Smanga ‘Bling’ Khumalo does the Dettori dismount from Western Wishes after the Paul Matchett filly won the last race at 14-1 on Saturday. Image by Candiese Lenferna.
10 The Oppenheimer Legacy Seamlessly transcending the ages
16 A Chetty Champion
SA Derby success for small breeder
34 Getting Lucky
A pauper became a princess
40 Year Of The Bear!
Sterling stuff from the grey flyer
59 Equus Latest Drakenstein are doing it!
Thrilled trainer Weiho Marwing lifts his third SA Derby trophy after Son Of Raj’s big win in Saturday. The image is by Candiese Lenferna.
Issue: 14/2023
Aldo Domeyer steers Trip Of Fortune to a Gr1 victory (Pic – JC Photos)
Candice Bass-Robinson’s Trip Of Fortune became the first Cape raider since Captain America in 2015 to win the R1 million HF Oppenheimer Gr1 Horse Chestnut Stakes when the 2022 Gr2 Green Point Stakes winner showed a good turn of foot off a modest pace to score a big win for the Milnerton team.
Prior to Trip Of Fortune’s emphatic win on a sunny Saturday in the Highveld feature, we have to go back to Captain America (2015) and then Dean Kannemeyer’s Free My Heart in 2002 to find the 21st century winners who braved the long road from the fairest Cape.
It’s a brave decision whichever way we spin it and Candice Bass-Robinson confirmed that Kevin Sommerville and the Drakenstein team didn’t
hesitate when the suggestion was made to take the long round through Gauteng, and then head off to the SA Champions Season on the East Coast.
After being slow away, Aldo Domeyer rode Trip Of Fortune with confidence as he loped along with only the 3yo Anfields Rocket behind him.
Ryan Munger rode a forward race on Koos Nkale’s Willow Magic entire MK’S Pride, who ran a courageous race as he plugged on all the way up the straight.
Domeyer worked Trip Of Fortune through his field, and inside the 200m his body language told the whole story.
Starting at a rather generous 17-2, Trip Of Fortune hit the
front and held off MK’S Pride (40-1) to win by 1,25 lengths in a time of 97,74 secs.
SA Classic winner Anfields Rocket moved up the outside in contract to his last win down the rails, and stayed on impressively for third a further 1,10 lengths back.
Sean Tarry’s hardknocking filly Under Your Spell (33-10) was not disgraced in fourth.
A son of End Sweep stallion Trippi, Trip Of Fortune is out of the versatile ten-time winning Doowaley mare, Louvre. He is bred and owned by Drakenstein, and is registered as a R750 000 National Yearling Sale graduate.
Trip Of Fortune has now won 8 races with 4 places from 16 starts for stakes of R1 550 250.
‘Classic horses were the meat and drink of the Mauritzfontein breeding operation, underlined by its remarkable record as the birthplace of 15 Oaks winners, all but one of which carried the Oppenheimer silks to victory’
None Other is led in by Jessica Jell, Lucky Houdalakis, Mary Slack and son-in-law Steve Jell
When None Other crossed the line first in the Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer Gr2 SA Oaks, she further embellished the distinguished record of the Oppenheimer family in this time-honoured classic. One couldn't have scripted it better. The filly is raced by breeder Mary Slack, the daughter of Harry and Bridget Oppenheimer, whose homebreds have long cast a shadow as some of the best in the sport.
Classic horses were the meat and drink of their Mauritzfontein breeding operation, underlined by its remarkable record as the
birthplace of 15 Oaks winners, all but one of which carried the Oppenheimer silks to victory.
They were a visible and integral part of the sport and in this modern era, it seems nothing has changed, as daughter Mary and granddaughter Jessica have seamlessly filled the void left by their passing.
Mary's Wilgerbosdrift, situated in the Piketberg area, is the birthplace of champions Rainbow Bridge, Hawwaam and Marinaresco, and of course last year's Hollywoodbets Durban July victress Sparkling Water.
That Mrs Slack regards the
Oaks of vital importance to the gene pool is evident from the fact that Wilgerbosdrift has sponsored the classic since 2005.
Jessica is now mistress of Mauritzfontein. Clearly intent on seeing to it that the famous Oppenheimer silks continue to be a major force in horse racing, she succeeded as recently as 2020, when homebred Summer Pudding claimed the Oaks en route to Horse of the Year honours.
Not to be outdone, Mary too, has witnessed two of her homebreds win the SA Oaks in her distinctive black and red colours. Successful in 2008 with Ilha Bela, she watched
Sparkling Water finish second to War Of Athena two years ago.
She had to wait all of 15 years for her second Oaks winner and it was entirely fitting that None Other won the first renewal named in honour of Bridget Oppenheimer.
From a pedigree perspective, both her Oaks winners descend from Mary's champion racemare Ilha Da Vittoria, Ilha Bela being a daughter and None Other a grandaughter.
Imported from the Argentine and trained by Mike de Kock,
this grey daughter of Candy Stripes proved a veritable goldmine on the track, winning not just the Gr1 Summer Cup, but also the initial running of the H F Oppenheimer Gr1 Horse Chestnut Stakes, the mile race honouring her late father and arguably the best horse he bred.
It came as no surprise when she shared Horse of the Year honours with Rafeef's dam National Colour.
As a broodmare, Ilha Da Vittoria was quick off the mark with her very first foal, the Tiger Ridge filly Ilha Grande. She cemented her Oaks claims
by winning the Trial, but alas, had the misfortune of being a contemporary of the mighty Igugu, to whom she finished third in the Oaks proper.
Twelve months later, Fort Wood half-sister Ilha Bela made up for that loss by turning the Oaks on its head, coming home in splendid isolation to score by over six lengths.
None Other is out of the Dynasty mare One Of A Kind, who just happens to be Ilha Da Vitoria's last foal. Although she was the product of two champions, she proved no great shakes on the track,
winning just once as a threeyear-old. Nevertheless, it was always a given that she would join her more accomplished half-sisters in the Wilgerbosdrift paddocks and she has more than made up for her lack of racing class as the dam of a classic winner with her very first foal.
As for Ilha Grande, she is already a Gr1 producer as the dam of SA Classic winner Orchid Island, who by the way, finished fifth in the 2017 SA Oaks.
And although Ilha Bela has yet to join the ranks of stakes
producers, she is dam of Gr3placed stayer Azores as well as this season's smart threeyear-old Bonete, who chased home Billy Bowlegs (2nd in the Gr1 SA Derby) and None Other in the Gr3 Sea Cottage Stakes. Her yearling colt by exciting freshman sire Fire Away is destined to sell at the upcoming National Sale and is sure to feature on many a shortlist.
With three accomplished daughters currently doing broodmare duty at Wilgerbosdrift and grandaughters likely to join them in time, Ilha
Da Vitoria's legacy looks assured.
Finally, it would be remiss not to make mention of the fact that None Other is the first Oaks winner sired by Flower Alley.
It was a case of third time lucky for the Wilgerbosdrift stallion, considering he sired 2020 runner-up Pomander, while Evening Primrose finished third twelve months ago. Remarkably, only two of his twelve South African stakes winners to date are males, which once again underlines his reputation as a 'fillies' sire.
