8 minute read
Vercingetorix rules in Premier
MARSHALL’S RASCAL MAKES GOOD!
Seldom, if ever, does a racehorse successfully return from a serious suspensory injury, so hats off to trainer Vaughan Marshall and the connections of Rascallion, following the gelding's game victory in the Gr2 Anthonij Rupert Wyne Premier Trophy.
The son of Vercingetorix got the monkey off his back with this overdue first stakes success, which was richly deserved, considering he has always been on the cusp of stakes class.
He first caught the eye as a juvenile when third behind Erik The Red in the Gr3 Cape of Good Hope Nursery. A sophomore season brought with it a string of stakes places and earned him the tag of 'Gr1 bridesmaid', as he had to settle for second behind Linebacker in both the Gr1 Cape Derby and Gr1 Daily News 2000.
Mixing it with the best of his generation, his many commendable efforts in defeat also included third places behind Russian Rock in the Gr1 Cape Guineas, Gr2 Concorde Stakes (to Malmoos), Gr3 Cape Classic (to Seeking The Stars ) and Gr3 Politician Stakes (to Kommetdieding).
He signed off on the season with a close-up fifth behind Kommetdieding in the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July, a fine run considering he finished just over two lengths adrift of the winner.
Following a well-deserved rest, Rascallion made his fouryear-old bow in November in the Cape Mile where only Warrior proved his superior, while Kommetdieding took third place. A month later, he provided a roller-coaster of emotions by defeating Horse of the Year Do It Again at level weights over 1800m, only to pull up after the wire with an injured suspensory ligament.
That victory came at a huge cost, as the injury was severe enough to be considered career-ending and it took considerable patience and skill by trainer Vaughan Marshall to restore Rascallion to full health.
He recalls: "Rascallion had to be box-rested and we treated him intensively, using the tendon magnet boot, heat and ice, the lot. Thankfully he's a
In the winner’s box! Orffer dismounts from the gutsy winner
very good-natured horse and took it all in his stride."
By August, there was light at the end of the tunnel.
"We were always positive and when I got back from Durban, we knew he could go back into work."
Off the track for eleven months, Rascallion returned to action in the Cape Mile, where he ran an eye-catching fourth behind Jet Dark and was certainly not disgraced in last month's Gr2 Green Point Stakes when finishing three and a half lengths off the winner Trip Of Fortune.
Finally, on Saturday, all the effort and patience paid off and yes, Vaughan confirmed the horse pulled up 100% sound. The bar will be raised once more, for the WSB Gr1 Cape Met is firmly on the radar.
From a pedigree perspective, Rascallion is out of Sofala,who incidentally, is bred on the same Jet Master x Al Mufti cross as champion Yorker and Gr1 winner Little Miss Magic. While Sofala may not have been in that exalted league, she proved to be an honest galloper, winning six races at three and four.
Rascallion is the latest stakes winner out of a Jet Master mare. The champion may be long gone, yet continues to make an impact and stamped his authority on the race as the broodmare sire of not just Rascallion, but also of runner-up Nexus and fourthplaced Universal. Gr2 Sceptre Stakes runner-up Stiptelik, as well as Jet Dark and Silver Darling, third place finishers in the Gr1 L'Ormarins King's Plate and Gr1 Cartier Paddock Stakes respectively.
Suffice to say, a catalogue page does not always reflect the true worth of a pedigree and while Rascallion hails from a family that is rather light on black type under the first three dams, it is built on solid, classic foundations.
Fourth dam Patronage won Epsom's Listed Great Surrey Foal Stakes as a juvenile. She is out of Springtime, who besides being a half-sister to English Derby/Two Thousand Guineas winner Blue Peter, also counts amongst her descendants the English Derby winning half-brothers Blakeney and Morston.
PRINCESS MAKES IT A STRAIGHT 4
Candiese Lenferna
Wilgerbosdrift’s resident sire Flower Alley has sired a truly top-class daughter in the form of Princess Calla. The latter claimed the sixth graded win of her career when she ran out an impressive winner of the Gr2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes run over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
Remarkably, it was a fourth consecutive graded win for Princess Calla, whose three previous triumphs had come in the Gr2 wsb. co.za Southern Cross Stakes, Gr1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes and Gr3 Prix Du Cap respectively.
