11 minute read
Pathfork Means Profit
PATHFORK – THE PROFIT PRINCIPLE
There's no denying that Pathfork is currently riding the crest of a wave, three individual stakes winners in the space of as many weeks are proof of that. Not too shabby, considering that's more than many stallions have sired this season.
Pathfork's stakes treble was initiated on Christmas eve when Erico Verdonese-trained son Jimmy Don announced his arrival in the stakes echelons with a fluent victory in the Listed Secretariat Stakes at Turffontein.
Barely a week later, fellow three-year-old Royal Victory travelled from homebase KZN and promptly showed his Joburg rivals a clean pair of heels in the Gr3 Tony Ruffel Stakes, scoring by the best part of four lengths. Natie Kotzen's charge has clearly built on some fine juvenile form; after all he had chased home champion Cousin Casey in both the Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes and Gr2 Golden Horseshoe.
This past Friday, Pathfork's stakes treble was rounded out at Fairview, where Sharon Kotzen saddled four-year-old daughter And We Danced in the Listed Lady's Bracelet. Following a battle royale over the final furlong, the filly showed true grit and determination to outduel multiple stakes winner Santa Therese for a hard-fought head win. Not only was this her first black type success, she was winning for the fifth time in succession, which takes some doing.
This newly minted stakes trio brings Pathfork's seasonal tally of black type winners to four. In November, his faithful son Bingwa put the likes of subsequent Gr1 Summer Cup ace Puerto Manzano and last season's Champion three-yearold Safe Passage in their place when landing the Gr2 Allied Steelrode-Onamissionmile for the second year running.
By the way, Pathfork also features as the sire of threeyear-old filly La Pura Vida, a smart maiden winner at Kenilworth this past weekend. The money came in buckets
Pathfork: Distorted Humor – Visions Of Clarity (Sadler’s Wells) for the Gareth van Zyl-trained miss, who fully justified her cramped odds to score over 1200m.
As for her sire, we have said it before, and will do so again, he has largely flown under the radar his entire stud career, yet continues to make his presence felt, as reflected by his latest stats, which are illuminating to say the least.
So far this season, his 39% strike rate of winners to runners is second only to that of elite stallion Vercingetorix (41%), while his tally of four stakes winners puts him on a par with former champion and current log leader Gimmethegreenlight. Furthermore, he currently finds himself in good company as the country's tenth leading active sire, notwithstanding the fact that he has no more than 72 runners on the track.
Jimmy Don, Royal Victory and La Pura Vida hail from Pathfork's current three-yearold crop, which according to stud master James Armitage, is his biggest since the stallion exchanged Ridgemont Highlands for Sandown Stud in 2018.
"That year, he got 70 mares, basically on the strength of his first Gr1 winner, the filly Mighty High, who won the Allan Robertson. Since then, he has barely covered 30 mares a season, most of which have come from Anton Shepherd and myself. Such a shame."
James added further food for thought: "You know, his progeny are tough and durable, they sprint and stay. The Mauritians love them, which is a bit of a double negative, as local trainers pick them up cheaply as yearlings, win a race or two with them, and then sell them on at a handsome profit, which robs him of local representation."
On a more positive note, he added: "Thankfully, it does look as if buyers are starting to pay for them and he is picking up respect in the sales ring. I sold a filly for R375,000 at the November 2YO Sale."
Sadly, Pathfork has no representation at the forthcoming Cape Yearling Sale, which is a travesty in itself, for as James pointed out: "Ironically, the two most profitable stallions when it comes to production cost vs progeny earnings are Pathfork and Elusive Fort."
KZN TRAINERS SHOW THE WAY
Sporting Post-sponsored Thandi Mgudlwa steers Evening Primrose to a smooth win over Gold Poker Game (Gareth Wright)
The KwaZulu-Natal trainers will be wondering why they waited for the introduction of the RaceCape incentive carrot before taking their chances again in the big league summer season down South.
The often-maligned Summerveld soldiers took the honours in four of the ten races at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday, including the afternoon’s feature.
In the days of yore, the Durbanites used to be a serious force. After a few years in the wilderness, they are gaining respect and edging back slowly, with the RaceCape incentive clearly the drawcard.
Sporting Post-sponsored Thandi Mgudlwa steers Evening Primrose to a smooth win (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
On a confidence boosting afternoon, Gareth van Zyl grabbed a double, crowned by a win in the day’s headliner, with Peter Muscutt and Dennis Drier adding to the raider basket, celebrating a winner apiece.
The R200 000 Tattersalls Listed Jamaica Handicap was the penultimate event on an enthralling afternoon’s horseracing, that capped a week of entertainment, including the big business of the Tattersalls Cape Premier Yearling Sale on Thursday.
In a field of ten, there was plenty of interest in the Brett Crawford-trained Dynasty 4yo Time Flies, who was on a hat-trick in a race she looked capable of winning.
But after stalking her field from the rear it was not to be, as the only visitor in the line-up made it 2 wins from her 3 starts in the Cape.
Evening Primrose, one of two Flower Alley daughters in the 2000m race, tracked the freestriding Young Love all the way round. Her happy pilot Athandiwe Mgudlwa enjoyed the distinction of being the first Sporting Post-sponsored jockey to win a feature in the Cape and rode a finally judged race on a windy afternoon.
Into the home run Young Love was running on empty halfway home as Mgudlwa slipped Evening Primrose (4-1) through down the inside. Despite lugging outwards towards the middle of the track, she kept on galloping and held on convincingly to beat a latefinishing Gold Poker Game
(5-1) by 0,20 lengths in a time of 127,28 secs.
