Gold Circle - PARADE MAGAZINE

Transcription

Igugu bows out on Champions Day at Ascot.
Racing
08 14 18
34
38
International Jockeys Challenge
Emerald Cup
PE Racing
KZN Racing Awards
PE Racing Awards
Sales
24
28
Cape Premier Yearling Sales
Ready To Run Sale
Features
42Silvano
46 Vaughan Koster
52 3A Racing
56 Anne Upton
60 Catherine Hartley
64 Joey Ramsden & Justin Snaith
66 Favour Stud
70 SA Oaks Legacy
96 Horsing with Hennessey
Breeding
74
78
It’s All in the Genes
KZN Breeders Awards
Industry
80 82
84
Gold Circle News
Racing Association
Legends of the Turf
Statistics
86 94 Graded Race Results
Racing Calendar
Cover Picture: KZN Racing’s
Horse of the Year, Beach Beauty,
winning the Gr 2 Drill Hall Stakes
at Greyville. Sean Cormack had
the ride for trainer Dennis Drier
and the Shanks Syndicate (Nom:
Mr W. G. Kidd).
Photo by Nkosi Hlophe.
Parade
is a Gold Circle publication and showcases thoroughbred horseracing, breeding and tote (pari-mutuel)
betting in South Africa.
Views expressed in Parade are
solely those of the writers and
the organisations they represent.
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES:
Andrew Harrison (Editor)
Tel: 031 314 1917
Email:[email protected]
ADVERTISING &
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
Olivia Abdulla
Mobile: 074 675 1657
Tel: 031 314 1545
Fax: 031 314 1779
Email: [email protected]
GOLD CIRCLE
PHOTOGRAPHER
Nkosi Hlophe
Tel: 031 314 1922
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Denzil Govender
Tel: 031 314 1920
Oppenheimer
MRS BRIDGET
T
he passing of Mrs Bridget Oppenheimer on
23 October at age 92, marked the end of a
remarkable era in South African racing history.
Regarded as the ‘First Lady’ of South African racing, ‘Mrs O’, as she was fondly called, was preceded in death by her late husband, mining magnate
and one of the world’s leading industrialists, Harry
Oppenheimer in 2000. Together, over a period spanning several generations, they
contributed immensely to virtually every facet of the sport.
Having
established
their
Mauritzfontein Stud near
Kimberley in 1946, the
Oppenheimers reaped the
rewards of a superb breeding
programme which combined
fine stallion imports with wellbred broodmares. The result,
a steady stream of homebreds
which excelled in the country’s premier races. Wonderful
times.
Since Tiger Fish first carried
the famous yellow and black
silks to victory in the 1959
Durban July, four other homebreds have emulated
that feat, the most recent, Hunting Tower, landing
the country’s blue riband event in 2007.
Eight homebreds have captured the South African
Derby, while no less than fifteen winners of the South
African Oaks were bred at the Kimberley stud, fourteen of which carried the famed Oppenheimer silks
to victory.
Although their success tapered off in the eighties, the
arrival in 1994 of blue-blooded stallion Fort Wood,
injected renewed vigour into the stud. The leading
freshman sire of his year and champion sire in 1998,
he has sired three recipients of the Horse of the
Year reward, one of which, the outstanding Horse
Chestnut was regarded by Mrs O as the best horse to
emerge from the Mauritzfontein paddocks.
Regretfully, she will not see the first runners of her
final stallion acquisition, the regally-bred Ideal World,
whose progeny are due to make their racetrack
debuts later this season.
Following the death of her husband, Mrs O continued the family racing and breeding empire with
great success, celebrating two more homebred July
winners, Greys Inn in 2004, and of course, Hunting
Tower three years later.
Although he was subsequently exported to Dubai,
such was her fondness for
the chestnut, she repatriated
him to South Africa when his
racing days were over. He is
now living the life of Riley at
Mauritzfontein, ‘as nanny to
the yearling filies,’ according to stud manager Guy
Murdoch.
Mrs O always added a touch
of royalty to a race meeting
and would greet every one
of her winners with evident
delight. “Wasn’t that exciting?,” she would exclaim.
In recent times, back problems restricted her movements but on big occasions,
she would make her way to the parade ring and cast
an eagle eye over the runners.
That she was in failing health was evident during the
final months of her life. The last time I had the privilege to visit with her was in the week leading up
to the year’s Vodacom Durban July. I was invited to
lunch at her magnificent and beloved La Lucia home
Milkwood, where over the decades, she entertained
many a world leader, artists, captains of industry and
of course, her racing associates.
As gracious as ever, we were treated to a fine spread
and she was clearly looking forward to the big meeting. When we said goodbye, her parting words were:
“See you on Saturday.”
Sadly, it was not be, she missed
the meeting through ill-health.
Contact Tom Callaghan: Tel: +27 11 323 5700 • Fax: +27 11 323 5788 • [email protected] • ww.tba.co.za • PO Box 827, Germiston 1400, South Africa
Editor’s Note
Contributors
Michael Clower
Ada van der Bent
Liesl King
Henk Steenkamp
The sale of Clairwood Racecourse is still a hot topic of debate in some circles but
some brave decisions had to be made by the board of Gold Circle. The board’s
vision was not wholly embraced by a racing fraternity habitually given to scepticism but headed by Chairman Robert Mauvis and guided by CEO Michel Nairac,
the board has pressed ahead. Six months down the line the sceptics are not as
vocal and the vision is transforming into reality.
Using a portion of the funds from the Clairwood sale (R200 million has been ring-fenced for posterity),
Greyville Racecourse and Summerveld Training Centre are undergoing major surgery. Construction of
the Polytrack on the inside of the Greyville turf track is well advanced and looking past the building
operations and construction material that clutters the site, one is watching the birth of a world class
horse racing facility.
The reduced turf surface has already passed muster. Fields are currently restricted to 12 runners but
will be expanded to 16 once the Polytrack is in place. If a rubber stamp was needed it was the successful switch from turf to Poly for the Algoa Cup in Port Elizabeth. Not all were enamoured as reported
by Henk Steenkamp elsewhere in this issue but given the vagaries of the weather and the need to
provide consistent opportunities for owners, trainers and jockeys, not to mention an international
betting product, the Poly surface will be invaluable.
The construction of a Polytrack for training purposes at Summerveld is also well under way as are the
new barns to house the displaced Clairwood trainers. Aerial views of Greyville and Summerveld can
be found on pages 80 and 81.
The advent of the Cape Thoroughbred Sales company has put pressure on Bloodstock South Africa
and the TBA to up their game in the face of some fierce competition. Most recently, Markus Jooste’s
Mayfair Speculators set a new sales record of R4,5 million for Red Ray’s full brother, Brutal Force, at
the CTS Ready To Run sale at Durbanville.
Michael Clower reported, “Joey Ramsden and Mike Azzie held the sales marquee enthralled as they
relentlessly volleyed each other’s bids with the intensity of a Federer-Nadal tennis match until Azzie
decided he had gone high enough. Ramsden was acting for Markus Jooste whose Mayfair Speculators
bought the Western Winter colt for R1.5 million at the CTS Premier Yearling Sale in January and put
him into this sale to qualify him for next year’s R2 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes.
Racing manager Derek Brugman, sitting next to his boss, said: “We put a value of R5 million on him
and we would have let him go if the bidding reached that figure.”
Azzie, confirming that he was acting for the big-spending Adriaan van Vuuren, said: “Adriaan wanted
to go another bid but I said ‘No, that’s enough – and thank God he didn’t go any higher.”
In a provocatively timed announcement, CTS also unveiled a $1 million race to be run at Kenilworth
in January 2016 for graduates of their CTS Cape Premier Yearling Sale in January 2014 and their CTS
March Yearling Sale.
All this action has been buoyed by increased betting revenue in spite of a flagging economy. Long
may it last!
Candiese Marnewick
Andrew Harrison
Durban, South Africa
SOUTH AFRICAN RACECOURSE GPS CO-ORDINATES
Derek Wilsnagh
Robyn Louw
KENILWORTH
S 33 59.808
E 18 28.723 TURFFONTEIN
S 26 14.386
E 28 03.185
8km from centre of Cape Town and 12 km from Cape Town International
4km from centre of Johannesburg and 25 km from OR Tambo
airport
International airport
VAAL
S 26 44.601
E 27 54.283
DURBANVILLE
S 33 50.446
E 18 38.308
20 km from centre of Cape Town and 14 km from Cape Town
8 km from Vereeniging, 60km from Johannesburg and 75km from
International airport
OR Tambo international airport
CLAIRWOOD
S 29 56.360
44 km from from King Shaka International Airport
E 30 58.124
ARLINGTON
S34 00.047
E 25 33.680
6 km from centre of Port Elizabeth and 4km from Port Elizabeth airport
GREYVILLE
S 29 50.833
35 km from from King Shaka International Airport
E 31 00.965
FAIRVIEW S 33 56.008
E 25 22.865
26km from centre of Port Elizabeth and 22km from Port Elizabeth airport
SCOTTSVILLE
S 29 36.618
E 30 24.047
2km from centre of Pietermaritzburg and 75 km from centre of Durban
KIMBERLEY
S 28 43.677
E 24 50.346
7km from centre of Kimberley and 10 km from Kimberley airport
80%
SUCCESS
IN
THE
SEASON
2012-2013
WhinatteAr
W
All Is Secret
BSA GR1 & GR2 WINNING GRADUATES IN THE
2012-2013 & 2013-2014 SEASONS TO DATE
13 individual BSA
Gr1 winners include:
19 individual BSA
Gr2 winners include:
All Is Secret
All Is Secret
Approval Rating
Blueridge Mountain
Canterbury Tale
Cap Alright
Checcetti
Colour Of Courage
Demanding Lady
Dylan’s Promise
Eastern Greeting
E-Jet
In A Rush
Jackodore
Kolkata
Tellina
Tiger’s Retreat
Vercingetorix
Whiteline Fever
Zambucca
Along Came Polly
Blueridge Mountain
Capetown Noir
Forest Indigo
Happy Valentine
Heavy Metal
Jackson
Love Struck
Martial Eagle
Slumdogmillionaire
Vercingetorix
Wagner
Contact Tom Callaghan • Tel: 011 323 5700 • Fax: 011 323 5788 • [email protected] • ww.tba.co.za • PO Box 827, Germiston 1400, South Africa
South African Captain
Piere Strydom.
8
PARADE MAGAZINE
RACING
Lekker
TEXT: DAVID THISELTON. PHOTO: NKOSI HLOPHE
Local
is
International Jockeys Challenge 2013
Reigning South African Champion Jockey Piere Strydom, who has taken
part in all six International Jockeys Challenges and captained the South
African team for the first time this year, said that this year’s ACTS International
Jockeys Challenge, won by the South African team, was a lot more
competitive than the public had been aware of writes DAVID THISELTON.
S
trydom also proved himself a captain that the
country should take into all future “tests” and
International’s captain Richard Hughes, judging
by his comments, would back this up.
At the same time the spirit between Strydom’s South
African team and Hughes’ International team was
always top class and win, lose or draw there was tremendous camaraderie between them after each of
the three day’s racing.
Anton Marcus gave a clue to
the keen rivalry that existed
between the two teams in
his interview after winning
the last race at Clairwood
on the Sunday.
After thanking each of the
internationals by name,
Marcus spoke of the “camaraderie” in the weighing room, but then clarified
that he was referring to the
South African team alone.
“Not much was going on
between the two teams,” he said, before pointing
out in his usual modest manner that Strydom had
done a better job as captain than he had done in the
previous three years.
Strydom confirmed that at both Kenilworth and
Clairwood the two teams had sat in opposite corners
of the jockey’s room. He said he had tried to instil a
“togetherness” among the South African team and
by all accounts he succeeded.
Strydom’s determination to be a motivational captain
stemmed from an incident last year, when he had
spotted Hughes laughing after one of the races.
“I asked him why he was laughing and his reply was
that we were all riding as individuals rather than as
a team.”
Changing the South African team’s approach did not
mean there would be any
dirty tactics or the favouring
of one horse above another, but rather there would
be encouragement among
team mates, which in any
sport brings out the best in
individuals.
“The camaraderie among
our team was very good
and everybody played their
part,” said Strydom.
Hughes takes the team
planning a step further.
He said, “If your horse has no chance of winning, it
can be ridden with the aim, for example, of finishing
fifth. If horses are ridden that way they can often perform better than they should do.”
Hughes said that under Strydom’s captaincy, he had
noticed “a better continuity” in the South African
team.
“If your horse has no
chance of winning, it can
be ridden with the aim,
for example, of finishing
fifth. If horses are ridden
that way they can often
perform better than they
should do.”
PARADE MAGAZINE
9
RACING
TEXT: DAVID THISELTON. PHOTOS: NKOSI HLOPHE
Far Left: S’Mango
Khumalo greets his fans.
Left: British champion and International
captain Richard Hughes
rode a cracking race
aboard the James Goodman-trained Picador.
“It definitely seems to have
caught the imagination and
there is always a good buzz on
the course.”
However, he revealed that he had not been happy
after the second international heat in Cape Town.
“They caught us with our pants down, by setting
the pace and then slowing it down. I was not happy about that,” he said, although he did not clarify
whether he was unhappy at being outwitted or by a
possible touch of gamesmanship.
Hughes was happy with the format of the Challenge,
but added that he would be grateful for better quality horses in future.
“I think the format works pretty well but the quality
of horse is quite low. I know it is hard for trainers to
bring out their best horses, but it would be nice to
have one or two higher class races.”
He pointed out that with a lower quality of horse the
race favourite became less meaningful, at least from
his own experience of low grade races back home,
where the form of the horses can vary wildly.
Strydom was very satisfied by the eventual victory,
10
PARADE MAGAZINE
Robbie Fradd scores one
for the locals aboard
the Glen Kotzen-trained
That’s Our Girl.
although he added, “When they finished in the first
four places in the second race at Clairwood we had
lost a big lead and that was a concern.”
However, the spirit he spoke of was evident in the
crucial last heat of the Challenge, as maximum effort
from each of the riders all the way to the line ensured
that all six of them finished in the top nine places,
which saw them clinch victory, despite Hughes winning the race.
The fun aspect of the event was seen in the presentation ceremony upstairs at Clairwood in the evening
as the international team had brought the team vuvuzela with them, which was blown in appreciation
of all prizes received.
Hughes agreed that the Challenge could become an
institution that the race going public could look forward to every year.
“It definitely seems to have caught the imagination
and there is always a good buzz on the course.”
It says something about the great rider that he has
noticed some of the same faces supporting him each
year and acknowledges them.
“I have made some friends in the crowd. I think it is
important for the event that we are known due to
the TV coverage of our racing (back home) and they
can back us to come back every year.”
PARADE MAGAZINE
11
LOT SEX NAME
SIRE
DAM
1
4
9
19
23
36
48
49
50
52
54
58
59
63
68
70
71
73
75
86
91
109
117
122
123
127
128
139
140
141
144
148
149
153
157
161
162
171
173
176
178
183
184
187
188
Count Dubois (GB)
Captain Al
Captain Al
Count Dubois (GB)
Trippi (USA)
Trippi (USA)
Western Winter (USA)
Count Dubois (GB)
Seventh Rock (AUS)
Trippi (USA)
Captain Al
Captain Al
Captain Al
Captain Al
Captain Al
Trippi (USA)
Jay Peg
Distorted Humor (USA)
Seventh Rock (AUS)
Captain Al
Captain Al
Captain Al
King's Apostle (IRE)
Var (USA)
Jay Peg
Fort Wood (USA)
Count Dubois (GB)
Captain Al
Rebel King
Captain Al
Captain Al
Trippi (USA)
Count Dubois (GB)
Trippi (USA)
Count Dubois (GB)
Count Dubois (GB)
Captain Al
Trippi (USA)
Speightstown (USA)
Oracy (NZ)
Count Dubois (GB)
Trippi (USA)
Tallula
Thin Red Line (AUS)
Val de Vie
West to East
Winter Conquest
Aquilonia (GB)
Blue Swift (AUS)
Bridget's Academy (AUS)
Burning Gold
Captain's Gal
Carolain (ARG)
Cool Dreamer (AUS)
Cornucopia
Danewells Lass (AUS)
Divine
Donna Viola
Dragon Lily
Ebaraya (GB)
Encircle
Frankfort
Giant's Bounty (AUS)
Hope Johanna (AUS)
Juvenescent (USA)
Kwaito
Lady Major
Late Summer (USA)
Lavender Bells
Milla's Rocket (IRE)
Ming Gold
Miss Dillan (ARG)
Ms. Blue Blood (USA)
Mystery of Magic
Nania
Nimley
Only in Philly (USA)
Pagan Princess
Page Girl
Quest for Gold
Resolution Bay
Roman Eagle
Rubicat (USA)
School Assembly
Seattle Weekend (USA)
Shades of Winter
Shadow Dancing
colt
colt
filly
filly
filly
filly
colt
filly
colt
filly
filly
filly
colt
colt
colt
filly
filly
filly
filly
filly
colt
filly
filly
filly
colt
filly
colt
filly
colt
filly
colt
filly
colt
colt
colt
filly
filly
colt
colt
filly
colt
filly
filly
filly
colt
Un-named
Captain Marooned
Valediction
Comtessa Antonia
Alpine Trip
Abilene
Onuntius
Bridget Dubois
Seventh Flame
Wandering
Carol on Board
Sails Set
Captain Courteous
Captain Danewell
Redcarpet Captain
Mea Filia
Lilipeg
Estimation
Seventh Mission
Honest Ally
Captain's Causeway
Tide is Turning
Captured Quality
Miss Marker
Imperfect Promise
Dubois Destiny
Alarm Bells
Milla's Smile
Gold Coast Captain
Miss Parker
Road to Indy
Now You See Her
Captain's Version
Perpetual Silence
Underboss
Dance at Dawn
Tessa du Bois
Nugget Counter
Resolute Captain
Airbound
Ante Omnia
Be Seated
Seattle Surprise
Pendulum of Life
Overshadow
KLAWERVLEI STUD AS AGENT
51
66
104
113
118
126
150
169
colt
colt
colt
filly
colt
colt
colt
filly
Un-named
Seventh Rock (AUS)
Dune Buster
Warm White Night
Apollo's Gift
Warm White Night
Jo's Bond
Captain Al
Seventh Apostle
Rebel Prince
Rebel King
Petiscos Chook
Oracy (NZ)
Roman Perfection (IRE) Holy Roman Emperor (IRE)
Butterfly World
Desert Mirage
Hellhathnofury
Itlaaq
Kaleido
Laser Fan
National Delux
Pure Perfection (IRE)
K l aw e rv l e i
Cape Premier Yearling Sale 2014
KLAWERVLEI YEARLINGS, CPYS 23 - 24 January
BACKGROUND PHOTO: SHEA SHEA (National Emblem) winning AL QUOZ SPRINT G1 over 1000m in Dubai | bred by KLAWERVLEI STUD
THE CTS MILLION DOLLAR
US$1 000 000
“International Pedigrees
for International Currency”
A Chance in a Million
Presenting 4 outstanding yearlings
by Champion Sires Distorted Humor and Speightstown
LOT 73
ESTIMATION - FILLY
by Distorted Humor (USA)
ex Ebaraya (GB)
by Sadler’s Wells.
Dam is sister to
2 Champions in UK
and Ireland - ENZELI
(Champion Older Male Ireland;
Royal Ascot Gold Gup G1, etc)
and ESTIMATE (Champion
3yo Filly Stayer GB; Royal Ascot
Gold Cup G1, etc) - as well as
EBADIYLA (Irish Oaks G1, etc).
LOT 144
ROAD TO INDY - COLT
ex Ms Blue Blood (USA)
by A.P. Indy.
Half-brother to Crazy About
Me (6 wins; 3rd Laurel Safely
Kept S L, etc). Dam is half-sister
to MONARCHOS (Kentucky
Derby G1, Florida Derby G1;
3rd Belmont S G1, etc). Family
of DYNAFORMER, DARBY
CREEK ROAD, WHITE
BRIDLE, JAVA MOON, etc).
DISTORTED HUMOR (USA)
(Forty Niner - Danzig’s Beauty by Danzig)
A WORLD-CLASS LEADING ACTIVE SIRE
2011 CHAMPION SIRE.
13 G1 Winners & 10 Millionaires.
#1 Active Sire by 2012 Yearling Average - $316,053
Sire of Irish Champion 2yo and G1 winner, PATHFORK.
