South African Sire Trippi Dies at 29

Trippi, Drakenstein Stud's foundation stallion and champion sire, has died at the age of 29, the operation announced Aug. 28. Crowned South African champion sire in 2015-16, Trippi sired 857 winners worldwide, including 94 stakes winners of 191 stakes races and 14 individual grade 1 winners. His South African record is led by two champions now standing at Drakenstein: Charles Dickens (SAF), winner of the 2022 Cape Guineas (G1), 2023 Gold Challenge (G1) and 2024 King's Plate (G1), and Jet Dark (SAF), who won five grade 1 races, including two Queen's Plates (G1), two Champions Cups (G1) and the 2023 Cape Town Met (G1). Trippi's other top-flight winners include North American grade 1 winner R Heat Lightning, as well as group 1 winners Afrikaburn (SAF), Deo Juvente (SAF), Inara (SAF), October Morn (SAF), Real Princess (SAF), Chimichuri Run (SAF), Lobo's Legend (SAF), For the Lads (SAF), Sweet Pepper (SAF), and Trip Of Fortune (SAF). As a broodmare sire, Trippi's daughters have produced 66 stakes winners, including nine grade 1 winners. One of his early United States stakes winners, Miss Macy Sue, is the dam of 2015 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Liam's Map and his half brother Not This Time, the current leading sire in North America by progeny earnings. The former is responsible for seven grade 1 winners including this year's Preakness Stakes (G1) hero Napoleon Solo, while the latter is now one of the most influential stallions in the world, as he stood for a career-high fee of $250,000 this year at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky. Born in 1997 in Florida, Trippi was bred by Harry Mangurian Jr. and raced for owner Dogwood Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher. He won seven of his 14 starts, headed by the 2000 Vosburgh Stakes (G1), with further victories in 2000 in the Riva Ridge Stakes (G2), Tom Fool Handicap (G2), Flamingo Stakes (G3), and Swale Stakes (G3). He retired to stand in 2002 at Ocala Stud for $7,500, where his American crops established him among Florida's leading sires, before his move to South Africa in 2008. A statement from Drakenstein said: "After establishing the stud in 2003, Gaynor Rupert travelled to America to view 28 potential stallions, and was immediately captivated by the magnificent bay, describing him as the most beautiful horse she had ever seen. Gaynor made the decision to purchase him as her first sire to stand at Drakenstein, and the beginning of a legacy was born. "For Gaynor Rupert, Trippi's importance was inseparable from the development of Drakenstein itself. He arrived before the farm had an established stallion roster and supplied it with an identity: an internationally proven horse whose results justified the decision to bring him to the Cape. Many of his best South African horses were bred or raced by Drakenstein, among them Charles Dickens, Inara, Winchester Mansion, and Trip Of Fortune, making his story inextricably bound to the farm's own." It added: "Trippi's final crop are three-year-olds in South Africa this season. As they continue to race, and as his sons' first generations come through, the influence of Drakenstein's first stallion remains very much a part of the present rather than only its history. "Trippi was expertly cared for by his long-time stallion handler Schedrick Oerson, whose favourite moments with Trippi were their daily walks on the farm in the mornings, just the two of them, like old friends. Schedrick shared that it was a privilege and an honour to work with him."