Dr Marianne Thomson has bred many top-class horses. From the likes of Met winner Alastor to the G1 winning siblings Al Nitak and The Sheik, the Ambiance Stud has churned out an impressive list of top-class horses over the years.
The latest star bred by Dr Thomson is Royal Victory, who recently completed a notable G1 double at Turffontein. Winner of the G1 Betway Summer Cup earlier in the season, four-year-old Royal Victory claimed a second G1 victory when he won the 2024 G1 World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge over last season’s G1 Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Winchester Mansion.A bargain R90 000 buy from the 2021 National Yearling Sale, Royal Victory has already earned more than R4.845 million in prize money.

Marianne will be offering a Querari half-sister (Lot 201) to Royal Victory at this year’s National Yearling Sale, as well as yearlings sired by the likes of Elusive Fort, Rafeef, The United States, William Longsword and the ever popular Vercingetorix. Understandably, Dr Thomson is keen on the prospects of Royal Victory’s half-sister, named Royal Kailani, and said of her, “She is stunning, a very nice, strong filly. She has a similar attitude to Royal Victory, both are easy to work with but determined at the same time.”

Marianne is also keen on the Vercingetorix colt Gallic King (Lot 276), who is out of Patricia’s Gift -a three-parts sister to globetrotting champion J J The Jet Plane and G3 Kings Cup winner Jet Legend. She says of the colt, “He is not big but is very nice. I really like him, and he is a very good legged colt.”

Other potential standouts here include the Rafeef filly Raffish Trend (Lot 390), who is a “very nice horse”, and The United States colt Prairie Dawn (Lot 70). The latter is a very athletic colt, and Dr Thomson that The United States was the right mate for Prairie Dawn’s stakes placed, six time winning dam Break Of Dawn.

Ambiance Stud’s National Sale draft can be viewed from Block E at the TBA Complex in Germiston.