Drakenstein Stud’s top-class sire What A Winter came up with his 27th stakes winner on Sunday.
What A Winter gelding Winter Games benefitted from a superb ride to land Sunday’s Listed Kings Cup (1600m) at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
Trained by Michael Miller, four-year-old Winter Games was given a great ride by Mathew Thackeray to win Sunday’s R165 000 race.
Thackeray was quick to take Winter Games to the front, and the pair stayed in front.
With 300m left to run, Winter Games was still well clear of his rivals, and he kept going gamely to claim his biggest win to date by a neck.
Bred by Daytona Stud, Winter Games is out of the Ideal World mare What Fun. The 2025 Kings Cup winner is one of four stakes winners to have emerged from What A Winter’s current crop of four-year-olds, with this crop headed by the graded stakes winners Distant Winter, Mid Winter Wind, and Winter Cloud.
Runner up in the 2023 Listed The Sharks Gatecrasher Stakes, Winter Games took his tally of wins to three with his victory on Sunday.
His four time G1 winning sire What A Winter, whose champion son Isivunguvungu is a leading contender for the upcoming G1 Al Quoz Sprint, is also responsible for some very promising two-year-olds this season.
His juveniles this season include G3 SplashOut Cape Of Good Hope Nursery runner up Winter Snap, and Listed TAB Storm Bird Stakes runner up One Fine Winter. The latter holds an entry for Saturday’s G2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Nursery.
What A Winter has 12 lots on offer at the National Yearling Sale, including a colt (Lot 212) out of G1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes winner Nightingale, and a three-parts brother (Lot 322) to the What A Winter sired stars Clouds Unfold and Winter Cloud.