Owner-breeder Steven Chetty celebrated a ‘genuine Jack moment’ and a dazzling Gr1 victory from his first ever elite runner with a horse he bred himself as the Weiho Marwing galloper Son Of Raj swept to an eyecatching victory in the WSB Gr1 SA Derby at Turffontein on Saturday.
Trainer Weiho Marwing entered the SA Derby hall of fame with his third winner in the 2450m classic after Samurai Warrior (2019) and Wylie Hall (2013), as he had the son of Duke Of Marmalade tuned to the moment.
In another Gr1 on the afternoon run at a ‘Cape kind of pace’, Craig Zackey found himself a reluctant leader on River Romeo who led the
eventual winner and Top Sail. Into the home run, Keagan de Melo was stalking the leader and pounced as he grabbed a match-winning break on Son Of Raj, with the favourite Billy Bowlegs making his way from the rear and caught momentarily flat-footed off the sedentary pace.
It was race over inside the 200m and Son Of Raj (5-1) stayed on best to register a 2,25 lengths victory in a time of 157,40 secs over the gutsy Billy Bowlegs (2-1) with Rule By Force (10-1) a further 2,25 lengths back in third.
It was an enormous moment for the Chetty family who travelled en masse from Durban and were kitted out in red to celebrate a milestone.
Interestingly, Winning Form’s log-leading rider Keagan de Melo rode Mr Chetty’s first ever winner over a decade ago and was in the saddle again for this magic moment.
Winning trainer Weiho Marwing paid tribute to his mentor Ormond Ferraris, who celebrated his 91st birthday on Friday.
The winner was raised at the Freeman family’s Boland Stud and is a son of the deceased Cartier Champion and five time Gr1 winner, Duke Of Marmalade (Danehill) out of the three-time winning Black Minnaloushe mare, Freudinia.
Son Of Raj is a winner of 4 races with 2 places from 7 starts for stakes of R1 169 750.
Trying some proper ground for the first time in her career, champion Ilha Da Vittoria’s granddaughter None Other finished with a flourish under Richard Fourie to win the R750 000 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer Gr2 SA Oaks at Turffontein on Saturday on an emotional occasion for South Africa’s first family of racing.
In one of those emotionally serendipitous horseracing moments, None Other was winning the SA Oaks at the first renewal bearing the name of SA horseracing’s former first lady Bridget Oppenheimer, and is a granddaughter of Ilha Da Vitoria, who won the Gr1 Horse Chestnut Stakes in 2006, coincidentally the first year the race carried the name of Harry Oppenheimer!
Wilgerbosdrift’s inform sire Flower Alley really has enjoyed another fine season in 2022-2023, and the former Gr1 Travers Stakes winner struck yet again when his Wilgerbosdrift bred and owned daughter came home powerfully under a rampant Richard Fourie, who was winning the feature for the second consecutive year after Rain In Holland won in 2022.
The Lucky Houdalakis trained None Other (4-1) showed her appreciation of the step up in trip with a smart performance, hitting the front 200m from home and powered home to score by two and threequarters of a length in a time of 159,19 secs.
Brett Crawford’s Reny (20-1) stayed on well for second, three quarters of a length ahead of Gauteng Fillies Guineas winner Lady Of Power (6-1), who ranged up dangerously into the 300m but ran out of steam.
SA Fillies Classic winner Bless My Stars (5-2) was well beaten in fourth.
Out of the Dynasty mare One Of A Kind, who was the late Ilha Da Vitoria’s last daughter, None Other has now won four of 12 starts and has earned R925 750.
Trainer Lucky Houdalakis has done a splendid job with the strip of a filly who arrived at his yard looking ‘like a travel pony’, in the words of Mary Slack.
None Other was one of three runners in the 2023 G2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer Oaks sired by Flower Alley. She is the first SA Oaks winner for Flower Alley, whose daughter Pomander finished second in the 2020 SA Oaks.
Flower Alley went close this season to landing all three legs of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara with his Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein bred daughter Feather Boa having finished a close up second in both the Gr2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas and Gr1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic.
Flower Alley has five lots on offer at the 2023 BSA National Yearling Sale on 21 and 22 April.
The Sean Tarry Racing team got up off the big raceday canvas with a bloodied nose as the shadows lengthened at Turffontein on Saturday to bounce back for a terrific victory by their champion stayer Nebraas in the R250 000 World Sports Betting Gr3 Caradoc Gold Cup.
Inevitably competitive on the major days, the Tarry team fielded 11 runners on Day 3
of The Championships but had to be patient with a few place cheques here and there, before getting on the feature boards in the penultimate event of the afternoon.
The Caradoc Gold Cup brought the curtain down on the feature programme on the day and the 2850m marathon hosted a showdown between the last two winners of the Marshalls World Of
Sport Gr3 Gold Cup, with the Vercingetorix 6yo Nebraas getting the better late of his year younger opponent Shangani to win by a quarter length in a time of 183,60 secs.
Both started at 18-10.
It was a terrific victory by Nebraas, his first in over 300 days, and also a great back-up training performance given
the fact that he ran second just a week earlier in the Gr2 Colorado King Stakes behind fairer sex stablemate, Rain In Holland.
Bred and raced by Al Adiyaat South Africa, the former Equus Champion Stayer of SA , who is by the Gr1 Jebel Hatta winning sire Vercingerix (Silvano), is out of the
It is interesting to note the dual presence of one of history’s greatest mares, Miesque, up close in his pedigree.
Miesque is the fourth dam of Nebraas, but the dual Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner is also found in the presence
of Nebraas’s broodmare sire Archipenko. The latter is a son of Miesque’s most important son Kingmambo -making Noor Dubai closely inbred to the legendary racemare and producer.
Nebraas has won 8 of his 29 starts with 13 places for earnings of R1 200 187.
Hollywoodbets sponsored Stuart Pettigrew and Capebased Richard Fourie teamed up with the fast improving speedster Mercantour, who defied the handicapper’s penalty incurred at his last win, and showed courage under top weight to win the R250 000 Europa Point Gr3 Man O’ War Sprint on The Championships Day 3 at Turffontein on Saturday.
The Varsfontein-bred son of VAR doubled up on his non black-type Gold Rush Sprint success last month, when
he came from off the speed to nab the free-striding 2022 Gr2 The Debutante winner Gobsmacked late to win going away at a generous 6-1 by a quarter length in a time of 62,77 secs.
The filly ran a cracker in second after a four month break, with former Cape resident Trompie 14-1 beaten 5,25 lengths in third.
The Winning Form sponsored Fourie modestly attributed his ride on the Vicki Veeramootoo runner to the fact that he had
ridden Mercantour previously.
Pettigrew said he expected the handicapper to have stopped his charge. But it ended happily!
A son of the deceased speed champion VAR (Forest Wildcat), the Varsfontein-bred winner is out of the Western Winter mare, Winter Wood.
A R200 000 National Yearling Sale graduate, Mercantour is a winner of 5 races with 5 places from 14 starts, and has earned R380 500.
Richard Fourie steers Mercantour to a smart win over Gobsmacked
The saying goes, ‘Talk is cheap, but it takes money to buy whisky’. It is often used by sceptics, invites us to reflect on the power of our words and encourages us to back them up with purposeful action. This ultimately defines our character and shapes our future.
After winning ‘Event of the Year’ at the prestigious Hollard Sport Industry Awards following the first GTH Live Series held at Hollywoodbets Greyville last year, we at Global Team Horse Racing (GTH) secured a next round of funding which takes us a step
closer to a second series in 2023.
