OFF THE RECORD #121
Querari Proves Reliability Never Goes Out Of Style
Maine Chance Farms’ stalwart stallion, Querari (Oasis Dream, GER) continues to churn out winners with remarkable consistency. He is quietly reinforcing his status as one of South Africa’s most reliable stallions during another rewarding season for the Robertson-based farm.
While he has operated largely in the shadow of the stud’s flagbearer Vercingetorix, Querari underlined his quality and value once again with a string of standout results between 28 April and 3 May, 2026.
Two-year-old colt, Time Is Precious, set the tone for Querari’s remarkable run, initiating a sequence of eight quickfire winners in seven days when landing his first stakes success in the Listed TAB Protea Stakes over 1100m on Championships Finale Day at Turffontein, 28 April.
Querari Dancer, long thought of as a classic prospect, displayed some of her class winning the Grade 3 Strelitzia Stakes over 1100m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on 29 April, and Master Magician (Querari) finished second to rising star Rich Man’s World in the Grade 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes over 1100m.
The stallion’s current standout performer, Questioning, has built a growing following as a true embodiment of his sire – smart, fast, tough and dependable – and he was the centre of attention at Hollywoodbets Greyville before and after his expected victory in the Grade 2 Independent on Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m on 2 May.
Next, Maine Chance bred the winners of both the WSB Guineas renewals on a massively successful day, one sired by Legislate, the other by Querari.
Wish List (Legislate) posted her third successive Graded success in the Grade 2 WSB Fillies Guineas, and Star Major (Querari) stamped himself as a serious Daily News/Hollywoodbets Durban July contender with an impressive win from off the pace in the Grade 2 WSB Guineas.
In addition, Vercingetorix sired the Fillies Guineas runner-up Quickstepgal, while Taxi To The Moon (Vercingetorix) beat Hierarchy (Erupt) in the afternoon’s feature sprint.
To cap it all, Averni Princess (Vercingetorix), won the novel Durban Dash over 400m from Donquerari (Querari) and Sun In My Pocket (Erupt).
Querari’s enduring influence is rooted in decisions made more than a decade ago, when Maine Chance Farms embarked on a carefully considered plan to import the German-bred stallion in 2011.
Dr. Andreas Jacobs devoted many hours to research and pedigree analysis before concluding that the cross of Querari, a son of Oasis Dream, over mares sired by Maine Chance Farms’ then resident champion stallion Silvano would produce exciting results, and time has emphatically proven him correct.
The Querari cross over Silvano has now produced 10 stakes winners (8%) including the mentioned Star Major, Cosmic Speed, Rainbow Lorikeet and Wonderwall. Only his matings with Captain Al mares (10%) have a higher success rate.
Rising 21, Querari is considered to have another three or four seasons of stud duty ahead of him and Maine Chance Stud Manager Ross Fuller, who joined the farm in 2024, said: “He is very well, healthy and strong, and remains exceptional value at a covering fee of R30,000.”
While Querari’s sales averages have remained below Vercingetorix, Gimmethegreenlight and Rafeef – at roughly R450,000 per foal at the last three RC Cape Premier Sales and the equivalent BSA National Yearling Sales – Fuller points out that the stallion still offers breeders an outstanding return on investment.
“Even with his results, anyone can still bring a mare to Querari at any time. His book is open,” he said. “Compare that to Vercingetorix, who stands at R300,000, is fully booked every season and very hard to get to.”
Interestingly, the aforementioned Time Is Precious became the first stakes winner for Querari out of a Vercingetorix mare, a cross that could become increasingly significant in the years ahead. Fuller explained: “That is only because there haven’t been many Vercingetorix mares sent to Querari yet, but there will be more at the forthcoming auctions.”
Dr. Jacobs, Fuller and Hundra Prins discuss the mating plans for all of Maine Chance’s stallions in detail, but Fuller believes the success of Querari over Vercingetorix mares is a relatively straightforward equation.
“There isn’t much research to do on Querari over Vercingetorix,” he said. “It is fair to expect that mares by a son of Silvano will do as well as mares from his own sire. Time Is Precious is a promising indicator, so we are excited about what’s to come.”