Gold Cup (SAf-G1) (8/2)
Greyville, SA, August 2, R1.2m, 3200m, turf, good, 3.20.37 (CR 3.18.00).
DESERT LINKS (SAF), 57.0, b g 5, Kahal (GB) - Selborne Park (SAF) by Home Guard. Owner EA Braun, EG Bouwer, PS Loomes and SP Marcus; breeder Gainsborough Stud (SAF); trainer B Marcus; jockey G Cheyne (750.000)
Membrado (ARG), 53.0, ch g 5, Roy - Melody Girl by Solford
Omaha Beach (SAF), 55.0, b g 7, Allied Flag - Joy Of Spring (SAF) by Sharp Romance
Margins: 1¼, 1½, ½
Also ran: Magical Ballad (SAF) 52.0, Ser De Carrera (ARG) 52.5, Equal Image (ARG) 58.0, Prince Asad (SAF) 55.0, Floatyourboat (SAF) 58.0, River Jetez (SAF) 56.0, Long Dollar (SAF) 52.5, Winona (SAF) 53.5, Likeithot (SAF) 56.0, Bill Of Rights (SAF) 56.5, Jagged Ice (SAF) 55.0, Master Of Note (SAF) 52.0, Bayete (SAF) 52.0, Meteor Shower (IRE) 52.0, Pick Six (SAF) 57.0, Autumn Frost (SAF) 52.5

Gr1 Champions Cup (SAf-G1) (7/26)

Buy And Sell has perhaps not been the model of reliability in 2008, but on a good day he sure can mix it with the best of them. The four-year-old ended his KZN campaign in great style at Clairwood on Saturday, beating what was probably the strongest field to contest the 1800m Champions Cup for many a moon, writes Matthew Lips.

In truth the race was vaguely disappointing, with the early pace not quite what one would have hoped for in a contest of this stature, and it didn’t do Dancer’s Daughter’s chances any good that the joint Vodacom Durban July winner fell asleep in the gates and lost several lengths at the break, but this is in no way intended to detract from the winner. The others had their chances, and didn’t take them.
The Champions Cup was primarily billed as a rematch between the July dead-heaters Pocket Power and Dancer’s Daughter, but there was more to it than that. It is a conditions race, with penalties accrued for previous Graded races won, and as such the likes of Buy And Sell and Imbongi came into it with very real chances at the weights. You can’t blame Gold Circle for playing it up as the race which would decide the horse-of-the-year title, but that didn’t fool backers of Buy And Sell as Sean Tarry’s gelding attracted plenty of support at bigger prices to start as a 7/1 chance. Pocket Power, of course, remained the popular favourite to register his fourth Gr1 win of the season, with Dancer’s Daughter (who was looking for her fifth success at the highest level) the second favourite ahead of Imbongi. The rest were not given much chance by most serious bettors.
It was Wonder Lawn who took them through the early stages at an unhurried tempo, showing the way ahead of Surfin’ USA as Buy And Sell came across from his wide draw to slot perfectly into third place. Our Giant and Silver Mist were next in line as Pocket Power waited in around midfield and the slow-starting Dancer’s Daughter raced further back. Surfin’ USA was quick to reel in Wonder Lawn once in the straight, where the Champions Cup inevitably turned into something of a sprint, but Buy And Sell was in the perfect position to strike. Taken to the inside fence by Weichong Marwing, Tarry’s charge picked off Surfin’ USA coming to the last 200m and went for home. Pocket Power was starting to unwind a strong challenge wider out, but it was too late. He was making good headway throughout the last furlong, but he had been caught a little flat-footed when the speed was turned on early in the straight and failed by half-a-length to collar Buy And Sell.
Surfin’ USA ran very well to hold third place from Dancer’s Daughter. Nothing much went right for Justin Snaith’s filly at any stage of proceedings, but she ran on very well to finish where she did and, considering that she was much less favoured by these weights than those of the Vodacom Durban July, she probably didn’t run below form in fourth. That she should have been even closer says a good deal about her class, and there was no disgrace in this performance whatsoever. The real disappointment was Imbongi, who had the beating of Dancer’s Daughter at the weights if judged on their form in the Gr1 Gold Challenge at Clairwood in June. He was never seen with a chance in a race which didn’t really put a great deal of emphasis on his slightly suspect stamina, and as such the distance alone doesn’t seem to explain his effort. He is certainly better than this.
A stronger pace would doubtless have suited Pocket Power, but when all is said and done he was conceding 3.5 kgs to a winner who had gone close to landing the 2007 July and there really wasn’t a great deal wrong with the favourite’s effort, either. Buy And Sell may have become vaguely enigmatic, but his trainer was adamant that he would leave his most recent July effort (where Buy And Sell raced too keenly early on from a wide draw) behind him. In terms of merit ratings, Buy And Sell was only 1kg out with Pocket Power in the Champions Cup compared to what would have been the case in a handicap, and while he undoubtedly enjoyed the run of the race he was scarcely a “fluke” winner.
“He rode a copybook race,” said Tarry afterwards, adding that, “Weichong made the difference.” Tarry was less than impressed that Buy And Sell had largely been written off after one “poor run” in the July, but those who helped themselves to the double figure prices offered in the Champions Cup ante-post market had plenty to be grateful for. Presumably, Buy And Sell will now be put away for the big Gauteng and Cape races of the summer.
Buy And Sell is a son of National Emblem. He is the second foal and second Gr1 winner produced by Qui Danzig mare Trade Enquiry. The winner of nine races up to 1600m including two Listed events (one of which is now a Gr 3), Trade Enquiry is the dam also of Gr 1 Woolavington 2200 winner Count The Money. Bred by Bruce and Nadine Le Roux at their Spring Valley Stud in KZN, Buy And Sell was acquired for R300 000 on the select night of the 2005 National Yearling Sale. He has won six of his 17 starts and earned R1 852 625 for his owner Chris van Niekerk, who was not on hand to greet his latest Gr1 hero.

Clairwood, SA, July 26, R500k, 1800m, turf, good, 1.47.76 (CR 1.45.69).
BUY AND SELL (SAF), 54.5, b c 4, National Emblem (SAF) - Trade Enquiry (SAF) by Qui Danzig. Owner CJH van Niekerk; breeder B & Mrs Le Roux (SAF); trainer SG Tarry; jockey W Marwing (312.500)
Pocket Power (SAF), 58.0, b c 5, Jet Master (SAF) - Stormsvlei (SAF) by Prince Florimund (SAF)
Surfin' Usa (SAF), 53.0, b c 4, Modern Day - Palm Beach Gold (SAF) by Golden Thatch (IRE)
Margins: ½, sh hd, ¾
Also ran: Dancer's Daughter (GB) 56.5, Imbongi (SAF) 53.5, Silver Mist (SAF) 53.0, Wonder Lawn (SAF) 53.5, Our Giant (AUS) 57.5, Altius (IRE) 53.0, Hunting Tower (SAF) 56.0, Tropical Empire (AUS) 53.0, Appelate Court (SAF) 53.5, Gilded Minaret (SAF) 50.5, Buscador (SAF) 53.0, Likeithot (SAF) 53.0, Galant Gagnant (SAF) 52.0

Gr1 Premiers Champion S. (SAf-G1) (7/26)

Rocks Off could next be seen gallivanting around Nad al Sheba after he put up an impressive display in the Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m at Clairwood on Saturday, writes Matthew Lips.