The first series proved that we have something that captures public attention and imagination, breaking through a few long-standing barriers. Now, we’re aiming at improving all facets of our product and taking the next steps to reach our goal of introducing many new fans to the sport.
Before we explain anew what GTH offers, let us remind you that racing in South Africa remains at sensitive crossroads in numerous
respects, including operations, financial security and stability, sustainability and, importantly, the commercial marketability of what is generally accepted to be an outdated product offering.
Betting turnovers are down. Many trainers and breeders are battling to make ends meet. Jockeys are leaving the country in numbers. Racehorse ownership, defined in terms of individual colour-holders, has dwindled from near 10 000 at the turn of the century to under 1 000 today. The ‘small owner’ is on the endangered list.
With our model pointing decisively towards introducing additional sources of income, we’ve had margins of resistance from racing’s older generations and a few traditionalists. But we’ve managed to bring the authorities around to consider and support ours, and the popular worldwide view, that racing must embrace novelty and renewal as a matter of urgency to prevent further haemorrhaging of funds. We have to reach and include potentially massive new audiences.
Below, the pillars of our plan for the injection of new money, new fans, and new racehorse owners to racing:
1. Significant innovations of the GTH racing format, includes;
· Short intervals between races
A common complaint among first-time racegoers is the length of time between races. They simply get bored, quick. In our first series this issue was successfully addressed and welcomed by most. Fastpaced racing keeps the crowds interested and on their feet. We’re marketing a powerpackage of high-adrenaline entertainment!
· Team-based, or sponsorbased racing, in different colours Hugely popular in other sports, team-based racing lends itself to a variety of options including different colours or branding for each
team. When provinces or regions come into play, things get more exciting and avenues to sponsorships open up. In the GTH format, nothing stops us from having teams sponsored by individuals, breeders, or corporates. The sky is the limit.
· The no-whip rule Racing’s die-hards have made the nowhip rule a serious point of contention but, in the modern world of sport, all comes down to ‘adapt or die’. Animal activists wield an enormous amount of sentimental support, and hence, whether we like it or not, have the power to bring thoroughbred racing to its knees.
examples in many other sports, from many other countries. Even minor proportions of these volumes of sponsorship income can save our industry, reward its players handsomely and remove the reliance on gambling as the principal source of revenue.
3. Rewarding racing’s ‘small owner’
A
Significant changes had to be made to reinvigorate numerous other sports, including cricket, football, tennis, basketball, boxing, Formula One motor-racing and others. Sports authorities had to challenge themselves and change their mindsets, but thinking out of the box gave them fresh, widespread support, brought hordes of new fans, and gave them access to major sponsorships. Example: In 2022, the domestic SA20 cricket competition in South Africa secured a huge financial boost from local and international brands. The league signed a new five-year broadcast and sponsorship deal worth R1.5 billion (approximately $103 million). There are many other
In staging high-stakes, lowrated handicaps with certain conditions, we set the stage for more participation by the so-called ‘smaller owner’. Racing has its fairy tales involving moderate-income owners, a shot of sheer luck and a top horse that changes their lives. But those are few and far between.
Overall, the best horses generally go to wealthy owners due to their prolific buying, in numbers, at the top end of the bloodstock market. The small owner, or minority shareholders in a single, moderate horse, are left to campaign in low-stakes races with little or no return. They soon disappear from the scene. GTH aims for balancing the playing fields by staging our series using the low-level plate races and handicaps and raising their prize monies to levels never seen before. For the new, youthful market looking for an exciting day out, the quality of a race has little or no meaning. When a handful of low-class runners go hammer-and-tongs to the line in a close finish, the surge of excitement is the same. For
the small-time owner, huge financial returns become a reality rather than a dream. They’ll be back for more, with extra purchasing power, in so doing propping up the needed reserves at racing’s base camp.
Media release by Global Team Horseracing on Monday 3 April 2023
Vaal trainer Michael ‘Lucky’ Houdalakis scripted his own paragraph into the extraordinary SA OaksOppenheimer history book at Turffontein on Saturday. And the near 60 year old former top jockey did it with a princess who arrived at his stables a petite pauper.
“Oh hell, she was tiny! I mean tiny!” he recalls as he chatted to the Sporting Post after the Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein bred Flower Alley daughter None Other had skated to victory under Winning Form-jockey Richard Fourie in the Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer Gr2 SA Oaks.
Wilgerbosdrift’s Mary Slack was elated, enthusing that None Other, hailed from ‘one of our best families’.
“But when she arrived at Lucky’s yard, she was small –he thought she was a farewell pony,” said SA racing’s reigning first lady.
In a special moment of serendipity, None Other was winning the SA Oaks at the first renewal bearing the name of SA horseracing’s former first lady Bridget Oppenheimer, and is a granddaughter of Ilha Da Vitoria, who won the Gr1 Horse Chestnut Stakes in 2006, coincidentally the first year the race carried the name
“It’s an honour to train horses for South Africa’s first racing family. So when they arrive and look like None Other did, you shut up and carry on with the job at hand. The blood is always there. And when it’s coupled with a heart, then you have something to work with. When None Other started stretching, she had an action. She was a real racehorse – just not a very big one. She’s now won 4 from 12 – including the SA Oaks. And look at that trophy and the honour roll!
I’m very happy,” added the charismatic horseman who guided international champion sprinter JJ The Jet Plane to a
glittering career, that included six Gr1 victories.
Lucky also has a nice record in the SA Oaks – three runners have now produced a winner and two places.
“Peggy Jay ran third behind Juxtapose in 2016 and then Seville Orange was also third behind Return Flight in 2019. So Saturday was a welcome victory for our whole team,” added the Egyptian-born straight-shooter who golfs and fishes when he gets a break from his sixty-strong string at what he says is probably South Africa’s leading racecourse and training centre.
So he wouldn’t move to Randjesfontein, if the chance came along?
“Are you crazy? There is enough traffic in Gauteng without having to queue up behind the tractor in the morning to work horses.
Here at the Vaal we have a variety of tracks, peace and tranquility and look at the course. A 1000m straight. A mile straight. I don’t even know why we race features on the Turffontein inside track. The draw bias is crazy. At the Vaal, the draw is no excuse. If you’re a jockey and you can’t get your horse into position at the Vaal with that long straight, then you shouldn’t be riding!”
Lucky also adds that there is always a meeting at the Vaal weekly at least.
“The Joburg guys horses stand here for 6 hours. My horses walk out of the stable into the parade ring and to the start. You can’t tell me that doesn’t make a difference!”
After 27 years as a jockey with plenty of international success, Lucky was persuaded by his wife Natalie – he calls her the ‘engine room’ of his operation – and owner Coenie
Strydom of subsequent
The Jet Plane fame to take out his licence in 2006.
He started with 4 horses on James Maree’s farm. His first ever runner was Mutual Secret and maiden winner was Man’s Mood who went on to win six races.
A touch of Houdalakis trivia is that Charles Dickens’ dam Demanding Lady was trained by Lucky, and with Essenelles and Virginia Sound, was part of his milestone maiden treble at Turffontein on 26 January 2013.
So where to next for None Other?
“I see the Woolavington at Hollywoodbets Greyville is now an open race, so I will talk to the owners and maybe will have to rethink that and also consider the option of the Track & Ball Oaks at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.”
