By Emma Berry
It has been a highly encouraging start to the year in Britain for the select racing interests of Mary Slack, whose colours have been carried to glory by the G3 Winter Derby winner Sky Safari (Zoustar) and last Saturday by her half-sister, the Listed Snowdrop Fillies' Stakes winner Pina Sonata (Pinatubo).
The owner-breeder runs an altogether larger operation in South Africa, where she owns Wilgerbosdrift, one of the country's largest stud farms based in the Western Cape. She and her daughter Jessica Slack-Jell are also credited with stepping in to rescue the South African racing industry from financial collapse some five years ago.
Slack's broodmare band in Britain numbers just four and resides at Lofts Hall Stud, owned by Hugo Lascelles, who acts as her racing manager.
The two recent stakes successes have been somewhat bittersweet in that the dam of Sky Safari and Pina Sonata, Moonlight Sonata (Galileo), died two years ago, but she does at least now have two black-type-winning daughters to take her place at stud eventually.
“The mare is no longer around, which is really sad,” said Lascelles. “She got a very bad liver infection and sadly she died a couple of years ago. What's The Plan is the last of the line.”
What's The Plan (Time Test) won last year as a juvenile and, like his older sisters, is trained in Newmarket by James Fanshawe, whose skilful handling has seen five-year-old Sky Safari improve with each passing season. The consistent mare has won seven of her 11 starts and has had a particularly productive winter, taking the Listed Fleur de Lys EBF Fillies' Stakes prior to beating odds-on favourite Chancellor to become the first filly or mare to win the Winter Derby.
“Sky Safari was always a very big, gawky individual and had a few issues as a two-year-old,” Lascelles recalls. “But in fairness, James always said there was something there. We went to Yarmouth and she won as a three-year-old and it's sort of gone on from there. She stands her ground and is really game.”
Sky Safari is now a seven-time winner | Racingfotos
Slack is the daughter of the late Harry Oppenheimer and thus a member of arguably the most influential family in South Africa, known primarily for their former ownership of the De Beers diamond mines. One of Slack's other mares in Britain carries a reference to the family ties through her name Diamond Fields. The daughter of Fastnet Rock, who is a half-sister to the Irish Derby winner Latrobe (Camelot) and Oaks runner-up Pink Dogwood (Camelot), was purchased on the breeder's behalf from the Goffs Orby Sale by Jehan Malherbe of Form Bloodstock and went on to beat Alice Springs in the G3 Gladness Stakes. At stud she has produced Aikhal (Galileo), who was trained by Aidan O'Brien to win a Group 3 at the Curragh.
“Her first foal was a group winner and he was sold to Coolmore,” Lascelles says of Aikhal. “And she's hopefully holding cover to Havana Grey but has no foal of foot.
“We purchased a mare last year for Mary but it's not a big operation here at all, so that's why we're very lucky to have two nice fillies to go back to stud one day.”
He adds, “Mary's very enthusiastic. She comes over once a year and she's been an amazing supporter of the horse industry worldwide. I mean, she effectively saved South African racing. I spoke to her on Saturday after Pina Sonata won and she was so excited.”
Slack's ties to Newmarket extend to her ownership of Abington Place, once the home of Geoff Wragg, who succeeded his father Harry in training from one of the town's most prestigious yards. Jane Chapple-Hyam, who trained Claymore to win the G3 Hampton Court Stakes for Slack at Royal Ascot, is now based at the stables there.
A trip to Royal Ascot is now under consideration for the four-year-old Pina Sonata.
“She haș come out of her race very well indeed. We're very pleased with her,” Lascelles says. “There are a couple of options for her in Ireland and England soon. But maybe the Duke of Cambridge Stakes could be a possibility going forward. That's a fair way off.”
Meanwhile Sky Safari has been given an entry for the G2 Middleton Fillies' Stakes at York's Dante meeting, and Lascelles adds, “We might well consider the Huxley Stakes at Chester, too.”
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