The Argentine-bred two-year-old has carried a big reputation with him from day one and was the very impressive winner of a 1200m maiden at Scottsville on debut, only to be disappointingly beaten at odds of 5/10 in an ordinary juvenile race over 1500m at Clairwood thereafter. However, we know only too well that Mike de Kock’s horses are always capable of lifting their game considerably in big races and Rocks Off put that defeat firmly behind him here.
Forest Path – a stable companion to Rocks Off – had made all the running from a wide draw to end the unbeaten run of Warm White Night in the Gr1 Golden Horseshoe at Greyville three weeks earlier and was favourite here to complete a Gr 1 double. Warm White Night was back for another crack at the Oppenheimer colt and went off as the second favourite, with Rocks Off a well-supported third choice of punters.
Forest Path once again attempted to lead throughout and quickly went off to set a strong pace clear of Kings Cross and Sporting Boy, with Caramel King and Los Colmos next in line. Rocks Off and Warm White Night were both held up in the bunch as Forest Path continued to blaze a trail up front. The leader still appeared to be travelling strongly racing into the last 300m as those who had raced closest to him fell away one by one, but Forest Path began to feel his exertions as they approached the 200m pole. The writing was now on the wall for the favourite. Rocks Off had started to make quick progress along the inside rail and soon had his stable companion’s measure, sailing past Forest Path and going on to win by a very easy 2.25 lengths under Kevin Shea.
Cerise Cherry stayed on well to get closest to Rocks Off at the line, making it four Graded Stakes seconds for Paul Matchett’s colt after he had chased Warm White Night home on three successive occasions earlier in the season. Bush Pirate was staying on nicely to finish one length further back in third and a short head in front of the weakening Forest Path. Warm White Night was in trouble a long way out, never picking up under pressure, and was most disappointing. It is hard to know how to explain this fall from grace by a colt who looked a division above his contemporaries two months earlier, but it is possible that he doesn’t stay this far and he may also have gone over the top. Vertical Takeoff, previously unbeaten and conqueror of Rocks Off a fortnight previously, made no show from his wide draw and finished unplaced.
Rocks Off has bounded to the head of the juvenile males’ division with this thoroughly impressive display. Owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum – the man who has done so much to put De Kock on the international stage – Rocks Off seems unlikely to remain in South Africa now that he has confirmed that he is indeed a colt of outstanding potential.
“I just think this horse will get better and better,” was De Kock’s take on Rocks Off. “I was confident he would stay,” added the trainer. Some had expressed doubts as to whether a son of Orpen (sire also of exported Gr 1 sprinter War Artist) would get a mile, but Rocks Off won a strongly-run Premier’s as if he would see out even more ground. Wherever his future lies, he promises to do great things. Rocks Off has the pedigree to be special. Out of the Java Gold mare Lava Gold, he is the half brother to two Gr 1 winners in his native Argentina. He has won twice from three starts, for R367 125 in stakes, but that may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Clairwood, SA, July 26, R500k, 1600m, turf, good, 1.35.30 (CR 1.33.16).
ROCKS OFF (ARG), 57.0, br c 2, Orpen - Lava Gold by Java Gold. Owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum; breeder Haras Arroyo de Luna (ARG); trainer MF de Kock; jockey K Shea (R312.500)
Cerise Cherry (SAF), 57.0, ch c 2, Goldkeeper - Cherry Girl (SAF) by Pochard (ARG)
Bush Pirate (SAF), 57.0, b c 2, Russian Revival - Secret Position (SAF) by Pole Position (GB)
Margins: 2¼, 1, nose
Also ran: Forest Path (SAF) 57.0, Vertical Takeoff (SAF) 57.0, Predestination (AUS) 57.0, Warm White Night (SAF) 57.0, Mount Hood (SAF) 57.0, Commissionerstreet (AUS) 57.0, Beach Club (SAF) 57.0, Los Colmos (SAF) 57.0, Gangsta Fury (SAF) 57.0, Kings Cross (SAF) 57.0, Secret Life (SAF) 57.0, Sporting Boy (SAF) 57.0, Caramel King (SAF) 57.0

Gr1 Thekwini Fillies S (SAf-G1) (7/26)

The speed with which racing’s wheel of fortune can turn is sometimes astonishing A few short weeks ago, Ashburton-based trainer Duncan Howells was enduring one of the longest dry spells of his career and tearing his hair out in great big clumps, writes Matthew Lips.

hen, it all changed. Three winners from three runners at a Greyville night meeting were followed eight days later by a Gr1 success when Gypsy’s Warning unleashed a terrific turn of foot to land the Thekwini Fillies Stakes for 2yos over 1600m at Clairwood on Saturday.
The absence of Consensual (who was withdrawn two days earlier) left the Thekwini without a previous Gr 1 winner and gave the race a wide open look, but the next seven finishers from the Gr1 Golden Slipper won by Consensual on Vodacom Durban July day were all in attendance. Gypsy’s Warning had finished an excellent third there, but she is evidently one of those horses who never attracts the attention of punters and she was allowed to start the Thekwini at Tote odds of around 25/1. Despite being twice Graded Stakes placed earlier in her career, she has never started a race at single-figure odds and was 50/1 when she won on debut in April. Maybe now she will get the respect that she has earned?
There was plenty of support at long prices for the likes of Mother Russia, Jet Scent and Kiribati in a wide open market, with ante-post favourite Zirconeum (who was drawn almost on the highway which runs parallel to the Clairwood back stretch) taking a big walk in the betting. That didn’t stop her from launching a massive attack on the winner’s cheque, though, even if she did not quite succeed in the end.
Winterinthewoods had won a Gr2 at Greyville with frontrunning tactics in her previous start and attempted the same thing here. She set a good pace from the start, showing the way ahead of Her Excellency and Mother Russia, with New Girlfriend and She’s So Cold next in line. Kiribati followed them in turn as Zirconeum and Gypsy’s Warning were held up well off the pace. Mother Russia was the first to strike as Winterinthewoods began to weaken 300m out and briefly picked it up, but Zirconeum was starting to unleash a big run wider out. The latter was inclined to wander to her left as she came through to challenge, but still comfortably got the better of Mother Russia inside the last 200m.
Zirconeum easily opened up a decent lead and looked a likely winner coming to the final 100m or so, but wide out Gypsy’s Warning was storming home under Richard Fourie. She gobbled up the leeway with every stride to collar Zirconeum in the dying strides and win by a neck. Mother Russia was 2.25 lengths further away in third, with Goat coming from last of the 16 starters on the final turn to be beaten a total of 3.25 lengths into fourth. Mother Russia aside, the rest of the first four finishers had all contested the Golden Slipper and one can only speculate about how Consensual would have fared in the Thekwini, but the winner put up an eye-catching display to beat what opposition still remained and is obviously a very smart filly.
This was Gypsy’s Warning’s first try at 1600m, and she loved every inch of it. She may get further still as a 3yo, given that her dam is the full sister to a pair of SA Oaks winners, but her temperament is a possible cause for concern. “She’s a very difficult filly,” said her trainer. A good pace here helped her settle in the early stages, but she appeared to have been left with an awful lot of ground to make up and Howells admitted afterwards that during the race he didn’t think she had a hope of winning. She has the turn of foot of a good horse, though, and could be a very interesting prospect in the big fillies’ races of the new season.
It is not every day that a Gr 1 winner is bred out of a mare who finished motherless last in her only visit to the racecourse, but that is the case with Gypsy’s Warning. Her dam, the Royal Chalice mare Gypsy Queen, was given her chance at stud no doubt because the is the full sister to Oaks heroines Royal Prophecy and Noble Destiny. This is just as well, because in addition to Gypsy’s Warning she has produced three other multiple winners from 4 previous foals incl. Gr2 winner Surabi. Gypsy’s Warning is from the second crop of unraced Storm Cat stallion Mogok, and became her sire’s first Gr 1 winner. Bred in KZN by Bernard and Wendy McHardy’s Rathmor Stud, Gypsy’s Warning was acquired for R170 000 at the 2006 National Yearling Sale and has won twice from five starts for R309 375 in stakes.