The first lady of South African racing, Mrs Bridget Oppenheimer passed away on 25 October 2013 at 92.
Born Bridget McCall in 1921, she married Harry Oppenheimer when she was a signals lieutenant on Robben Island.
Harry was chairman of Anglo American Corporation for 25 years, and chairman
of De Beers Consolidated Mines for 27 years, and was a member of Parliament for Kimberley during 1948-1957.
Following his return from the war, the couple got involved in horse-racing during the 1940’s.
Racing in the famous black and yellow silks, Bridget and Harry bred and raced a host of great horses. Based at their Mauritzfontein Stud, originally a remount station, the Oppenheimers also stood many leading sires during their time. This list included Janus, Wilwyn, Free Ride, and Fort Wood, while another successful Oppenheimer owned sire was the ill-fated Strike Smartly.
South Africa’s infamously onerous export protocols are a drag on any average day but may well have worked fortuitously for owners Tony Jelinski and Sterling Miller.
The partnership were at the Theatre of Champions on Sunday to lead in their grey flyer Strawberry Bear, who inflicted a first Hollywoodbets Greyville defeat on Cape star Cousin Casey, when winning the R200 000 Gr3 Byerley Turk.
Sold to Hong Kong interests and all packed and ready to wing his way East, the Mike Miller-trained Strawberry Bear only landed up starting in Sunday’s 1400m contest after the parties to the transaction mutually decided that eight months of red-tape and travel was a silly slice to take out of
the career of a promising 3yo.
All’s well that ends well though, and Sterling Miller, who astutely found the attractive grey for just R80 000 as a weanling at Bush Hill Stud, told the Sporting Post that he and passionate coowner Tony Jelinski would take the Grade 3 success with both hands.
“Naturally there was disappointment when the sale to Hong Kong was cancelled, but it was the right decision for this lovely galloper and we are thrilled,” said veteran trainer Mike Miller’s son, who concedes at the same time that things will only get tougher into the season.
“We love our horses but are also realists. Cousin Casey
had every chance but needed the outing and wasn’t at his peak for the season. On top of that we received 6kgs from the Gr1 winner. But Strawberry Bear made all, fought on and showed terrific heart and ability. And it was another great ride by Tristan Godden. Tony (Jelinski) loves his horses like pets and is a regular visitor in the grey’s box,” explained Sterling Miller.
According to Mike Miller, the 1400m looks to be Strawberry Bear’s top end.
“That means we will pick his races. Maybe the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint (1200m) at Hollywoodbets Scottsville and then the KZN Breeders Mile are two races that could be on his radar. He could get away with his stamina limitations
in the company he is likely to encounter in the latter race,” added the thrilled Sterling.
Making all the fractions on Sunday, the flashy grey galloped relentlessly and staved off the challenge of the popular favourite to win at 16-1 by 0,60 lengths in a time of 85 secs flat.
Drifting to even money before the off, Cousin Casey was not disgraced in second with Erico Verdonese’ Gauteng raider Jimmy Don (9-4) a short head back in third, with Gavin Lerena declaring a half kilo over.
It was a memorable first graded stakes success for
Sporting Post-sponsored rider Tristan Godden, in his best season to date!
While born, loved and raised at the Render family’s beautiful Bush Hill Stud, Strawberry Bear was bred by Gautengbased Bea Giddy, and enjoys the distinction of being the maiden stakes winner for his now Riethuiskraal Stud-based Galileo sire, Flying The Flag.
“We wish Advocate Joubert well with Flying The Flag. He has had a regular flow of winners and knew it was only a matter of time before he came up with something really smart,” said Bush Hill’s Karin Render, who recalled that Sterling Miller had picked the
good-looking youngster out and loved him the moment he had set eyes on him.
Strawberry Bear is out of the unraced Captain Al mare, Now You See Her, who hails from the family of the top-class Nhlavini.
He is now a winner of 3 races with 2 places from 7 starts for stakes of R311 000.
Two of the three Hollywoodbets Greyville Sunday features were saddled by KZN trainers. It’s early days with the Champions Season only starting next month, but it’s encouraging and good news!
The three bears! Sporting Post jockey Tristan Godden is flanked by thrilled owners Sterling Miller and Tony Jelinski Candiese Lenferna
Dean Kannemeyer produced the magic for the Hollywood Syndicate at the Theatre of Champions on Sunday when the ultra-consistent Rafeef filly Shantastic showed her customary turn of foot to leave her highly vaunted opposition eating dust as she soared to victory in the R200 000 Gr3 Umzimkhulu Stakes.
Taking on the likes of last term’s champion 2yo Canadian Summer, and the well performed Ameena and Gauteng visitor Miss Cool, there weren’t many brave enough to side with Shantastic, who only arrived
at Summerveld from the Cape ten days earlier.
But super sire Rafeef’s 12th stakes winner came out fresh and with all guns blazing!
National log-leading rider Keagan de Melo made it look clinical as he tracked the pacemaker Let It Snow and made his match-winning move on Shantastic at the 300m marker.
With an impressive turn of foot, Shantastic (13-2) skipped ahead and despite the efforts of Jason Gates on Gr1 winner Canadian Summer (33-10), it
was race over as Shantastic stayed on well to win by 2,70 lengths in a time of 84,95 secs.
Let It Snow (66-1) stayed on for third and 0,80 lengths back, with the eventual tote favourite Ameena (33-20) clearly needing it after her 39 week break and beaten into fourth.
For Winning Form-sponsored jockey De Melo, it’s been a great weekend after his victory on Son Of Raj in the WSB Gr1 SA Derby 24 hours earlier. The young rider complimented his mount’s turn of foot.
Trainer Dean Kannemeyer couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his KZN campaign and confirmed that he thought Shantastic ‘was better than a 90’.
“The runner-up is no slouch, and while we got 6kgs from her, Shantastic won well today. It was a sterling performance and well done to Anthony Delpech, Owen Heffer and the whole Hollywood team!” added the classic trainer.
Shantastic was purchased for R240 000 by the Hollywood Syndicate at the 2021 BSA Cape Yearling Sale.
She has now cracked a her maiden graded stakes victory and enhanced her paddock value as she takes her tally to 4 wins with 2 places from 8 starts and stakes of R353 550.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, she is by Ridgemont Highlands top-class Redoute’s Choice sire Rafeef out of the Fort Wood mare Gain Ground. That makes her a half sister to Kannemeyer’s former Gr2 winner Waterberry Lane (Soft Falling Rain).
The Rafeef roadshow continued at Turffontein on Saturday when the top-class sire enjoyed a double courtesy of his Gr1 Computaform Sprint winner Master Archie and the consistent four-time winner, Whafeef.
Just a week earlier the Gr1-winning son of Redoute’s Choice celebrated his 11th stakes winner courtesy of the undefeated Leaving Las Vegas’ eyecatching score in the Gr3 Pretty Polly Stakes.
Candiese Lenferna Look who's back! Muzi Yeni broke the ice on Miss Dora at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Monday for Kom Naidoo!No other stallion other than Captain Al and Jet Master have produced more first season juvenile winners than Canford Cliffs.
