A GOOD HORSE CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE!

A good horse can come from anywhere bloodlines and horsemanship can work harmoniously together. Zimbabwe-bred Ipi Tombe, whom I mentioned in my last blog, is such an example. Ipi was special, and she put Zimbabwe on the map when she conquered South Africa, then Dubai, and won one graded race in the US before an injury ended her career in 2003.

Ipi, by the unraced Mr. Prospector stallion Manshood, won 4 out of 5 starts at 3 in her native Zimbabwe, which can be considered the equine breeding version of Florida in Africa to South Africa’s Kentucky. In 2002 in South Africa, Ipi also won 4 out of 5 starts, including the prestigious Group 1 Durban July Cup. She was the first of her sex in ages to win this race, which is considered one of the best in South Africa.

In the winter of 2003, Ipi, trained by Mike de Kock, went to Dubai and won three races, including the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free in track record time of 1:47.61! She was named Horse of the Year in Dubai, and she was sent to the US, where she won the Grade 3 Locust Grove Handicap in her only start before an injury ended her career at 12 wins from 14 starts, with one of the heftiest reputations in the game at the time.

Ipi was raced by Barry Irwin’s Team Valor and WinStar Farm, and after her racing career ended she was bred to Sadler’s Wells and sold to Barry Weisbord and Rich Santulli for a lot of money at Tattersalls.

Barry is the president and co-publisher of Thoroughbred Daily News (TDN), the must-read internet daily.

TDN started life like Ipi Tombe, too. A small fax-based daily in its early days, TDN pulled an “Ipi” and is now THE most powerful voice of the thoroughbred industry.

Barry told me recently that Ipi Tombe is now boarded at Denali Stud in Kentucky and is in foal to Giant’s Causeway (Werk Nick Rating A+) for 2009 after coming up empty in 2008. With 20 unrestricted SWs (15 of them first-time SWs), including five Grade 1 winners in 2008, the Ipi Tombe story may be far from over!

For those of you who want to know what Ipe Tombe means, it’s “Where are the girls?” in Xhosa, one of the official languages of South Africa and spoken by 7.9 million people, about 18% of South African population.�

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