Clairwood, SA, July 26, R, 1600m, turf, good, 1.35.95 (CR 1.33.16).
GYPSY'S WARNING (SAF), 57.0, b f 2, Mogok - Gypsy Queen (SAF) by Royal Chalice (SAF). Ownr RA Griffiths; brdr Rathmor (SAF); trnr DC Howells; jcky R Fourie (R218.750)
Zirconeum (SAF), 57.0, b f 2, Jallad - Sweet Sheila (AUS) by Kenmare (FR)
Mother Russia (SAF), 57.0, b f 2, Windrush - Russian Muse (SAF) by Russian Fox
Margins: neck, 2¼, ¾
Also ran: Goat (SAF) 57.0, Thin Red Line (AUS) 57.0, Lady Windermere (SAF) 57.0, Kiribati (SAF) 57.0, Jet Scent (SAF) 57.0, Street Cred () 57.0, She's So Cold (ARG) 57.0, Golden Scold (BRZ) 57.0, Sunningdale (ANY) 57.0, Rock Concert (SAF) 57.0, New Girlfriend (SAF) 57.0, Winterinthewoods (SAF) 57.0, Her Excellency (AUS) 57.0

Gr1 Mercury Sprint (SAf-G1) (7/20)

J J The Jet Plane had been so hugely impressive when winning the Golden Horse Casino Sprint under 60kgs seven weeks earlier that he looked virtually impossible to oppose on the WFA terms of the 1200m Mercury Sprint at Clairwood on Sunday, writes Matthew Lips.

He went off as the 7/10 favourite, after touching what could reasonably be considered to have been a generous 8/10 at one point. Rat Burana, who had won the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint at Scottsville on a faster time than that recorded by J J The Jet Plane in the Golden Horse on the same card, went off as the second choice of punters. Extinct, jumping in class and one of only three horses in the 15 runner field whose merit rating didn’t run to three digits, attracted plenty of attention at bigger prices.
There really isn’t much to say about the race itself. J J The Jet Plane hopped out smartly, led from a long way out, and never looked like losing. Mentor, American Emblem and Rebel King showed up prominently in the early stages, with Senjor Josh further back, but one by one the opposition came under serious pressure. They were virtually all off the bit with 400m still to cover – except, naturally, for J J The Jet Plane. The odds-on favourite was making the business of winning a Gr 1 race look no more complicated than a Sunday afternoon saunter in the park, while the rest were flat to the boards behind him. Piere Strydom has rarely had to do so little in return for a healthy pay cheque and he simply kept J J pointed in the right direction. It was race over a long way out, and the favourite simply bounded away to win like a horse who was simply in a different class to everything else.
Rebel King stayed on to finish second ahead of Port Elizabeth raider Senjor Josh, who caused the surprise of the race by finishing third at 100/1 and more than paying for cost of the transport. Rat Burana stayed on late to finish fourth, but she got going when the race was long over and never looked like getting nearer. She ran more or less to her merit rating, so there is not a ton of evidence to suggest she is really a whole lot better than this, and the perils of using raw race times to try and analyse horses’ chances vis-à-vis each other was again well illustrated. Extinct was never seen with a chance, finishing much nearer last than first.
This is widely expected to have marked J J The Jet Plane’s last appearance in South Africa. Assorted rumours about his immediate future have been bandied about for a while, but the likeliest option is that he will now join Mike de Kock for an international career. His first major port of call is widely touted to be the Gr 1 Hong Kong International Sprint in December, with a European campaign in 2009 as a longer-term goal. Last season’s Mercury Sprint winner War Artist has already finished second and third in Gr 1 races in the UK this year, and few would argue that on the evidence of their South African form J J The Jet Plane is the better horse. War Artist was also only aged three when he won the Mercury Sprint and may very well be better now than he was then, but J J The Jet Plane has also continued to get better and is entitled to be even more talented at four than he has been at three. That is a fairly awesome thought.
Trainer and part-owner Lucky Houdalakis has done a superb job in keeping J J on the boil throughout the season, without a really extended break. His gelding looked full of the joys of life at Clairwood, on his toes in the preliminaries and bounding to the start in a fashion which must have further dented whatever hopes opposing connections might have harboured of beating him. He looked a cut above both before and during the race, and he deserved no less. A son of the all-conquering Jet Master out of the Northern Guest mare Majestic Guest, J J The Jet Plane was bred by Patricia Devine and was acquired for what now seems an almost ridiculous R70 000 at the 2006 National Two Year Old Sale. He has won seven of his ten starts, for R1 768 250 in stakes.

Clairwood, SA, July 20, R500k, 1200m, turf, good, 1.07.07ncr (CR 1.67.67).
J J THE JET PLANE (SAF), 57.5, b c 3, Jet Master (SAF) - Majestic Guest (SAF) by Northern Guest. Owner HSN du Preez, CF Strydom, L Houdelakis & CD Boyaens; breeder PJ Devine (SAF); trainer M Houdelakis; jockey P Strydom (312.500)
Rebel King (SAF), 58.0, ch c 4, National Emblem (SAF) - Cousin Linda (SAF) by Badger Land
Senjor Josh (SAF), 57.5, b c 3, Joshua Dancer - Suriqui (SAF) by Exclusive Patriot
Margins: 4, 1¾, 1¾
Also ran: Rat Burana (BRZ) 55.0, Mentor (SAF) 58.0, Blue Tiger (SAF) 57.5, Escobar (SAF) 58.0, Kilcoy Castle (SAF) 57.5, O Caesour (SAF) 58.0, American Emblem (SAF) 57.5, Good Thing (SAF) 58.0, Extinct (SAF) 58.0, Something Else (SAF) 58.0, Lightning Lecture (SAF) 58.0, Northern Frontier (SAF) 57.5

Vodacom Durban July (SAf-G1) (7/5)

Power Dancing

The 2008 Vodacom Durban July, as always, promised much. It delivered more than usual. Two winners, for the price of one. When the dust had settled, the race had produced its first dead-heat for first place since 1967, and only the second in its history. The camera could not separate Pocket Power from Dancer’s Daughter, and impartial observers could surely be unanimous in their belief that this was the best possible result. As joint winning jockey Kevin Shea put it, “it’s amazing for racing.”... writes MATTHEW LIPS