In a thrilling finish to the R150 000 Listed KwaZulu-Natal Stakes at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday, Sporting Post sponsored jockeys
Athandiwe Mgudlwa and Tristan Godden provided the thrills, with the former clinching the lion’s share of the spoils on Gareth van Zyl’s longshot Ancient Epic.
With the Hollywood Syndicateowned Sashay Away withdrawn after being injured at the start, the field was reduced to ten for the fillies and mares feature.
Tristan Godden rode a confident race, utilizing Sabatini’s natural speed to
carve the fractions from the break in the 1000m contest.
Into the home run Sabatini continued to lead, but the in-form Athandiwe Mgudlwa was making up ground on the year older Ancient Epic.
In a drive to the wire, the judge intervened to give Ancient Epic (33-1) the first place ahead of the gallant Sabatini (14-1) in a time of 58,93 secs.
The fancied Amarandi (9-2) was a half length back in third.
The favourite Time Fo Orchids had no late kick and finished downfield.
Ancient Epic is raced by the Palmer family and was bred by Riethuiskraal and is a 4yo daughter of Vercingetorix (Silvano) out of the three-time winning Black Minnaloushe mare, The Black Rose.
Ancient Epic is a winner of 5 races with 5 places from 20 starts for stakes of R495 625.
Candice Bass Robinson’s Trip Of Fortune has seen his merit rating increased from 119 to 125 following his success on WFA terms in the Gr1 H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m on the Turffontein standside track on Saturday 1 April.
The Handicappers were of the view that 4th placed UNDER YOUR SPELL made for the best line horse here, leaving her unchanged on
a mark of 114.
There were also ratings increases for runner-up MK’S PRIDE, who was raised from 120 to 122, for 3rd placed ANFIELDS ROCKET, who goes up from 118 to 120, and for GIMME A SHOT, who was raised from 112 to 113. The last named encountered considerable interference in running and would doubtless have finished closer otherwise, therefore the Handicappers
are comfortable with a slight increase in her rating.
No horses were given a ratings drop from this race.
SON OF RAJ has had his rating raised from 81 to 115 following his success in the Grade 1 WSB SA Derby for three-year-olds over 2450m at Turffontein on Saturday. The Handicappers were of the
opinion that 3rd finisher RULE BY FORCE made for the best line horse here, which leaves him with an unaltered rating of 108.
There were also ratings increases for 4th placed FUTURE PEARL, who goes up from 81 to 100, and for 5th finisher TOP SAIL, who was raised to 96 to 86. The latter has been rated relative to FUTURE PEARL, ensuring that these two would meet on the correct terms should they clash in a handicap race.
The only drop was for ELECTRIC GOLD, who is down from 106 to 104.
Oppenheimer Gr2 SA Oaks
NONE OTHER has had her rating lifted from 104
to 110 after she won the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks for three-year-old fillies over 2450m at Turffontein on Saturday. Here it was 2nd placed RENY who was deemed to make for the correct line horse, leaving her unchanged on a mark of 106. In assessing the race this way 5th placed SILVER HILLS also runs to her mark, effectively making her a line horse as well and leaving her with an unchanged rating of 100.
The winner aside, the only other increase was for 6th placed IPSO FACTO, who goes up from 89 to 94 to make her at least one pound higher than the 93-rated 8th finisher LITTLEMARYSUNSHINE.
No horse from this race received a ratings drop.
MERCANTOUR has had his merit rating raised from 110 to 116 after winning the Grade 3 Europa Point Man O’War Sprint for three-year-olds over 1100m at Turffontein on Saturday. The Handicappers were unanimous in their opinion that 3rd placed TROMPIE made for the best line horse here, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 99.
In assessing the race this way MERCANTOUR actually runs to a mark of 124, but the specific conditions of the race do not allow for an increase of more than six pounds in the rating of the winner, and accordingly the Handicappers were obliged to cap MERCANTOUR at 116.
Similarly, the race conditions do not permit for a rating’s increase for horses other than the winner and as such runnerup GOBSMACKED remains on a mark of 113 despite actually running to a rating of 118.
There were no ratings drops from this race.
WSB
NEBRAAS has had his rating raised slightly from 116 to 117 after winning the Grade 3 Caradoc Gold Cup over 2850m at Turffontein on Saturday. Here the Handicappers were of the unanimous view that runnerup SHANGANI was the right line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 120.
Here again, the specific race conditions do not permit for any increase in the rating of a horse other than the winner, and so 3rd placed ARUMUGAM and 4th finisher ARLINGTON ACTION remain on marks of 94 and 84, respectively, despite actually achieving ratings of 98 and 91, respectively.
No horse in this race was given a rating’s drop.
SHANTASTIC has had her rating elevated from 90 to 101 after she captured the Grade 3 Umzimkhulu Stakes for three-year-old fillies over 1400m on the turf course at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday 2 April. Here it was runner-up CANADIAN SUMMER who was used as the line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a rating of 108.
Aside from the winner the only other ratings increase was for 3rd placed LET IT SNOW, who goes up from 85 to 90. No horse from this race was given a rating’s drop.
STRAWBERRY BEAR has had his rating upped from 99 to 106 after winning the Grade 3 Byerley Turk for three-year-olds over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday. Here it was 4th placed CAPTAIN CASEY who was deemed to make for the most suitable line horse, leaving him unchanged on a mark of 103.
Aside from the winner the only increase was for 6th placed GOLD INDEX, who goes up from 78 to 84 to at least
The British Horseracing Authority announced last month that previous handicap qualification criteria required that horses became eligible for a rating either after three runs, or after their second start if a winner on debut.
But for races from 1 April
2023, a third dimension was added on a 12-month trial basis, following approval by the industry’s Racing Group.
This will allow for horses beaten on their first start but winning their second race to be allotted a rating, providing this is at a level of 77 or lower.
make him two pounds higher than the 82-rated 8th finisher AERIAL DISPLAY.
No horse in this race was given a rating’s drop.
Listed Kwazulu-Natal Stakes
ANCIENT EPIC has been given a small rating’s increase from 84 to 85 after she won the Listed Kwazulu-Natal Stakes for fillies and mares over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday. Here it was 3rd placed AMARANDI who was used as the line horse, leaving her unaltered on a mark of 87.
Aside from the winner the only other ratings increase was for 2nd placed SABATINI, who goes up from 89 to 91.
There were drops for three horses. 4th placed WARSHIP is down slightly from 93 to 92, BEVIES DELIGHT drops to 95 from 97, and lastly TIME FO ORCHIDS drops from 107 to 105.
Media release by National Horseracing Authority on 4 April 2023.
Trip Of Fortune added to his Gr2 World Sports Betting Green Point Stakes win by completing his first Gr1 victory in Saturday’s HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes and vaulted above his stable companion Charles Dickens (80 points) to lead the Equus Horse Of The Year table.
The two Drakenstein inmates of the Bass-Robinson yard now occupy the top two spots in the quest for Horse Of
The Year honours for 2023. Anfields Rocket (52 points), winner of the Grade 1 World Sports Betting SA Classic, and Princess Calla (52 points), winner of the Grade 2 Senor Santa Stakes, are new entrants onto the table for March in sixth and seventh position respectively.
Retired Jet Dark (70 points) is in third position on the table, with Gimme A Prince (66 points) and Make It Snappy (64 points) making up the
remainder of the table.
Several Grade 1 races will be run on the Highveld to end the Highveld Autumn season and these races should have a strong bearing on the leadership for Horse Of The Year honours and the various sub-categories leading into the KZN Winter Season.