Sire of G1 winners in Europe, USA and Australia.
LOT 178
ANTE OMNIA - COLT
by Speightstown (USA)
ex Rubicat (USA)
by Storm Cat.
Dam is half-sister to
STRUT THE STAGE (10 wins
$1,568,555 incl Woodbine Sky
Classic G2; 2nd Secretariat S
G1, Manhattan H G1, etc) and
SACRED SONG (Lancashire
Oaks G3, Princess Royal S G3;
2nd Yorkshire Oaks G1, etc;
dam of MULTIDIMENSIONAL).
LOT 184
SEATTLE SURPRISE - FILLY
ex Seattle Weekend (USA)
by A.P. Indy.
Dam is half-sister to
BITE THE BULLET (Sanford
S G2; sire), SHUAILAAN (5
wins, Winter Hill S L, etc),
Love Me True (dam of DUKE
OF MARMALADE - Champion;
RULER OF THE WORLD - The
Derby G1, etc). 3rd dam is
LASSIE DEAR.
SPEIGHTSTOWN (USA)
(Gone West - Silken Cat, by Storm Cat)
NORTH AMERICA’S #1 LEADING SIRE OF 2012
#2 LEADING SIRE NORTH AMERICA 2013 (to date).
Eclipse Champion Sprinter.
The Leading Son at Stud by top Sire of Sires GONE WEST.
Rated as one of the leading APEX Sires in the World by Bill Oppenheim.
Sire of G1 winners in Europe, USA, Dubai and Argentina.
Klawervlei Stud | John Koster, PO Box 266, Bonnievale 6730 | T: (023) 616 2980 | F: (023) 616 2548 | M: 082 880 7943 | E: [email protected] | Grant Knowles | M: 082 882 9774 | E: [email protected]
RACING
TEXT: DAVID THISELTON. PHOTOS: JC PHOTOGRAPHICS
PE raider storms home
In A Rush
Port Elizabeth’s champion trainer Gavin Smith said that the “game plan”
of his victorious charge In A Rush had panned out perfectly in the country’s
richest sand race, the Grade 2 Emerald Cup over 1450m, at the Vaal and he
praised Francois Herholdt for a brilliant ride, reports DAVID THISELTON.
14
PARADE MAGAZINE
In A Rush
W
e weren’t going to give up the draw, so
Fransie got him up there and sat and waited patiently. He was slightly squeezed when
they came across him a little on the turn (causing him
to throw his head up for a stride) and I was worried
he was going to drop back as he had never experienced kick back before. However, he managed to
hold his position. Then, just before the 400m mark,
it looked as if the other horses were moving towards
him on the rail, so Fransie asked him for a little and
he responded very well. I thought then that we had
a good chance.”
In A Rush was still in cruise mode while giving that
impressive little burst and the writing was on the wall
from that moment onward. However, Smith was not
going to count his chickens until he had crossed the
line.
“We have some very decent sand horses in this country and I was keeping one eye on him and one eye on
the finish line.”
“We have some very decent
sand horses in this country and I
was keeping one eye on him and
one eye on the finish line.”
To the neutral observer the magnificent 119-rated
sand galloper Pylon was never going to catch the
winner and, despite a gallant effort under his welter
burden of 64,5kg, he was still 0,75 lengths shy at
the line. The strapping Fort Wood gelding was later
rushed to hospital as he was badly cut into.
The favourite here Comes Billy finished a disappointing fourth, but according to jockey S’Manga Khumalo he had “shied out” and dropped back slightly on
the turn from his original handy position.
Meanwhile, Julius Mariba, the rider of second favourite Tayba, lost his stirrup iron at the start and the filly
lost her position.
Happy connections of
In A Rush celebrate
victory.
PARADE MAGAZINE
15
RACING
TEXT: DAVID THISELTON. PHOTO: JC PHOTOGRAPHICS
He regained the iron shortly thereafter, but the horse
was later reported “not striding out left front.”
A record crowd of 10,000 attended the meeting and
the Pick 6 pool of R5,275,619 exceeded all expectations. Smith owns a share in In A Rush, which must have
made the win all the more exciting.
The five-year-old was bred by Peter Choice, who also
owns a share. The other two shareholders are Hennie
Gerber and Lionel Adams.
In A Rush went off at odds of 25-1 in his first ever
start on the sand, but was not ignored by the shrewd.
Herholdt confirmed that the horse had a reputation
for working well on sand.
He said, “Anton Marcus told me I had a big chance
on this horse. He said that In A Rush was the only
horse in the yard who could stay with Variety Club
16
PARADE MAGAZINE
when they worked on sand (while he was still with
Ramsden).”
In A Rush is in fact among a rare club of horses that
have beaten Variety Club in an actual race. He did
so as a two-year-old, when still with Smith, in the
Grade 3 Champion Juvenile Cup over 1400m at
Fairview.
This was only the second time Smith had raided the
Vaal. He said, “I came up here a long time ago with
a horse owed by the late Laurie Jaffee and it finished
third.”
The building of Port Elizabeth’s new polytrack at Fairview has come at the right time for the gelding’s career. Smith not only prepared him for the Emerald
Cup on this track, but will now also be able to race
him on it too.
In A Rush storms home
in the Gr2 Emerald Cup,
Africa’s richest race on
sand.
Maine
Chance
Far ms
Top 10 Breeder
for over 20 years
EQUUS AWARDS 2012:
EXCEPTIONAL INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
BREEDER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Cape Premier
Yearling Sale
23 - 24 Jan • 2014
LOT
30
46
47
61
96
99
107
112
114
119
135
136
156
160
163
164
185
189
198
2
8
12
17
18
27
28
f
c
f
c
f
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NAME
Honey Bird
Banner Hill
Un-named
Silver Chalice
Glimmer of Silver
Happy Avenue
High Game
Impressed
Jubilee Line
Kado
Liege
Machismo
Night Sign
Placid Sea
Paladin
Pampas
Secret Plan
Single Sword
Sugar Frosted
Tahini
Tumbles
Vigilante
Vox Populi
West Coast Warrior
Zafira
Zud Wes
199 c El Capo
SIRE
DAM
Silvano
African Badger
Tiger Hill
Bless You (USA)
Seul Amour
Blue Paradise
Silvano
Crystal Chalice
Silvano
Golden Shina
Var
Happy Ever After
Querari
Hollywood Dreams
Silvano
Inspired (IRE)
Dynasty
Jabulani Jive
Silvano
Katherine
Dynasty
Lyrical Linda
Silvano
Magical Miss
Lateral
Numancia (IRE)
Sabiango
Pacific Blue (GER)
Jay Peg
Pailita (GER)
Silvano
Peru
Right Approach
Secret to Success
Silvano
Single Rose
Silvano
Sugar Almond
Silvano
Taomina (GER)
Var
Tumbelini (GB)
Black Minnaloushe Vecchia Signora (CHI)
Black Minnaloushe
Vogue Award
Black Minnaloushe West Coast Mama (USA)
Silvano
Zahira
Western Winter
Zaitoon
AS AGENT FOR CONNEMARA STUD
Var
HOME OF:
SILVANO (GER)
BLACK MINNALOUSHE (USA)
LATERAL (GB)
QUERARI (GER)
STUD MANAGER: John Slade
Tel: 023 626 2342
Fax: 023 626 2585
Mobile: 083 630 0433
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.mainechance.co.za
Summer’s End
RACING
TEXT: HENK STEENKAMP. PHOTO: DEON BOTHA
Bold
and
Beautiful
FESTIVAL OF RACING
Not only was the annual Festival of Racing at the end of October in Port
Elizabeth an historic occasion, but is has been many years since we had such
drama in the Eastern Cape’s top race, the Algoa Cup at Fairview, writes HENK
STEENKAMP.
18
PARADE MAGAZINE
T
he festival started on the Friday with the official opening of the world class polytrack, a
first for South African racing. The first three of
the nine races carded were run on the new surface.
Trainer Corne Spies and jockey Robert Khathi had the
distinction of going down in the record books as the
3 year-old gelding Sahvara won the Plate over 1200m.
After the first three races the meeting continued on
the grass track and finished in the rain. This rain continued the next day and the authorities had to make
PARADE MAGAZINE
19
RACING
TEXT: HENK STEENKAMP. PHOTOS: DEON BOTHA
some bold and controversial decisions. It was as if the
rain gods said: “You have been bragging about your
polytrack, now use it!”
It was decided to move Sunday’s ten races from the
grass to the new all-weather track. As expected it
was a decision that was not welcomed by everyone.
Some trainers felt their horses would not be suited
to the polytrack and many of the horses had never
been on this surface. Afterwards there were a lot less
moans and groans but mostly praise for the track and
the decision to move the meeting.
Some adjustments had to be made and one of them
was to reduce the number of runners for the main
race, the Grade 3 Betting World Algoa Cup over
2000m. That was especially hard on the connections of Gianduja, one of the fancied runners. The
Cup was the long term plan for Gianduja by trainer
Jacques Strydom who was the last PE trainer to win
the race with Surfin’ USA in 2009.
If the move from the grass to the polytrack did not
provide enough drama, the race itself delivered another dose. It turned into a nail biting finish between
Disco Al (Joey Ramsden) and Storm Dancer (Gavin
Smith). Disco Al, masterfully ridden by Robbie Fradd,
just got the better of Storm Dancer and Francois Herholdt. With 200m to go Storm Dancer swept into
the lead but Disco Al was immediately on to him and
just stuck his neck out when it mattered. Favourite
Abercrombie flew up late for third, just ahead of
Cask.
Smith very nearly became the first PE trainer to win
the Cup since Strydom but was gracious in defeat.
“Storm Dancer drifted out a bit that cost us, but
that’s how it goes. Well done to Joey,” the Eastern
Cape champion trainer said post-race.
The polytrack was probably the biggest star at the
festival. There were compliments all around with
Fradd saying Port Elizabeth took racing one step
ahead. Fradd added: “The track is amazing, brilliant.”
Herholdt, who like Fradd has ridden all over the
world, reckons it is as good, if not better, than any
of the other tracks. “Beautiful, lovely surface,” remarked another experienced jockey, Glen Hatt.
The East Cape chapter of Phumelela and the Racing Association did a tremendous job in delivering
a wonderful weekend despite the trying conditions.
Cape Town trainer Justin Snaith, although disappointed that the meeting was not on the grass track,
20
PARADE MAGAZINE
The new Polytrack at Fairview.
described it as a fantastic day for PE racing. “This festival has come a long way and proved itself,” Larry
Wainstein, CEO of the Racing Association summed
up. It was somewhat surprising to see a large crowd
at Fairview on that cold Sunday and there was certainly a nice vibe going with lots of new faces in the
crowd.
The feature race on the Friday was the Racing Association Stakes for 3 year-olds over 1600m. It was won
by Top Jet for the Mike Bass stable. This meeting
was also the East Cape Horse Care Unit charity race
day which concluded with the legendary RA cocktail
party and auction. It is difficult to imagine that next
year’s festival could be bigger and more dramatic, but
the way racing in the Friendly City is moving forward,
you would not bet against it.
Fairview grandstand.
ALL OUR HORSES
ARE BRED IN
THE PURPLE
At the end of the race
it always pays to
Invest In Excellence
H I G H LAN D S
HIGHLANDS STUD
PO Box 88, Robertson 6705, Western Cape, South Africa
Telephone: +27 23 626 2331/2
Facsimile: +27 23 626 3442
MIKE SHARKEY
Mobile: +27 82 372 2682
Web: www.highlandsfarmstud.co.za
Our best adverts aren’t written … they’re running!
SALES
TEXT: ADA VAN DER BENT. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Million
A
Reasons to buy
The announcement by Cape Thoroughbred Sales company (CTS) that it
will host the continent’s first Million Dollar race in 2016, is sure to have a
significant impact on the 2014 Cape Premier Yearling Sales writes ADA VAN
DER BENT.
24
PARADE MAGAZINE
Soft Fall Raining
Thanks to a surge of breeder
investment in foreign markets
in recent years, the catalogue
boasts a generous dollop of top
international bloodlines.
A
mega million Rand incentive is not to be
sneezed at and should result in a plethora of
existing and new buyers descending on the
Cape Town Convention Centre for the 24 January
event.
CTS has selected 205 choice yearlings for the fourth
renewal of this iconic sale that since its inception in
2011, has yielded a steady stream of stakes graduates, the most venerable of which the champion juvenile and Gr.1 winner Soft Falling Rain. The Highlands-bred colt has lit up the international stage this
season, boasting Gr.2 victories in Britain and Dubai
and has already earned the equivalent of R9.3-million, a far cry from the R350,000 he cost Shadwell
SA in 2011!
War Horse, successful in the Gr.1 Golden Horseshoe at two, has provided a handsome return on
his R275,000 purchase price, his earnings standing
at over R900,000, while fellow juvenile top level
winner The Hangman, has returned R800,000 on a
R450,000 investment. For The Lads, a graduate of
the 2012 sale, triumphed in last season’s Gr.1 Golden
Slipper and she has more than doubled her R300,000
price tag in earnings.
Last year’s sale witnessed a new record highest price
of R3-million, added to which there was a 20% spike
in the average price and a 16% increase in the median, figures which may well be relegated to past history considering the quality and depth of a slightly
reduced catalogue.
On offer will be siblings to aforementioned Soft Falling Rain and The Hangman, as well as noted Gr.1
winners such as champion National Currency, Jackson, Lizard’s Desire, Thunder Dance, Emerald Cove,
Divine Jury, Russian Sage and Seal.
Amongst the Gr.1 winning mares represented are
Dancer’s Daughter, Captains’ Lover, Nania, Geepee S,
Zaitoon, Lyrical Linda and Imperious Sue.
Thanks to a surge of breeder investment in foreign
markets in recent years, the catalogue boasts a
PARADE MAGAZINE
25
SALES
TEXT: ADA VAN DER BENT. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
generous dollop of top international bloodlines,
as well as a fine cross-section of yearlings by foreign-based sires, the likes of which include Giant’s
Causeway, Danehill Dancer, Holy Roman Emperor
and American standouts Tapit, Speightstown and
Distorted Humor.
On the local front, top echelon stallions Silvano, Captain Al, Western Winter, Dynasty and Var all have
sizeable drafts, while exciting newcomers such as
Mambo From Seattle, Warm White Night, Elusive
Fort, King’s Apostle, Querari and Great Britain add
further interest to the catalogue.
International buying support has made a huge contribution to the success of this sale in recent years and
with an exchange rate still favouring overseas buyers,
CTS has every reason to be optimistic that the 2014
sale has enough fire power to attract its usual quota
of foreign buyers.
26
PARADE MAGAZINE
Argonaut
Western Winter - Aquasarto (Del Sarto)
Cheveley Stud
Equus Champion 2yo
Dual Gr1 winner
2nd crop racing in 2014
Argonaut stands at Cheveley Stud: Vaughan Koster T: +27 (0)23 312 2528 | F: +27 (0)86 734 4007
A: PO Box 303, Ceres, 6835 | E: [email protected] | W: www.cheveleystud.com
Bookings & Enquiries: www.freemanstallions.co.za | T: +27 (0)21 418 0566
SALES
Run
TEXT: ADA VAN DER BENT. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Ready to International Support
Sales topper: Al Adiyaat
S.A. (Pty) Ltd went to
R1,6 million for Lot 154:
Lava Flow (Western
Winter – French Sun)
consigned by
Summerhill Sales
Strong support from foreign buyers
proved to be the salient feature of
this year’s Ready To Run Sale, their
total purchases accounting for almost 25% of the sales turnover,
writes ADA VAN DER BENT.
28
PARADE MAGAZINE
P
eter Gibson of the South African Equine Trade
Council works tirelessly to attract overseas buyers to our shores and he is to be commended for
bringing to the sale Dr Michael Tang, Robert Chung
and Norman Wu, the Hong Kong contingent outlaying R5,890,000 on 19 lots over the two days. Sheikh
Mohammed Khalifa al Maktoum’s Al Adiyaat added
extra impetus to the international bench which also
included buyers from England, France, Germany,
Mauritius and even Scandinavia.
Norwegian buyer Lars Kelp, who acquired a half-sister to champion Icy Air for R500,000, firmly gave
the sale his thumbs up: “In Europe, you’d be paying
200,000 guineas for the same individual. I was most
impressed by the quality, size and substance of the
horses on offer.”
ONLY CTS GRADUATES
QUALIFY FOR THE
us$1 000 000
FFER
O
N
O
I NG S
L
LE
R
A
A
S
E
R
Y
E
I
2
2
REM
P
E
P
A
AT C
South Africa’s most prolific
record setting sire
5x Champion Sire of 2yo’s
2x Equus Outstanding Sire
Sire of 21 Gr1 horses &
Captain America winner
of the 2013 R2m Lanzerac
Ready To Run Stakes
Ca
l
A
n
i
a
pt
Klawervlei Stud
Klawervlei Stud: www.klawervlei.co.za A: PO Box 266, Bonnievale, 6730 T: +27 (0)23 616 2980 F: +27 (0)23 616 2548
John Koster C: +27 (0)82 880 7943 E: [email protected] Grant Knowles C: +27 (0)82 882 9774 E: [email protected]
SALES
TEXT: ADA VAN DER BENT. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
“In Europe, you’d be paying
200,000 guineas for the same
individual. I was most impressed
by the quality, size and substance of the horses on offer.”
no less than a 55-strong draft prepared for this sale,
their biggest ever. Bred in Australia, the youngster is
out of the juvenile winner Cangino, a half-sister by
Perugino to Gr.3 winner and Gr.1 Goodwood Handicap runner-up Am Invincible.
At R1.6-million, Malherbe, acting on behalf of Sheikh
Mohammed Khalifa al Maktoum, also secured the
highest-priced locally-bred youngster and the second
most expensive commodity of the sale, a colt by the
late Western Winter.
Hong Kong resident
R.W.S. (Robert) Chung
was one of a host of
foreign buyers at the
sale. Chung was a
part owner of Sweet
Sannette (Jallad), who
finished third in 2011
Gr.1 King’s Stand Stakes.
In a repeat of last year’s sale, it was Johannesburg
businessman Adriaan van Vuuren who stole the
limelight as the leading individual buyer, spending
R4,920,000 on six lots, headed by the R1.8-million
sales topper, Intandokazi, from champion breeders
Summerhill Stud.
Trainer Michael Azzie’s client, who purchases under
the moniker of Misty Meadows, is no stranger to venturing into seven-figure territory at this sale, having
bought the two most expensive lots twelve months
ago, a R2-million Tale Of The Cat colt and a R1,5-million Jet Master filly.
The latest acquisition to join Van Vuuren’s burgeoning racing interests was bred Down Under. By that
country’s super sire Encosta De Lago, the colt is the
second foal out of stakes-placed Flying Spur mare
Bella Princess, a daughter of Gr.1 South Australian
Oaks runner-up Ladybird Blue.
Highest-priced filly
At a sale where colts were in highest demand, especially on the first day, the highest-priced filly at
R1.2-million was also bred in Australia, this a daughter of champion Irish juvenile and successful young
sire Teofilo. She was knocked down to Jehan Malherbe of Form Bloodstock.
Mark and Nicola Coppez of Balmoral Stud reaped
just reward for their hard work, the filly being one of
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PARADE MAGAZINE
Quality offering
Virtually the spitting image of his illustrious sire,
Lava Bay was yet another quality offering from
Summerhill and is out of the prolific and proven
broodmare French Sun. A daughter of Elliodor, she
won just once from three starts but boasts a hundred
percent strike rate with nine winners from as many
runners, headed by Gr.2 Camellia Stakes victress
Chant De Nuit and Gr.3 Champagne Stakes third
Clarion Call.
Although the sales record of R2.2-million was never
in danger of being breached, the number of seven
youngsters stood at six, the same as in 2012.
A record-sized catalogue - forty six more lots were
catalogued than last year - resulted in an increased
turnover but impinged on the average and medium,
both of which were marginally down. The average
fell from R222,241 to R215,940, while the median
stood at R140,000, down from R150,000 twelve
months ago.
