Wilgerbosdrift’s sadly short-lived stallion Soft Falling Rain will be represented by his first runner this weekend.
Two-year-old Soft Falling Rain filly Makara will make her debut against colts when she lines up for a first time in a maiden juvenile plate over 800m, the first race on the card, on the Turffontein standside track on Saturday afternoon.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein, the filly, closely inbred to the great sire Storm Cat and to the latter’s sire Storm Bird, is out of the stakes placed Var mare Varuna, who won three and who ran third in the Listed East Cape Fillies Nursery.
Her sire Soft Falling Rain, who sadly passed away after colic earlier this year, made a blistering impression with his first yearlings in 2018.
The champion son of National Assembly was the Leading First Crop Sire by Aggregate at the 2018 Cape Premier Yearling Sale, where yearlings by Soft Falling Rain made up to R1.4 million.
Soft Falling yearlings also proved popular at the 2018 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale, where they grossed more than R10.2 million and made up to R1.4 million.
An unbeaten champion at two, who trained on to win the G2 Godolphin Mile and G2 Joel Stakes impressively, Soft Falling Rain has seven lots on offer at January’s Cape Premier Yearling Sale, including a colt out of G1 South African Fillies Sprint winner Far De Vie.