The race had been widely labelled by most pundits as an open affair, loaded with imponderable factors, but come post time bookmakers were taking no chances with Pocket Power. They were betting 8/1 bar one, with the horse-of-the-year a 28/10 favourite, considerably skinnier than the 33/10 and 7/2 available even 24 hours earlier. Dancer’s Daughter went 8/1, seemingly in one foul swoop from the 11/2 offered in the days leading up to the race. Every man and his cat was suddenly finding reasons why she couldn’t win (“she won’t stay, she pulls too hard, Weichong Marwing didn’t want to ride her,” etc. etc.).
Those who stuck with the grey through all that blather were rewarded, even if it was only with half a win. Ditto those who saw past the excuses offered in advance for Pocket Power (“he’s not suited to Greyville, he should have won his last start by half the racecourse, he has never won outside of Cape Town,” etc. etc.). You have to love the July. Even in an era when horse racing’s profile in the cosmic scheme of things has dropped to somewhere only marginally above underwater polo and badminton, this race has not lost the power to generate almost as much nonsense as the mad hatter’s tea party.
Many had anticipated that Piere Strydom would take Eddington to the front from his wide draw, but that idea was soon knocked on the head with a baseball bat as the Gr1 GommaGomma Challenge winner was reined in well off the early pace. Instead, it was Russian Sage who came across from an even wider gate and set a solid pace from Buy And Sell and Strategic News, with Bound By Honour and Floatyourboat trading places behind that. Pocket Power found himself a nice spot on the rail in around midfield, while Kevin Shea – cooler than the iceberg which doomed the Titanic – had Dancer’s Daughter racing with only about four of her 19 rivals behind her. Importantly, though, she settled nicely enough and certainly didn’t do the imitation of a runaway locomotive that many of her detractors were expecting.
2007 winner Hunting Tower was, as ever, also racing well off the pace, with Silver Mist and Lion’s Blood amongst the back markers as Russian Sage continued to set a solid tempo. The pace was probably just right – not slow, not suicidal, - and was never likely to offer a particularly valid excuse for any of the defeated. Russian Sage was still travelling strongly as he led the field into the straight, and the 400m dash for glory. Buy And Sell soon wavered and rapidly dismissed any ideas that he could go one better on his second place finish of twelve months earlier, but Pocket Power immediately responded when asked for an effort and 200m out was bang in the thick of things as Russian Sage’s brave run effectively came to an end. Dancer’s Daughter was now in full cry as well. Switched out around rivals early in the straight, the filly went past rivals at a rate of knots wider out. Bound By Honour, handy throughout, remained very much in contention and indeed even led briefly as Russian Sage retreated.
Pocket Power had the measure of Bound By Honour coming to the last 100m, but Dancer’s Daughter was another matter. The favourite led narrowly in the closing stages, but Dancer’s Daughter was virtually alongside and looked as if she would go on by for an outright win. Pocket Power isn’t a champion for nothing, though. He hadn’t come this far only to finish second and gave his all to the urgings of Bernard Fayd’Herbe, refusing to let the lady go by. Dancer’s Daughter threw everything into the task at hand, but simply could not deliver that one last lunge that would have carried her past Pocket Power. They reached the line as one, and then the agonising wait began as the judge looked long and hard at the photo.
For Kevin Shea in particular this must have seemed like déjà vu all over again. It was eight years ago that he sweated through what seemed to be an interminable wait only to learn that his mount Young Rake had failed by a hair’s breadth to collar El Picha. This time, after another excruciating wait, the dead-heat light started to flash and the honours divided after one of the most memorable finishes in the long history of this great race.
Bound By Honour ran the race of his life to finish one length away in third, faring comfortably best of the four Sean Tarry-trained entries after most pundits put him in third or even fourth place in the stable’s pecking order. River Jetez, who had looked briefly dangerous, couldn’t quite get to grips with the main protagonists where it mattered most but ran very well to finish fourth, little more than a length behind her stable companion and older full brother Pocket Power. She at least fared a good deal better in this race than most winners of the Gr2 Astrapak 1900, but her partner Jeff Lloyd will have to endure another long plane ride from his new home in Australia if he is ever to break his Vodacom Durban July duck.
Desert Links ran on strongly to finish fifth, beaten 1.60 lengths by the winners, underlining yet again just how well he does in Durban. Russian Sage eventually finished seventh, beaten 3.35 lengths, with a short head further away to Wendywood. The latter hardly ran a poor race for a filly having only her third career start and who made her debut barely six weeks earlier. She remains an interesting prospect for next season. Defending champ Hunting Tower could only finish tenth this time around, but he at least got the better of his stable companion Pick Six for a second July in succession. She’s On Fire, chosen by Marwing over Dancer’s Daughter, was never seen with a chance and came home in the middle of the pack. Eddington trailed in a lonely last and seems a much better horse on soft ground. The winners’ time was within around 0.30 secs of Trademark’s course and race record, suggesting a properly run July.
This marked a third July win for Pocket Power’s trainer Mike Bass, who sent out Trademark in 2001 and Dunford in 2005, and a first for Bernard Fayd’Herbe. In the Dancer’s Daughter camp, it was a first for trainer Justin Snaith (whose father Chris won in 1991 with Flaming Rock), and a second for Kevin Shea, who was also aboard the last filly before Dancer’s Daughter (Ipi Tombe in 2002) to win the race.
It has been a remarkable season all round for the Snaith team of Justin and his brother/assistant Jonathan. They represent the young face of South African racing, while their co-winning colleague Mike Bass is one of the senior statesmen of the sport and a trainer whose knack of producing horses to win the races they have been targeted at is simply out of this world. There is (and I’m sure the ebullient Kevin Shea will forgive me for writing this) also a rather hefty difference in the ages of the two winning riders, but they both boast an impressive CV of big race victories and are each blessed with a bucket-load of the proverbial Big Match Temperament. That Bernard has even made it this far after years of battling with his weight says a great deal about the younger jockey’s dedication to his trade, while Kevin has had his share of ups-and-downs in a career which stretches back to the last 70s but remains a world class rider (as events earlier this year at Nad al Sheba so emphatically underscored).
An over-the-moon Justin Snaith was full of praise for Dancer’s Daughter. “She’s one of the best fillies this country has ever, ever seen,” he enthused, thus virtually repeating word-for-word what he had said after his 4yo had won the Gr1 Gold Challenge at Clairwood three weeks earlier.
“I have no idea where we’re going from here,” said Snaith, leaving us to wonder whether we will ever see Dancer’s Daughter racing in this country again. Mike Bass, on the other hand, remarked that, “I see no reason why he (Pocket Power) can’t run in the Champions Cup. He has been sound this season.” The thought that Pocket Power may turn out for another bash at Gr 1 honours at Clairwood on July 26th will have Gold Circle licking their chops with glee and the connections of every other aspirant groaning in dismay. After all – and Bass couldn’t resist this mild swipe in his post race interview – Pocket Power has now shown that he can win in Durban.
Pocket Power is a 5yo from the first crop of Jet Master, whose second successive sires’ championship is guaranteed. He is out of the Prince Florimund mare Stormsvlei, and with this win he has taken his career record to 11 victories from 23 starts for well over R5m in stakes. Bought for R190 000 at the 2004 Cape Summer Yearling Sale, Pocket Power was bred by Zandvliet Stud. He has now emulated the mighty Politician’s feat of winning the Gr1 Queen’s Plate twice, the Gr1 J & B Met twice, and the July once.
UK-bred Dancer’s Daughter is a 4yo who also represents the first crop of her sire. She is by Act One out of the Damister mare Reason To Dance and was acquired as a yearling for 52 000 guineas. She has won 8 of her 12 races, with earnings of R2.6m. Now a winner of four Gr1 races, and far from finished in all probability, her true value can only be described as telephone number stuff.
When all is said and done, Pocket Power conceded 5 kgs to Dancer’s Daughter and emerged as the outright moral winner. This is something that the Equus Awards panel need to bear in mind when sitting down to decide on the next horse-of-the-year. Dancer’s Daughter leads Pocket Power 4-3 in Gr1 races won this term, although there’s still time for that to change. She has beaten Pocket Power (in the Gold Challenge), but Pocket Power has never beaten her. You could say that they both deserve the accolade. In my old bones I can sense another of those wretched joint awards coming up. Perhaps, just for once, it would even be the right way to go.

Greyville, SA, July 5, R3m, 2200m, turf, good, 2.12.15 (CR 2.11.76).
*POCKET POWER (SAF), 58.0, b g 5, Jet Master (SAF) - Stormsvlei (SAF) by Prince Florimund (SAF). Owner NM Shirtliff and Mr & Mrs AD Webber; breeder Zandvliet Stud (SAF); trainer MW Bass; jockey B Fayd'herbe
*DANCER'S DAUGHTER (GB), 53.0, gr f 4, Act One (GB) - Reason to Dance (GB) by Damister. Ownr Mr GJ & Mrs RD Beck; brdr Mrs DO Joly (GB); trnr J Snaith; jockey K Shea
Bound By Honour (SAF), 53.0, b g 4, Rambo Dancer - Child Of Grace (SAF) by Only A Pound (GB)
Margins: *dead-heat, 1, sh hd
Also ran: River Jetez (SAF) 50.5, Desert Links (SAF) 52.5, Silver Mist (SAF) 53.0, Russian Sage (SAF) 51.5, Wendywood (SAF) 50.0, Strategic News (AUS) 52.0, Hunting Tower (SAF) 55.5, She's On Fire (SAF) 53.5, Catmandu (SAF) 54.0, Tan Can (SAF) 51.0, Buy And Sell (SAF) 55.5, Pick Six (SAF) 53.5, Succesful Bidder (SAF) 55.0, Floatyourboat (SAF) 55.5, Galant Gagnant (SAF) 51.0, Lion's Blood (saf) 51.0, Eddington (SAF) 53.5

Golden Horseshoe (SAf-G1) (7/5)

Forest Path ended the unbeaten run of Warm White Night when he made most of the running to win the SABC 3 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville on Saturday. It was all the more remarkable given that Forest Path jumped from the widest gate and didn’t exactly stick to a straight line down the lane and Mike de Kock may have another outstanding prospect on his hands, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