Offering his appraisal on the sale, Summerhill
maestro Mick Goss remarked: “This was a tale of two
sales. The opening day’s average was almost 14% off
last year’s figure, yet Sunday’s numbers not only overcame the backlog, but were within 3.2% of the corresponding figure, and given that BSA were pushing
the boundaries with an additional 46 lots, the results
were more than respectable.”
Count Dubois
Equus Outstanding Sire
Champion Sire of 2yos
Sire of 8 Gr1 horses
His flying-filly
Fairyinthewoods
undefeated
in last 5 starts
12 YEARLINGS ON OFFER
AT CAPE PREMIER SALE
ONLY CTS GRADUATES
QUALIFY FOR THE
us$1 000 000
Klawervlei Stud
photo: tracyrobertson.co.za
Fort Wood - Blakes Affair (Commodore Blake)
Equus Outstanding Sire of Irish Flame,
Beach Beauty, Jackson, Ancestral Fore, etc
Four Equus Awards including a Horse
of the Year in his 1st crop
Sire of 8 Gr1 horses
Only the 2nd Sire ever in SA history to
produce a Graded race quartet result
Sire of 2 Equus Champions
and a Horse of the Year
Highlands Stud: Mike Sharkey C: +27 (0)82 372 2682
T: +27 (0)23 626 2331 | F: +27 (0)23 626 3442 | W: www.highlandsfarmstud.co.za
Bookings & Enquiries: John Freeman
T: +27 (0)21 418 0566 | F: +27 (0)21 418 0254 | A: PO Box 26, Sea Point, South Africa 8060 | E: [email protected] | W: www.freemanstallions.co.za
PATHFORK (USA)
Distorted Humor - Visions Of Clarity (Sadler’s Wells)
Undefeated 2yo Gr1 Winner
Champion Irish 2yo
Highest rated 2yo in Ireland 2010
1st foals born 2013
RACING
2013
Racing
TEXT: ANDREW HARRISON. PHOTO: NKOSI HLOPHE
KZN
Awards
Horse of the Year:
Beach Beauty
The grand mare Beach Beauty(Dynasty) was deservedly voted KZN
Racing’s Horse of the Year at a gala function held at the Elangeni Hotel
in Durban in September. The Shanks Syndicate-owned mare is trained
by Summerveld Trainer of the Year Dennis Drier and was also voted
Champion Older Female and Champion Middle Distance runner. The
Duncan Howells-trained Via Africa(Var) was voted Champion Sprinter
and Champion Three-year-old Female.
34
PARADE MAGAZINE
GIMMETHEGREENLIGHT
More Than Ready - Yes She Can Cancan (Canny Lad)
(AUS)
The only horse to beat dual Horse of the Year
Variety Club TWICE !!
Highest Rated 3yo in South Africa 2012
1st 3yo in 40 years to win Gr1 Queen’s Plate
Varsfontein Stud: Carl De Vos T: +27 (0)21 869 8238 | F: +27 (0)21 869 8503 | A: PO Box 239, Paarl, 7620
E: [email protected] | W: www.varsfontein.co.za
All Bookings & Enquiries : John Freeman
T: +27 (0)21 418 0566 | F: +27 (0)21 418 0254 | A: PO Box 26, Sea Point, South Africa 8060
E: [email protected] | W: www.freemanstallions.co.za
VARSFONTEIN STUD
RACING
PHOTOS: NKOSI HLOPHE
KZN RACING AWARDS 2013
Champion Two-Year Old Male
KOCHKA
Champion Two-Year Old Female
ALONG CAME POLLY
Champion Three-Year Old Male
VERCINGETORIX
Champion Three-Year Old Female
VIA AFRICA
Champion Older Horse - Male
JEPPE’S REEF
Champion Older Horse - Female
BEACH BEAUTY
Champion Sprinter
VIA AFRICA
Champion Middle Distance
BEACH BEAUTY
Champion Stayer
JEPPE’S REEF
Horse Of The Year
BEACH BEAUTY
Groom Of The Year
Simphiwe Noholazi (Beach Beauty)
Owner Of The Year
Ingrid & Marcus Jooste
Jockey Of The Year
Anton Marcus
Apprentice Of The Year
Keagan De Melo
Breeder Of The Year
Klawervlei Stud
Top Training Centre Trainers:
Ashburton Trainer of the Year
Duncan Howells
Clairwood Trainer of the Year
Charles Laird
Summerveld Trainer of the Year
Dennis Drier
KZN Champion Trainer
Mike De Kock Anita Akal Special Award
Jack Ramsay
The Roy Eckstein KZN Racing Personality of the Year
Bill Lambert
Anita Akal Special Award: Jack Ramsay
36
PARADE MAGAZINE
The Roy Eckstein KZN Personality of the Year: Bill Lambert
JACKSON
photo: Liesl King
Dynasty - Moonlit Prairie (Cozzene)
“The best 3yo in modern time”
The best Classic Horse in SA 2012/2013
Multiple Gr1 winner
RACING
Eastern Cape
RacingAwards
RA Eastern Cape
Chairman, Mark Sham,
with champion trainer
Gavin Smith.
The Eastern Cape Racing Awards
2012/2013 season were held in
Port Elizabeth recently recognising
and awarding the best horses and
industry stakeholders over the past
twelve months.
38
PARADE MAGAZINE
H
eld annually, the Racing Association’s industry
night of nights was enjoyed by everyone in attendance at Fairview Racecourse’s HB Christian
Room. There were a varied number of awards given
out on the night including the Racing Associations
(RA) special award category, “long service” which
went to: Carol van Rensburg, Ntemsi Zomba, Cikizwa Gotyana, Sindiwe Sandra Mahabeni, Mike Jones
and Peter Astin.
Graeme Larkin was acknowledged by Phumelela
Gaming and Leisure as the “most regular race goer.”
The RA also gave special awards to Justin Snaith ( recognition award for having 7 winners on 12 May 2013
at Fairview racecourse), Travis McGrath ( youngest
winner -owner) and Mrs Betty Peters (special parking).
ONLY CTS GRADUATES
QUALIFY FOR THE
us$1 000 000
Jay Peg
The Giant Killer!!
Dual Equus Champion TFR 126
Equus International
Horse of the Year
Highest stakes earner
ever bred in SA
Klawervlei Stud
RACING
Derek Burgman, racing manager who collected the award on behalf of Ingrid and Markus Jooste said he was
excited about Port Elizabeths’s racing future.
“PE racing has a great future and we look forward to racing on the new polytrack, I wish everyone well for
the new season.”
The RA’s winning horses for 2012/2013 racing season were as follows:
2 YEAR OLD FILLY
YOSHIE
2 YEAR OLD COLT / GELDING
SEATTLE STORM
3 YEAR OLD FILLY
SILVAN SPIRIT
3 YEAR OLD COLT / GELDING
SEDGE
OLDER FILLY / MARE
STORMY COAST
OLDER HORSE / GELDING
BLAZE OF FIRE
CHAMPION SPRINTER
SEDGE
CHAMPION STAYER
DRILL SARGEANT
HORSE OF THE YEAR
BLAZE OF FIRE
The RA’s winning trainers, jockeys and owners for the 2012/2013 racing season were:
CHAMPION APPRENTICE
LOUIS MXOTHWA
CHAMPION JOCKEY
MUZI YENI
CHAMPION TRAINER
GAVIN SMITH
CHAMPION OWNER
INGRID AND MARKUS JOOSTE
Connections of Horse
Of The Year, Blaze Of
Fire.
40
PARADE MAGAZINE
ONLY CTS GRADUATES
QUALIFY FOR THE
us$1 000 000
Gr1 winning sprinter
Went flat to the boards to win
one of Europe’s most prestigious
sprints
TFR 124
after Gr1 Prix Maurice
de Gheest
Sire: King’s Best - Timeform’s
Champion Miler (TFR 132)
won 2000 Guineas Gr1
by 3.5 lengths.
King’s Apostle
Klawervlei Stud
Maine Chance Farm’s Champion Sire Silvano.
42
PARADE MAGAZINE
FEATURE
Silvano
TEXT: LIESL KING. PHOTO: JEREMY NELSON.
Fifty years in the making
The 2013 Equus Awards saw Maine Chance Stud Farm’s Silvano(GER)
crowned as Champion Sire. In an extraordinary year, Silvano sired seven
Group 1 winners and shattered the South African stallion earnings record,
with a staggering R20 950 492 behind his name, writes LIESL KING.
I
mported into South Africa by Dr Andreas Jacobs,
his arrival and subsequent unsuccessful departure
due to an outbreak of African Horse Sickness is well
documented. Yet behind the arrival of this globetrotting Grade 1 winning racehorse lies a tale that reads
like a movie script.
Fifty odd years ago, Walther J. Jacobs, coffee merchant and stockman, rides past a beautiful farmhouse in the forest of Sottrum in Northern Germany.
Falling in love, he vows to try and buy the farm one
day. Sooner than expected
the house and surrounding land comes up for sale
and Gestüt Fährhof is born.
With poor soils, the Bremen
area is not considered suitable for horse breeding and
the thoroughbred breeding
fraternity scoff at Walther’s
plans. But coming from a 500-year-old farming family
with roots deep in the Bremen soil, Walther knew a
bit about producing cattle and horses.
His first advisor is Udo Kummer, former head of the
German National Trakehner Stud in Prussia and a
man who knows how to develop a pedigree. In the
late sixties he advises Walther to buy the then 17 year
old mare Suncourt(GB) in foal to Reliance(FR). In a
bidding war with movie star Omar Sharif, Walther
goes to 400 000 sterling for the proven mare who
foals down a filly named Surama (GER).
Walther’s first stallion purchase is the two-year-old
colt Literat(GER) with one victory behind his name.
As a thee-year-old however, Literat goes on to win
the German 2000 Guineas and the German Derby
Trial. Favourite for the German Derby, he finishes a
disappointing fifth. A hairline fracture to his fetlock
is discovered and Walther retires the colt to his fledgling stud. Finding mares proves extremely difficult
and Walther has to call in many favours, often giving away services. He also
mates Literat to his own
mare, the unraced Suncourt
daughter Surama.
It is a mating destined to
change the course of German breeding. A chestnut
colt is born and named
Surumu; he becomes Gestüt
Fährhof’s first German Derby winner. Surumu(GER)
excels at stud, winning multiple sire championships.
Today he appears in fifty percent of all modern
German pedigrees and is also the sire of champion
sire Acatanango(GER) and of course the damsire of
Lomitas(GER).
Bred by Fährhof, the young Lomitas, along with a
bunch of yearlings, is dispatched to Walther’s trainer Andreas Wöhler. There was nothing remarkable
about the colt; that is until his first serious grass
It is a mating destined
to change the course of
German breeding.
PARADE MAGAZINE
43
FEATURE
TEXT LIESL KING. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Monty Roberts training
Simon Stokes how to
work with Lomitas.
gallop in the company of two older horses. Given a
head start under regular rider Simon Stokes, Lomitas was to finish with his companions only once they
had caught up. Not hearing the sound of approaching hooves, a puzzled Stokes glances backwards and
upon seeing the older horses going full tilt in the distance realises he is sitting on something special.
Everybody including Wohler was looking forward
to Lomitas’ first start
but the chestnut refuses to leave home. After
hours of trying to load
the recalcitrant colt into
the float he has to be
withdrawn. It is the first
inkling of the trouble
brewing.
Stokes does some loading work with Lomitas
and the colt duly wins
his first two races, ending the year as Champion twoyear-old.
The Jacobs family and Wöhler start 1991 with a palpable excitement as Lomitas is the early Derby favourite. In April, the colt is lined up for a Listed race at
Krefeld. Surprisingly, he again refuses to load and it
takes twenty minutes and a mammoth effort to get
him into the barrier. The colt duly wins by a length,
but more schooling in the stalls is ordered.
Next up is the Cologne Derby Trial and it is here
that Lomitas etches his name in history. In front of a
packed crowd, all hoping to see their new champion
return victorious, the chestnut flatly refuses to enter
or even approach the starting stalls. Horrific scenes,
captured on film for posterity, follow. A blindfolded Lomitas rearing and
striking out as a scrum
of handlers try for 30
minutes to bundle him
in.
Finally, the colt simply
throws himself to the
ground in front of the
stalls. The race jumps
without him and Lomitas is banned from racing worldwide.
On 12 June 1991, the phone rings on the other side
of the world. In desperation, Walther turns to a then
little known horseman, Monty Roberts the “Horse
Whisperer”, to get his beloved champion back to
the track. To this day, after working with hundreds
of horses over the years, Roberts still calls Lomitas his
favourite. “When I began to work with him, I remem-
“When I began to work with
him, I remember stepping
away from him, looking him
over and thinking out loud, I
am in the presence of
greatness.”
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PARADE MAGAZINE
Walther J Jacobs with
Lavirco - Champion 3 yr
old in 2006
ber stepping away from him, looking him over and
thinking out loud, I am in the presence of greatness.
I had better do my job with patience, diligence and
competence”, Roberts recalls.
Working through the colt’s claustrophobia indeed
took time and patience, but with Stokes in attendance, Lomitas goes on to win three Group 1’s by a
combined 17 lengths. Wohler decides a break is in
order and turns Lomitas out with the Arc as his next
target. Sadly, it was not to be.
Two more victories and then out of the blue, Walther
receives a blackmail letter demanding a large amount
of money or Lomitas will be killed. Security is stepped
up and all seems well until Lomitas runs a diabolical
second last, beaten many lengths, in a Group 1 at
Dusseldorf.
Another letter arrives. Lomitas has been poisoned
and a warning is issued that his next start would be
his last. Shock waves reverberate through the industry and on arrival at work shortly thereafter, Stokes
finds Lomitas gone. In a pure Dick Francis move, the
colt had been spirited away during the night and hidden. Wöhler tells Stokes that while Lomitas is safe, he
is to take the colt to England immediately.
Departing in a private jet, with papers proclaiming
that the horse is called Pirelli, Stokes accompanies Lomitas to safety. A desperately sick Lomitas is taken
to Lester Pigott’s yard to recover from the poisoning
where he remains for four weeks. England though is
deemed too close to Germany and danger Lomitas is
flown to the United States to join Roberts.
Once again, Stokes accompanies the chestnut on
his journey and with Lomitas safely in the USA, the
threatening letters finally stop.
With a job waiting at home, Stokes reluctantly bids
his longtime companion goodbye and accompanies
some mares and yearlings back to Germany. In an
extraordinary twist of fate, one of the mares on the
flight is a plain bay, with a scraggy forelock, a mare
called Spirit Of Eagles(USA). Lomitas has a few starts
in the States, but with irreparably damaged feet due
to the poisoning, Walther retires him to stud.
A year later, on the 22nd of March 1996, in the old
farmhouse now turned into a foaling block, one of
Lomitas’ first offspring is born when Spirit Of Eagles
foals down a bay colt. The tiny colt’s story was fifty
years in the making, drawing together a cast of extraordinary characters that to this day play a part at
Gestüt Fährhof. Walther died in 1999 and left the
stud to his grandson Dr. Andreas Jacobs. Lomitas died
in 2010 after many years as a successful sire. Simon
Stokes now runs the pre-training unit at Fährhof and
Monty Roberts still returns twice yearly to start all the
yearlings. And the tiny bay colt? His name is Silvano.
PARADE MAGAZINE
45
FEATURE
TEXT: MICHAEL CLOWER. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Innovative
Thinking
Vaughan Koster talks to Michael Clower about the state of the breeding
industry and developments at his Cheveley Stud.
Argonaut
C
ape Breeders Club chairman Vaughan Koster
is convinced that the million dollar sales race is
just the start of a series of new initiatives that
will boost sale prices and give breeders a much-needed shot in the arm.
“The sales companies have been innovative over the
years, I suppose starting with Micky Goss and the
TBA’s Ready To Run, and this latest one is a very clever step by CTS,” he says. “They have really thought
out of the box and I am sure they will come up with
more innovations, forcing the TBA to up their game.
The TBA are going to have to produce new ideas just
to keep up, and I have no doubt they will.”
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PARADE MAGAZINE
However Koster, one of the clearest thinkers in the
industry, is concerned about the present financial
plight of breeders. “Many are finding it exceedingly
difficult to balance their books at the moment,” he
says, stressing that he is voicing his own views, not
necessarily those of the CBC. “Our costs have gone
through the roof yet we can’t put up our prices because these are controlled by the market at public
auction. I would be surprised if there aren’t a number
of farms running at a loss.
“There has been a huge reduction in the number of
breeders in recent years. Indeed our whole industry has shrunk – that is what happens when you go
Well bred breeder
Vaughan Koster
through a recession – and it’s for times like these that
you need to have put money away from the good
years, times like 2005-2007 when people were paying silly money for horses.
“Some studs are non-commercial - they have other
sources of income, or almost unlimited funds behind
them - but commercial breeders like me have to be
very careful with our finances.” The concern in his
face as he says this is all too apparent. “We have to
make sure that we don’t
overvalue our stock at the
sales. If we do that, we are
stuck with them.”
Koster, 32, slim, brownhaired and serious, is imparting these blunt truths
in the sitting room of his
Cheveley Stud, a dozen kilometres outside the busy,
bustling town of Ceres.
Like many others he sees
export protocols as the path to a much-needed silver
lining but, unlike some in the industry, he is under no
illusions about the extent of the dark clouds.
“If we were able to bring about an alteration in the
protocols, it would change our lives but racing and
breeding in the rest of the world are dead scared
of African Horse Sickness - and for them it’s already
there in the form of Blue Tongue. It swept through
Europe, killing thousands and thousands of cattle
and sheep, and the people there are petrified that, if
AHS does break out, it would run riot. That’s why we
are battling against a brick wall but we’ve got to keep
fighting and keep finding new avenues to convince
the EU that they should open up our export market.”
Koster was brought up at Cheveley (pronounced
Cheeve –lee, not Chev-elly as sometimes on Tellytrack) and is as well-bred as the horses he breeds.
He has a sire line like Sadler’s Wells. His grandfather,
a German who fought in the First World War, started the original Klawervlei outside Beaufort West and
was the father of Vaughan’s father Wilfred, John’s
father Peter and Werner, father of Rosedene Stud
owner Graeme.
But it was only when he was leaving Bishops and
won a bursary to work at the Niarchos family’s Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard that the latest in line really
knew that he wanted to head in the same direction.
“All the time I was growing up my parents tried to
discourage me from going into horses.” He glances
out of the window across the sea of colour round the
lawn, over the post-and-railed paddocks and beyond
the stud’s 1 000 hectares to the distant hills. “My parents knew that you have to have a passion for this
way of life, and that you are not going to last without
it. If you haven’t got it, the hard times – and there are
many - are sure to get the
better of you.
“But I love this game, I
love the animals and for
me there is nothing more
satisfying and more enjoyable than foaling down a
mare.” That is also what
he told his father after a
year at Stellenbosch, adding “Dad, I’m wasting your
money.”
The B.Com in marketing was exchanged for a tenmonth practical at Coolmore.“I did a lot of foaling
- mares of the calibre of Oaks winner Imagine, and
I found it almost overpowering to be exposed to
breed-changing stallions like Danehill and Sadler’s
Wells. There were so many incredible horses and
I also saw the likes of Montjeu, Galileo and Giant’s
Causeway going to stud.”
Coolmore thought enough of him to arrange for him
to go to Ashford in Kentucky and then their operation in Australia’s Hunter Valley after he had done
a stint on pedigrees at Weatherbys but, before he
could go to either, he heard the news that his father
had the dreaded disease that eventually killed him.
“But I love this game,
I love the animals and for
me there is nothing
more satisfying and more
enjoyable than foaling
down a mare.”
PARADE MAGAZINE
47
FEATURE
TEXT: MICHAEL CLOWER.
The only son returned home for a crash course in everything Wilfred Koster had spent a lifetime learning.
Cheveley, which Wilfred started in 1980 and named
after the Newmarket stud where he worked early in
his career, repeatedly punched above its weight. Despite deliberately not going for numbers, Koster bred
a string of Grade 1 winners and built up a reputation
for painstaking excellence.
His most notable product was London News, winner
of the Durban July, Met and Queen’s Plate before being sent to Hong Kong to land the Queen Elizabeth
II Cup.
Others on his stud’s roll of honour include National
Emblem, the ill-fated Cape Guineas, Derby and Daily
News winner Rabiya and Argonaut.
“He had a policy of buying winning sisters to good
horses because he felt that winning families often
come back,” his son recalls. It’s a case of like father
like son with this, and indeed with many of the other
successful policies, and recently there has been some
drastic pruning.
