Situated just outside Hermanus, in the beautiful Hemel En Aarde valley, the Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud is a farm with a fine tradition of producing high-class equine athletes from limited opportunities.

Owner David Hepburn-Brown has been raising horses on this land for twenty years. The beautifully developed main property was originally land leased from small adjacent farms that David ran, one now dwarfed by but still forming an important part of Hemel ‘n Aarde Stud. The quality of thoroughbred foaled in the Hemel En Aarde continues to impress, and there have been few better advertisments for the land than the Hemel En Aarde valley foaled, and High Season Stud bred, champion Jay Peg -a former resident of the Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud.

A son of Camden Park, Jay Peg (who died last year) was an Equus Champion who won G1 races in Dubai, Singapore and South Africa. Winner of both the G1 Cape Guineas and G1 Cape Derby in South Africa, Jay Peg was subsequently campaigned overseas where he scored memorable victories in both the 2008 G1 Dubai Duty Free and 2008 G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup.

Another notable stallion to stand at Hemel ‘N Aarde was the late Casey Tibbs. A son of legendary stallion Sadler’s Wells, Casey Tibbs sired champions Big City Life and Festive Occasion and he also ranks as the broodmare sire of this season’s G1 WSB SA Classic winner Red Saxon as well as former South African Horse Of The Year Do It Again.

Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud is currently home to veteran Danzig stallion Alado as well as the beautifully bred Horizon, a son of Dynasty who is closely related to multiple champion sire Silvano. Horizon has some very well bred members of his first crop on offer at this year’s National Sale, and he looks an exciting addition to the local stallion band.

Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud will be bringing another attractive string to this year’s National Yearling Sale, with this draft made up of yearlings by such promising and proven stallions as Heavenly Blue, Horizon, Potala Palace, Vercingetorix and What A Winter. The farm will also be offering, as agent, yearlings by Gimmethegreenlight and What A Winter respectively, with the former sire of a filly (Lot 51) closely related to the More Than Ready sired G2 winner More Strawberries, and What A Winter responsible for a half-sister (Lot 75) to the very useful Nartjie.

Other appealing lots in this draft include a Horizon half-sister (Lot 25) to high-class filly Celestial Love, a Vercingetorix filly (Lot 242) whose G3 placed dam is a half-sister to champion Hammie’s Hooker, and a What A Winter filly (Lot 408) out of the aforementioned champion, and millionaire, Hammie’s Hooker.

The Hemel N Aarde consignment can be viewed in Block H at the TBA complex.