National Emblem, prominent South African sire, dead at 21

Prominent South African sire National Emblem died of colic on Wednesday at Klawervlei Stud near Cape Town. He was 21.

By the Danzig stallion National Assembly, a top sire of sprinters in South Africa, and out of the Welsh Harmony mare Title Page, National Emblem won from 1,150 to 2,000 meters (about 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles) on the track. He was South Africa’s champion older horse in 1996 and won 14 of 26 races in his career, including three Group 1 stakes, and earned $213,793.

From 833 foals of racing age, National Emblem sired 30 stakes winners, of which 18 were group winners—ten of them Group 1 winners—and three champions, Nhlavini, Rebel King, and Carnadore. He was South Africa’s leading juvenile sire in 2003.

His son Shea Shea won the Group 1 Computaform Sprint in South Africa in 2012 and is being pointed toward the Dubai Carnival this winter.