“Some of the mares were not quite of the quality you
need today so I filtered out those that were sub-standard, and I will slowly buy back quality. I am down to
47 mares but I would like to have around 60.”
A high risk business
London News stood at Cheveley when his globe-trotting career came to an and – he also ran at Royal Ascot and at The Curragh in Ireland – and now
Argonaut has also come home amid tremendous
belief in his ability to make it as a stallion. After all,
his supporters point out, the 2007 champion twoyear-old was considered good enough to be sent to
Australia.
Koster believes in buying shares in as many sires as
he can. “I try and spread the risk as much as possible
because the stallion game is such a high risk business.
Only three per cent become as successful as the likes
of Captain Al, Western Winter, Fort Wood, Jallad and
Kahal and hardly one per cent becomes another Jet
Master.” Cheveley has traditionally put the emphasis
on breeding a good horse rather than going for sales
price fashion. “We don’t breed horses for the sales
ring,” Koster emphasises. “First and foremost we are
aiming for a good racehorse. Obviously they’ve got
to be commercial to an extent, and each breeder has
his own views on what works, but I do think that
some people lose sight of the real objective.”
At this point wife Janine cheerfully breezes in. As a
farmer’s daughter from Greyton, she knows all about
the perils of breeding livestock and she has learnt
even more about how disaster can strike from her
job with Kuda Insurance. Lunch is on the table, she
announces, and it’s Cheveley lamb. Judging by the
tenderness and the taste, it’s going to be a big hit
when it reaches the market.
“We have always tried to be self-sufficient, growing
our own lucerne and oat hay, but now we are diversifying into cattle and sheep,” Koster explains. “We
can’t afford to do just horses any more, much as I
might like to.”
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FEATURE
“Life’s a joke”
Horseracing
is serious
An aging support base has long been of major concern for horseracing
administrators. When you have a generation that believes milk comes out of
a plastic bottle rather than a cow, you have a better handle on the problem.
This is what faces 3A Racing Syndicate whose members, working closely
with Gold Circle, have taken it upon themselves to get the youth back to the
racecourse. ANDREW HARRISON found out more.
52
PARADE MAGAZINE
B
efore the advent of cell phones there was a time
in Pietermaritzburg when if you needed a doctor, lawyer, plumber, electrician or your husband
on a Wednesday afternoon, you phoned Scottsville
racecourse and asked for the Owner’s and Trainer’s
bar - and it had to be really urgent or the well-heeled
barman said you weren’t there!
A plethora of initiatives have been proposed over the
years to revitalise support for a sport that once enjoyed iconic status alongside rugby, cricket and soccer. But racing has faded into the background due
mainly to administrative inertia and a lot of talk and
no action.
Interest in racing as a sport rather than a betting medium has dwindled to a critical point and most are in
agreement that the youth is the target market. The
difficulty is coming up with a workable strategy.
Box 3A houses a passionate group of youthful racegoers who are now famous for partying, cheering
loudly for their favourite jockey, MJ Byleveld, and for
beautiful girls but they represent hope for the sustainability of the sport. “Life’s a
joke, horseracing is serious”,
is their light hearted motto
which seems to have stuck
since they used it as a catchphrase on their dress code to
the 2010 VDJ.
“Racing is the Sport Of
Kings, but tradition can
only run for so long,” said
founding member Wesley
Bowman. “For racing to be
sustainable and to grow we need to focus on educating the youth and bringing them to the course. The
social aspect of racing has a massive pull and should
be used as a marketing tool.” Founding members of 3A, Wesley Bowman and
Andrew Harrison (younger and much better looking
that the editor of this publication), were early inductees to the way of the racecourse, both attending
Greyville racemeetings and racing from private box
3A belonging to Bowman’s father since the tender
age of 14.
Greyville jol
Eventually a growing number of friends got wind of
the “Greyville jol” and box 3A has become the hottest social gathering on the racecourse with the private venue filled to capacity at every Greyville night
meeting.
When eventually Bowman’s father decided to give up
the box, he offered it to his son and advised that he
get together a few people to share in the cost of the
lease.
Bowman, a financial advisor, and Harrison, an odds
compiler and sports trader for a leading bookmaking
firm, together with Daniel
Airey and Mark Horsfield,
put together a syndicate and
in four years the 3A Racing Syndicate has grown to
where they have a maximum
of 14 members - the box is
restricted to 28 people – and
race a number of horses together.
The two friends have done
an analysis of where they
come from and where they
want to go and have called
it E-Go Racing. Their passion for the sport is obvious
but they wanted to pass that passion on to friends.
“We realised how much fun racing brought into our
lives and we wanted more of the younger generation
to join in and share the enjoyment,” says Harrison.
“We think that racing has an opportunity to thrive as
it offers a most attractive social and financial model if
the right structures are in place.”
The E-Goer principal is based on entertainment. People wanting to dress up and be seen and at the same
time having a party. By offering something out of the
ordinary, like a race meeting and the opportunity to
become involved, 3A are hoping to get numbers back
to the racecourse.
“We realised how
much fun racing brought
into our lives and we
wanted more of the
younger generation to
join in and share the
enjoyment.”
E-Go Racing Based on a model cleverly dubbed E-Go Racing (Get
it?), the fired-up lads of 3A Racing syndicate have
taken it upon themselves to get the youth of KZN
back to the racecourse. Their strategy is simple. Make
racing the social occasion it once was rather than a
betting opportunity – not the other way round. Eventually they hope it will all come together with a party
and a bet.
PARADE MAGAZINE
53
FEATURE
“We think that racing has
an opportunity to thrive as it
offers a most attractive social
and financial model if the right
structures are in place.”
“Horse racing is an indirect way of providing entertainment and ultimately over time the sport will rub
off on the E-Goers and become one of the main reasons for returning to the racecourse, rather than just
a party. That is the important long-term goal, and we
feel the E-Goer approach is the way to make that
happen!” says Harrison.
Vibrant racing venue
The 3A syndicate are currently working closely with
Gold Circle and Gold Circle Racing Executive Graeme
Hawkins where the idea is to turn the old Palm Court
Restaurant into a vibrant racing venue that will provide an upmarket entertainment area with a classy
nightclub atmosphere and the racecourse and the
horses as a backdrop. But again, keeping in mind that
horse racing is the concluding motivation to return to
the race course, with these E-Goers becoming part of
the industry for life.
With the party sorted an E-Goer Youth Club has
been mooted where members form part of a social
networking group with horseracing as its backbone.
Members will have daily access to social networking,
weekly events, affiliate programmes and a variety of
entertainment, all tying in with Gold Circles plans
to race at Greyville on a weekly basis from October
2014. Being a member of the E-Goer Youth Club will
also offer great opportunities to get involved in racehorse syndication and ownership.
Bowman and Harrison are the driving force behind
the initiative, but they emphasise that it’s a team effort. Everyone in the syndicate contributes in their
own special way. They hope to educate their members in the ways of the sport and grow a passion for
horseracing and in doing so grow brand loyalty.
“The fourteen 3A Racing Syndicate members are enthusiastic racegoers from Durbs. We’re passionate
about the sport, and we race for the party,” concludes Bowman.
Founding members
Wesley Bowman and
Andrew Harrison.
54
PARADE MAGAZINE
Dual Champion
Racehorse
UK Champion
Racehorse 2009
Joint European
Champion 2009
Twice Over
Klawervlei Stud
FEATURE
Downs
TEXT: ROBBYN RAMSAY. PHOTO: ANDREW HARRISON
More ups than
IF ever one had a problem horse
on their hands the suggested
solution was often to “send it to
Anne Upton”. Exercising extreme
care, supreme patience and good
old fashioned horsemanship is what
always set Anne apart from her
peers. ROBBYN RAMSAY takes a look
back at Anne’s remarkable career.
B
orn a couple of weeks before Christmas in
1935, Anne grew up on a farm in the Hilton
Road area north of Pietermaritzburg and horses
always played a leading role in the story of her life.
As a young woman her first foray into the horse
world saw Anne buying horses from Harry Barnett’s
Springvale Stud and she spent days on end schooling
them up for sale as gymkhana racers or as polo ponies, a game she also played.
Transvaal-based Ms. Hilda Knaupp was at that time
the first and the only licensed lady trainer in South
Africa. Following Knaupp’s lead Anne Upton applied
for her trainer’s license in 1957 to become the first
ever lady trainer based in Natal and she set up shop
with just six horses in her Hilton yard. The horses
were floated to Scottsville for grass gallops and barrier practice, which preceded the starting pens introduced in 1964.
The first winner of Anne’s career came in 1958 with
one of her own horses, a Ranjit gelding named Infringe - given to the stable by breeder Ted Birch. He
won a B Division 10-furlong race at Scottsville with
jockey Johnny Edy up.
Her first paying patron, Jurgen “Roddy” Rodseth,
sent Anne her very first big challenge - a highly strung
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PARADE MAGAZINE
and extremely difficult colt named High Art. Specially
taped recordings of the noise at the start were played
to the horse over and over again and he eventually
settled down enough to win 6 races.
The first real problem horse sent to Anne intentionally was Tympanist, owned by Walter Grindrod, a renowned gambler. Tympanist was a magnificent, big
strong gelding by top sire Drum Beat but the sight of
the barrier tapes reduced him to a terrified, quivering
wreck. In an effort to conquer his fears a mock barrier
was strung up in front of Tympanist’s box so he could
see that the waving tapes posed no threat or danger.
Daily walks under trees with low hanging branches
brushing across his ears also helped. All the patience,
kindness and sheer perseverance eventually paid dividends and Tympanist went on to win 9 races in the
good hands of top jockeys such as David Payne, Raymond Rhodes, Johnny McCreedy and Johnny Cawcutt. His owner was well pleased and confidently
backed the horse each time!
Without A Doubt flipped over in the pens injuring
his back which made him impossible to handle at the
starting stalls and he was sent to Anne Upton for her
to sort him out.
“He was a giant of a horse and extremely fractious
taken anywhere near the pens,” recalls Anne. “My
excellent and fearless staff won his trust and we
eventually got him over his fear and the big horse rewarded us all by winning 7 races. Incidentally, a whip
was never ever used in my yard; to me they are completely unnecessary.”
So, did her ability to sort out problem horses such
as Tympanist affect Anne’s career? “Not really,” she
says, “I really enjoyed the challenge of these difficult
horses but one mustn’t forget that I also trained a
lot of normal horses too - many 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 time
winners. My own homebred colts Bold Comment
and Redwing were very good horses and won 8 races
apiece.”
Ted Birch’s gift of a Fairthorn entire named Dowry led
to Anne saddling her first feature race winner – the
homebred Dowry’s Son who carried her father Jimmy
Hampson’s colours to victory in the 1962 Kruger Day
Handicap at Scottsville with Aubrey Roberts up.
Wealthy beef baron Cyril Hurvitz initially came to have
horses in Anne’s yard through her great friend and
fellow trainer Fred Rickaby. Hurvitz had paid R17 000
for Furious as a yearling – a princely sum back in the
mid-70s - but a bout of biliary had set him back and
he was performing poorly. Rickaby suggested that he
be sent to Anne’s yard to see what she could do with
him.
Cross-country work
“When Furious arrived in my yard, he was very scopy
but a little light as a result of his illness. I set about
building him up with cross-country work in the plantations around our farm and it worked,” Anne recalls.
Furious’ first start for Anne was at Scottsville in January 1978 over 1600m and, held back for a run early
on, he entered the straight at the tail end of the field
and ran on strongly to win by a distance under Harold
Taylor. He won again at Greyville a few weeks later.
“When I called Cyril to tell him that Furious had won
again he immediately said he wanted to win the Holiday Inns with him at the end of that year!”, says
Anne. “It was tough qualifying for major races in
those days, but Hurvitz insisted that I do whatever it
took. When Hurvitz said jump, you jumped! He was
a big gambler and an extremely difficult man to train
for.”
Furious duly earned his place in the Holiday Inns (now
the Sansui Summer Cup) courtesy of his win in the
Black & White Gold Bowl and on 9 December 1978,
less than 11 months after his first win Furious landed
the Gr1 Holiday Inns in style ridden by Robbie Sham
who remembers the race well.
Great big horse
“Muis Roberts should have ridden Furious but he had
to honour an engagement on another runner and
I picked up the ride,” recalls Sham. “Furious was a
great big horse and always came out of the pens a
bit slowly and I had been warned not to panic being placed near the back of the field. The horse had
terrific acceleration and he sailed home – Turffontein
suited him down to the ground. It was a big day for
me as well as for Mrs Upton as I was just out of my
time and it was my first really big win. It was, and still
is, every South African jockey’s dream to win at least
one of the big 3 – the Holiday Inns (Summer Cup),
the July or the Met. Mr Hurvitz apparently landed one
of the biggest bets of his life backing Furious to win
the Holiday Inns but I was unaware of that going into
the race.”
On a typically egotistical roll, Cyril Hurvitz brought renowned American trainer Charlie Whittingham out
to South Africa to look at his horses in training. He
was dead set on his good horse Bold Tropic going to
race in the States. Whittingham first visited the yard
of Hurvitz’s main trainer Buller Benton to see Bold
Tropic (who went on to race out of New York) and
then went on to Anne’s yard to look at his other star,
Furious.
Whittingham and Anne clicked instantly. He commented on the condition of her horses and asked to
see her feed room – the contents of which fascinated
him. He then quizzed her on how she worked her
horses and listened intently as she explained how she
used a light dirt track as she did not like heavy sand
tracks.
Back to the business at hand, Furious was dismissed
by Whittingham as being unsuitable to race on American tracks – mainly due to his style of racing - but it
was Anne’s homebred 8-time winning colt Redwing
who caught Whittingham’s eye.
“Charlie Whittingham really wanted Redwing to join
his string at Santa Anita and plans were afoot to try
to make that happen but, the horse tragically died of
African Horse Sickness before we could get it together,” says Anne. “The agony I felt at losing Redwing is
PARADE MAGAZINE
57
FEATURE
TEXT: ROBBYN RAMSAY.
something that I still can’t talk about without getting
a great big lump in my throat. It was definitely one of
the lowest points of my career.
“But, good things come from bad too. When Charlie
and his wife Peggy heard about my loss they invited
me over to the States and a great and very special
friendship was born.”
Another special American friendship Anne struck
up was with Alice Headley Bell who bred the 1968
Epsom Derby winner Sir Ivor (sired by Secretariat’s
half-brother Sir Gaylord) at the Mill Ridge Farm in
Kentucky. Alice married John Chandler, a vet once
based at Scott Bros’ Highdown Stud in Natal.
“One of the highlights of my life was going to
Kentucky in 1971 with Alice and we visited most
of the major stud farms in Kentucky such as Claiborne, Spendthrift, Calumet and Gainesway long before our own Graham Beck bought out John Gaines. I
was lucky enough to see some of the best stallions in
the world – Buckpasser, Tom Rolfe, Arts and Letters,
Herberger, Nijinsky and our own South African-bred
hero Hawaii.
Secretariat
“We spent a day at Belmont with the great Secretariat’s trainer Lucien Laurin who had Riva Ridge in his
barn. Secretariat was still on the farm and Alice had
Commentary in training with Lucien so we watched
him work and it was then that I decided that if ever
Alice sent Commentary to South Africa I would send
my mare Boutique (Even Beat ex Dowrys Gift) to him.
It happened and full brothers Bold Comment and
Redwing were the result.
Back home Anne won the Holiday Inns for a second time in 1983 with the stoutly-bred New Zealand horse North Island who joined her stable from
Summerveld. “He’d been racing over completely the
wrong distance. I ran him first time out over 2000m,”
recalls Anne. “He won and I immediately entered him
for the Transvaal Stayers over 24OO at Turffontein
with Michael Roberts up. He won so was accepted
for the Holiday Inns which he duly won under Patrick
Wynne. The horse, owned by a syndicate, was then
sold and sent to a Transvaal trainer and about a year
later was found starving in a paddock. That incident
really tested my faith in humanity.”
When pressed to name the best horse she ever
trained Anne ponders the question before admit-
58
PARADE MAGAZINE
ting that Furious must have been the best. In racing
however there is always a big “but” when it comes
to horses whose careers are prematurely cut short –
horses like her beloved Redwing.
When it comes to jockeys who have ridden for Anne
over the years she is quick to single out Kevin Shea,
whom she always predicted would make it to the
top; the world class Michael Roberts whose record
for the Upton yard was 7 rides for 7 wins (one of
them proudly owned by this writer) and then master
tactician Bertie Hayden.
“Bertie Hayden could work out a race to the very last
stride – like he did when he won the Gold Cup for me
on Furious. The pace was on but he asked Furious to
move strongly up the back straight getting him into
a better position than sitting last and they won going
away. I had got the horse fit but most of the credit for
the win was due to Bertie,” says Anne.
Always a great believer in home remedies, Anne
gained much insight and valuable knowledge in her
early years as a trainer from the doyenne of Natal
breeders Joyce Tatham of the Springfield Stud. For
example, Fullers Earth and vinegar mixed with water
and used as a mild cooler paste was regularly applied
for joint and shin problems.
Though Dr John O’Grady was to become her stable
vet and a great friend, invasive treatment for joints
was unheard of in Anne’s yard. Rest and regular sessions using a tabulator boot filled with hot water and
Epsom salts were used instead. A case in point was
her very last winner Abernant Star who was kept
sound by avoiding the grass and being treated in
the tabulator boot twice a day. He went on to win 7
races including two features for stalwart owner Peter
White.
Friends and mentors have a special place in Anne Upton’s heart. Fellow trainers Fred Rickey, Sydney Laird,
George Azzie and later Charlie Whittingham were
especially supportive of her endeavours and freely offered their help and advice when called for.
On a personal level special friends included Daphne
Walker, Winks Greene and Jean Pharazyn – the quartet of ladies bound together by their mutual interest
in and admiration of thoroughbred horseflesh.
“My greatest triumph has been having a supportive family; some wonderful people in my life and of
course the unconditional and hugely fulfilling love
from my animals.”
WHAT A WINTER
Western Winter - Waseela (Ahonoora)
Highest rated racehorse in SA on international scale
Joint 3 rd highest rated sprinter in the world 2013
Equus Champion Older Male 2012
Equus Champion Sprinter 2012
... and again Equus Champion Sprinter 2013
FEATURE
Imagine
Racing
TEXT: ROBYN LOUW. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Catherine Hartley and Sandy Wilson are two independent business women
who are passionate about horses, racing and the fun and glamour that go
with it. With their combined financial and marketing acumen, they teamed
up to create a marketing, PR, communication and syndication campaigner for
the horse racing industry – in short - Imagine Racing. ROBYN LOUW reports.
B
orn from a shared passion to promote the sport
of horse racing, Imagine Racing markets and
manages shared race horse ownership. “We
strive to ignite the passion for racing, encouraging
new ownership and helping people get involved by
guiding and simplifying the process for new owners.
We then fan the flames by offering access to the best
in the industry and enhance our clients’ ownership
and racing experience through inclusive involvement,
superior communication and personal service. We
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manage each and every horse as our own and liaise
with the trainers on the owners’ behalf. Owners are
given weekly updates on their horses’ progress and
where horses are not yet racing, we supply regular
photographs to keep owners in the loop. We take
care of owner registration, colours and Racing Association membership, coordinate all the arrangements
to view the horses and meet with the trainers and
arrange all race day hospitality. It’s all the fun of owning a racehorse, without any of the hassle !”
This dynamic duo are a breath of fresh, feminine air
and are fast carving themselves a firm industry niche,
both on and off the track. Catherine is a competitive
polo player while Sandy prefers the excitement of the
show-jumping ring and with both these disciplines
being ones in which Off The Track Thoroughbreds excel, it was not much of a leap for Imagine Racing to
form a social responsibility initiative, named Beyond
Racing.
“A number of recent incidents highlighted the fact
that they sometimes end up in the wrong hands
and, due to ignorance or gross neglect, are found in
terrible conditions. In order to safe-guard our Thoroughbreds, we are campaigning with the breeding
and racing industry, sport-horse industry, the National
Horse Trust and animal welfare units to promote them
as purpose-bred athletes,
versatile enough to excel
at any discipline. Our aim
is to increase the demand
for Thoroughbreds as sport
and leisure horses to ensure
that they have a value and
are looked after, loved and
celebrated well beyond the
confines of the winner’s enclosure.