Warm White Night came into this Gr1 race for 2yos with 3 wins from as many starts, all of them in Stakes races all the way up to Gr1 level. It was widely expected that he would be even better suited to this longer distance, having not previously races beyond 1200m, and he went off as the 14/10 favourite. Joining him in the line-up was his stable companion, the unbeaten filly Merlene De Lago, another who could boast 3 Stakes win from three appearances. For her, though, the Golden Horseshoe would turn into a nightmare.
The first attempt to get the race under way produced a false start. Thereafter, Merlene De Lago was reloaded twice more into the gates, only to immediately break through the front both times. Eventually, the starter waved her away and sent the field on its way, minus Merlene De Lago and some 15 minutes behind schedule. It is no secret that Merlene De Lago is a headstrong and temperamental filly. She has been seen to hang badly in her races, and she competes with the sheepskin headband that is a dead give-away to a horse’s dodgy state of mind. The hubbub of July day would not have done her any favours, and it is scarcely anybody’s fault that Charles Laird’s filly is (to put it simply) a bit off her rocker.
That said, horses of suspect temperament are to be found anywhere and everywhere in the world. It comes with the territory. Yet, what is seemingly unique to Kwazulu-Natal, is the number of monumental balls-ups that occur at the start. There is, frankly, no kinder way of putting it.
False starts and horse breaking loose and running off riderless occur with a monotony in this province more regular than the firing of a noonday gun. As more than one frustrated viewer has remarked, fields of 30 and even more runners are commonly loaded for races in the UK with a minimum of fuss, and there never ever appears to be a false start. It has been said that the starting stalls in operation at Greyville and Clairwood are so old they should have been consigned to a museum years ago. Notably, the machines in use at Scottsville are less antiquated and produce less problems. Yet this is only part of the problem. A race earlier on July day was allowed to start when one horse was very visibly playing up inside his stall. Lo and behold, the horse in question stood as still as the Statue of Liberty when the gates were released.
Mike de Kock said in his interview after the Golden Horseshoe that “the starts (in KZN) are a disgrace.” He has come in for considerable stick after writing the very same thing on his website earlier this year, but he is not wrong. Bear in mind that he won the Golden Horseshoe. When even the winners get cheesed off, someone needs to start paying attention. No sour grapes here, just the frustration of a man who has seen more of international racing than most of us will ever dream of and who absolutely, without fear of contradiction, knows what he is talking about. Sadly for us, the joys (?) of international TV coverage means that half the racing world is aware of this shambolic state of affairs.
Back to the Golden Horseshoe. Kings Cross was the first to show, but Anthony Delpech wasted no time in grasping the nettle and sent Forest Path around horses to set the pace from Warm White Night, with Kings Cross settling into third. Keyman and Battle Hero were next in line, with Commissionerstreet not far away, either. Warm White Night was in the perfect position to do favourite backers a good turn once into the straight. He had a clear run up the outside, and soon ranged up to Forest Path as if he would go on to win. Forest Path, though, proved an impossible nut to crack. Despite shifting out sharply towards Warm White Night and threatening to seriously impede the latter, Forest Path still had something up his sleeve. He found more inside the last 100m or so, and ran on well to deny the favourite by 1.25 lengths.
Kings Cross was only a neck further behind Warm White Night in third, and 1.75 lengths in turn ahead of Bush Pirate, who ran on well to finish 4th after being amongst the back markers turning for home. Cerise Cherry, second behind Warm White Night in all of the favourite’s three wins, never got into it from his unfavourable draw and could only finish 7th. His well supported stable companion Mount Hood, blinkered for the 1st time, was also never seen with a chance in a race where the first 3 to finish occupied the first 3 places (in the same order) for practically the entire race distance.
The much cherished idea that Warm White Night would be an even better horse when he went beyond sprint distances took a serious knock here. He moved up to Forest Path in the style of a potential winner, but didn’t finish the job off in the final stages. He’s well worth another try at something further than 1200m, of course, and he may well have been beaten here by an outstanding prospect that could just conceivably be a genuine Vodacom Durban July candidate for 2009. Critics of Warm White Night will doubtless point out that Charles Laird’s colt’s margins of victory over Cerise Cherry diminished with each of their three encounters, inferring that he was a precocious type who simply reached his peak sooner than, say, Forest Path. Yet Warm White Night is an imposing individual, and it would be foolhardy to assume he won’t be amongst the leading 3yos of next season. The Golden Horseshoe undoubtedly revealed a chink or two in his armour, not least where his ideal distance requirements may lie, but he is still a mighty fine prospect.
Forest Path won this the hard way. “He is a very difficult horse to ride,” said Delpech. “He won after doing all the things wrong that he did, he must be a very good horse.” The winning rider added that, “He switched off in front. Anton (Marcus, on Warm White Night) moved up next to me, but he (Forest Path) didn’t want to know.” Whether it was a case of Forest Path finding more or Warm White Night running out of gas is not a point on which all observers will be agreed. Unexpectedly, the latter is a distinct possibility.
Forest Path is a colt by Fort Wood out of the Northern Guest mare Money Trail. His full brother Reef Road stayed distances of around 2700m, and Forest Path looks like he won’t be bothered by a step up in trip. He may well turn out at Clairwood for the Gr 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m on July 26th. The colt has won 3 of 4, earning R508 125 for owner/breeder Mrs Bridget Oppenheimer.

Greyville, SA, July 5, R500k, 1400m, turf, good, 1.22.83 (CR 1.21.58).
FOREST PATH (SAF), 57.0, ch c 2, Fort Wood - Money Trail (SAF) by Northern Guest. Owner Mrs BD Oppenheimer; breeder Mauritzfontein Stud (SAF); trainer MF de Kock; jockey A Delpech (312.500)
Warm White Night (SAF), 57.0, b c 2, Western Winter - Thousand Nights (SAF) by Foveros (GB)
Kings Cross (SAF), 57.0, b c 2, Silvano (GER) - Opposition (SAF) by Al Mufti
Margins: 1¼, neck, 1¾  
Also ran: Bush Pirate (SAF) 57.0, Commissionerstreet (AUS) 57.0, Mpumelelo () 57.0, Cerise Cherry (SAF) 57.0, Honour In Gold (SAF) 57.0, Volpista (BRZ) 57.0, Battle Hero () 57.0, Keyman (SAF) 57.0, Potchefstroom (SAF) 57.0, Mount Hood (SAF) 57.0, Final Frontier (SAF) 57.0, Royal Hero (SAF) 57.0

Garden Province S. (SAf-G1) (7/5)

Gold Circle will have a good deal to look back on fondly, where Vodacom Durban July day 2008 is concerned. Not least is that the Greyville track played so fair that every
Gr1 winner bar Pocket Power came from a double-digit draw. That trend continued into the last big one of the meeting when Outcome defied gate 15 to cause a 33/1 surprise in the Garden Province Stakes over 1600m. In the process she became that rarest of beasts, a Gr1 winner permanently domiciled in KZN, writes MATTHEW LIPS

