This Looks Ready To Charge

Impressive recent debut winner Ready To Charge looks to be an interesting prospect judging by his eye catching first up run.

This is not perhaps surprising given his stellar pedigree.

Not only is Ready To Charge a son of champion sire Gimmethegreenlight, the latter on course to be crowned South African Champion Sire for a second time this season, and Gr3 Sycamore Sprint winner San Fermin (Charge Forward), the two-year-old hails from one of the very best families in the Australian stud book.

Also runner up in the G3 Three Troikas Stakes and third in the Listed Swallow Stakes, the classy San Fermin’s good form continued at the National Sale, where her Lancaster Bomber colt Lead The Charge made R425 000.

Ready To Charge is bred on very similar lines to this season’s Gr2 World Sports Betting Gauteng Guineas winner Eye Of The Prophet (the latter’s dam is an own sister to Gr2 Premier Trophy winner Cask (Fort Wood)).

Not only do the pair share the same sire, but Eye Of The Prophet’s third dam Christmas Spirit is also the fourth dam of Ready To Charge. A similar mating produced South African Gr3 Winter Classic/Gr3 Winter Guineas winner Readytogorightnow. Another sired by Gimmethegreenlight, Readytogorightnow’s third dam Denises Joy was the granddam of Christmas Spirit.

Christmas Spirit, by multiple champion Australian sire Bletchingly, was a granddaughter of superb racemare and producer Denises Joy (Seventh Hussar). As versatile as she was talented, Denises Joy had the speed to win the Widden Stakes over 1000m and the stamina to land the 1976 VRC Oaks over 2500m. In total, Denises Joy, also runner in the Golden Slipper, won 13 times including the WATC Australian Derby and QTC Queensland Oaks.

She became even more influential at stud, with Denises Joy ancestress of numerous Gr1 winners including champion New Zealand sire Thorn Park (Spinning World) and Australian Gr1 winners Miss Danehill, Sunday Joy, Tuesday Joy, Fenway, Bentley Biscuit, and More Joyous.

The latter, a winner of 21 races including eight at Gr1 level, is bred on similar lines to the aforementioned trio of Eye Of The Prophet, Ready To Charge and Readytogorightnow, with More Joyous’ outstanding sire More Than Ready also sire of Gimmethegreenlight.

Denises Joy certainly has had a considerable impact on the South African turf with the blue-hen mare also ranking as granddam of dual South African champion Joie De Grise (Kenmare), whose ten career victories included back to back wins in the G1 SA Fillies Sprint.

While she failed to throw a horse as good as she was, the speedy Joie De Grise has made her mark through various broodmare daughters.

Her daughter Joie’s Winter (Western Winter) is the dam of the progressive gelding Cape Eagle (Vercingetorix), winner of both the Listed Kings Cup and Listed Michael Roberts Stakes this season, while another daughter Plaisir De Fete, a Fort Wood full-sister to Gr3 Cape Classic runner up Madiba, produced Listed Sophomore Sprint/Listed East Cape Sprint Cup winner Pleasedtomeetyou (Querari).

A granddaughter of Joie De Grise, the stakes placed Approach Me (Right Approach), was responsible for the fifth top priced lot sold at the 2022 Cape Yearling Sale.

No doubt, descendants of Denise’s Joy will continue to prove their worth on the South African turf in seasons to come.