Bush Hill Stud have secured a serious stallion prospect with Flying The Flag for their stallion roster of 2016, a son of the legendary Galileo and a very exciting prospect for the province of KZN and South Africa indeed.

A grandson of the great Pivotal, as a racehorse he is a Group winner and Group 1 placed.
Flying The Flag was fast enough and precocious enough to win his debut over seven furlongs at two years of age on good going, and was second in a Gr2 over 1400m, again at age two. He raced soundly until six years old.

The cross of Galileo onto a Pivotal mare, has just produced his latest Group 1 winner this past week in Australia – a horse named The United States.

Flying The Flag’s dam, Halfway To Heaven (pictured left), like his sire won three Gr1 races in Europe from 1400m to 2000m including The Irish One Thousand Guineas Gr1, Goodwood Nassau Stakes Gr1, and the Newmarket Sun Chariot Stakes Gr1.

It is also worth noting that Halfway To Heaven was a stakes winner at two. As mentioned previously, she is a daughter of Pivotal who himself has been Champion Sire in the UK six times. He is described by Racing Post as “a high-class sprinter, excellent sire, can get fast, high class two year olds and their progeny often progress well.”

The second dam Cassandra Go is by Indian Ridge out of a Secreto mare, and won six races up to 1400m including the Royal Ascot King’s Stand Stales Gr2, the Sandown Temple Stakes Gr2, the Goodwood King George Stakes Gr3 and was second in the Newmarket July Cup Gr1.

Not only was she a great race filly but she has also produced three top class Stakes Winners and the dams of two more. She is a half-sister to the very successful Verglas.

The speed influence in this family is underlined by the fact that there are champion sprinters in the immediate vicinity. These include Do The Honours, who was champion 3yo sprinter in France and the German Champion 3yo Sprinter, Best Regards.

Flying The Flag is currently owned by a partnership which includes Coolmore, Mauritzfontein and Wilgerbosdrift with shares having been sold to KZN Breeders.

He will stand at a service fee of R20 000