Beginning in 2014, we will initiate special Thoroughbred classes and incentives within classes at various
shows. These will be publicized once finalized.
We will also award special annual prizes including:“The Thoroughbred of the Year Award” to recognize
a Thoroughbred that has excelled in a non-competitive career, such as equine-assisted therapy or police
work. The award will include a monetary prize to the
non-profit organization associated with the horse or,
if not associated with a non-profit organization, to a
horse-related charity chosen by Beyond Racing. Details will be publicized in due course and submissions
will be encouraged from all organizations.
“Young Rider of the Year Award” to recognize a
young rider, 18 or under, who owns and rides a Thoroughbred. This will not necessarily only be based on
competitive ability and will also be judged on their
story.
Beyond Racing will create a range of branded promotional riding kit and clothing for proud Thoroughbred
owners to ride in. Profits from the sale of the kit will
help to fund the initiatives.
In order to reposition the after racing demand for
horses coming off the track, Beyond Racing is publicizing the success of Thoroughbreds as sport and leisure horses. With so many passionate Thoroughbred
owners in racing and beyond, the stories are already
coming in thick and fast:
Msasa Magic (Woodborough x Northern Safari by
Northern Guest)
After a poor racing career in KZN and Kimberley,
Msasa was offered to Jassy Mackenzie who could not
resist the strikingly pretty chestnut. Given time to adjust, appropriate feed and treatment, he was ready to
start schooling. Jassy says: “Msasa was a lovely ride
right from the start with a
beautiful head carriage and
an amazingly soft mouth, as
well as lovely paces which
are still developing. He is a
very expressive horse which
makes him very eye catching but also means that any
problems are on display for
all to see! It took him a while
to calm down at shows and
our first few scores were
very bad. However, with time, schooling and great
lessons, he gained the confidence he needed to start
going well and showing off rather than showing how
scared he was!”
The pictures speak for themselves and interestingly
Msasa is barefoot and mostly lives out with minimal
blanketing in bad weather. Msasa is starting to excel
in his dressage career and we look forward to seeing
him go on from here.
Mr. Brock (Fort Wood x Cape Badger by Badger Land)
Now 10, Mr Brock was owned by Serge Seenyen,
bred by the late Mrs Oppenheimer and trained by
Mike De Kock. After winning a few starts in South
Africa, it was on to Mauritius where he won their
Derby, the Golden Trophy and the Phoenix Maiden
Cup and then to Dubai where he clocked some good
wins. In 2012 Serge returned him to South Africa
to retire and he was taken on by Erinn Dempsey in
July 2012. Erinn also rides the grey Equalize gelding,
Equal Image and they are competing very successfully, especially in three-phase eventing.
This dynamic duo are
a breath of fresh,
feminine air and are fast
carving themselves a firm
industry niche, both on
and off the track.
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FEATURE
TEXT: ROBYN LOUW. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Mr Brock and Erinn
Dempsey.
Although it is still early in his new career, Mr Brock
competed in the recent Kwa Zulu-Natal Showing
Championships, winning all his classes in the novice
section and being crowned the Supreme Champion
Novice Show Horse. Mr Brock has also been placed in
many classes in all the disciplines he competes in and
has done very well in his last few eventing shows, either winning or coming 2nd. After a successful race
career, it seems Mr Brock is warming up to be just as
successful in the show ring.
Engineer (Circle of Steel x Filia Mia by Ribofilio) and
Jack (African Summer, (Hallgate x Musikana by Divine
King)
African Summer AKA Jack is 19 and Engineer is now
22 and still going strong. Both these geldings are
helping people in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
(EAP). EAP consists of a therapist working with an
equine specialist to assist patients in dealing with
issues including; trust, self-confidence, self-esteem,
boundaries, interpersonal relationships, and communication skills. At first, the size and power of a
horse can be intimidating, especially to “non horsey”
people. However, learning to interact and communicate non-verbally with an animal which is non-judgemental, sensitive, largely forgiving and gives you
instant feedback, is hugely rewarding. Horses are
highly sensitive communicators, so there’s no fooling
them! Sessions are non-ridden, with courses initially
run over 6-8 weeks, with various tasks assigned by
the therapist. The horse’s instant feedback gives the
therapist insight into the patient’s interpersonal style.
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Jack is one of the top therapy horses and does so
much for people in this field of work. He’s definitely
found his niche. From winning race horse to healing
helper, it seems that EAP is equally rewarding for the
patient, therapist and equine specialist!
The SAP Mounted Unit in Gauteng is our biggest provincial unit, with the unit based at Turffontein houses 22 horses of which 9 are Thoroughbreds. Once
re-schooled from the track, horses are expected to
work a minimum of 80 hours a month, including a
patrolling presence at big events, e.g. conventions at
the Sandton Convention Centre, parades and charity
work.
All horses have to complete an annual test to maintain a work certificate. This test includes general
health, being able to jump and canter when asked
and general discipline. They also have to remain calm
amidst loud noise, gunshots, sirens and smoke. As
seen below they were on parade at the 2010 World
Cup, where they worked up to 16 hours a day.
We invite all Thoroughbred owners to share their
stories and photographs and let us know about your
Thoroughbreds, whether you race, compete, hack or
simply have a companion.
Join us on FaceBook: facebook.com/BeyondRacingSA or contact us on [email protected]/
0836401155, [email protected]
Imagine Racing. Imagining the possibilities on the
race track. And ensuring them beyond.
magazine
FEATURE
The way forward
TEXT: DEREK WILSNAGH. PHOTOS: NKOSI HLOPHE
Western Cape
Western Cape racing is in the throes of regeneration and no less so than
in the training ranks, where a futuristic, upgraded breed of young equine
conditioners has emerged reports DEREK WILSNAGH.
A
t the crest of this fresh regime are Joey Ramsden and Justin Snaith. Bright, intelligent and
engaging communicators with presence and
charm in abundance, both have huge footprints
within modern communication mediums and excel
at it.
Besides being outstanding trainers, and exceptional
team leaders, both have media savvy and have a superb grasp of political correctness, while capable of
being outspoken and hugely influential on any racing
topic, at any time.
These talents empower them to lead Cape conditioners through what is proving a hugely-challenging
period.
Quizzed separately, it is perhaps not surprising to discover how remarkably similar their outlooks on their
profession are aligned.
Astonishingly, neither rate being based in the Cape
an advantage!
However, both concede it does have strong selling
points that off-set its grave geographical shortcomings.
“Training on a national scale, Johannesburg would
be the logical choice,” says Snaith. “But living in the
Cape is a lot nicer and the racecourses being close to
the training tracks a definite plus factor (when compared to Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal).
“When I am training out of town I seem to spend all
my time in my car.
It’s a nightmare! In eight months I do more mileage
there than I do in about three to four months here.
“Owners and breeders are our biggest asset here.
Holidaymakers from around the world offer great
ownership potential to us. Plus we have some of the
most beautiful and biggest stud farms right on our
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Justin Snaith
Joey Ramsden
doorstep.
“Breeders are the biggest owners in the industry and
(because of their
proximity) we are able to get to know them well and
cultivate relationships.”
Ramsden, typically, cuts to the chase: “The advantage here lies in the exchange rate (overseas owners).
“But the competition has become ridiculously stiff,
for prize money that has become poor, though it
must be said this is changing.
“Training here has become far more difficult, the racing more competitive, with more competitors, and
the opposition are not at all shy about taking on the
big names, be they horse or trainer.”
The challenges?
“Logistics,” says Snaith. “Being so far away
were it not for our PE yard we would be forced to
shift to Johannesburg, no doubt about it.
“We find the planning of races and organisation in PE
superb and it is an alternative for us to race horses we
can’t find a career path for in the Cape. If they closed
PE racing tomorrow, we would be shifting our stable
to Gauteng the following day,” he grins.
“Unavoidable, if you want to be one of the top yards
in the country.”
Ramsden’s challenge: “To find new clients. The industry dynamics have shrunk so much in the past 10 to
15 years, making this much harder.
“Training standards here are now without doubt as
good or better than
10 to 30 years ago. Horses are definitely a lot fitter.
So we have to make sure we stay ahead.”
The recipe for success?
“To get the top clients is No 1 priority,” says Snaith.
“We try and make sure we attend the right sales, get
the top horses, pick the right races, make sure our
horses are fit and ready.
“The higher you aim, the more you take on, the harder it gets. All this is really expensive and it takes a lot
of planning and management to stay on top of it all.”
Ramsden’s version: “A lot of thumb-sucking!” he
laughs. “No, seriously, we have had to really invest
in ourselves … sell ourselves as a product. And, of
course, on the training side try to stay ahead of our
rivals, part of which has included fitting three equine
treadmills at a cost of over a million rands.
“We have also had a customised truck built for traveling long distances, with an air-con and all that’s
needed to get horses to a venue in the best condition
possible. We use it mainly to PE right now.”
Broader horizons?
“Internationally, it is what it is,” says Ramsden. “We
are no closer after 10 years to developing a model
that is anywhere near practical and economically feasible. Through Variety Club I have seen how hard it is.
“On a national scale, being able to be effective in
Gauteng is an answer, but not an easy one. We
have needed to jack ourselves up in the art of travel,
whether by road or air, and it can never be undertaken as an after-thought.
“We now have to focus on raids and how to make
them successful, or come unstuck. It is nowadays vital to do really well in our Summer as the success of
my season will be judged on that.
“Winning big races at that time will allow me to be
remembered more than for what I achieve, or not, for
the rest of the year elsewhere.”
Snaith clearly concurs.
“Knowledge of travel and transport is so important
now. Jono (brother Jonathan Snaith) and our team
do an excellent job of our planning, but I must say
what has now become as important is how to duck
the handicapper.
“Our handicapping system is causing a slow decay of
racing, it’s forcing trainers not to show too much of a
horse’s ability. At times it even becomes necessary to
avoid handicap races.
“This leads to the number of horses racing dwindling
at a time they need to increase. I see this as the biggest threat to racing we currently face… the impact
of handicapping on the racing industry.”
However, negativity is not a Snaith stable trait and
Justin emphasises there is a lot of positivity flowing
into the region at present through the efforts of the
Racing Association and local club, with facility upgrades and commitment to improve the racing package and experience leading to a lot more camaraderie within the industry.
“Trainers are definitely thinning out, so it is also nice
to see in Natal the authorities have realised the need
to subsidise their trainers where they can, like with
stabling expenses.
“It’s getting incredibly expensive and tough for new
trainers to start up, which may be great for us as big
trainers but in the long run, is that a good thing?”
PARADE MAGAZINE
65
FEATURE
TEXT: SARAH WHITELAW. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Favour Stud
Farm future
of the
Engelize and Ernst Du Preez’s Favour Stud is one of the youngest and most
innovative stud farms in South Africa writes SARAH WHITELAW. Established
in 2008, the stud is situated in the Stillbaai region of the Western Cape.
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G
uests entering the property are greeted by
a large white sign wall embellished with the
words ‘Favour Stud’. Above the sign are two
flags, which are raised systematically to inform people if the farm has had runners and winners for the
day and whether any new foals were born.
The stud, on which only indigenous trees are planted,
is run by an enthusiastic young staff that come from
a mixed range of backgrounds.
Jannie and Renate Du Plessis are the farm and stud
managers respectively. While Jannie preps the yearlings, Renate is kept busy supervising the foaling
during the breeding season, managing the vet station, and trains both the farm’s and various clients
horses.
Jannie has an architectural background and played
a pivotal role in designing the buildings which grace
Favour Stud. Also a former missionary and extremely well-travelled, he enjoys the pedigree aspects of
breeding while Renate is an outstanding horsewoman who previously trained warm bloods and competed extensively overseas. She is due to receive her full
trainer’s licence at the end of December. Renate had
previously been assistant trainer to Corne Spies for
two-and-a-half years.
She admits to have been well supported and helped
by a number of people in the racing community including Maine Chance Farms’ John Slade, Port Elizabeth-based trainers Yvette Bremner and Gavin Smith,
Justin and Jonathan Snaith and Tarquin Norval.
The couple, who have a young daughter, Hailee,
started out with one horse and they showcased
their ample capabilities by training it to be a two star
eventer – and it was not long before people took notice of their skill.
One of Renate’s early students was Engelize Du
Preez’s daughter, Juka, whose love of horses and riding quickly influenced her father, Ernst.
Ernst took such a strong liking to the equestrian
world that he purchased six horses from the Riethuiskraal dispersal. Among these was Gilded Moon –
who went on to win five races including the Milkwood Stakes.
This quick success encouraged Ernst and Engelize to
get more involved. Ernst duly went to the KZN Mare
and Weanling Sale and purchased a staggering 35
mares in 2008!
He sent them to his fledgling farm in Stillbaai, which
Jannie and Renate Du
Plessis, farm and stud
managers respectively.
at the time had no facilities and just a single paddock
for the mares.
Jannie was quickly recruited to assist Renate in the
running of the farm, which that season had the bare
minimum of help!
Today, however, things could not be more different!
The training facilities on the farm include a 2600m
training track, as well as barns for housing horses in
and out of training.
Other facilities on the farm include 250 hectares of
grazing, a stallion facility, four foaling barns, which
are situated very close to the stud manager’s house,
and 34 individual stables.
Expanded both in 2009 and 2010, the farm is also
open to hosting various equestrian events in their impressive function barn. Ernst is currently negotiating
with his neighbour to buy the surrounding property
in the hope of expanding the farm still further.
There is a conference centre situated just in front of
the stables, which allow visitors easy access to viewing of the mares and foals. Favour Stud provides a
wide range of services ranging from boarding mares
to sales prepping, spelling, pre-training and training.
The farm has a motto of “quality over quantity”, and
has an attractive band of broodmares and stallion
shares to back up that motto.
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67
FEATURE
TEXT: SARAH WHITELAW. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Among the broodmares are champion Aslan’s dam,
Cry For The Lion, the classy Kahal mare Haizi, Gilded Moon, Venturesome, Fancy Halo, Me ‘N You, I’m
Like Hello, Cutey Lee and the now 24 year old Glad
Singer.
Cry For The Lion, a timid and unprepossessing looking mare, will be sent to champion Bold Silvano (for
a three parts sibling to Aslan) while Venturesome (a
multiple black type producer) had a smashing filly by
Oasis Dream’s well performed son Querari. The smart Captain Al mare Me ‘N You is going to the
court of Klawervlei’s outstanding new recruit, Twice
Over.
High hopes
Other smart mares the farm has high hopes for include: Ice House (a Western Winter mare from the
family of Horse Chestnut) who goes to Pathfork, Diana Choice’s dam, Fly To The Stars, who is back in foal
to Windrush, the blue blooded Supreme Duel (who
carries to What A Winter), and the smart, stakes winner Gilded Moon (who is going to last season’s Equus
Outstanding Stallion, Judpot).
Renate admits to hoping to get a last filly out of some
of the older mares, while being excited about the future prospects of the younger broodmares.
The stud has shares in such promising and proven
sires as Bold Silvano, Jay Peg,
Rebel King, Querari, Horse
Chestnut and new sires Twice
Over and What a Winter.
Jannie and Renate are planning to send six juveniles to the
Cape Ready to Run Sale in December.
Their draft is likely to include
two Jay Peg fillies, and Horse
Chestnut, Rebel King, Seventh
Rock and Var colts.
From their first small crop of
runners, the stud is already represented by a black type horse, while Favour Stud’s
second crop has yielded 3 stakes horses to date. Favour Stud has a stallion barn, which is currently
empty, but has six open boxes. Potential stallions for
the future like the Grade One winning War Horse, as
well as the beautifully bred, talented, but temperamental colt Anger. The latter, a son of champion sire
Elusive Quality, won his debut impressively and is held
in high regard by his connections.
Favour Stud produced their first runner on
10 December 2010 and have since produced the
black type achievers Lord Jonathan, Zobens and
Sahavara.
Guests visiting Favour Stud are
able to stay in either the Favour
House or Favour Stud.
The house is built on the Modderfontein farm that was built
back in 1873. The thatched
cottage, now available to visitors, was part of the abandoned foundation of the original stud farm.
Now equipped with a jacuzzi,
the fully furnished cottage is
warm and comfortable – and
provides guests with a snug place to stay out of the
cold Stillbaai nights!
Favour Stud is an exciting addition to the ranks of
South African stud farms and no doubt has a bright
future.
The farm has a
motto of “quality over
quantity”, and has an
attractive band
of broodmares and
stallion shares to
back up that motto.
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@Aushorse_TBA
facebook.com/Aushorse
FEATURE
TEXT: SARAH WHITELAW. PAINTING: SUPPLIED
Enchanted Garden
Legacy
The SA Oaks
South Africa is not a country which breeds to produce 2400m horses.
Races of 2400m (in Europe regarded as classic races of great importance)
are regarded locally as staying races, and, inevitably, are less competitive
races than their shorter counterparts, writes SARAH WHITELAW.
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S
o what part has the South African Oaks, a
Grade 2 feature, played in the country? How
successful has the Oaks been in uncovering future stars, of track and paddock? Has the Oaks, a
race first run in, been productive when it comes to
producing genuine champions?
Past successes of Oaks winners
In the past 10 years, only two Oaks winners (Cherry
On The Top and Igugu) have gone on to win Grade
One contests. Since 2006, only two winners have
achieved merit ratings of 105 plus.
Last season, the SA Oaks saw Grade One winning
fillies (Cherry On The Top, Do You Remember) run
1-2, but, previously, the average Oaks fields, at times,
could best be described as average to below average.
A case in point, was the 2012 Oaks field, where just
two runners had a merit rating of 100 – and three
runners had merit ratings in the 70’s.
In 2009, the Oaks was won by Bedloe’s Island over
a small field of just seven rivals. Not one of the eight
fillies went on to win a feature race subsequently –
and, in fact, neither the second or third placed fillies
won another race!
This rather sober state of affair is not always the case.
In the 1980’s, the South African Oaks was by a number of top-class racemares. The list includes Grand
National, St Just, and Horse of the Year Enchanted
Garden.
Grand National was one of the toughest fillies of her
generation, winning both the SA and Natal Oaks,
and beat colts in the SA Invitational Stakes. St Just,
who was one of two Hobnob fillies to win the SA
Oaks, won seven graded races during her career, including the now Daily News 2000 beating champions
Olympic Duel and Spanish Galliard in the process.
Enchanted Garden, one of the finest racemares of the
1980’s, was named Horse of the Year following a season in which she won both the SA and Natal Oaks,
and beating colts in the Sun International Stakes.
First run in 1920, the South African Oaks is one of the
country’s oldest classic filly contests and as such has a
long roll of honour. Remarkably, the race was won by
Oppenheimer bred horses on at least 13 occasions!
On five of these occasions they won with daughters
of their sire Free Ride.
The first filly to win the SA Oaks was Eton Girl, a
daughter of champion sire Greatorex, who defeated
Topnote to win by a length and a quarter. The initial
Oaks was run for the princely sum of 750 guineas!
Oaks winners at Stud
If SA Oaks winners have not always proved the best
filly of their respective generation – what has been
their overall success at stud?
In the 1940’s, a number of SA Oaks heroines went
on to do great things at stud. The likes of Murmansk,
Prestissimo and Lalage are all examples of this. Murmansk herself formed a dynasty through her daughters, while Prestissimo is the ancestress of top sprinter
Prairie Belle and Broodmare of the Year First Lisa.
Lalage produced five stakes winners including the
luckless Radlington, placed in the Durban July on
three occasions.
Another great broodmare to win the SA Oaks was Julie Andrews, who bred July winner Principal Boy and
Oaks winner Grease Paint, as well as the Grade One
winner Col Pickering (the broodmare sire of Horse
Chestnut).
Sea Mist, winner of the race in 1973, went onto produce champion Evening Mist, who caused a memorable 25-1 upset in the Gr1 Administrator’s Champion Stakes for a then emerging trainer - Mike de Kock.
Dual Horse of the Year Variety Club is out of a granddaughter of 1984 Oaks winner Novenna, while the
1982 winner Serena bred North American Grade One
winner and St Leger runner up Broadway Flyer.
However, in the modern era, a number of Oaks winners have failed to prove particularly successful at
stud. The Oaks winning full sisters Royal Prophecy
and Noble Destiny were particularly noticeable in
this regard. Despite being sent to the best stallions
around, the pair failed to produce one black type
winner between them! Ironically enough, an unplaced full sister to the Oaks winning siblings became
dam of US Gr1 winner Gypsy’s Warning.
