6 minute read
Capital Stud - The power of ratings
by hqmagazine
Black Type Stallions
A month into the new year, the numbers for 2022 are in, and there are some clear winners. Looking at the Black Type percentage, which represents a percentage of the offspring of a particular sire over 8 years of age who have jumped 1.45m or higher during the past year, the comparisons are quite clear.
Capital Stud pays close attention to these Black Type percentages every year, as Henning Pretorius seeks out the best of the best genetics for his breeding programme. It’s astonishing to see how well his selection tallies with the Black Type percentages from 2022.
Chacco-Blue
Chacco-Blue achieves the highest Black Type percentage. From his 406 offspring that are older than eight, 338 compete at a minimum level of 1.45m. This gave Chacco-Blue a Black Type percentage of 83.3% in 2022. He is, of course, the sire of Ben Maher’s Explosion W, but his most successful product in the sport in 2022 was Andrew Bourns’ Sea Topblue. Santiago Lambre’s Chacco Blue II and Paul O’Shea’s Chacelloress also collected significant quantities of prize money in the past 12 months.
The Capital Stud collection sports multiple breeding stallions with Chacco-Blue’s lines. The most notable currently is Capital’s Todos de Regor (Chacco-Blue x Cento x Nabab de Reve) who is a direct Chacco-Blue, out of Centa De Muze, who is herself out of the legendary QerlyChin. His first crop of foals this year are the most incredible collection the Stud have had from a single stallion. They are exquisite, with perfect conformation and incredible light athletic movement; every single one is as breathtaking as the last.
Capital Toulouse (Diarado x Chacco-Blue x Berlin) is another new breeding stallion to the Capital staple, who is out of a Chacco-Blue mare. Toulouse’s foals are already carrying his stamp, and the quality of these offspring is plain to see. These foals are the stars of the future.
Cornet Obolensky
Cornet Obolensky ranks second. From his 124 products over the age of 8, 94 compete at a level of 1.45m which offers the BWP stallion a Black Type percentage of 75.6%. Eugenio Garza Perez’ Contago was one of Cornet Obolensky’s best performers in 2022, but great achievements were also produced by Arqana de Riverland and Cornets Iberio.
Amongst the Capital collection the obvious stallion to mention is Capital Cornetblue Floreval Z (Cornet Obolenksy x Chacco-Blue x Berlin) a direct descendent of Cornet Obolensky with the dam-sire Chacco-Blue. With this bloodline combination featuring three of the top seven Black Type percentage stallions in the world, it’s no surprise that Cornetblue’s foals have wowed all those who have seen them. They all have the stamp of their father, including his presence in the arena! This is just his second crop of foals and the team are ecstatic about the quality they see on the ground.
Capital CornetBlue Floreval Z
Baloubet Du Rouet
Baloubet du Rouet takes third place with a Black Type percentage of 74.6%. Out of 126 descendants over the age of eight, 94 competed in the sport at a minimum level of 1.45m. Hans Dieter Dreher’s top horse Vestmalle des Cotis is a son of Baloubet, just like Roger-Yves Bost’s Ballerine du Vilpion.
Capital's Barnadini
Capital’s Jaures de Hus (Baloubet du Rouet x Wandor Van Mispelaere x Cento) is a spectacular young stallion standing at Summerhill Equestrian. The influence of Baloubet du Rouet in this stallion is clear to see, and he stamps his foals with the qualities of his sire. Out of one of the most successful dam-lines in the world (Cella, who is a daughter of Usha van’t Roosakker), this stallion is breeding for the big time.
Another stallion starting to breed this year, who is a direct Baloubet du Rouet is Capital’s Barnidin JT Z (Baloubet du Rouet x Heartbreaker x Carthago Z) . His first crop of foals will be on the ground in the 2023/2024 season.
The final four
An additional four stallions scored a Black Type percentage of over 70%: Comme Il Faut (74.2%), Emerald (72.7%), Kashmir van Schuttershof (71.8%) and Berlin (70.2%).
Capital's Hermes Pommex Z x Guidam
As representatives of the final four with Black Type percentages over 70%, we have Capital’s Hermes Pommex Z (Halifax van Het Kluizebos (Heartbreaker) x Emerald van’t Ruytershof x Chin Chin) and Capital Toulouse (Diarado x Chacco-Blue x Berlin).
Capital's Hermes Pommex Z x Guidam
Henning's expertise
Henning’s ability to select young stallions and see the potential inherent in their bloodlines is almost legendary. He looks for proven horses, but also has an eye for up and coming talent. For Capital Stud to have a crop of stallions at their disposal, many of whom are almost guaranteed to feature in the top Black Type percentages in the coming years, gives a huge boost to the future of South Afircan showjumping.
In terms of proven lines, it is prudent to mention the progeny of Capital Kronos (Darco x Cash x Lord). Being a slightly older stallion than the ones mentioned above, he has many offspring on the ground and his progeny are proving a force to be reckoned with. Jumping in the 1.50m classes with ease, Capital Kronos is himself impressive, yet his offspring look set to outstrip him across the board. With his latest crop of foals on the ground, the team are confident that a group of agile, modern and highly rideable sporthorses will be gracing the showjumping arenas in the near future.
Then to look at Henning’s ability to find talent and breeding potential earlier than many, we need only look to Capital Levubu. In Henning’s own words, “Capital Levubu is probably the best horse I have ever bred. I bred him using a very new stallion on the circuit at the time, Cachas, who sadly died young”.
Henning’s selection of Cachas, and his subsequent breeding with Levubu has created a very exciting stallion for the future, Capital Legacy (Capital Levubu x Untouchable x Cassini I). Capital Legacy had his first crop of foals this year and they have certainly inherited their grandfather’s presence and stamp. These are very exciting youngsters for Capital Stud.
Vision
You won’t find this quality or quantity of Black Type stallion offspring in many stables in the world. Henning’s vision, and his willingness to invest in world-class breeding, is creating the future of the showjumping sport in South Africa. Mentioned here is just a small selection of his thirty stallions, but each year this number grows as he pursues the latest proven trends, and also seeks out the lesser-known talents. With Henning’s eye for top quality stallions, Capital Stud are proud to say that the sky is NOT the limit for showjumping in South Africa. Capital Stud are committed to bringing you the best of the best.