Angel Flight, runner-up in the corresponding race twelve months ago, was sent off favourite in the absence of the now-retired 2007 winner Bold Ellinore, with Gilded Minaret and Run Angel Run attracting solid support in an open-looking contest where the likes of Nania and Ethereal Lady also had their backers. Angel Flight soon found herself in front and set a solid pace from 2006 winner Soft Landing, with Nordic Moon and Nania next astern ahead of Ice Belle. Zooming Zellie hadn’t made the liveliest of starts and raced at the rear.
Angel Flight had a couple of lengths to spare straightening up 400m out, but she found very little once pressed for the lead and faded tamely. Nordic Moon and Soft Landing stuck around a bit longer, but they had also run their race entering the final 200m. Gilded Minaret was starting to unwind her challenge wider out, with Oracle News also beginning to emerge on the scene from well off the pace, but nothing could live with the turn of foot displayed by Outcome. She arrived from seemingly nowhere with a powerhouse challenge, leading well inside the last furlong and quickly dashing the hopes of her opposition as she skated clear under Robbie Hill to win by 1.5 lengths from Gilded Minaret. Oracle News was running on to finish 0.75 lengths further away in third, with Rei Rei staying on to be beaten a total of 2.5 lengths into fourth spot, but those that had raced handy early all disappeared from view and Angel Flight eventually finished last of all.
The return to form in second place of the vaguely disappointing Gilded Minaret – winner of the Gr 1 Golden Slipper on Vodacom day 2007 – was encouraging enough and Mike de Kock’s three-year-old may yet be destined for a tilt at the splendours of Dubai, but she was no match for the year-older Outcome. It would be tempting perhaps to dismiss this as a non-vintage edition of KZN’s premier middle distance race for females of all ages, but exactly half of the 16 starters (including the winner) could boast a three-digit merit rating. That is hardly the sign of a weak race, even if more than a few of those rated 100-plus didn’t show their best form and in a couple of instances may have contested a race for the last time.
It was easy to overlook Outcome in this kind of company, but she was also cursed with shocking draws when unplaced in first the Gr 2 Drill Hall Stakes and later in the Gr 2 Astrapak 1900. She is well known as something of a Greyville specialist, and is rarely seen anywhere else. She may not have won so much as a Listed race before this widely unexpected triumph at the highest level, but the handicapper thinks she’s pretty good and had her rated at 101, within four pounds of top-rated Ethereal Lady and two pounds above the vanquished favourite. That said, her deep draw would have put Outcome’s even most avid fans right off and owner Steve Sturlese was not on hand to lead in trainer Mike Miller’s first career Gr 1 winner.
Few (if any) jockeys can consistently ride Greyville with greater skill than Robbie Hill, who remarked afterwards that “it was race over from the 400m already.” Hill may belong fairly and squarely in the “veteran” category of South African riders, but he has lost absolutely not one iota of his talent and doesn’t have many peers in the “thinking jockey” department, either.
Outcome is a daughter of stalwart KZN sire Muhtafal. She is the seventh foal and fourth winner of her dam Culminate, who never won a race but who is a daughter of proven broodmare sire Elliodor. The final lot on the 2005 Ready To Run Sale and as such the last horse sold at any of that year’s major auctions, Outcome was obviously well worth the wait. Consigned by Summerhill Stud on behalf of her breeder Peter Brown, Outcome was knocked down for R150 000 and has won eight times from 21 starts for R576 000 in stakes. She represents the Mr Prospector x Northern Dancer cross which has produced more major winners worldwide than you can shake a stick at and, all things considered, has the makings of a splendid broodmare when the time comes. No future plans for the filly were revealed.

Greyville, South Africa, July 5, R350k, 1600m, turf, good, 1.34.69 (CR 1.34.00).
OUTCOME (SAF), 58.0, b f 4, Muhtafal - Culminate (SAF) by Elliodor (FR) Owner GAR Sturlese; breeder P Brown (SAF); trainer MD Miller; jockey R Hill (218.750)
Gilded Minaret (SAF), 57.0, b f 3, Al Mufti - Chasing Gold (SAF) by Dancing Champ
Oracle News (SAF), 58.0, ch f 4, London News (SAF) - Full Spectrum (SAF) by National Emblem (SAF)
Margins: 1½, ¾ , neck
Also ran: Rei Rei (SAF) 57.0, Ethereal Lady (SAF) 58.0, Nordic Moon (SAF) 57.0, Royal Fantasy (SAF) 58.0, Soft Landing (SAF) 58.0, Ice Belle (SAF) 57.0, Lady Bequick (SAF) 57.0, Zooming Zellie (USA) 58.0, Surabi (SAF) 58.0, Run Angel Run (SAF) 58.0, Glenrossal (SAF) 57.0, Nania (SAF) 57.0, Angel Flight (SAF) 58.0

Golden Slipper (SAf-G1) (7/5)

Wide draws are frequently the kiss of death over 1400m at Greyville, but that was certainly not the case on Saturday. Forest Path won a Gr 1 event from a rotten barrier, and Consensual managed the same when she captured the fillies’ equivalent, the Durban Golden Slipper, from gate 14 in a field of 16, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

Lightly raced Rock Concert had finished a close 3rd in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship over 1200m at Scottsville and was sent off as the favourite from the 2 draw, but even a lousy starting position couldn’t prevent backers of Consensual from piling on the money. She went off as the 5/2 second favourite after trading at double those odds in the ante-post market.
Badger’s Cove was well away and set a brisk pace from Gypsy’s Warning and Thin Red Line, with Kesha and Rock Concert next in line. Leela followed them, but was stuck wide after starting from stall 15. Consensual managed to work her way to the rail from her poor draw, but was racing a good eight lengths off the leader approaching the turn for home. Gypsy’s Warning was the first to zero in on Badger’s Cove as the pacesetter began to weaken, with Zirconeum running on wider out as Rock Concert tried to get into top gear as well. Consensual, though, blew them all away with the turn of foot that can only belong to a seriously gifted thoroughbred. She began to quickly make up ground once in the straight, getting to the leaders inside the final 200m. Zirconeum was going great guns wider out and momentarily looked as if she might win, but Consensual had that little bit more to offer in the final stages and shook off the challenge to win by a neck.
Gypsy’s Warning couldn’t match the finishing speed of the first two, but finished a most respectable third, beaten two lengths by the winner. Rock Concert appeared to have every chance, but could only finish 1.25 lengths behind Gypsy’s Warning in fourth. It is debatable whether this full sister to high class former two-year-olds Rock Opera and Hit Song gets 1400m. Her siblings were best known as speed horses, and sprinting may be the way forward with the beaten Golden Slipper favourite as well.
Consensual was splendidly ridden by Bernard Fayd’Herbe for trainer Mike Bass, who wanted Consensual in his yard from the moment he saw her at the 2006 National Yearling Sale and who, by his own admission, pestered the late Laurie Jaffee into sending him the filly until the owner/breeder agreed. There is never a shortage of talent in the Bass yard, and Consensual would doubtless be many an expert’s idea of the best two-year-old filly around. She is certainly more level-headed than the other particularly obvious candidate for that title, Merlene De Lago. According to Bass, Consensual’s temperament is “outstanding”.
There is every possibility that 1600m will be within reach of Consensual, who could turn out again for the Gr 1 Thekwini Fillies Stakes over that distance at Clairwood on the last Saturday of the season. The way she relaxes in a race and takes off when asked for an effort is encouraging to say the least, and represents the opposite end of the spectrum from Merlene De Lago’s approach of trying to get everything done and dusted at a million miles per hour. A meeting between the two would be intriguing, to say the least, but if it were to happen over 1600m this writer would unhesitatingly be in the Consensual camp.
Consensual is a daughter of deceased A P Indy horse Camden Park, the sire also of globetrotting Jay Peg. She is the ninth foal and eighth winner of Dancing Champ mare Isadora Duncan, who won three races between 1200/1600m. Bought in for R250 000 at the sales, Consensual has won five times from seven starts, earning R433 181.

