KZN Midlands breeder Peter Blyth, whose roots in horseracing were founded in the same soil as those of legendary jockey Felix Coetzee, embarks on another chapter in his career as the promising stallion Crusade is set to join his Mooi River-based Clifton Stud.

Crusade has been standing at Scott Brothers and will be paraded at their dispersal sale on Tuesday before being relocated to Clifton.

Crusade, who is by Mr. Greeley, won the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket as a two-year-old for Aiden O’Brien O’Brien and was retired after only one run as a three-year-old.

His dam La Traviata has also produced dual Group 1 winner, Seventh Heaven, as well as Group 1-placed Cristoforo Columbo and Group 2-runner up Coat Of Arms. The O’Brien-trained Seventh Heaven (Galileo) won both the Group 1 Darley Irish Oaks and the Group 1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks and as a four-year-old finished second in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic and won the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes over a mile-and-a-half at Newmarket by five lengths.

La Traviata had only four starts, all as a three-year-old, and won the first three of them from five-and-a-half furlongs to six furlongs by a combined margin of 27,5 lengths. In her last win in the Group 3 Victory Ride Stakes over six furlongs at Saratoga, she stumbled at the start yet still won by 9,25 lengths.

She acquired her speed from her sire Johannesburg, whom Aiden O’Brien sent out seven times as a two-year-old and he finished the season unbeaten. These victories included four Group 1s from six furlongs up to eight-and-a-half furlongs. Johannesburg had an exceptional turn of foot.

Crusade’s best progeny to date is Covered In Snow, who won the Listed Swallow Stakes and the Listed Bauhinia Handicap. Fittingly this Diane Stenger-trained four-time winning filly, who is out of five time-winning Anytime mare Blue Nevada, is owned by Peter White and was bred by Clifton Stud.

White is Clifton Stud’s biggest client. However, he is a racing man through and through so his breeding stock, including Blue Nevada, are registered under Clifton Stud.

White had early success in his thoroughbred ownership career with the Anne Upton-trained New Zealand-bred North Island, who won the Grade 1 Holiday Inns in 1983.

White once worked for the late great owner-breeder Graham Back in the coal mining industry before branching out and becoming one of the foremost coal mining specialists in the country.

Beck made his fortune in coal in the Ermelo-Carolina-Witbank region, the same region in which Clifton Stud was originally located.

Blyth was sad to leave Lothair in the highlands near the Swaziland border as he was the third generation owner of the farm founded there in 1916 by his grandfather Fred. His grandfather was a horseman as it was his main mode of transport. However, it was his father Tim who was bitten by the racing bug and was one of a few well-known racing men who hailed from the region.

In Carolina bush racing was organised by Billy Pearce, whose son Neville later trained out of Clairwood. There was also bush racing in Barberton and in Mbabane in Swaziland.

A farmer in the region, Felix Coetzee, had five sons JF “Coookie”, Hennie, Loekie, Gert and Felix, and all five of them became racing men. Hennie became the father of jockey great Felix Coetzee.

Tim Blyth acquired his racing colours in 1945 and these black and white quartered silks with red sleeves and a cap are still used by Clifton Stud today. He bred his own horses and leased them to Loekie Coetzee, who trained in Johannesburg. Together they had many winners.

Tim also had his own training license and won a few races in Johannesburg. However, his horses were trained chiefly for bush racing. In 1950 he won the Mbabane Gymkhana Club trophy over eight furlongs for the third time, on that occasion with a horse called Black Banjo. He was thus awarded the floating trophy permanently and it is proudly displayed in the Blyth household today.

Loekie Cotezee had also been a jockey and became an outstanding riding teacher. Brilliant jockeys James Maree and Gerald Turner learned underneath him.

With the genes he inherited it is not surprising Felix Coetzee became a jockey legend and also an outstanding riding master. Hennie trained out of Summerveld so Felix had a geographic advantage growing up next to the South African Jockeys Academy.

Another racing man who hailed from the region was the Mbabane born-and-bred Mike Tillet, who rode in bush races despite having lost a leg as a teenager in a car accident. Tillet, who passed away in April this year, was later involved in breeding and training before making his mark as an outstanding and notably courageous chief stipendiary steward in main stream racing in South Africa.

Peter Blyth relocated to Mooi River for financial reasons. However, he said his new farm was a “home from home”, one similarity being the early morning frosts which kill all manner of potentially harmful bugs.

He will be glad to be standing Crusade, who is syndicate-owned by most of the KZN breeders, and whom he said had been “doing a lot” lately.

He has commandeered the career of a good stallion before, Allied Flag, who died prematurely of colic having sired the Durban July winner and Horse Of The Year Classic Flag. Allied Flag was by Danzig and came from one of the best families of the major Kentucky USA breeding farm, Lanes End.

Peter’s wife Jenny shares his passion for horses. The popular couple are sure to give Crusade every opportunity to fulfill the high potential his pedigree suggests he possesses.

By David Thiselton