The son of Nijinsky was a classy enough racehorse winning six of his 14 starts including the Geoffrey Freer Stakes, Irish St Leger and Prix Royal-Oak.
He began his stud career at a modest fee of £2,500. From his first crop came Dewhurst Stakes winner Kala Dancer earning Niniski leading first-season sire honours in 1984.
Retired to stand at stud in Australia, Kala Dancer sired three Group 1 winners including the much loved Melbourne Cup winner Subzero.
Also in the first crop of Niniski was the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Petoski.
Later came his successful sire sons Hernando and Lomitas and grandsons Sulamani and Silvano (pictured).
On the day that Hernando's imported son Mister Impatience (GB) captured the Listed Queensland Cup at the Sunshine Coast, Silvano claimed the extraordinary achievement of siring the first three home, Power King, Punta Arenas and Tellina, in South Africa's biggest race, the Group I Durban July (2400m) at Greyville.
Many fans in Australia will remember the German-bred Silvano and trainer Andreas Wohler arriving in Melbourne in October 2001 to tackle the WS Cox Plate.
It may have been a bad year to come. Genuine superstars Sunline, who was lining up for her third consecutive win in the race, and Northerly were joined by the outstanding 3yo Viscount in a vintage renewal.
A genuine world traveller, Silvano was coming off a second in the Grade 1 Man O War Stakes at Belmont which was preceded by a win in the Grade 1 Arlington Million.
The son of Lomitas also owned wins in the Group 1 Singapore Cup, Group I Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Sha Tin and was third behind Japanese star Stay Gold and Fantastic Light in the Group 1 Sheema Classic in Dubai.
Silvano proved his class in the Cox Plate when finishing fourth behind Northerly, Sunline and Viscount in a roughhouse finish.
He had just one more start, an unplaced effort in the Hong Kong Cup, before retiring to stud.
Andreas Jacobs stands Silvano at his Maine Chance Farm and for the first two years shuttled Silvano to his Gestut Fahrhof in Germany.
Due to the demanding quarantine restrictions for South African bloodstock, Silvano was kept solely in South Africa until 2009 when he again shuttled to Germany.
From that German crop came the 2013 Group 1 German Derby winner Lucky Speed.
That was also a great year in South Africa for Silvano who was crowned champion stallion with record earnings. His leading earner that year was the Group I Durban July hero Heavy Metal.