With most of the three-year-
old action concentrated on the Highveld in March, Anfields Rocket (52 points), now second, made inroads into the lead of Charles Dickens (80 points), although the latter is still far ahead in the quest for sophomore colt honours for 2023.
Two new entrants onto the table are Gr1 World Sports Betting SA Derby winner Son Of Raj (32 points), and placegetter in both the Gr1 World Sports Betting SA Classic and Grade 1 World Sports Betting SA Derby, Billy Bowlegs (32 points).
They join See It Again (32 points) on the table.
With no Highveld sophomore filly able to complete a win in two of the Triple Tiara races, Make It Snappy (64 points) remains comfortably in the lead in this category.
Bless My Stars (34 points) moves onto the log into second position after her narrow victory in the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic. None Other, another new entrant after finding the extra distance of the 2450m Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks much
to her liking, joins Ciao Bella and Feather Boa on 32 points.
Trip Of Fortune (87 points), the only change to the Older Male category, takes over from Jet Dark (70 points) at the head of the table. Gimme A Prince (66), Puerto Manzano (50), and Al Muthana (48) make up the table.
With another sprint victory to her credit, Princess Calla (52 points) leaps above her closest rival, Desert Miracle (46 points), for Older Female honours. Both are likely contestants in the upcoming Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes in April. Now retired Captain’s Ransom (36 points) remains in third position, with Under Your Spell (34 points) and Humdinger (21 points) in fourth and fifth position respectively.
Two females, Princess Calla (52 points) and new entrant Gr3 Sycamore Sprint winner Alula’s Star (16 points), were the only movers on the Champion Sprinter table in March. However, Gimme A Prince (66 points) remains firmly in the lead with Bereave (24 points)
and Rio Querari (20 points) making up the table.
Trip of Fortune (82 points) leads the Champion Miler category to add to his Horse Of The Year and Older Male category leads.
The only new entrant onto the table is MK’s Pride (24 points) who finished second to Trip Of Fortune in the Gr1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes on Saturday. Al Muthana (48 points), Desert Miracle (40 points), Under Your Spell (34 points), and Charles Dickens (24 points) complete the table.
There were no changes to the Champion Middle Distance category in March and Jet Dark (48 points) remains in the lead, followed by Puerto Manzano (42), Make It Snappy (32), Nexus (32), and Kommetdieding (24).
Nebraas (20 points) won his second Grade 3 World Sports Betting Caradoc Gold Cup on Saturday and moves to second spot on the Champion Stayer log.
This leaves him marginally below table-topper Salvatore Mundi (23 points) while Arumugam (15), Chrome Yellow (10), and Senso Unico (10), make up the table.
VAR’s champion daughter Via Africa is hogging the limelight in a big way.
The ink had barely dried on the news that her Gr1 winning son In The Congo is to embark on a stallion career, when her yearling daughter sold for a sale-topping A$1.8-million at Day 2 of the Inglis Easter Sale in Sydney.
By The Autumn Sun, a champion son of Redoute’s Choice, the bay filly with three white stockings was purchased by Arrowfield Stud and Hermitage Thoroughbreds.
Arrowfield master John Messara described the filly as “something special”.
“She was an absolute queen, a true athlete,’’ Messara said.
“I think she’s a particularly exciting prospect because of her physical characteristics – she had balance, she had scope, she had substance, she was a great mover, she had everything you look for.
“She’s a very valuable commodity, we paid a lot of money for her.’’
For vendor Rob Petith
of Silverdale, it was an extraordinary result, considering he had purchased the filly for A$600,000 as a weanling.
The filly is Via Africa’s fourth foal. In addition to In The Congo, the mare has produced Pleasant Endeavour, a four-time winner in Hong Kong, while her third foal, a juvenile filly by Vancouver, has yet to make her debut.
Sadly, Via Africa gave birth to a dead foal by In The Congo’s sire Snitzel in early October, but returned to the champion in November.
Diego de Gouveia - didn't look guilty
Why would a jockey risk injury by not ensuring that he was buckled in and all set and ready to jump when the starter pressed the button to open the gates?
The Sporting Post spoke to jockey Diego de Gouveia for his side of the story after the National Horseracing Authority confirmed in a media release that at an Inquiry held at the Vaal Racecourse on 30 March 2023 that De Gouveia was charged with a contravention of Rule 62.2.2.
The particulars being that he rode GREGOR MACGREGOR in an unprofessional manner in Race 7 at Turffontein Racecourse on 21 March 2023, by failing to take all reasonable measures to ensure that he was sufficiently prepared for the start whilst in the stalls and under Starter’s orders, which led to him being unseated when the start was effected.
“I don’t blame the starter. It was a split second – my left foot came out of the stirrups. I screamed ‘wait!’ There was no ways I could have ridden the horse in that position. I would have risked injury to the horse, myself and my colleagues. It was a coincidence of events in double quick time. I pleaded not guilty as there was no malice on my part and it was a genuine racing incident. My colleagues in the stallgates alongside me confirmed hearing me shout,” added a disappointed De Gouveia.
As he confirmed, he pleaded
not guilty but was found guilty of the charge.
The Inquiry Board, after considering the evidence and mitigating factors presented, ruled that Jockey De Gouveia be suspended from riding in races for a period of seven (7) days.
Jockey De Gouveia was given the Right of Appeal against both the finding and the penalty imposed.
This action by the NHA is unprecedented and we cannot recall when any jockey was found guilty in a similar case where he had nothing obvious to gain and only personal injury to risk. How subjective is the decision, when there is no history on the defendant’s part?
De Gouveia reiterated that it was a racing incident – the movement by his horse, his foot slipping out the stirrups and the starter’s hand on the button. How can they not have given him the benefit of the doubt?
Gregor Macgregor, who finished riderless, is trained by JS Roux and was backed from 16-1 to 7-1.
Ascot Stud’s beautifully bred young stallion Heavenly Blue got off the mark as a sire in style when his twoyear-old son Zinovi romped home to win impressively at Turffontein on Tuesday.
Trained, like his sire, by Mike de Kock, Zinovi had finished third on debut before finishing fourth in the Listed Storm Bird Stakes on his only previous
outing. The colt made no mistakes on Tuesday.
Under Kabelo Matsunyane, Zinovi was always going strongly, and he kicked on powerfully close home to get up and win the Play Soccer
6,10 and 13 Maiden Juvenile Plate (1200m) by three parts of a length.
Bred by Danika Stud, the
promising 2yo is out of the Jallad mare Zayna.
Zinovi was a R200 000 buy from the 2022 National Yearling Sale.
He hails from the first crop of his well-performed sire Heavenly Blue, who won the 2017 Gr1 SA Classic over a field which included Gr1 SA Derby winner Al Sahem and
Heavenly Blue is a son of four times Australian champion sire Snitzel, whose growing list of successful sire sons includes proven Gr1 stallions Shamus Award
and Russian Revolution.
Snitzel is also the sire of this year’s Gr1 Longines Golden Slipper winner Shinzo as well as the recently retired Gr1 ATC Golden Rose victor In The Congo.
Heavenly Blue, who is out of a daughter of champion sire El Prado and multiple Gr1 winner Astra, has six lots on offer at this month’s National Yearling Sale.
