Melo, the two-year-old filly produced an eye catching turn of foot which propelled White Pearl to the front 100m from home, and the filly stayed on strongly to score by nearly a length and a half, with her paternal half-sisters Betula and Platina Princess finishing second and third respectively.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, White Pearl has now won twice from three starts and graded stakes surely await her!
Out of the Tiger Ridge mare Oyster Pond, White Pearl was a R450 000 purchase from the 2022 August Two Year Old Sale.
Her sire Danon Platina, Japan’s Champion 2YO Colt of 2014, had a good day at Hollywoodbets Greyville a day earlier, with the stallion’s son Kyomai breaking his maiden in open company, and another son of Danon Platina, Plaza Accord, finishing second on debut.
By the same sire as recent G1 Betfred Derby winner Auguste Rodin, Danon Platina has nine lots on offer at the 2023 KZN Yearling Sale.

Mauritzfontein’s inform young stallion Danon Platina had a memorable day at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Not only did Danon Platina come up with a 13th first crop winner in the form of Kyomai, Danon Platina gelding Plaza Accord made a smashing debut to finish second in the first race at Greyville. Plaza Accord looks a winner in waiting and is yet another promising sort to have emerged from the first crop of his sire.
The Tony Peter trained Kyomai got off the mark when he won Saturday’s LaLiga Maiden Plate over 1400 metres.
Under Denis Schwarz, the Danon Platina colt powered home to win convincingly by just over three-parts of a length.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Kyomai, who began his career in Cape Town, had finished second on debut before, two starts later, finishing third in the Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (C&G) for then trainer Justin Snaith.
Out of the Tiger Ridge mare Folk Dance, Kyomai was a R425 000 buy from the 2022 National Yearling Sale.
His sire Danon Platina, himself a G1 winning champion at two, has nine lots on offer at this year’s KZN Yearling Sale including a filly (Lot 72) out of a half-sister to G1 winning filly Nightingale, a half-sister (Lot 99) to stakes placed pair of Smart Colleen and Troop The Colour, and a filly (Lot 127) out of a three-parts sister to champion filly Lady In Black.

When Danon Platina’s son Honshu won at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Wednesday, he became the 12th winner to emerge from his sire’s first crop. Making his third start, the Stuart Ferrie-trained Honshu made the most of his experience to land Wednesday’s Diya Valves Maiden Juvenile Plate (1000m) a shade cosily by nearly half a length.
Under a good ride from Sean Veale, the Danon Platina gelding found more in the closing stages to withstand promising first-timer Plinian and break his maiden convincingly.
Bred by Ridgemont Highlands, Honshu is out of the Var mare Baltia.
Honshu joins an ever-growing list of promising winners sired by Danon Platina, with this list including the likes of Romance In Rome, White Pearl, Platina Princess, Oriental Bouquet and Lady Lacewing.
His daughter Oriental Bouquet is a runner in Saturday’s Listed Hollywoodbets Super League Devon Air Stakes, while Danon Platina gelding Romance In Rome is set to contest the same day’s Listed The Sharks Gatecrasher Stakes.
At the time of writing, Danon Platina sired juveniles had won 13 races in 2022-2023 and earned more than R1.161 million in stakes, which certainly bodes well for their sire’s future!
Danon Platina has now had more two-year-old winners in South Africa this season than the likes of What A Winter, Vercingetorix, Querari, Rafeef and Var, to name but a few.
The handsome grey also gained a notable boost with the running of Saturday’s G1Betfred Derby, with the impressive winner Auguste Rodin, sired, like Danon Platina, by the mighty Deep Impact.
Danon Platina has nine lots on offer at this year’s KZN Yearling Sale, including a full-brother (Lot 37) to promising filly Unconquerable Lady, and a filly (Lot 74) from the immediate family of breed shaping stallion Seeking The Gold among many others.

Mauritzfontein’s red hot young sire Danon Platina came up with his 11th first crop winner when his handsome son Rapidash won at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Fourth on his only previous start, the Justin Snaith trained Rapidash overcame greenness in running when running out an eye catching winner of Saturday’s Independent Media Maiden Juvenile Plate (1200 metres).

Under a good ride from Richard Fourie, Rapidash raced erratically down the straight, but Fourie straightened the colt up well and managed to produce a late burst from his mount which saw Rapidash fly up late and break his maiden by a long neck.

Bred by Kilimanjaro Bloodstock, Rapidash is out of the War Pass mare My Lovely.

The colt’s win continued the great run of late enjoyed by his G1 winning sire Danon Platina.
Rapidash is his sire’s third winner from his last three runners, with Danon Platina having also supplied a pair of winners at Turffontein on Tuesday.

Currently South Africa’s Leading First Season Sire by Winners, Danon Platina is second Leading First Season Sire by stakes for the 2022-2023 racing season thus far.

The champion son of legendary racehorse and sire Deep Impact has nine lots on offer at the 2023 KZN Yearling Sale, including a full-brother (Lot 37) to promising filly Unconquerable Lady. The latter has been entered for all of the Listed Lady’s Slipper Stakes, Listed Perfect Promise Sprint and Listed Somerset 1200.