War Front’s sons are firing In SA
PUBLISHED: March 18, 2025
David ThiseltonWar Front is one of two sons of the great Danzig, along with Hard Spun, still standing at stud and he is making a massive impact in South Africa through his three sons standing here, the late Lancaster Bomber, Fire Away and Declarationofpeace.Fire Away is on fire at present and in the month of […]
David Thiselton
War Front is one of two sons of the great Danzig, along with Hard Spun, still standing at stud and he is making a massive impact in South Africa through his three sons standing here, the late Lancaster Bomber, Fire Away and Declarationofpeace.
Fire Away is on fire at present and in the month of March got the exacta in the Gr 1 TAB SA Classic with the Fabian Habib-trained Confederate and the Alec Laird-trained Fire Attack and now on Saturday won the R1.5 million CRS Cape Slipper over 1200m with the Peter Muscutt-trained Military Command.
Military Command led from start to finish under Craig Zackey and has the ability to kick off a strong pace.
He could add to Fire Away’s record of seven stakes winners and he is from just his third crop.
The Cape Slipper was not a stakes race, but the Champions Season will provide many opportunities for Military Command to become a stakes winner and possibly a Gr 1 winner too.
Military Command was bred by James Goodman, who trained his dam, the Australian-bred High Chaparral mare Lady Val.
She won second time out for him in a poly race over 1400m.
Goodman retired from training a couple of months after that win, but bought back Lady Val at his dispersal sale for R400,000.
She is out of a half-sister to Intelligence Cross, who won a Gr 3 for Aidan O’Brien and was a Gr 2 and Listed runner up.
Intelligence Cross was by War Front, so it is not surprising Goodman sent Lady Val to War Front’s son Fire Away and that decision has paid dividends.
Lady Val herself won third time out for Mike de Kock after that dispersal sale, but that proved to be her only other win.
At stud she has also produced the David Nieuwenhuizen-trained Talk Of The Town filly Famous Lady, who won first time out over 800m and finished a narrow second in the Gr 3 Pretty Polly Stakes over 1100m.
Goodman still has Lady Val and in fact she has a Fire Away yearling filly, so she will be valuable and the BSA National Yearling Sale might be beckoning.
Another Fire Away to have impressed lately was the Michael Roberts-trained Fortress Of Fire, who ran in a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1200m and was allowed to drift out to 10/1.However, he won like a 1/5 shot under Rachel Venniker.Like Military Command he showed the ability to kick off a strong pace and he won with ears pricked by 3,30 lenggths from the 11/10 favourite Gotta Go Eddie, a Hollywood Racing Gimmethegreenlight colt trained by Mike de Kock.Peter Blyth of Clifton Stud bred Fortress Of Fire and it was also of no surprise that he used Fire Away.He said, “I was in love with Fire Away from the day he arrived in South Africa, because he is by War Front and War Front is by Danzig and of course I have always been mad about Danzig. Going back some time we bought Allied Flag, who was by Danzig, and he produced Classic Flag who won the July, say no more! I’ve always leaned towards Danzig and the closest you can get to him at present is War Front. He is one of the last living sons of Danzig. Lancaster Bomber has done really well and we have Declarationofpeace here in KZN … he has started well and we hope he continues to do so because he is right on our doorstep.”Fortress Of Fire’s granddam was the classy daughter of Joshua Dancer, She’s A Winner, who won the Gr 2 Godolphin Barb over 1200m for Corinne Bestel. Corinne also trained Fortress Of Fire’s four-time winning dam, She’s A Fortress, a Fort Wood daughter of She’s A Winner.She’s A Winner’s son, the Canford Cliffs colt Cliff Hanger, folllowed in her footsteps by winning the Godolphin Barb and Fortress Of Fire could be another of her descendants to win the Goldolphin Barb, as the 1100m Gr 3 event on April 27 looks an obvious target for him.It could be a target for Military Command too as well as for a Muscutt-trained Declarationofpeace colt called Spacebound, who won his debut over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth by four lengths, beating Military Command by six lengths. The race did not pan out well for the latter that day on his debut, but it was still a spectacular performance by Spacebound.Spacebound is one of only three Declarationofpeaces to have run to date and another one of them, the Mike Miller-trained Treaty Of Paris, also look promising having won by two lengths over 1100m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville in just his second start.Meanwhile, Lancaster Bomber is proving to be an enormous loss.The Drakenstein Stud-based stallion passed away just before his third season.He was not only freshman champion stallion, but his two crops have to date produced four Gr 1 winners, dual Gr 1 winner Beach Bomb as well as Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot, Maine Chance Farms Majorca winner Rascova and WSB Met winner Eight On Eighteen.Fire Away stands at Wilgerbosdrift Stud, while Declarationofpeace stands at McRath stud in the KZN Midlands.The latter pair are sure to be in demand.