Enchanted Garden, one of the
finest racemares of the 1980’s,
was named Horse of the Year
following a season in which
she won both the SA and Natal
Oaks, and beating colts in the
Sun International Stakes.
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FEATURE
TEXT: SARAH WHITELAW. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
While SA Oaks winners in recent
times have failed to shine at
stud, this stat could well change
when the likes of Cherry On The
Top and Igugu retire to stud.
Since 1995, only two SA Oaks winners have produced stakes winners to date!
Several recent Oaks winners were sent to stud overseas – noticeably Stormy Hill and Candy Critic. The
latter is the dam of a dual winner from her only runner, and, considering that she has been to some of
Australia’s top sires, Candy Critic could yet be successful at stud.
Danehill’s daughter, Stormy Hill, was a brave winner
of the SA Oaks back in 1995. Sent to stud in Australia, Stormy Hill produced ten foals, but only five
won, and one was a stakes winner. Another SA Oaks
winner to have found her way Down Under is Happy
Spirit, but that daughter of Silvano is yet to be represented by a runner.
One shining exception to this current day trend, is
Festive Occasion, winner of the Turffontein classic
back in 2007. The daughter of Casey Tibbs, who was
an extremely talented racemare who was unlucky
enough to encounter the exceptional Sun Classique,
has made a flying start to her stud career. Her first foal
is the Grade One winner, and July third, Do You Remember – who has already earned over R1 300 000
in prize money (more than double the total earned by
Festive Occasion!).
Another Oaks winner who has made a bright start
to her stud career, is former Equus Champion Icy Air.
The daughter of Jallad’s three winners to date include
three black type performers. Icy Air’s tally includes
this season’s promising 3yo filly, Icy Winter Air, who
was third in last year’s Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery.
While SA Oaks winners in recent times have failed to
shine at stud, this stat could well change when the
likes of Cherry On The Top and Igugu retire to stud.
Igugu
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BREEDING
It’s all in the
Genes
TEXT: LISA BARRETT. PHOTO: LIESL KING
Unbeaten champion
Frankel.
CNN correspondent Francesca Cumani recently presented a fascinating
insert on a new breakthrough in equine genetics that could help revolutionise the world of racing as we know it. LISA BARRETT found out more.
W
ell known genomics equine researcher, Dr
Emmeline Hill and her team at the University of Dublin, have discovered a reliable genetic test for the identification of a “speed gene” in
horses. This test can determine whether a horse is a
sprinter, middle distance runner or a stayer, and it has
the power to transform the decision making process
in the international bloodstock and racing industry.
Dr Hill and her team discovered that a particular genetic group (myostatin) was responsible for the performance of a racehorse. Myostatin usually inhibits
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muscle differentiation and growth within both humans and animals. The team found that myostatin
was partly responsible for elite race performance in
thoroughbred horses. Within this group, certain combinations of markers were responsible for producing
horses that seemed to prefer particular distances:
1. C/C, applies to sprinters of distances of between
1000m and 1600m. These are horses that are early
maturing types, who perform particularly well as two
year olds.
These horses excel in sprints, and 98% of CC’s go
onto win races of 1600m. Interestingly enough,
mares that are CC’s can only produce CC’s (sprint) or
CT (middle distance) not T/T’s.
2. C/T, are horses that have a mixture of speed and
stamina. They are suited to distances of between
1400m and 2400m. They also perform well as two
year olds, but tend to prefer longer distances. A CT
(middle distance) stallion is likely to produce winning
two year olds if a compatible mare (CT) is used.
** Interestingly by mating a C/T stallion and a C/T
mare, they can produce three different genetic types
of horses (C/C,C/T and T/T). This explains why full
siblings can sometimes be so different in type, and
importantly, why pedigree can sometimes be so misleading.
3. T/T, are horses that are suited to distances greater
than a mile (2000m and over), in other words stayers.
As three year olds, TT horses tend to win the classics like the Oaks (2423m), Derby (2423m), St. Leger
(2937m) and Melbourne Cup (3200m).
According to Dr Mim Bower, an archaeo-geneticist
at the University of Cambridge, who worked with
Dr Hill, the team looked at many factors besides the
obvious one of genetics, in coming to their conclusions. They looked at the close personal relationship
between horses and humans over the centuries, and
how they’ve effectively shaped each other as they’ve
evolved. Over the past centuries, the very nature of
horseracing and the horse has changed dramatically.
In the early years, stamina was preferred over speed,
and accordingly horses were bred for such, being
able to race over distances of up to 4 miles. The T or
staying gene dominated early thoroughbred populations, and this was reflected in the type of horses that
dominated early races.
Two of the most famous T/T examples were: Hungarian-bred mare Kincsem, who won 54 of her 54 starts,
from a variety of distances from 2400m to 3,219m,
and Eclipse, the outstanding British stayer whose 18
races, including 11 King’s Plates during a stellar racing career, later went onto become a highly successful sire. In 1970, the Royal Veterinary College determined that at least 80% of thoroughbred racehorses
had Eclipse featured somewhere in their pedigree.
One of the best, and one of the
greatest advertisements for
the sprinting Neartic/Northern
Dancer gene, is Frankel whose
14 consecutive victories (nine of
them Group Ones) will not likely
be equalled in our lifetime.
However as times changed, so did the appetite
and preferences of the racing public. Shorter, faster
and more exciting races with more runners became
the standard. Breeding and racing habits began to
change dramatically and horses were sent out to race
at much younger ages. This combination of younger horses running over shorter distances tended to
favours animals which matured earlier in terms of
musculature. These horses developed the capacity to
sprint in intensive high-speed bursts, something they
were successfully able to pass onto their progeny and
so the C (sprinting) gene was slowly but surely spread
throughout the world of thoroughbred racehorses.
Dr Hill and her team traced the speed gene back to
a single British bred mare who lived about 300 years
ago. From her, the foundation and influence of this
speed gene spread throughout the thoroughbred
world. According to research by Dr Hill’s team, the
spread of the C gene in recent generations can be
traced back to one particular horse, the iconic Nearctic, sired in Canada in 1954.
Neartic
Neartic became one of the most significant sires of
our time and gave us Northern Dancer, one of the
20th century’s greatest and most prolific sires. Northern Dancer’s countless sons and daughters then
helped to spread the C gene throughout the thoroughbred breeding and racing world. One of the
best, and one of the greatest advertisements for the
sprinting Neartic/Northern Dancer gene, is Frankel
whose 14 consecutive victories (nine of them Group
Ones) will not likely be equalled in our lifetime. The
son of Galileo was the dominant sprinting force in
racing for 3 years before being retired to stud in 2012
with a Timeform rating of 147.
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BREEDING
TEXT: LISA BARRETT.
The biggest challenge facing breeders and bloodstock agents the world over today is how to breed
a horse that is effective not only on the racecourse,
but in the breeding shed later on in transmitting their
winning (hopefully) genes to future offspring, thereby successfully ensuring the continuance of those
genes.
Breeding techniques for thoroughbred horses have
generally remained unchanged for centuries. What
this genetic test will do is take a lot of the guesswork
out of mating recommendations, thereby allowing
breeders and trainers to hone in on what type of
horse they wish to breed (sprinter, middle distance
or stayer), and by a simple blood test narrow down a
potential stallion or mare to whom they would like to
mate to, thereby maximising consistency and breeding success.
Dr Hill was careful to stress though, that the test
could not predict which horses would become winners, but it does suggest the best distances to race
them over.
Interest
One of the few countries to express an interest in
the test and its possibilities on a large scale is Japan,
who recently signed an agreement to exclusively
license the gene test for their laboratories. Boasting
a multi-billion dollar racing industry that is well supported by a fanatically enthusiastic and passionate
racing public who’ve turned horseracing into a religion of sorts, Japan is the ideal test country to see
if the test will have any major impact on their racing
and breeding in the future.
Benefits
A test such as this one can only benefit the racing
and breeding communities in the future, not only will
they be able to breed more efficient and economically viable horses, but the economic spin-offs of their
successes will filter down to every level of the sport,
ensuring that there is more money available all round
which in the long run can only be a positive thing for
everyone.
Nearctic, sire of the
great Northern Dancer.
BREEDING
TEXT: Candiese Marnewick.
Breeders
AWARDS
KZN
The KZN Breeders Awards took place for the third year at the beautiful and
scenic Bellwood Stud owned by Willie and Jeanine Messenger – made even
more special for the Messengers with their Gr 3 winning filly, Enchanted
Kingdom, being a nominee this year, writes Candiese Marnewick.
A
ttended by Breeders, Owners and Trainers alike, the Chairman of the KZN Breeders
Association - Koos De Klerk, opened the prestigious evening by saying that he was very excited
about the new challenges and opportunities that lie
ahead for the KZN Breeders Association. “I would like
to think that we could build on what we started expanding and building even further on the success
we have had in the sales ring by promoting KZN bred
horses as a brand that we can all be proud of.
We enjoyed the most brilliant KZN Breeders day this
year – racing for R2.5m for KZN Bred horses only.
We seem to have been so successful that we have
become the victims of our own success!”
Champion sire for 2013 was once again the great
son of Machiavellian standing at Bush Hill Stud – the
magnificent Kahal owned by Shadwell Stud. Represented at the awards by six nominees, a number
in repeat categories, Kahal is consistently in the top
four of the National Sires log and responsible for the
outstanding filly voted as KZN Breeders Horse Of The
Year – Festival Of Fire, bred by Mr Chris Saunders and
Lady O’Reilly. A six-time winner including a Gr 2 and
two Gr 3 races, Festival Of Fire descends from the
immediate dam-line of another KZN-bred champion
in Jet Master.
The KZN Breeders honoured Chris Saunders this year
with an Award for Special Lifetime Achievement,
which manager Fili Bowles accepted on his behalf:
“I am sure that I speak for all the people that have
served him in this industry from the early days. We
have all been privilege to his loyalty, generosity of
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spirit and kind and his great wealth of knowledge
and wisdom. Words cannot express the time, effort
and financial commitment he has devoted to this industry, and so on behalf of Chris Saunders from the
bottom of my heart I am so grateful to all present
here tonight for honouring this great man.”
Festival Of Fire took home three awards, including
Outstanding 3YO Filly, Outstanding Sprinter Female
and Outstanding Middle Distance Female. Kahal
didn’t stop there however – his Gr 1 winning son
Love Struck took home the Outstanding 3YO Colt
award, as well as Outstanding Middle Distance Male,
with another plain bay daughter in Checcetti being
awarded Outstanding Older Female – both of the latter horses bred by KZN’s (and South Africa’s) Leading
breeders’ Summerhill Stud.
Summerhill’s Japanese import, the striking chestnut stallion Admire Main took home the Award for
Stallion Prospect of the year. His daughter Admiral’s
Eye, Gr 1 placed on Vodacom Durban July day, won
Outstanding 2YO Filly, while Joyce and Robin Scott
took home the International Achievement Award
for the highly successful overseas campaign of The
Apache (by Mogok) and Broodmare Of The Year to
Apache Rose, the dam of Mogok, who sadly passed
away earlier this year in foal once again to Mogok.
The Breeders Achievement Award went to an ecstatic
Pierre Du Toit, breeder of Kinematic Countess – for
boasting the best average stakes earned per runner
for the previous season.
The KZN Breeders thanked all its supporters and
sponsors for the evening, and especially to Gold
Circle for their ongoing support. Koos ended his
speech fittingly: “I congratulate Robert Mauvis and
his Board – their vision to continually improve the profile of KZN racing and more particularly in their move
to ensure Greyville becomes the Capital of South
African racing with improvements to the tracks, the
centre and the introduction of Friday night racing every Friday night. Please be assured the KZN Breeders
Club is right behind you!”
KZN Breeders Awards Winners 2013
OUTSTANDING 2YO COLT – sponsored by Odds On Colours
Winner: Colour Of Courage
Breeder: Backworth Stud
OUTSTANDING 2YO FILLY – sponsored by Equine
Winner: Admiral’s Eye
Breeder: Mr PAM Magid & Summerhill Stud
OUTSTANDING 3YO COLT – sponsored by Suthile Feeds
Winner: Love Struck
Breeder: Summerhill Stud
OUTSTANDING 3YO FILLY – sponsored by Choice Carriers
Winner: Festival Of Fire
Breeder: Mr CJ Saunders & Lady C O’Reilly
OUTSTANDING OLDER MALE – sponsored by Epol
Winner: Seal
Breeder: Dr IR Heyns
OUTSTANDING OLDER FEMALE – sponsored by Gold Circle
Winner: Checcetti
OUTSTANDING SPRINTER FEMALE – sponsored by Racing Association
OUTSTANDING SPRINTER MALE – sponsored by Equifeeds
Winner: Meadow Magic
Breeder: Scott Bros
OUTSTANDING MIDDLE DISTANCE MALE – sponsored by Equine
Winner: Love Struck
OUTSTANDING MIDDLE DISTANCE FEMALE – sponsored by Kuda
OUTSTANDING MALE STAYER – sponsored by Spurwing
Winner: Seal
Breeder: Dr IR Heyns
OUTSTANDING FEMALE STAYER – sponsored by KZN Breeders
Winner: Salutation
BROODMARE OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Gold Circle
Winner: Apache Rose
Breeder: Scott Bros
STALLION PROSPECT OF THE YEAR – sponsored by KZN Breeders
Winner: Admire Main
STALLION OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Thoroughbred Breeders Association
Winner: Kahal
Breeder: Shadwell Stud (represented by Bush Hill Stud)
LEADING BREEDER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Almiray Vet Practice
Breeder: Winner: Summerhill Stud
BREEDERS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – sponsored by Summerhill Stud
Breeder: Winner: Pierre Du Toit
SPECIAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – sponsored by Balmoral Stud
Breeder: Winner: Mr CJ Saunders
INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – sponsored by Thoroughbred Breeders Association
Winner: The Apache
Breeder: Scott Bros
ANITA AKAL INDUSTRY AWARD
Winner: Toni Dolstra
HORSE OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Gold Circle
PARADE MAGAZINE
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INDUSTRY
Greyville Racecourse under
construction.
Gold Circle
Developments
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Developments at Summerveld Training Centre.
PARADE MAGAZINE
81
INDUSTRY
TEXT: MERLE PARKER. PHOTOS: JC PHOTOGRAPHICS
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT THE PEERMONT EMPERORS PALACE
Charity Mile
RACEDAY
Turffontein Racecourse on Saturday 2
November was the place to be, writes
MERLE PARKER.
Neil Andrews and
Emperors Palace CEO,
Bob Yearham.
T
he day started with the first two maiden races being held in honour of Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco and paying a stake of R250 000 each. Racing Association
members were the winners in both of these races,
the first race going to Right Royal Diva (Aus) trained
by Geoff Woodruff and owned by the Cape Town
partnership Mike Fullard, James Drew and Ken Truter
who were on course to lead in their filly. The second
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R250 000 maiden race was won by Flight Warning
from the Alexander stable and owned by Poovendran
Moonsamy. The owners of these two races were also
presented with a bottle of Chalbert, a limited
edition merlot that was served at the wedding of
HSH Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco.
Yet another victory went to an RA Member as Mr V C
Veramootoo’s Winter Star, trained by Johan Janse van
Vuuren, won the R3 million Emperors Palace Ready
to Run Cup. Mauritian resident Veramootoo was on
course to lead in Winter Star.
The Grade 2 Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile
was won by Royal Zulu Warrior (Aus) owned by Mr
Roy Moodley and trained by Mr K Naidoo. Glamorous celebrity Gerry Elsdon had drawn Royal Zulu
Warrior in the Charity Mile draw and was handed a
cheque for R100 000 by Emperors Palace Vusi Zwane
for her chosen charity Maphanzela Primary After
Care Centre in Tokoza.
Other features on the day included the Grade 3 HSH
Princess Charlene Starling Stakes won by Sarasota
owned by RA members Bryn Ressel and Lucky Houdalakis, the Grade 3 Graham Beck Stakes won by
Whistle Stop owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid
al Maktoum and the listed Golden Loom Handicap
won by Port Elizabeth raider Copper Parade owned
by Mr Frank McGrath and Optima Trust (Nom: Mrs
Val Fenix). RA member Frank McGrath was on course
to collect the Golden Loom trophy.
The finale on the 12 race card was under lights
and Larry Wainstein, CEO of the Racing Association
proudly awarded members Messrs L K Heynes and
AC Smith an added bonus cheque of R20 000 for
their win with the Verdonese trained Madam Arabia.
Brian Mitchell & James Dalton.
The Charities who benefited from Emperors Palace Charity
Mile raceday were:
1. Maphanzela Primary Aftercare Centre
R100 000
2. Thembakazi Primary Aftercare
R70 000
3. Animal Anti Cruelty League
R50 000
4. Jongimfundo Primary Aftercare
R40 000
5. Reahile Primary Aftercare Centre
R30 000
6. Jabulani Khakibos Kids
R29 000
7. Highveld Horse Care Unit
R28 000
8. San Michele
R27 000
9. Umkhathize Primary Aftercare
R26 000
10. Welamlambo Primary Aftercare
R25 000
11. Peermont School Support Programme
R25 000
12. Nageng Primary Aftercare Centre
R20 000
13. Peermont Education Trust –
Lesedi Programme
R20 000
14. Star Schools
R20 000
15. Khangezile Primary Aftercare
R20 000
16. Fortune Kunene Primary Aftercare Centre
R20 000
Celiwe, Amanda & Sibongile.
Bob Yearham, Gerri & Vusi Zwane.
PARADE MAGAZINE
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INDUSTRY
Turf
TEXT: MERLE PARKER. PHOTOS: JC PHOTOGRAPHICS
Legends
of the
Michael Roberts
The Racing Association together with the cycling community hosted a gala
dinner at 64 LIVE, Emperors Palace during the month of November to “cap”
Legends of the Pedal and Legends of the Saddle, writes MERLE PARKER.
T
his marked the inaugural capping of the first
two South African Legends of the Saddle.
Michael “Muis” Roberts was the first Legend
to be honoured as the Master of Ceremonies, Nico
Kritsiotis, read out the incredible achievements of
this worthy recipient in South Africa and abroad. The
second Legend was South Africa’s Champion Trainer
Mike de Kock whose successes have done so much to
earn recognition internationally, for the South African
racing industry.
Michael Roberts attended the dinner with his wife
Verna while Mike’s proud family, Diane along with
their son and daughter, Mathew and Kirsten were in
attendance to support their Legend.
Larry Wainstein, CEO of the Racing Association, said
it is anticipated that the capping of racing personalities will become an annual event but that the selection criteria standards will be of the highest order.
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PARADE MAGAZINE
Mike de Kock
GOLDEN TILLY (SWE) B H 2003
STANDARDBRED
R1,000 (NIF - Free return)
Live Cover or Artificial Insemination
51 STARTS FOR 12 WINS AND 11 PLACES (R3 Million), and half brother to Victory Tilly (R43m).
By Super Arnie (US) – 11 wins from 26 starts in USA and six time champion sire in Sweden,
Out of Icora Tilly (FR) – European champion race-mare, 37 starts for 17 wins and 7 places,
dam of Victory Tilly – winner of 70 races and R45m in stakes, including Gran Premio delle Nazioni,
Copenhagen Cup, Aby Stora Pris, Swedish Trotting Criterium and Sundsvalls Open Trot.
First season at stud
Standing in KZN and Western Cape.
Offer open to all breeds
Includes membership to Standardbred Breeders’ Association of South Africa, and entry for first
season progeny (at three years) into the KZN Premier’s Dundee Gold Cup of R500,000 (2000m).
Progeny eligible for Part-Standardbred registration (Appendix 1).
Phone: 082 694 9906, Fax: 031 314 1402
[email protected] www.trotting.co.za
PARADE MAGAZINE
85
STATISTICS
TEXT: ADA VAN DER BENT. PHOTO: LIESL KING
Princess Victoria and
Andrew Fortune.