A hard ridden Flower Of Saigon (33-1) finished third, a further 1,25 lengths back, knocking a good few Place Accumulator tickets for a six after the favourite Time Flies (3-1) was left with too much to do and ran on too late.
Tattersalls veteran John O’Kelly presented the winning trophies.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein, the winner is a 4yo daughter of Flower Alley (Distorted Humor) out of the twice-winning Dynasty mare, Noor. Evening Primrose was thus the second consecutive Cape feature winner for her sire after Princess Calla won the Cartier Gr2 Sceptre Stakes on L’Ormarins King’s Plate day.
A R280 000 National Yearling Sale graduate, Evening Primrose has won 5 races with 3 places from 12 starts for stakes of R434 313.
Well-known local racing-cumbreeding personality, and now an Assistant trainer, Spencer Cook received plaudits from winning conditioner Gareth van Zyl for the sterling work he is doing at the team’s satellite yard, in what has been a super summer season so far.
v Chase Liebenberg
Candiese Lenferna
CAPE EAGLE FLIES IN KZN CAPITAL
The Sabine Plattner-owned Cape Eagle made it a hat-trick of victories and registered his first stakes success when he went from gun to tape to win the R100 000 Listed Michael Roberts Stakes at a sweltering Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.
On one of the longeststanding ‘honorary’ racedays in a sport that tends to forget about the legends of the past, Gold Circle paid tribute, as they do annually, to eleventimes SA and one-time UK champion Michael ‘Muis’ Roberts.
All races on the sweaty 37 degree Pietermaritzburg day were named in honour of horses ridden by the ace.
It’s quite bizarre to remember, and enough to make any of us feel dated, that Muis rode his first career winner at this very track over 54 years ago!
A powerful and relentless galloper with a nice stride on him, Cape Eagle was bounced out at the 1750m by regular pilot Robert Khathi, and there they stayed.
Going into the final 250m, Cape Eagle (33-10) looked to have found another breath, and he stayed on unthreatened to beat the improved again Juan Carlos (16-1) by 2,80 lengths in a time of 106,16 secs.
The trifecta dividend was boosted by Duncan Howells’
6yo mare Aquae Sulis (33-1) in third, with Kannemeyer’s Dawnofanewday (9-2) well beaten back in fourth.
Byron Foster saddled the winner, a galloper he labelled a ‘flagship horse’, for the West Cape-based Andre Nel. Foster said it was an honour to win a race named in honour of a childhood hero of his.
The winner was bred by La Plaisance Stud and is a son of Maine Chance kingpin Vercingetorix (Silvano) out of the Plattner raced two-time winner Joie’s Winter (Western Winter).
A winner of 5 races with 6 places from 13 starts, Cape Eagle has banked stakes of R343 500.
Michael Roberts (3rd left) presents the trophy to Byron Foster as Colin Storey and Robert Khathi join the celebratory pic
v Pauline Herman
War Launch (Mxothwa, purple cap) gets the better of the more experienced Vision Of Wonder (Van der Merwe) to win impressively
NEW PREDATOR DECLARES WAR!
Just under a fortnight after celebrating his first winner, Blue Sky Thoroughbreds based New Approach stallion New Predator marked his second winner from just three runners when War Launch won on debut at Fairview last Friday.
From three runners, New Predator has had two winners and another place – all three progeny currently racing have yet to be out of the money in all of their starts to date! 2022 BSA August 2yo Sale, War Launch was bred by leading SA owner Laurence Wernars, who also raced the top-class New Predator.
Ridden by in-form jockey Louis Mxothwa, War Launch won the 1000m Maiden Plate in smart style for trainer Sharon Kotzen and owners Mrs D Jithoo, Dr KG and Mr GM Bakos, Mr GM Kotzen, Mr Jack Swart, Sharon Kotzen Racing (Pty) Ltd and SA Punters Forum Syndicate (Pty) Ltd (Nom: Mr Deva Govender). The winning connections happily also banked a cheque of R100 000 for the BSA Maiden Juvenile Plate sales incentives.
Consigned by Bush Hill Stud acting as agent at the sale, the all Australian-pedigreed War Launch is inbred to super sire Fastnet Rock, out of the Street Sense mare Monarch Games. The multiple Gr2 winner
New Predator is the property of a syndicate. He stands at Blue Sky Thoroughbreds in KZN.
and Gr1 placed New Predator stands at Blue Sky Thoroughbreds. Bruce Le Roux reports that the athletic racer only received approximately 30 mares for the past season, but if his current stats continue the way he has started, it looks like there are exciting times ahead.
New Predator is the property of a syndicate. He stands at Blue Sky Thoroughbreds in KZN.
HONG KONG SHOPPING AGAIN
Just days after purchasing the highest-priced lot at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale in Cape Town, the Hong Kong Jockey Club purchased a quintet of well-bred colts at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in Australia for a combined outlay of AU$2,875,000 (approx. HK$15,152,000).
The Club commenced buying with Lot 134 for AU$600,000. The attractive bay colt is by Pierro, sire of 2019 BMW Hong Kong Derby and Hong Kong Classic Mile winner Furore, as well as Rewarding Together – a two-time winner this season in Class 2 who was narrowly defeated last start at Group 3 level in the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy.
Lot 208 was the second to fall the Club’s way. The handsome youngster is by Zoustar – best known in Hong Kong as the sire of Hong Kong Classic Cup and Group 3-winning Healthy Happy.
