MIKE de Kock-trained Festival of Fire (headline photo) walked away with four accolades at the KZN Breeders Awards, including the big one, the Horse Of The Year award.

Festival Of Fire also won the Outstanding three-year-old filly, Outstanding Sprinter Female and Outstanding Middle Distance Female awards.

Her breeder and part-owner (with Lady O’Reilly), Chris Saunders was bestowed with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Summerhill Stud were as usual a dominant force on the evening. The nine-time National Champion Breeders won the province’s Breeder of the Year award again, while their Kahal gelding Love Struck won the Outstanding three-year-old Colt and Outstanding Middle Distance Male awards, their Admire Main filly Admiral’s Eye, bred jointly by Judge Alan Magid, won the Outstanding Two-year-old filly award.

Another Mike de Kock-trained mare, Kahal’s daughter Checcetti (photo below), landed the Older Female award.

KZN Breeder’s Club Chairman Koos de Klerk thanked Gold Circle for their contribution to the province’s breeding schemes, including the staging of the lucrative KZN Breeder’s day race meeting and the inaugural running of the KZN Breeders Juvenile Million on Vodacom Durban July day.

De Klerk emphasised the need for the province’s breeders to pull together in order to improve their fortunes, particularly in the choosing of and support of new stallions, which he said were the driving force of the industry. – extracted from goldcircle.co.za