CHAMPAGNE STAKES (GRADE 3) - R150,000 - 1200m Kenilworth
1st R93,750, 2nd R30,000, 3rd R15,000 - August 10
1. PRINCESS VICTORIA
5yo b.m. by Victory Moon - Platinum Princess (Rakeen)
2nd dam: Platinum Lady (Centaine)
3rd dam: Precious Platinum (Sir Tristram)
Owner: P G de Beyer and Maine Chance Farms (Pty) Ltd
Breeder: Maine Chance Farms (Pty) Ltd
Trainer: G S Kotzen
Jockey: A Fortune
2. Victorian Secret
4yo b.f. by Captain Al - Spring Lilac (Joshua Dancer)
Owner: A Boonzaaier, E A Braun, P S Loomes, G Ragunan, G
van den Burgh, et al
Breeder: Cheveley Stud
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3. La Patineuse
5yo b.m. by National Emblem - La Patoneur (Badger Land)
Owner: Mrs I Jooste and Mr M J Jooste
Breeder: Klawervlei Stud
Then came: Miss Saigon, Fly By Night, Earth’s Orbit, Maxixe,
Smart Colleen, The Which Doctor, Mission House, Lola Bud,
Abbey Creek, Kitti Cat, Valdivia, Money Surger, Trip Poker, Careful Hiker, La Tigresse
Non-runner: Fairyinthewoods
Won by: 1.25 - 1.75 - 0.50
Dual champion Princess Victoria proved there’s no substitute for
class when she ended her career on a high in the Champagne.
Racing just off the pace, Glen Kotzen’s charge patiently bided
her time and when jockey Andrew Fortune popped the question
in the straight, she surged past Victorian Secret and powered
home to win by a clear margin.
Princess Victoria takes to stud an enviable track record.
She put together a juvenile season worthy of championship
honours when garnering the Gr.1 Golden Slipper and Gr.1 Allan Robertson Championship and again earned an Equus award
when she capped her three-year-old career with defeat of Ebony
Flyer in the Gr.1 Garden Province, having claimed the Gr.1 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas, the Gr.2 Tibouchina Stakes and
the Gr.3 Poinsettia Stakes.
Bred by part-owners Maine Chance Farms, Princess Victoria is by
the stud’s former resident sire, the ill-fated Victory Moon.
Original plans to export Princess Victoria were put on ice due to
the stringent quarantine controls currently in place. She retires
to her birth place a ten-time winner of R2,174,045 and reportedly will start her broodmare career with a visit to champion
resident stallion Silvano.
FINAL FLING STAKES (GRADE 3) - R150,000 - 1800m Kenilworth
1. RAIN GAL (AUS)
6yo b.m. by Galileo - Raining (Hurricane Sky)
2nd dam: Anne Leone (Luskin Star)
3rd dam: Jade Lace (Baguette)
Owner: H Adams
Breeder: T Mobbs and K Wikely, NSW
Trainer: S J Snaith
Jockey: S Cormack
2. Imperial State
5yo b.m. by Caesour - State Treasure (Free State)
Owner: Varsfontein Stud (Pty) Ltd.
Breeder: Varsfontein Stud
3. Margaret Court
6yo b.m. by Lake Coniston - Prize Collection (Model Man)
Owner: M Duarte, R A B Duff and W Smith
Breeder: D Cohen & Sons (Pty) Ltd
Then came: Schism, Cash Register, Nonki Poo, Dumani,
Takeyouroath, Bella Nero, Dancing Dynasty, Shimmering Jet,
Spring Beauty, Gypsy Madonna, Dance For Gold
Non-runner: Augusta National
Won by: 0.50 - 0.40 - 0.50
Rain Gal put an exclamation mark to her racing career when
she scored an all-important first black type victory in the appropriately-named Final Fling Stakes postponed from last month.
The newly-turned six-year-old had the race sewn up a long way
out, in fact, she took command fully 800m from home and
knuckled down in the home straight to repel all challengers for a
determined half-length score over a fast-finishing Imperial State,
who closed with a rush from the tail end of the field.
The Hassen Adams colourbearer rounded off her racing career
in the Jockey Club Stakes (L) at Fairview and retires to stud a
stakes winner of six races and earnings of R376,975 and is set
for a first date with her owner’s Queens Plate winner Gimmethegreenlight (More Than Ready).
AUGUST STAKES (GRADE 3) - R200,000 - 1200m
Vaal (Sand)
1. HERE COMES BILLY
4yo ch.g. by Muhtafal - Fast Tempo (Jet Master)
2nd dam: Mabelle (Folmar)
3rd dam: Belle Amie (Flirting Around)
Owner: M E Leaf
Breeder: Riverworld Stud
Trainer: W H Marwing
Jockey: S Khumalo
2. Uncle Tommy
6yo ch.g. by Kahal - Cousin Linda (Badger Land)
Owner: H Adams
Breeder: Summerhill Stud (Pty) Ltd
3. Contador
4yo ch.g. by Var - Fine Wood (Fort Wood)
Breeder: Miss Pippa Mickleburgh
Then came: Nice Stride, Eugenes, Across The ice, Storm Surf,
Tipo Tinto (AUS), Yukon Gold, Astro News, Snowdon, Approachable
Non-runners: Benbow, Escape Clause
Won by: 1.25 - 3 - neck
The Gr.3 August Stakes proved a triumph for trainer Weiho Marwing, whose Here Comes Billy made an auspicious sand debut
by leading home stable companion Uncle Tommy to record his
third win on the trot.
Uncle Tommy had disputed the lead with favourite Contador,
but had no answer to the challenge thrown out by his younger
stablemate, who came from well back to strike the front approaching the 300m mark. Running on stoutly under jockey
Smango Khumalo, the chestnut opened his stakes account by
just over a length.
This victory, his fourth overall, followed on two facile sprint wins
on the grass and pushed his stakes earnings to R331,700. The
four-year-old also earned himself an automatic entry into the
Gr.2 Emerald Cup at the end of September. Remarkably, he has
finished off the board just twice in eleven starts.
EMERALD CUP (GRADE 2) - R600,000 - 1450m Vaal (Sand)
1st R360,000, 2nd R120,000, 3rd R60,000 - September 28
1. IN A RUSH
5yo b.g. by Windrush - Sweet Whisper (Chief Warden)
2nd dam: Young And Lovely (Quick Turnover)
3rd dam: Banks And Braes (Sweet Song)
Owner: L G Adams, P G Choice, H M Gerber and G D Smith
Breeder: P G Choice
Trainer: G D Smith
Jockey: F Herholdt
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STATISTICS
TEXT: ADA VAN DER BENT.
2. Pylon
5yo b.g. by Fort Wood - Golden Cell (Goldkeeper)
Owner: Mr A and Mrs F J van Vuuren
Breeder: G W Schafer
2. Link Man
6yo gr.g. by Toreador - Western Smoke (Among Men)
Owner: G L Blank, G Z Burg and L M Nestadt
Breeder: Tawny Syndicate
3. Uncle Tommy
6yo ch.g. by Kahal - Cousin Linda (Badger Land)
Owner: H Adams
3. Wagner
5yo b.g. by Tiger Ridge - Cosima Liszt (Rich Man’s Gold)
Breeder: Wilgerbosdrift
Then came: Here Comes Billy, Storm Surf, Shattered Image, Nice
Stride, Mr Tobin (ARG), Tiger’s Retreat, Magic Smoke, Across
The Ice, War Horse, Tayba, Contador
Non-runners: Jet Jamboree, Yukon Gold
Won by: 0.75 - 1.50 - 1
Then came: Moon Of Rangoon, Arctic Sun, Love Struck, Pierneef, Depardieu, American Storm, Royal Bencher
Non-runners: Sabadell, Master Sabina
Won by: 1 - 0.50 - head
Port Elizabeth trainer Gavin Smith recouped his travelling expenses and more with In A Rush, who made quite a statement
in his sand debut by running out a 25-1 shock winner of this
lucrative event.
With the advantage of the number one draw, the long-striding
five-year-old settled within stalking distance of pacesetter Shattered Image and quickened smartly to claim the advantage going through the quarter mark. Although pressed by top weight
Pylon to the line, In A Rush gamely stuck to his guns to score by
the best part of a length. The blinkered runner-up was nothing
if gallant in defeat while conceding 7.5kg to the winner under
the welter burden of 64 kg.
In A Rush was named the Eastern Cape’s champion juvenile
following victories in all of the Gr.3 Champion Juvenile Cup,
defeating none other than future Horse of the Year Variety Club,
the Listed Dahlia Plate and Listed East Cape Nursery. Having
failed to add to that at three, he scored twice at four and also
managed a solid third in the Gr.3 Matchem Stakes at Durbanville.
Only fourth in each of his last three starts in his hometown, In A
Rush entered this race firmly on the backfoot, added to which
he was an unknown quantity on the sand. This first-class performance certainly silenced those who labelled him fortunate to
have made the final line-up.
With this second graded stakes in the bag, the now eight-time
winner is on the fray of joining the millionaire ranks, the lucrative winning stake increasing his bankroll to R925,825.
JOBURG SPRING CHALLENGE (GRADE 3) - R200,000 1450m - Turffontein
1st R125,000, 2nd R40,000, 3rd R20,000 - October 5
1. POTALA PALACE
5yo b.h. by Singspiel - Alignment (Alzao)
2nd dam: Scots Lass (Shirley Heights)
3rd dam: Edinburgh (Charlottown)
Owner: Mrs G J Beck, Mr M G and Mrs S Azzie and Mr A Taylor
and Mrs P Taylor
Breeder: Highlands Farms Stud (Pty) Ltd
Trainer: M G Azzie
Jockey: G Lerena
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Winless for close on two years, Gr.1 winner Potala Palace finally
came in from the cold with a splendid all-the-way victory in this
Gr.3 event.
Taken to the front from the jump by jockey Gavin Lerena, the
Michael Azzie-trained bay dictated matters as he set a steady
pace, with Wagner and Royal Bencher next best. Turning for
home, he tenaciously clung to his advantage and repelled all
challengers to triumph by the best part of a length from last
year’s winner Link Man, who flew up late, having cornered nearer last than first. Wagner won the battle for third in a bunchedup finish, with barely a half-length covering the next four home.
The winner has never lacked for talent, having claimed Greyville’s
Gr.1 Premier’s Champion Stakes in just his third start as a juvenile. Successful in his sophomore debut, he sadly seemed to
lose his way thereafter, resulting in a formline punctuated by
disappointing efforts. Now that he has made a triumphant start
to his five-year-old campaign, we hope to see him build on that
level of form.
A R3.6-million yearling, Potala Palace is one of 13 Gr.1 winners
sired by the champion galloper and successful sire Singspiel. A
half-brother to Rahy and Rakeen, the son of In The Wings died
in 2010.
JOBURG SPRING FILLIES & MARES CHALLENGE (GRADE
3) - R175,000 - 1450m - Turffontein
1. ILHA BELA
5yo gr.m. by Fort Wood - Ilha Da Vitoria (Candy Stripes)
2nd dam: De Memoria (Equalize)
3rd dam: Decisiva (Propicio)
Owner: Wilgerbosdrift (Pty) Ltd
Trainer: M F de Kock
Jockey: A Delpech
2. Athina
3yo b.f. by Fort Wood - The Heiress (Rich Man’s Gold)
3. Lady Tatty
4yo b.f. by Solskjaer - Voices Of Spring (National Emblem)
Owner: B D Burnard
Breeder: C M Kenton
Then came: Classic Illusion, Bluroute (AUS), Queen Eliza, Go Indigo, Eskimo Inn, Fanzene, Al Kindi, Genuine Leather
Non-runner: Princess Julietta
Won by: head - 0.65 - 0.75
The first Gr.3 feature of the Highveld spring season proved a
triumph for Mary Slack’s Wilgerbosdrift with her homebreds Ilha
Bela and Athina fighting out the finish. To complete a truly family affair, both are daughters of Fort Wood, who stands at the
Mauritzfontein Stud of her late mother, Bridget Oppenheimer.
Content to lope along in midfield field early on, the grey made a
smooth forward move at the quarter mark and cruised into the
lead 250m from home. However, victory was never going to be
a foregone conclusion, as paternal half-sister Athina unleashed
a powerful rally up the inside rail and Ilha Bela had to pull out
all the stops to outduel the young upstart by a head. Lady Tatty
was next, a further half-length back.
Successful in the Gr.2 SA Oaks at three and narrowly beaten in
both the Gr.1 SA Fillies Classic Gr.2 Gauteng Guineas, Ilha Bela
failed to feature at stakes level as a four-year-old, although she
did manage to add twice more to her winning tally, which now
stands at seven.
KUDA INSURANCE MATCHEM STAKES (GRADE 3) R200,000 - 1400m - Durbanville
1. CAPETOWN NOIR
4yo b.c. by Western Winter - Akinfeet (Fort Wood)
2nd dam: Dance Every Dance (Northern Guest)
3rd dam: Jungle Janna (Jungle Cove)
Owner: Lady M C Laidlaw
Breeder: Lammerskraal Stud
Trainer: D Kannemeyer
Jockey: K Neisius
2. Zambezi Torrent
3yo b.g. by Captain Al - Zooming Zellie (King Of Kings)
Owner: Equisure Bloodstock
3. Villa Del Largo
4yo b.g. by Jallad - You Belong To Me (End Sweep)
Owner: A L A Crabbia
Then came: Terminator, Ace Antonius, Hot Ticket, Counts Rocket, True Master, Half Moon Hotel, Ashton Park
Won by: 4 - shorthead - shorthead
Lady Christine Laidlaw’s Capetown Noir served notice that he’ll
be a force to be reckoned with during the Cape summer season
with a stunning tour de force in his four-year-old debut.
At the weights and on class alone, last season’s dual classic winner looked to have the race at his mercy and he duly delivered.
Racing about six lengths off the pace in the early stages, he
smoothly made up the deficit in the straight when jockey Karl
Neisius let out an inch of reign and surged into the lead approaching the final furlong. The Dean Kannemeyer-trained colt
hardly raised a sweat as he drew clear to chalk up a wide-margin victory over his outclassed rivals. In a hard-fought three-way
tussle for the minor money, shortheads were all that separated
sophomore Zambezi Torrent, Villa Del Largo and Terminator,
who finished in that order.
A seven-time winner with earnings just shy of R1,75-million, Capetown Noir is yet another feather in the cap of his sire Western
Winter, whose recent demise from colic was a huge blow to
both Lammerskraal Stud and the South African breeding industry.
DIANA STAKES (GRADE 3) - R150,000 - 1400m
Durbanville
1. HAMMIE’S HOOKER
4yo b.f. by Trippi - Gem Queen (Damascus Gate)
2nd dam: Just Susan (Mr Justice)
3rd dam: Susans Choice (Kashmir II)
Owner: M J Jooste, B Ressell and N M Shirtliff
Breeder: Zandvliet Stud
Trainer: M W Bass
Jockey: G Van Niekerk
2. Captainofmysoul
4yo b.f. by Captain Al - Ondina (Caesour)
Owner: H Adams, M J Jooste and Mrs I Jooste
Breeder: Varsfontein Stud
3. Jet Supreme
4yo b.f. by Jet Master - Solea (Zabeel))
Owner: Mrs P J and Mrs H C Devine
Breeder: Mrs P J Devine
Then came: Maximum Jet, Omaticaya, Fly By Night, Wood
Nymph, Intimateconnection, Nonki Poo
Won by: 1.25 - 2.50 - 0.50
Hammie’s Hooker snapped a seven-race losing streak with a
well-timed victory to provide the Bass stable with its first Diana
winner since the brilliant Sun Classique’s victory seven years ago.
Restrained early on as Wood Nymph took them along at a solid
clip, she unwound a strong challenge up the centre once into
the straight and hooked up with Captainofmysoul and Maximum Jet. The latter was first to throw in the towel and it was
only over the final 50m or so that the Bass filly asserted her
authority over Captainofmysoul, to win going away. The Justin
Snaith-trained Jet Supreme finished an eye-catching third and
was slightly unlucky not to finish closer, as she lost valuable
ground at the start.
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With this, her fifth career pushing her earnings to R645,870, the
four-year-old has more than recouped her R360,000 yearling
price tag.
Hammie’s Hooker is one of four South African stakes winners
sired by Drakenstein Stud’s Trippi and amazingly, all are fillies.
YELLOWWOOD HANDICAP (GRADE 3) - R175,000 1800m - Turffontein
1. CLASSIC ILLUSION
5yo ch.m. by Kahal - Class Will Sell (Jallad)
2nd dam: Fountain Abbey (Del Sarto)
3rd dam: Fountains (Joy II)
Owner: Mrs J P Gardner and Messrs M C Berzack, B G Gardner,
K E Michael and G P Sadie
Trainer: G M Alexander
Jockey: S Khumalo
2. Cyclone Michelle
6yo b.m by Parade Leader - Pacific Typhoon (Sportsworld)
Owner: A J Boshoff, G F Rautenbach and W H Tolmay
Breeder: Estate Late G W Reimer
3. Formation
6yo b.m. by Sarge - Polonaise (Centenary)
Owner: S J Gray
Breeder: Graystone Stud
Then came: Mystic Tigress, Magic Smoke, Flitter, Go Indigo,
Rhythmic Roxy, Golden Dawn, Al Kindi, Bluroute (AUS)
Won by: 1.25 - 1 - 2.50
Gary Alexander’s Classic Illusion defied top weight and sticky
underfoot conditions to open her stakes account at the tender
age of five.
Fourth midway through the turn as Magic Smoke set the fractions up front, the blinkered chestnut quickened impressively
early in the home straight and surged into the lead at the quarter mark. Favourite Formation gave chase from behind but Classic Illusion plugged on gamely and she claimed her first stakes
score by just over a length from Cyclone Michelle, who produced a furious late finish.
This was a welcome return to winning form for the five-year-old,
who has not visited the number one box since November of
2012. Admittedly, she has since earned small black type when
third in both the Gr.3 Jacaranda Handicap and Listed Syringa
Handicap and entered this Gr.3 event off a promising fourth
to Ilha Bela, when beaten just a length and a half, in the Gr.3
Joburg Spring Fillies & Mares Challenge earlier this month.
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ELUSIVE FORT CAPE CLASSIC (GRADE 3) - R200,000 1400m - Kenilworth
1. RED RAY
3yo b.c. by Western Winter - Nacarat (Pas De Quoi)
2nd dam: Tawny Red (Northfields)
3rd dam: Port Wine (Plum Bold)
Breeder: Lammerskraal Stud
Trainer: J Ramsden
Jockey: A Marcus
2. Legislate
3yo b.c. by Dynasty - Champers (Restructure)
Owner: Newbury Racing (Pty) Ltd
Breeder: Cheveley Stud
3. De Kock
3yo b.c. by Dynasty - Sharp Performer (Al Mufti)
Breeder: Gary Player Stud (Pty) Ltd
Then came: Antonius Dubois, Exelero, Sagetator, Zambezi Torrent, Strongman, Eternal Jet, Reim, Flash Drive, Sail South, Emperor’s Forest, Ace Antonius
Won by: 2.50 - neck - 1
The much vaunted Red Ray threw out a warning shot in advance of the Grand Parade Cape Guineas when he eclipsed his
opponents in his seasonal debut. Notwithstanding the fact that
he had not set foot on a racetrack since late April, last season’s
boom two-year-old was backed down to favouritism and the
bay duly delivered under Anton Marcus.
Tracking pacesetter Antonius Dubois into the straight, he quickly made up the deficit and surged into the lead at the furlong
mark. It was race over, as the bay quickly put daylight between
himself and his pursuers and powered home to win by a handsome margin. Legislate finished strongly on the outside for second, just inching out De Kock, who halfway up the straight, had
looked a decided threat to the winner.
Joey Ramsden’s charge stamped himself as the Western Cape’s
leading juvenile last season with three consecutive victories, the
last of which a visually impressive score in the Listed Somerset
1200m. However, sent to Johannesburg, the bubble burst in
the Gr.1 SA Nursery at Turffontein, where the colt lost his unbeaten tag to Willow Magic and he was not seen out again.
Any suspicions that he had failed to train on were dispelled by
this performance.
Red Ray is campaigned by champion owner Markus Jooste, who
went to the well once more when he paid R1.5-million for the
colt’s outstanding full brother at the 2013 Cape Premier Yearling
Sale. Needless to say, Nacarat’s 2013 foal is also by Western
Winter.
BETTING WORLD ALGOA CUP (GRADE 3) - R350,000 2000m - Fairview
1. DISCO AL
4yo b.g. by Captain Al - Studio Fifty Four (Badger Land)
2nd dam Dance Of Love (Elliodor)
3rd dam Fairy Fortune (Complete Warrior)
Owner: Mrs V and Mr A Singh and Mrs I and Mr M J Jooste
Breeder: Drakenstein Stud
Trainer: J Ramsden
Jockey: R Fradd
2. Storm Dancer
4yo b.g. by Black Minnaloushe - True Gale (Al Mufti)
Owner: C Baitz
Breeder: Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud
3. Abercrombie
4yo b.c. by Trippi - Stratos (Jet Master)
Owner: Drakenstein Stud, Mrs C I Downie and Mr H M Muller
Breeder: Drakenstein Stud
Then came: Cask, Silent Partner, Nearctic Dancer, Forest Digger,
True Master, Way Clear, Johnny Rockets, Astro News, Two Gun
Kid, Brown Penny, Europe To Africa (AUS), Indian Hawk, A Boy
Named Sue
Non-runners: Paterfamilias, Gianduja, Zezinho Campeao (BRZ),
Placido
Won by: head- 1.50 - neck
Racing in the Port Elizabeth area entered a new era with the
inauguration of the newly-installed polytrack at Fairview. Barely
48 hours later, the entire Algoa Cup meeting was switched from
the rain-soaked grass track, which meant the marquee event
was contested over a synthetic surface for the first time in history.
Whether a number of the fancied runners were disadvantaged by the switch remains a matter of conjecture, however,
Cape challenger Disco Al clearly took to the artificial surface
with aplomb to register his first stakes victory. The Joey Ramsden-trained four-year-old produced a withering late run to
snatch victory on the line from Gavin Smith-trained Storm Dancer, who had taken the lead a furlong from home.
The winner, who completed a hat-trick, was certainly rewarded for consistency. Over the past twelve months, he had won
four times and has yet to finish out of the first three. With lucrative success, he has more than doubling his stakes earnings
to R399,680. That’s fifty percent of the R800,000, part-owner
Markus Jooste outlayed for him at the 2011 Cape Premier Yearling Sale.
PEERMONT EMPERORS PALACE CHARITY MILE
(GRADE 2) - R600,000 - 1600m - Turffontein
1st R375,000, 2nd R120,000, 3rd R60,000 - November 2
1. ROYAL ZULU WARRIOR (AUS)
7yo b.g. by Mossman - Dark Blue (Walenda)
2nd dam: Royal Cipher (Imperial Seal)
3rd dam: The Waitress (Vain Prince)
Owner: R Moodley
Breeder: Attunga Stud, NSW
Trainer: K Naidoo
Jockey: K Zechner
2. Glorious Jet
5yo b.g. by Jet Master - Cuddle Me (Elliodor)
Owner: St John D Gray and J J F Cameron
Breeder: Boland Stud
3. Killua Castle (AUS)
4yo b.g. by Churchill Downs - Prayers’N’Promises (Encosta De
Lago)
Owner: A Devachander
Breeder: K Heffernan, Vic
Then came: Whiteline Fever, Yorker, Cherry On The Top, Wylie
Hall (AUS), Love Struck, Here Comes Billy, Moon Of Rangoon,
Potala Palace, Tellina, Celtic Fire, Wagner, Link Man, War Horse
Non-runners: Tiger’s Retreat, Baracah, Depardieu
Distances: 0.75 - 2.25 - 1.25
Very much regarded as a sprinter, outsider Royal Zulu Warrior
caused a stir when he upstaged a talented field of specialist
milers in this, his first attempt over the tough Turffontein mile.
The unfancied seven-year-old veteran dropped anchor behind
Wagner and Love Struck early on. As the pacesetter beat a retreat at the top of the straight, Love Struck moved into the lead
but he was swallowed up by Royal Zulu Warrior at the furlong
mark. Glorious Jet meanwhile slipped through on the inside rail
and it was only in the closing stages that Royal Zulu Warrior
subdued his rival to win going away.
Trainer Kom Naidoo appears to have got to the bottom of his
talented charge, who was plagued by unsoundness early in
his career when trained by Tony Rivalland. The Australian-bred
ripped through his first three starts, all over 1200m, by a combined margin of close on 25 lengths but never raced at two or
three.
He only resurfaced for the Naidoo stable on New Year’s Day in
the Gr.3 Lebelo Sprint up the Turffontein straight. He promptly
showed his well-being when he made short work of his rivals
with a commanding 3.50-length first stakes score.
With this, his sixth victory in eleven starts, the strapping gelding
doubled his stakes earnings to R731,925.
GRAHAM BECK STAKES (GRADE 3) - R200,000 - 1400m Turffontein
1. WHISTLE STOP
3yo b.g. by Silvano - Gap Year (Rich Man’s Gold)
2nd dam Running North (Northfields)
3rd dam Much Admired (Be Glorious)
Owner: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum
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STATISTICS
Trainer: M F de Kock
Jockey: A Delpech
2. Willow Magic (AUS)
3yo ch.c. by Dubawi - La Willow (Tierce)
Owner: S Mathen, H A Field, J M E Harron, A Lahoud and A F
Peters
Breeder: Rothwell Park, NSW
3. Weekend Temper (ARG)
3yo ch.g. by Tapit - Weekend Kaper (Honor Grades)
Owner: A L A Crabbia
Breeder: Fiadora S.A. y Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC
Then came: Heart Of A Lion, Tiger Territory, Shadow Ofhis Smile,
Bold Inspiration, Gone Baby Gone, Kono, Klondike River, Aurum
Pot, Bouclette Top (Arg), Principled Man, Wellesley, Roman Express, Chief Sioux
Non-runner: Crown Mine
Won by: 0.50 - 3.75 - 0.50
Whistle Stop made his classic aspirations crystal clear when he
opened his stakes account with a sizzling late rally in the Graham Beck.
Last season’s SA Nursery hero Willow Magic stole a march at
the 600m and had his rivals off the bridle approaching the furlong mark. Anthony Delpech meanwhile had gone to work on
Whistle Stop and lengthening his stride on cue, the gelding set
after the Australian-bred. Willow Magic was by now becoming
leg-weary and though he gamely tried to keep going, was collared by a rampant Whistle Stop in the shadow of the post. The
winning margin was a half length, with an almost four lengthgap to third-place finisher Weekend Temper.
Trained by Mike de Kock, the newly-minted stakes winner races
for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, who of course, is
also the owner of champion Soft Falling Rain.
Shadwell SA outlayed an even million for the then colt at
the 2012 Cape Premier Sale, of which he has now recouped
R182,800.
STARLING STAKES (GRADE 3) - R175,000 - 1400m
Turffontein
1. SARASOTA
3yo b.f. by Kahal - Downtown Street (Aristis)
2nd dam Feast Royal (Al Mufti)
3rd dam Fabriana (Del Sarto)
Owner: B Ressell and L Houdalakis
Breeder: Mr & Mrs R J Clarkin
Trainer: M N Houdalakis
Jockey: G Hatt
2. Copiapo
3yo b.f. by Captain Al - Urabamba (Fort Wood)
Owner: Mrs F Hay
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PARADE MAGAZINE
Breeder: A J McNab and E Miliotis
3. Virgo’s Babe
3yo ch.f. by Malhub - Linzertorte (Special Preview)
Owner: Mr D R and Mrs M Foster and Mr T Pandaram
Breeder: Leisurefin (Pty) Ltd
Then came: Saint Angelique, Sprinting Queen (AUS), For The
Lads, Glenshee, Athina, Lady Of The Lords, Elusive Spirit, Milynne, Queen Eliza, Captain’s Delight, Belle Coco, Winter Darling, Jenny Green
Non-runner: German Lady (AUS)
Won by: longhead - 1.75 - neck
Fresh off the back of a maiden win, unheralded Sarasota made
the transition to graded stakes winner with a barnstorming late
run in just her third racetrack appearance.
Trailing towards the rear as they turned for home, Sarasota began her forward move under Cape jockey Glen Hatt. Copiapo
meanwhile had driven past long-time leader Belle Coco at the
300m mark and looked destined to keep her unbeaten record
intact. Flat to the board inside the final furlong, she was unable
to fight off Sarasota, who uncorked a furious rally up the centre
to record a last gasp victory.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Lucky Houdalakis filly romped
home by almost seven lengths in her second and most recent
start, the filly was sent off at a generous 20-1, odds which are
unlikely to be repeated when next she steps onto the track.
Sarasota races in partnership for Cape Town owner Bryn Ressell
and Houdalakis, who plucked her from the 2012 National 2YO
Sales for just R75,000, a shrewd buy, considering the filly has
already earned R163,375, with the promise of more to come
CHOICE CARRIERS CHAMPIONSHIP (GRADE 2) - R200,000
- 1400m - Kenilworth
1. IN THE FAST LANE
3yo b.f. by Jet Master - First Arrival (Northern Guest)
2nd dam First Debutante (Elliodor)
3rd dam First Party (Double First)
Owner: T Phillips and Wood Hall Stud
Breeder: Hallmark Thoroughbreds
Trainer: S J Snaith
Jockey: S Cormack
2. Highly Decorated
3yo b.f. by Captain Al - Spring Garland (Rambo Dancer)
Owner: Mrs V and Mr A Singh and Team Valor International
Breeder: Team Valor International and Summerhill Stud
3. Alascan Maiden
3yo b.f. by Captain Al - Polar Charge (Polar Falcon)
Owner: N M Shirtliff, M J Jooste, B Ressell and Mrs I Jooste
Breeder: Klawervlei Stud
Then came: Pure Power, Lanner Falcon, Sea Cat, Masked Lady,
magazine
Zacharias, Along Came Polly, Coco, Trippissa, Mohave Princess
(AUS), Wheredowego, Lemonade River, Catchphrase, Icy Winter
Air
Won by: neck - 0.75 - 0.50
Justin Snaith-trained In The Fast Lane powered into the Fillies
Guineas picture with a whirlwind late rally which earned her a
first graded stakes success. Pure Power set the early fractions
and was still on the lead as they raced through the quarter
mark. At the furlong mark, Alascan Maiden joined issue, as did
the winner’s stable companion Highly Decorated, and the trio
looked to have the race to themselves.
However, jockey Sean Cormack timed his challenge to perfection aboard In The Fast Lane. Displaying a smart change of gear,
she came with a rattling run up the inside rail and collared her
opponents in the dying moments to win going away from Highly Decorated, thus providing the Snaith stable with a handsome
exacta. A R650,000 purchase at the 2012 Cape Premier Yearling
Sale, In The Fast Lane is the second winner of this race sired by
the late Jet Master, following the brilliant Ebony Flyer, who landed this event in 2010 prior to winning the Guineas.
VICTORY MOON STAKES (GRADE 2) - R300,000 - 1800m Turffontein
1. TIGER’S RETREAT
5yo b.g. by Tiger Ridge - Water Berry (Fort Wood)
2nd dam: Lily’s Felice (Gay Fandango)
3rd dam: Miss Lily (Regent Street)
Owner: C J H van Niekerk
Breeder: Late T S Silcock
Trainer: S G Tarry
Jockey: R Danielson
2. Master Sabina
4yo b.c. by Jet Master - Sabina Park (Sportsworld)
Owner: M de Broglio
Breeder: M de Broglio
2. Ilha Bela
5yo gr.m. by Fort Wood - Ilha Da Vittoria (Candy Stripes)
Then came: Menacing, Baracah, Wild One, Knock On Wood,
Royal Bencher, Blasé, Tiger Play, American Storm, Serissa, Patriotic Reel, Rocco’s Luck (AUS), Cherry On The Cake, Halve The
Deficit
Non-runners: General Sherman, Fulcrum
Won by: head - 1.25 - 0.75
Lifting his game to a new level, unheralded Tiger’s Retreat registered his first stakes success in a head-bobbing finish to this
Gr.2 event.
As the field turned into the straight, the winner’s stable companion Serissa was still on the lead, but having cried enough,
soon gave way to Royal Bencher, with Tiger’s Retreat and Knock
On Wood also making their forward moves.
Tiger’s Retreat seized the initiative approaching the 300m mark,
but he soon faced a determined challenged from Master Sabina,
who quickly made up a two-length deficit and loomed large on
his outside. In a driving finish to the line, Tiger’s Retreat would
not be denied and he hung tough to score by a diminishing
head. The mare Ilha Bela finished just over a length back in third.
This was the first victory beyond a mile for the winner and
also his most lucrative, increasing his earnings to just shy of
R500,000.
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STATISTICS
RACING CALENDAR
FIXTURES January 2013
FIXTURES February 2013
1
Kenilworth (S)
1
Kenilworth (S)
1
Durbanville
2
Vaal (TO)
2
Vaal (TI)
2
Clairwood
3
Greyville (T)
Fairview (T)
3
Flamingo Park
3
Flamingo Park
4
Kenilworth (S)
Turffontein (S)
4
Vaal (S)
4
Vaal (TO)
5
Clairwood
5
Kenilworth (S)
5
Greyville (T) (D)
6
Flamingo Park
6
Vaal (TI)
6
Vaal (TO)
7
Vaal (TO)
7
Greyville (T) (N)
Fairview (T)
7
Fairview (T)
8
Kenilworth (S)
8
Kenilworth (S)
Turffontein (I)
8
Durbanville
9
Vaal (S)
9
Clairwood
9
Scottsville
10
Fairview (P)
10
Fairview (P)
10
Fairview (P)
11
Clairwood
Kenilworth (S)
11
Scottsville
11
Turffontein (I)
12
Scottsville
Turffontein (I)
12
Kenilworth (S)
12
Clairwood
13
Fairview (T)
13
Vaal (S)
13
Vaal (S)
14
Scottsville
14
Fairview (T)
14
Greyville (T) (N)
Fairview (T)
15
Kenilworth (S)
15
Kenilworth (S)
15
Kenilworth (S)
Turffontein (I)
16
Vaal (S)
16
Scottsville
16
Clairwood
17
Fairview (P)
17
Flamingo Park
17
Flamingo Park
18
Kenilworth (S)
18
Vaal (TO)
18
Vaal (TI)
19
Scottsville
19
Greyville (T) (D)
19
Fairview (P)
20
Flamingo Park
20
Vaal (TO)
20
Turffontein (I)
21
Clairwood
21
Fairview (P)
21
Greyville (T) (N)
Fairview (T)
22
Kenilworth (S)
22
Kenilworth (S)
22
Kenilworth (S)
Turffontein (T)
23
Vaal (TI)
23
Greyville (T) (D)
23
Scottsville
24
Fairview (T)
24
Flamingo Park
24
Flamingo Park
25
Kenilworth (S)
25
Turffontein
25
Vaal (S)
26
Clairwood
26
Scottsville
26
Kenilworth (S)
27
Flamingo Park
27
Vaal (S)
27
Vaal (TI)
28
Clairwood
28
Greyville (T) (N)
28
Greyville (T) (N)
29
Fairview (P)
29
Turffontein (S) (D&N)
30
Vaal (TI)
30
Clairwood
31
Fairview (T)
31
Flamingo Park
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Turffontein (S) (N)
Turffontein (I)
Turffontein (S) (N)
Turffontein (I)
Turffontein (S)
FIXTURES March 2013
Turffontein (S) (N)
Turffontein (I)
Turffontein (I)
Turffontein (S)
Turffontein (S)
Fairview (T)
ring and sell for prices within their budget.
Apart from an impressive pedigree, sound conformation and a walk which really covers the ground, when
it comes to the selection of a yearling, a well-grown
youngster is favoured, unless one knows that the animal is a late foal or comes from a family which does
not produce big ‘uns.
More significantly, it’s the size of the heart, more
than the actual physical stature of a horse, which
is important. That muscle – the body’s magnificent
pump - together with other factors like proper nutrition, patient handling and judicious training, has
a great bearing on the career of a racehorse. Both
literally and figuratively, races are frequently won by
big-hearted animals.
The legendary Australian champion, Phar Lap, who
stood at just over seventeen hands, had a six point
two kilogram heart; while the mighty Secretariat,
winner of sixteen of his twenty-one races, had a nine
kilogram heart … almost three times the heart size
of the average thoroughbred.
In a figurative sense, the likes of the diminutive English Derby winner of yesteryear, Hyperion, and our
1985 July winner, Teal, are fine examples of small
horses blessed with an abundance of resolve, tenacity and pluck, of what is known as big-heartedness.
As you are sure to find an abundance of quality stock
at the Cape Premier Sales and are likely to be spoilt
for choice, may I suggest that ultimately you “follow your heart” and purchase the youngster which
A computer-generated
picture of the proposed
new National Heritage
Centre for Horseracing
and Sporting Art.
“speaks to you”. An old Italian Proverb is worth bearing in mind : ”In buying a horse, as in taking a wife,
close your eyes and commend yourself to God.”
PS : I found it interesting to read that an indicator of
the heart size of a horse is the heart rate when the
animal is at rest. Apparently, the lower the heart rate
at that time, the bigger the heart.
Going Places …
Benefactors, both big and small, have pledged fifteen
million pounds to the re-development of the derelict
Palace House Stables in Newmarket - the oldest racing yard in the world - into a state-of-the art National
Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art .
On a two hectare plot, the already-restored Palace
House will become home to a priceless collection of
Sporting Art, while the revamped Trainer’s House will
provide a much bigger home for the British Horseracing Museum, currently in an inadequate building next
to the Jockey Club Offices in High Street. Also envisaged in the complex is a library, a study centre,
educational suites, space for a resident saddler and
an active farrier, a live horse attraction in the form of
a flagship home for the “Retraining of Racehorses”
Charity, a restaurant and a gift shop.
Planned to be ready in September 2015, the new
centre promises to be “a compelling tourist attraction”. (Tony Morris) … See you There.
Always look on the light side of Life …
For those not “born in the saddle”, the process of
learning to ride a horse can be quite daunting. Despite it being a worthwhile challenge for the moderately bold with a passion for horses and an eagerness
to ride, it’s a downright ordeal for the faint-hearted
and the poorly co-ordinated, most of whom move on
to less intimidating pursuits.
And so it is, with absurd imagery in my head of beginners of all ages flopping about precariously in the
saddle, that I laugh heartily whenever I think of the
following sign, one which some of you may have
seen posted at a Riding School. - “For small people,
we have small horses. For big people, we have big
horses. For fat people, we have fat horses. For thin
people, we have thin horses. And for people who
have never ridden before, we have horses which have
never been ridden before.”
…
Bon Voyage
and a blessed Festive Season to you all.
PARADE MAGAZINE
95
FEATURE
Factor
HORSING WITH HENNESSEY
The happiness
Justin Snaith aboard
Vodacom July
Handicap Runner-up,
Run For It.
A
ccording to the World Happiness Report of
last year, published by the Earth Institute of
Columbia University, the people of Iceland are
the happiest on the planet.
It’s a seemingly dubious claim as Iceland has particularly uncharitable winters, relies on expensive imports
for much of its produce and, as recently as 2008,
declared itself bankrupt. However, researchers point
out that decent living conditions, a strong sense of
community and superior social networks are factors
which make a powerful contribution to individual
and collective happiness; and give Iceland the top
slot, just ahead of New Zealand and Denmark, with
the affluent USA in twenty-third position.
Now with regard to success in the sphere of Racing,
it’s my contention that the new South African record
of one hundred and ninety-eight winners by an individual trainer in a season - a spectacular average
of more than sixteen winners a month - set by the
ebullient Justin Snaith in the 2012/2013 racing year,
was, in large measure, because of “the happiness
96
PARADE MAGAZINE
factor”. - I may be way off the mark, but the enduring images that I have of the Snaith horses frolicking
and rolling on the beach lead me to believe that their
regular visits to the seashore, rich in negative ions
(good for humans too), keep them fresh, energised
and happy … something which my intuition tells me,
give the Snaith horses the edge in many a race and
helped Justin establish that new South African Training Record .
You Gotta have Heart …
Excited by the recent announcement that a million
dollar race is to be staged in the Western Cape in January 2016, exclusively for a select field chosen from
among the graduates of the two Cape Premier Sales
of next year, potential buyers (and/or their agents) are
sure to study the respective catalogues for the upcoming sales with great fervour. Furthermore, prior
to the sales, they’ll examine every yearling on offer
with even more thoroughness, optimistic of inspired
choices when their selected lots enter the auction

Gold Circle - PARADE MAGAZINE

Transcription

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