Now in the care of Sean Tarry, fiveyear-old Princess Calla was always up with the pace in Saturday’s 1200m sprint for fillies and mares, and stayed on gamely to post a three-parts of a length victory under Gavin Lerena.
Bred by Maine Chance Farms, Princess Calla is out of the Captain Al mare Princess Royal.
She has now won or been placed in 16 of her 17 starts and has earned more than R2.173 million in stakes.
Princess Calla is one of five Gr1 winners and 33 stakes winners for Flower Alley thus far. A son of Distorted Humor, Flower Alley is having another fine season in 20222023 and is currently ninth on the South African General Sires List.
Flower Alley is also broodmare sire of dual Gr1 winner Cyberknife, who has been invited to the 2023 Gr1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational.
Chase Liebenberg
MORE FEATURE FUN FOR TRIPPI
Drakenstein Stud’s evergreen champion sire Trippi has enjoyed a wonderful season in 2022-2023, and the son of End Sweep claimed yet more feature race glory when his son Crome Yellow won the Gr3 Merchants On Long Chairman’s Cup, run at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
Successful in the Gr3 Cape Summer Stayers Handicap in both 2020 and 2021, eightyear-old Crome Yellow made a mockery of his 33-1 starting price with a convincing win in Saturday’s R250 000 feature. Under a shrewd ride from Grant Van Niekerk, the Andre Nel trained gelding was taken to the outside of the Kenilworth track and kept galloping resolutely to post a one length win, while conceding 2kgs to runner up Senso Unico.
Bred and owned by Sabine Plattner, Crome Yellow has now 10 of 37 starts for earnings of R952 163.
The gelding is out of the Jallad mare Senorita Sol.
His sire, South Africa’s Champion Sire of 2015-2016, went close to having more big race success on Saturday with Trippi’s sons Charles Dickens and Jet Dark finishing second and third respectively in the Gr1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate.
Crome Yellow is one of 89 stakes winners for Trippi, who is currently sixth on the South African General Sires List.
DRAKENSTEIN’S QUALITY QUINTET
Kevin Sommerville of Drakenstein Stud is looking forward to the 2023 Tattersalls Cape Premier Yearling Sale to which Gaynor Rupert’s blue-chip establishment has consigned five colts.
He discussed them, individually:
Lot 41 - Takeyourbestshot:
“A nice, strong and precocious son of What A Winter out of a dual, Gr1 winning Dubawi mare, Happy Archer. He goes about his business very well, looks a forward colt for this sale.”
Lot 61 - Great Plains:
“Great Plains a striking looking son of Danon Platina out of Mara, a young mare by VAR who was decent as a race filly. He is an attractive specimen, roancoloured and comes from a lovely family that goes back to Bright Sky. Danon Platina looks to have some precocious sorts among his early runners, he has had a good start. Great Plains has handled his prep very well, couldn’t be happier with him!”
Lot 93 - Bombers In The Sky:
“Here is a Lancaster Bomber colt out of Song Of Happiness by Giant’s Causeway. He is big and strapping, very much in his father’s mould. He has done incredibly well, physically. We are excited to see what the Lancaster Bomber runners will do on King’s Plate day. This one comes from the wonderful family of Ebony Flyer, Captain’s Lover, Vardy and others. He is one of this sale’s outstanding prospects.”
Lot 94 - Gold Sparkle:
“He is a colt by Gold Standard out of Sparkling Gem, the Gr1 winner. He is a nice, scopey sort and takes a nice shape. Sparkling Gem has already produced the Graded winners King Of Gems and Pink Tourmaline. Gold Standard has had a nice start to his career, including a couple of really outstanding fillies. Gold Sparkle should attract a lot of interest.”
Lot 99 - Supreme Green:
“A smashing colt by Gimmethegreenlight out of Supreme Vision (Visionaire), who is a half-sister to Do It Again. He is a beautiful specimen with a beautiful pedigree, by a champion sire, a big, strapping colt who looks precocious but should also go on over further.”
