SOME MORE FABULOUSNESS FROM VAUGHAN?

The first recorded winner of the Metropolitan Mile, as the Cape Town Met was originally known in 1883, was Sir Hercules and, while the race had a chequered existence for many years in the early 1900’s, by the 1960’s it was firmly established as one of the ‘big three’ contests in South Africa along with the then Vodacom Durban July and the Summer Cup in Gauteng.

The Met really came alive for those outside of racing circles when in 1978 J&B stepped in as sponsor and the J&B Met as we knew it for many years, was born. That year was the first leg of a double for the great Politician.

On Saturday veteran multiple Met winner Vaughan Marshall saddles 2022 Met third-placer Linebacker, and recent feature winner Rascallion.

It has been over thirty years since Vaughan saddled his first Met winner.

Racing has its vintage years and 1992 was one of them.

The foal crop born that year, while not producing one standout champion, did yield a whole bunch of highly talented performers. Marshall’s La Fabulous had always been close to the best of that legendary class of ’92, and on 27 January 1996 he was rewarded for his consistency when he romped away with the J&B Met.

Not only did he win the Kenilworth showpiece, but ran out one of the easiest winners in recent memory at the time. The race was widely considered to be wide open, until a deluge of late support for National Emblem saw the Gauteng visitor firm in to 3/1 favourite. La Fabulous, favourite at one stage of the ante-post proceedings, was allowed to go off at 7/1, despite being perhaps the best handicapped horse in the race, and certainly weighted to finish in front of National Emblem.

The early pace in the Met was not fast, but nor was it quite the crawl that some appeared to think. Carolera, much as expected, was the early leader by a couple of lengths from Bushmanland and Dupa Dice, with Rusty Pelican soon improving position between the turns.

La Fabulous was nicely poised some five lengths back on the fence, with National Emblem’s jockey Michael Roberts electing to wait the best part of ten lengths back. Carolera was still going easily in front as they turned for home, with Rusty Pelican now up in second ahead of Dupa Dice and Bushmanland.

La Fabulous was still waiting to pounce, but he didn’t hesitate for much longer. He quickly made ground along the rail, and headed Carolera just past the 400m mark. With nothing much really making any progress in the sprint home, the race was his. Carolera was game as ever, but she simply had no answer as La Fabulous opened up a quick lead and kept going all the way home to win by 2.25 lengths.

Carolera easily held on to second place, two lengths ahead of her fellow Gauteng raider Dupa Dice, with Eldoriza flying up from a mile back to finish fourth.

La Fabulous, who had been in the care of Marshall since the previous Natal season, was registering the ninth victory of his 22 career starts. The J&B Met was the first Graded Stakes win for La Fabulous. Ironically, in a sense, the very fact that he had never won a major event before contributed greatly to his success, for it gave him the pull in the weights which enabled him to comprehensively beat horses roughly his equal in terms of merit.

Everything just went right for the former Port Elizabeth campaigner. The moderate pace didn’t place any undue demands on his vaguely suspect ability to stay a true run 2000m, and the gap along the rail stayed wide open, almost inviting jockey Robbie Fradd to take it. That he did, without blinking, and with the best possible outcome!

La Fabulous was bred by his owners, the late Peter and Val Fenix, who were delighted and relieved that the Met winner’s dam was one of a handful of mares they retained when they dispersed the bulk of their breeding stock a few years previously.

La Fabulous was by the Danzig stallion Lustra out of the USAbred Accipiter mare Amanzimtoti, who was acquired for R30 000 by the Fenixes at the Scott Bros Dispersal Sale in 1990.