Oh Susanna named Horse of the Year

Australian bred mare Oh Susanna took the top honours at South Africa’s annual Equus Awards where she was crowned Horse of the Year and Champion 3YO Filly for the 2017-18 season.

The daughter of Street Cry and US G2 winner Sharp Susan enjoyed a remarkable season with a hat-trick of G1 wins culminating with victory in the Woolavington 2000 at Greyville.

Oh Susanna has raced just the nine times for four wins and three placings. She dominated the second half of the South African season with successive G1 victories in the Paddock Stakes, Sun Met when she became the first 3YO filly in over 100 years to win the race, and the Woolavington 2000.

Oh Susanna is among 20 Group One winners (118 stakes winners overall) for Darley’s former great sire Street Cry. While his sons such as Street Sense, Street Boss, Whobegotyou and Shocking have all covered themselves with glory, the stallion will surely go down in history as one of the truly remarkable sources of female talent, given that he’s the sire of both Winx (25 wins in a row) and Zenyatta (19 from 20).

Oh Susanna is out of the Touch Gold mare, Sharp Susan, the winner of six in North America including the Group Two Lake Placid Stakes and is a close relation to Group One winners Spring At Last, Sharp Lisa and Galileo’s 2017 Group One ATC Metropolitan winner Foundry.

The dam was originally purchased out of a United States sale for $2,000,000 by Australian interests in 2008. Badgers Bloodsock would then buy Sharp Susan for $1,050,000 at the 2012 Inglis Easter Broodmare Sale on behalf of Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud.