False Affair
This year’s J&B Met was rather marred as the starting stalls opened prematurely when roughly half the field had loaded. Luckily none of the ‘escapees’ traveled too far, but it isn’t something that should ever happen, and least of all prior to one of our premier showcase events.
So it was good to receive a NHA press release last week giving information about the investigation into these events. There was no technical fault involved, but simply good old human error. It seems the problem arose “as a result of the Starter accidentally leaning on the start button before all the horses had been loaded”. Glad he isn’t in charge of launching the Space Shuttle then!
The Starter has been given an unspecified sanction in terms of the NHA staff code. The press release goes on to recommend that “the starting staff has also been instructed to test the starting stalls before the start of every race”. Especially before the MET boys…

The Wheel Turns
As is well known the last few years haven’t been exactly a golden age for KZN based trainers, with virtually all the major prizes of their season being pillaged back to the Cape and Gauteng.
However fortunes tend to run in cycles, and there have been a few promising sorts making their presence felt in recent meetings. The Herman Brown yard has really turned the corner of late, and their 3yo Galileo colt Absolute Heretic completed the hat trick last Friday night at Greyville.
He encouragingly found another gear late to defeat some seasoned older rivals after seemingly coming under pressure, and seems certain to line up for the forthcoming bigger KZN 3yo events. Where he will face a rigorous examination against the likes of Pierre Jourdan, Bravura, and Noordhoek Flyer.
Another to really catch the eye was Alastair Gordon’s Juvenile debutante Tuscan Sky, who hacked up at Scottsville on Sunday. The first winner produced by the extremely speedy Tuscan Elegance, this son of Al Mufti won in the manner of a very decent sort, even if the strength of the opposition appeared questionable.
Dennis Drier has the undefeated and so far unextended Val De Ra waiting in the wings. It’s worth remembering that the 3yo daughter of Var played with subsequent Listed UAE Oaks winner Raihana on debut, after the De Kock inmate had been heavily supported into 8/10.
Raihana’s next mission will reportedly be the UAE Derby on World Cup night, where she will go up against her illustrious stable mate Musir(as well as a few other useful equines!) Which only serves to underline the high regard in which she is held.
Back to Val De Ra, and she could hardly have been more impressive a month ago when destroying her field after a seven month absence. That break was partly due to a three month suspension after breaking blood vessels, and we can only hope that that problem never recurs in the future. Touch wood.

Supersize Me
The question of whether size matters is one that has troubled mankind for many a generation. When it comes to horses there appears to be no real hard and fast rule(no pun intended). Legendary stallion Northern Dancer stood only 15.2 hands high, but his impact on the modern history of the thoroughbred can hardly be overstated.
Unruly when at the races, he came close to being gelded as a result, but luckily the owner stood firm against his trainers wishes! Like his sire and grand sire Nearctic and Nearco he had a well documented mean streak, another common factor often evident in true winners, both human and otherwise.
Lyphard and The Minstrel were among the many champions sired by the Dancer, and both were in the ‘pocket rocket’ category, standing not much above 15 hands themselves.
Generally in most sport a good big one will beat a good little one. The Lionel Messi type will need to be a little exceptional in order to excel. A recent case in point in our racing was provided by the keen rivalry between Mother Russia and Sparkling Gem during their 3yo careers, where there was little to choose between them.
Conventional wisdom at the time had it that the strapping ’Gem would get better and better as she grew into that huge physique, while the ‘ironing board’ like Mother Russia would plateau early due to her lack of stature.
Quite the opposite has occurred, and in the space of the past three months Mother Russia has won two Gr1’s and a Gr2, with ironically the only defeat being perhaps her finest performance. That was her brilliant Met runner up slot when she jumped from the very worst draw. Mother Russia’s only currently credible rival among our active females is now River Jetez.
Of course it’s far too early to write off Sparkling Gem, and her only really disappointing effort this term was a recent unplaced effort in the Prix Du Cap. That was at the conclusion of a busy summer schedule, and she will surely come back refreshed after a short break prior to the KZN season.