Greyville, SA, July 5, R350k, 1400m, turf, good, 1.23.16 (CR 1.21.58).
CONSENSUAL (SAF), 57.0, b f 2, Camden Park - Isadora Duncan (SAF) by Dancing Champ. Owner & breeder The Late L & Mrs JD Jaffee; trainer MW Bass; jockey B Fayd'herbe (218.750)
Zirconeum (SAF), 57.0, b f 2, Jallad - Sweet Sheila (AUS) by Kenmare (FR)
Gypsy's Warning (SAF), 57.0, b f 2, Mogok - Gypsy Queen (SAF) by Royal Chalice (SAF)
Margins: neck, 1¾, 1¼
Also ran: Rock Concert (SAF) 57.0, Thin Red Line (AUS) 57.0, Lady Windermere (SAF) 57.0, Jet Scent (SAF) 57.0, Goat (SAF) 57.0, Geepee S (SAF) 57.0, Badger's Cove (SAF) 57.0, Motivation (SAF) 57.0, Zanzabee (AUS) 57.0, Leela (SAF) 57.0, Kesha (SAF) 57.0, Laughing River (SAF) 57.0, Joyful Applause (SAF) 57.0    

Gold Challenge (SAf-G1) (6/14)

Dancer’s Daughter quickly laid her inauspicious KZN debut effort firmly to rest when she beat a high class field of male rivals on WFA terms in the Gold Challenge over 1600m at Clairwood on Saturday. The highly talented grey had clearly found 1200m too short when run off her feet to finish a disappointing eleventh in the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint at Scottsville a fortnight earlier, but this time racegoers were to see the English-bred import in all her glory and she will have won plenty of new friends for the Vodacom Durban July.

ancer’s Daughter was by no means particularly well weighted on merit ratings in the Gold Challenge and was allowed to start as a 10/1 chance. Horse-of-the-year Pocket Power stood out at the weights and was the odds-on favourite to record his first career success on any course other than Kenilworth, with multiple Gr 2 winning three-year-old Imbongi a strongly supported 3/1 second choice. The rest were easy to back, much to the eventual delight of those who chose to stick with Dancer’s Daughter no-matter-what.
The early pace was not much more than a canter, with Dynamite Mike ambling along in front of Our Giant, Buy And Sell, and Dancer’s Daughter, with Imbongi next in line as Pocket Power – as always – raced well back, some ten lengths behind the leader. Dancer’s Daughter can take a fierce hold in a race and was inclined to do so again here, which was hardly surprising given the slow pace, which makes her eventual success all the more commendable. The race, needless to say, became a sprint up the straight, which was curtains for Pocket Power and all of those who had been held up in the second half of the field. Buy And Sell and Our Giant were amongst the first to challenge for the lead in the stretch, with Dancer’s Daughter and Imbongi very much in the hunt, and they all had their chances if they’d been good enough.
The race was still up for grabs racing into the last 200m, but Dancer’s Daughter soon took a narrow advantage over Imbongi and, ridden out by Weichong Marwing, she ran on strongly to beat that younger opponent by 0.75 lengths, with Buy And Sell a further half-a-length away in third. Pocket Power made late headway to be beaten only a total of 1.5 lengths into fourth place, which wasn’t what his legion of fans wanted to see but which all things considered was not half-bad in a race that was run all wrong for him. He was caught with too much ground to make up once the contest degenerated into a short sprint for home, and even as good a horse as he can’t sprout wings. It wasn’t necessarily the fault of jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe, although he inevitably came in for some stick from assorted critics for his ride, and if anything the Gold Challenge again underlined the benefits of running a pacemaker in major contests. It was something that the maestro Terrance Millard employed to great effect on numerous occasions, and is a regular feature in many European Gr 1 events over any distance from at least a mile upwards. Aidan O’Brien, for instance, has been known to run two pacemakers in the same race, let alone one, and while the subject is a prickly one (a pacemaker is by definition a non-trier, whichever way you slice it) the tactic can at least lead to fair racing and a proper form outcome.
This is not to say that Dancer’s Daughter didn’t deserve her success. Given her tendency to pull in her races, a stronger gallop would have suited better than the stop-start manner in which the Gold Challenge was run, so her win was full of merit. Winning trainer Justin Snaith was full of praise for his charge. “This is one of the best fillies this country will see. I cannot tell you how good she is,” he enthused. The Vodacom Durban July weights were finalised before the Gold Challenge, so Dancer’s Daughter would be unpenalised for this win going into the big Greyville showdown. That makes her potentially an attractive July proposition, and she will be one of the leading fancies.
Snaith did intimate in his post-race interview that Dancer’s Daughter is not absolutely certain to contest the July, suggesting that the Gr 1 Garden Province Stakes for fillies and mares on the same card is a possible alternative target before Dancer’s Daughter heads to Dubai for the 2009 Carnival. That said, she was one of only a handful of the 32 remaining July entrants to have a jockey officially declared when first acceptances went in last week. She is due to be ridden again by Marwing, who has yet to win a July and who not surprisingly feels that this will represent one of his best chances to set the record straight. Snaith does of course also have high class three-year-old colt Russian Sage to represent him in the July, but two strings to a bow is better than one and a July win would do much more than a Garden Province success to boost Dancer’s Daughter’s value to even more stratospheric heights. She already ran away with a pair of Gr 1 races against her own sex during the Cape summer season and has nothing left to prove in that category. The trainer’s primary concern is that “I’m worried about her not settling over the 2200m,” but she didn’t settle particularly well in the Gold Challenge and still won.
Buy And Sell showed enough to suggest he is not without some hope of going one better on his 2nd place finish in last year’s July, but he will be facing Dancer’s Daughter on the identical weight terms as in the Gold Challenge. It would be foolish to dismiss Pocket Power’s July prospects on this performance, but the worry about his suitability for the short Greyville run-in will always remain. He looked well, and he made good late progress even if the bird had flown by then, and it remains a little silly at the very least to suppose that he is not the same horse in Durban as he is in Cape Town. A terrific effort in the 2007 July is proof enough of that, and those who have already committed to Mike Bass’ champion for the July should not feel too disheartened.
Dancer’s Daughter is a daughter of Act One out of the Damister mare Reason To Dance, who won 3 races in the UK and who has bred a Gr3 winner in that country. Bought as a yearling for 52 000 guineas (roughly R750k in today’s terms), Dancer’s Daughter has won seven times from 11 starts and collected stakes of R1 436 000 for owners Graham and Rhona Beck.

Clairwood, SA, June 14, R600k, 1600m, turf, good, 1.34.47 (CR 1.33.16).
DANCER'S DAUGHTER (GB), 55.5, gr f 4, Act One (GB) - Reason to Dance (GB) by Damister. Owner G J & Mrs R D Beck; breeder Mrs D O Joly (GB); trainer J Snaith; jockey W Marwing (375.000)
Imbongi (SAF), 56.5, ch g 3, Russian Revival - Garden Verse (SAF) by Foveros (GB)
Buy And Sell (SAF), 58.0, b g 4, National Emblem (SAF) - Trade Enquiry (SAF) by Qui Danzig
Margins: ¾, ½, neck
Also ran: Pocket Power (SAF) 58.0, Our Giant (AUS) 58.0, Succesful Bidder (SAF) 58.0, Floatyourboat (SAF) 58.0, Olympic Gold (SAF) 58.0, St Raphael (SAF) 58.0, London Guest (SAF) 58.0, Dynamite Mike (SAF) 58.0, Charlies Island (SAF) 58.0

Daily News 2000 (SAf-G1) (6/7)

Russian Sage, the subject of a private sale which was finalised just days before the race, carried his new colours to a narrow victory at the first time of asking in the Daily News 2000 at Greyville on Saturday. Previously owned by Fieldspring Racing, Russian Sage was sold for a sum rumoured to be in the vicinity of US$1 million to a partnership which includes Barry Irwin’s Team Valor, and is very unlikely to be seen on our shores again after the Vodacom Durban July.