In John Messara's eyes, the best horse on the Inglis Australian Easter Sale went through the ring after the sun had set on April 4, and he believes the filly was worth the wait and the AU$1.8 million price tag.
Bloodhorse reports that the most expensive of the 26 million-dollar yearlings sold over the two days of Inglis' blue-chip Sydney auction, the filly (Lot 440) just happens to be by The Autumn Sun, a stallion anointed as potentially the successor to his own sire, Redoute's Choice, as well as his paternal brother Snitzel , by Messara.
A three-quarter sister to Gr1 Golden Rose winner In The Congo, a powerful sprinter with the ability to sustain an elite cruising speed, was bought by Messara in partnership with Hermitage Thoroughbreds' Eugene Chuang, who raced her champion five-time group 1-winning sire.
The evening crescendo to the
Easter sale came just 13 Lots after Coolmore paid AU$1.6 million for a Snitzel colt (Lot 427), one of four sevenfigure yearlings Tom Magnier purchased on Tuesday, three of which were by the four-time champion Arrowfield stallion.
Arrowfield principal Messara admitted the stud had been scarcely seen on the buyers' sheet this year, but the breeder saw The Autumn Sun filly as a long-term investment who would eventually join the farm's broodmare band.
"We've been very quiet all year on the shopping side, but she was something a bit special," Messara said.
"She is by our stallion, we're very proud of him, and we are very hopeful about him and she was an absolute queen, a true athlete."
Sheamus Mills, who has built his bloodstock business by acquiring high-end fillies, was the underbidder on the Newhaven Park-bred yearling who was pinhooked
by Silverdale Farm for three times her AU$600,000 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale purchase price.
The sales-topper is the fourth foal out of Via Africa, a champion three-time grade 1-winning South African sprinter.
Her banner son In The Congo was officially retired to Newgate Farm last week at an introductory fee of AU$33,000.
"I didn't see her as a weanling, but I know she sold for AU$600,000 and that was a lot of money for a weanling by an unproven sire, but of course since then he's done quite a bit from very small numbers and our confidence in the stallion has increased," Messara said.
"Then I saw her here and she knocked us out. She had balance, she had scope, she had substance, she was a great mover, she had everything you look for." Ed -
During the various lockdowns, numerous friends and acquaintances sent me spoof race commentaries with Covid themes.
Oscar Foulkes writes that when Claire Balding was on the Graham Norton Show, there was a most entertaining few minutes during which fellow guest Minnie Driver was asked to read out names that the BHA had refused.
The Sprint is interactive –watch the fun Graham Norton Show interview here.
One could confidently say that racehorse names spark some curiosity, if not outright interest, in the mainstream.
In many cases, the naming of the horse may be one of the few pleasures that an owner
gets from his or her ownership. It is for this reason that all Normandy Stud yearlings are sold unnamed. These days, we name only the fillies we retain for stud, as well as the twoyear-olds going to the Ready to Run sale. The reason for this is that the final passport is then in place, and the horse can be entered to race as soon as the starting stall certificate has been issued.
In the early days of our stud, my father had the rule that the name had to begin with the same letter as the dam’s name. Hence, our sensational mare Envious had Envy, Entourage, Expertise, and Enforce, followed by a forgettable list of extremely slow horses, any one of which would have done the name Escargot proud. Similarly, we had Aquanaut and Agitator out of Aquilegia.
Of course, this convention is followed by many breeders in Argentina and Germany, as can be seen by paging through any sales catalogue.
Godfrey Gird’s convention was to go through the alphabet. In Full Flight, Justine and Kendal Green came from successive crops of New South Wales. The ‘L’ year wasn’t kind to Godfrey, and then came Mildenhall, another blank year (for him) in ‘N’, followed by Over the Air. The letter ‘Q’ was taken on solo, but X, Y and Z were lumped together. I don’t think anyone would begrudge him that, because by then Maine Chance was probably breeding a lot more horses.
Sue Magnier names the Coolmore horses, but she
waits for Aidan O’Brien to give the nod before dipping into her reserved list for the best prospects. In South Africa, we have to link a name reservation to a particular foal, whereas they can reserve names for many years, simply by paying a fee.
Bjorn Nielsen tells an entertaining story involving his attendance at a dinner with the Magniers, during which he let slip that he had been able to reserve the name Michelangelo. One can only imagine Mrs Magnier’s emotions at the revelation that someone else had managed to secure this one.
Over 12000 foals are born in Britain and Ireland each year, so finding worthy names gets
difficult. Hence Ben Timover (watch Minnie Driver in the video above).
Seeing as our yearling sales campaign is now complete, we’ve just finished naming our 2021 crop (with the balance, of course, being named by their new owners).
For interest, here they are:
Blowin in the Wind – filly by Querari out of Nordic Wind
I’ve strayed somewhat into John Everett’s territory by using a song title. Let’s just say that I’m a big Bob Dylan fan, and the wind reference was too attractive to pass up. However, we may need to keep her away from Kenilworth when the
south-easter is blowing.
Chakpori – filly by Potala Palace out of Night on the Hill
We got the name Marpori (the name of the hill on which the Potala Palace is built) for her full-sister, and Chakpori is the name of an adjacent hill.
Hospices de Beaune – colt by Erupt out of Good Cause
Built in the 15th century to service the poor and most disadvantaged, this charitable institution is still in existence. One of its sources of funding is the annual Hospices de Beaune auction of Burgundy wines. Good Cause is by Philanthropist, hence the charitable theme in the name.
The wine theme continues with this filly, who bears the name of one of the prime chardonnay-producing villages in Burgundy.
The South African Parliament has seen many red overall eruptions, with points of order being made. Maybe there is yet a route to be explored there, but for now we’ve taken the middle route with Mister Speaker.
Aren’t volcanoes wonders of the natural world?
I struggled with this one. I wasn’t feeling included to explore references to Russia. Quasillo seems to be a special
kind of basket (‘A-tisket A-tasket’ was considered but deemed too niche). Eventually, I strayed to the dark side, by seeing what ChatGPT would come up with. Quasikat was the top choice, and I kind of like it, especially the alliteration.
This is a good point to doff a cap to Chris Saunders’ convention of using alliteration, generally in three parts (e.g. Raise a Raucus and Love of London)
This one was my mother’s suggestion, seeing as Tahini is made from sesame seeds. A slightly off-piste angle is the magical phrase “open sesame”. This filly is smart as a button; when she was a weanling, she worked out how to get herself through the horizontal fence poles. OK, so she never needed to say “open sesame”, but in the mornings when I did my rounds, I’d never know which paddock I’d find her in. Miss Houdini could also have been an option.
This was another one I threw at ChatGPT for fun. Top suggestion was Wordly One (anyone with a One World is welcome to use this, btw). I decided on Worldly, because it’s shorter, and I kind of like using one-word adjectives for horse names.
I’m sure there are times that commentators wish that names also have to approved by them. For the most part, these are commentator friendly, so I think we’re ok on that front.
Over to you, Jehan, Alistair, Craig, Clyde, Sheldon, Nico, Brandon, Devon, Rouvaun … or, dare I say, Richard Hoiles?
Godfrey Gird and New South Wales
Weighted To Win’s Darryl Maree was the Day 4 winner in the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge Racing Stars competition, after a tricky day at the office on the Turffontein card on Tuesday.
“After the first few days of racing, I thought I was out at the weights, but after today I could well be weighted to win!” quipped the man who is widely regarded as one of the most astute form studiers in the country.
Darryl shaded Gqeberha galloper Neil Pretorius, with KZN handicapper David Thiselton back in third.
showed good improvement today in fourth, with the enigmatically talented Gr1 star Shaheen Shaw flashing in fifth, and suggesting that it could be a massive Day 5 at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Wednesday.
Have a look at the top 10 on the daily and progressive logs Computaform’s Germaine Maharaj is clinging on to a narrow lead in the overall standings after 4 days.
The new fun competition hosted within the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge platform for South Africa’s racing presenters, personalities, commentators
and journalists pits the faces and voices of racing against each other, competing on every South African race meeting, covering KZN, Western Cape, Gauteng, and Eastern Cape.
The racing public are reminded that the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge is available on all local racemeetings, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore.
It’s free to enter and is your chance to take on the professionals!
Next stop was Hollywoodbets Kenilworth today.
While he may have turned 24 this year, there is no lessening of the impact of top US stallion Medaglia D'Oro.
The son of El Prado continues to make his presence felt as a sire, sire of sires and broodmare sire.
Medaglia D'Oro's once beaten son Violence looks set to make his mark on the US Triple Crown races this year, with Violence's champion son Forte running out a convincing
winner of Saturday's Gr1 Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n Dale Farms at Xalapa at Gulfstream Park. Last year's US champion two-year-old colt made it six wins from seven starts when defying a wide draw to score a one length win.
Winner of the Gr1 Hopeful Stakes, Gr1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and Gr1 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at two, Forte had
captured the Gr2 Fountain Of Youth Stakes while making his three-year-old debut and now ranks favourite for this year's Gr1 Kentucky Derby.
Another son of Violence, Raise Cain, stamped his own potential Derby claims when he landed the recent Gr3 Gotham Stakes by seven and a half lengths.
Violence, sire of 42 stakes winners thus far and six Gr1 winners, is having a fine season this year, with the
Gr1CashCall Futurity winner also sire of 2023 Gr2 San Pasqual Stakes winner Newgrange.
However, Violence is by no means the only son of his sire to make a name for himself at stud in recent times.
Medaglia D'Oro's dual Gr1 winning son Bolt D'Oro was Leading First-Crop Sire, by earnings, in North America last year, while the sire's Gr1 ATC Golden Rose Stakes winning son Astern is responsible for this season's Gr1 Neds Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile and fellow smart Australian three-year-old Aft Cabin.
Medaglia D'Oro has a number of promising three-year-olds this year. His three-year-old son Ultimate Gamble was named a TDN Rising Star following an impressive maiden win at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Another promising sophomore by the veteran sire is Botanical, who rates a leading contender for the 2023 Gr1 Kentucky Oaks following her facile win in the Listed Bourbonette Oaks.
Should she win the Kentucky Oaks, Botanical will become the third daughter of Medaglia D'Oro to do so, following Rachel Alexandra and Plum Pretty.
Medaglia D'Oro is also sire of Hong Kong superstar Golden Sixty who won both the Gr1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup
and Gr1 Stewards Cup this year.
Broodmare sire of Saturday's Sand Springs Stakes winner Marketsegmentation (American Pharoah), Medaglia D'Oro has also firmly established himself as a high-class broodmare sire.
His daughters have already produced more than 70 stakes winners. including Gr1 winners Santin, Rock Fall, Competitionofideas, Olympiad and Rachel's Valentina. The latter was produced by Medaglia D'Oro's champion daughter Rachel Alexandra, winner of the classic Gr1 Preakness Stakes in 2009.
Medaglia D'Oro has also made his mark in South Africa through several broodmare daughters. His multiple stakes winning daughter Mina Salaam is dam of Gr3 Wilgerbosdrift Tommy Hotspur Handicap/Gr3 Gauteng Tourism Authority Magnolia Handicap heroine True To Life (Duke Of Marmalade) as well as recent maiden winner Hazlo Grande (Erupt).
Another daughter of the stallion, Society Pages, is the dam of Listed Secretariat Stakes winner Bon Vivant (William Longsword).
Both Mina Salaam and Society Pages have yearlings on offer at this year's National Yearling Sale, with Mina Salaam represented by an Erupt filly and Society Pages has a William Longsword colt.
Hans Andersen wins the 2000 Guineas Trial
Flat racing started with a bang in Ireland at Leopardstown racecourse over the weekend. Three Classic trials were contested on ground officially described as heavy.
Irish champion trainer Aidan O’Brien is in fine form so early into the new season, with eight winners in the first week. Those included victories in both the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas Trials on Sunday with Never Ending Story and Hans Andersen.
First up for Ballydoyle came Frankel colt Hans Andersen, who wrote himself into the Classic picture with a facile victory over Bold Discovery in the Gr3 Ballylinch Stud 'Red Rocks' 2,000 Guineas Trial Stakes.
The odds-on favourite was ridden in fourth early but quickened smartly to collar stablemate Carracci a furlong and a half out, before being kept up to his work when idling in front, to score by two and a half lengths.
O'Brien said: “I’m delighted with him. He could be an Irish Guineas horse or a French Derby horse and that’s what we are looking at. He had experience from last year and he quickened up well.”
“He’s obviously a good ground horse, he moves very long and low. That’s not his ground but he got through it. It’s never going to suit every horse all the time, but at least
he got started.”
Half an hour later, O’Brien won his 12th 1,000 Guineas Trial with Never Ending Story. The 2-1 favourite was much the best of what looked a competitive field beforehand, and she quickened up smartly under Ryan Moore from midfield to score easily by two and a half lengths.
The daughter of Dubawi looks to have more improvement to come judged on the post-race comments of her trainer and could be a player in the Irish or French 1,000 Guineas.
O'Brien noted: “She hasn’t really come to herself yet, but when she does, she will gush. She's just not there yet, you can see it in her coat that she's not there.”
O'Brien added: “She can go to one of the Guineas and then stepping up in trip after that shouldn’t be a problem to her. The plan is for Meditate to go straight to Newmarket and she could go for one of the other Guineas. We will go gently on her.”
Later on the card, Aidan O’Brien saddled three of the six colts in the Gr3 Ballysax Stakes, run over 10-furlongs. A race O’Brien has often targeted for his Epsom hopes, it was not to be this year.
Rank outsider White Birch was a gutsy and deserved winner for trainer John Joseph Murphy and rider Shane Foley. He travelled strongly at
the rear of the field in a race run at a good pace. Once into the home straight the pacemaker started to weaken, and it looked like the oddson favourite Alexandroupolis, trained by O’Brien, would land the odds. He tired in the conditions, however, and it was left to White Birch and Up And Under to fight out the finish, with the grey son of Ulysses finding plenty close home to win by half a length.
Jockey Foley commented post-race: “It wasn't necessarily a surprise to me. I've ridden him in his work over the last couple of weeks and I've really liked him. He's a gorgeous horse.”
“I knew down around the bottom bend that I was getting to them, and he actually picked up better than I expected, and I ended up getting there a little bit too soon. He really is a nice horse.”
Assistant trainer Murphy added: “He could be a very exciting horse. He doesn't have any Classic entries, but he could get some yet! We’ll see how he comes out of this and make a plan from there.”