The task of winning the Daily News became somewhat less complicated following the withdrawal of top rated Kings Gambit, a horse whose future has become the subject of considerable speculation and whose absence here fuels the rumour that South Africa has seen the last of the dual Gauteng Gr1 winner. Gr2 Dingaans winner Lion’s Blood contested the Daily News in new ownership and is also surely destined for export before long, leaving us to ponder on just what will remain to contest the big domestic prizes next season.
Russian Sage is nothing if not consistent and was sent off favourite to win the season’s last Gr1 race for 3yos, with Lion’s Blood a well supported second choice and Tan Can and Classic Oasis also attracting considerable interest in a 16 horse line-up where only a handful were widely regarded as having much hope of success. Classic Oasis is both a proven stayer and an established frontrunner, so it came as no great surprise when Piere Strydom tried to take the Daily News by the scruff of its neck and sent Stuart Pettigrew’s colt about his business from the jump. Classic Oasis was even treated to a crack or two of the Strydom whip in the early strides and before long had streaked into a lead of some dozen lengths, with The Big Ask, Extrapolator and Russian Sage closest to him. Causation was further back as Profit Report brought up the rear of a strung-out field.
Classic Oasis was still many lengths in front taking the final turn, and with Greyville boasting a run-in of only 400m backers of rival horses may have been starting to fret that he had been allowed to burgle the race, but one horse that was still travelling well within himself was Russian Sage. Brought out wide by Richard Fourie and therefore out of camera range for much of the way up the straight – not exactly the best filming of a horse race in history – Russian Sage began to make up ground as the pack closed in on Classic Oasis. Galant Gagnant came from off the pace with a big effort to challenge strongly, and to frustrated television viewers everywhere he appeared for a while to be the only horse seriously left in contention, but in the final stages Russian Sage re-emerged into the picture wide out and got up hard ridden to beat Galant Gagnant by a long head.
Tan Can and Lubricator were both staying on steadily at the finish, eventually dead-heating for third place a further 2.25 lengths behind Galant Gagnant, with Classic Oasis finishing fifth, beaten just under five lengths by Russian Sage. It was a bold effort by Classic Oasis, but he doesn’t have the speed to beat top class rivals over 2000m and seems better suited to distances of 2400m and upwards. Lion’s Blood made a disappointing debut for his new connections, finishing 10th after never getting into the race.
Asked afterwards if he was never worried about the big lead opened up by Classic Oasis, the winning rider replied that he was more concerned that he may have had Russian Sage too handy in a race run at such a strong pace, but went on to add that Russian Sage “started accelerating very well, he’s a machine.” Winning trainer Justin Snaith did a passable imitation of an Academy Award acceptance speech and thanked just about everyone except the man on the moon and the President of Bolivia, but you can hardly blame the guy. He would have been mightily relieved at this immediate success with a colt who had just changed hands for millions of rands – whatever the exact sum might be – and getting this mission accomplished probably felt like the weight of the world being lifted from his young shoulders.
This marked a second Gr1 success for Russian Sage after his victory in the Cape Derby over the same distance in January and he will doubtless be amongst the favourites for the Vodacom Durban July even if he won’t be faced with an easy task for a 3yo. He is tough and consistent, and is a mighty difficult horse to pass once he gets his head in front at any point of a race. Russian Sage is a son of former champion sire Jallad and is the first foal of Badger Land mare Sage Blue, who won five races between 1600/2000m. Sage Blue is a half sister to former Gr1 SA Derby winner Silver Sliver, from the family of champion fillies Grey Sun and Cerulean Blue. Bred at Highlands and originally bought for R450k at the 2006 National Yearling Sale, Russian Sage has won 6 of 13 and earned R1 507 275 in stakes.

Greyville, SA, June 7, R1 million, 2000m, turf, good, 2.01.05 (CR 1.59.60).
RUSSIAN SAGE (SAF), 57.0, b c 3, Jallad - Sage Blue (SAF) by Badger Land. Owner LM Nestadt & Team Valor; breeder Highlands (SAF); trainer J Snaith; jockey R Fourie (625.000)
Galant Gagnant (SAF), 57.0, b g 3, Kahal (GB) - Derniere Danse (SAF) by Northern Guest
*Tan Can (SAF), 57.0, ch c 3, Silvano (GER) - Tanover (SAF) by Model Man (SAF)
*Lubricator (SAF), 57.0, gr c 3, Jallad – Carolain (ARG) by Ringaro
Margins: short head, 2 ¼, dead-heat
Also ran: Classic Oasis (SAF) 57.0, Kingdom Come (ARG) 57.0, Thandolwami (SAF) 57.0, Kilcoy Castle (SAF) 57.0, Just Like Al (SAF) 57.0, Lion's Blood (SAF) 57.0, Causation (AUS) 57.0, Extrapolator (SAF) 57.0, Sorba El Griego (BRZ) 57.0, Danish Silver (SAF) 57.0, Profit Report (AUS) 57.0, The Big Ask (SAF) 57.0

Woolavington 2000 (SAf-G1) (6/7)

Sean Tarry pulled off a training feat of rare distinction when he saddled Wendywood to capture the Gr1 Woolavington 2000 at Greyville on Saturday, just two weeks after the filly had run as green as all the fields of Ireland combined to narrowly win a maiden race over 1600m on debut at the same venue.

Tarry made no secret in the post race interview after that maiden success that he considered Wendywood to be something special a good twelve months ago, but that various problems delayed the filly’s first public appearance until late in her three-year-old campaign. Wendywood was not without her backers when she took the huge step up in class for the Woolavington and went off as a 9/1 chance in a field of 16, but it was Front House (formerly Front Of House and originally imported as Dreamworks) who was the well backed favourite to make a winning debut under her third different name. The daughter of Sadler’s Wells had won the Gr 2 SA Oaks just one day after her third birthday, only to lose out to Happy Spirit after an objection, and looked to have a bright chance of making amends here. Happy Spirit, together with past Gr 1 winners Urabamba and Gilded Minaret, were others that attracted their share of market interest.
Flight Queen was the first to show and set a reasonable pace from Nordic Moon and Moneycantbuymelove, with Front House prominent in fourth place but caught a little wide after starting from gate 13. Happy Spirit tracked her old adversary closely, with Urabamba also in touch, as Annawood brought up the rear. Wendywood was racing in around midfield for much of the way. The field fanned out almost across the course at the top of the straight, with Front House coming to the outside rail to deliver her challenge as Happy Spirit came through strongly towards the centre. Nordic Moon was still right in contention towards the inside as well.
Front House led coming to the last 200m, but she was soon under pressure as Happy Spirit took up the running, only to have Wendywood deliver a strong late bid on her inside and get the upper hand in the dying strides to win by a neck from the gallant Happy Spirit. Front House finished 1.25 lengths further back in third, with three-quarters of a length away to Nordic Moon in 4th. Pacesetter Flight Queen finished fifth, but Urabamba didn’t find much in the straight while Gilded Minaret was never in the hunt and finding the right distance for last season’s Gr 1 winning juvenile is proving tricky.
Wenywood was ridden by Marthinus Mienie in place of Tarry’s new stable jockey Gavin Lerena, who fractured a wrist in a fall the previous weekend. “She has a tremendous action,” Mienie commented, adding that he was worried turning for home that he may have been a bit too far out of his ground after several horses went round his outside to try and mount an early challenge. Wendywood showed considerably more savvy than when she had won her debut race, but surely has scope to improve further and could be a very interesting prospect indeed for next season. She is probably in line for one of the steepest hikes in merit rating history, having won this off a mark of 73 (top rated Urabamba was on 102), but there was no semblance of a fluke about this success. She beat 97-rated Happy Spirit fair-and-square and deserves a rating very close to three digits.
Wendywood is a daughter of Fort Wood out of the Foveros mare Grecian Gale, who won eleven races including a pair of Gr2 events between 1200/2000m. Grecian Gale is also the dam of 2006 Gr1 Summer Cup winner Malteme. It took R800k for owner Chris van Niekerk to acquire Wendywood on the select session of the 2006 National Yearling Sale, before her half brother had won the Summer Cup or even the Gr2 Gold Circle Derby, for that matter. Bred in KZN at Bernard and Wendy McHardy’ Rathmor Stud, Wendywood’s two wins from two starts have earned her R350k in stakes. Just how good she really is we will have plenty of fun finding out.

Greyville, SA, June 7, R500.000, 2000m, turf, good, 2.03.20 (CR 1.59.60).
WENDYWOOD (SAF), 57.0, b f 3, Fort Wood - Grecian Gale (SAF) by Foveros (GB). Owner CJH van Niekerk; breeder Rathmor Stud (SAF); trainer SG Tarry; jockey M Mienie (312.500)
Happy Spirit (SAF), 57.0, ch f 3, Silvano (GER) - Happy Land (SAF) by Badger Land
Front House (IRE), 57.0, b f 3, Sadler's Wells - Adjalisa (IRE) by Darshaan (IRE)
Margins: neck, 1¼, ¾  
Also ran: Nordic Moon (SAF) 57.0, Flight Queen (AUS) 57.0, Leading Light (AUS) 57.0, Albizia (SAF) 57.0, Gilded Minaret (SAF) 57.0, Urabamba (SAF) 57.0, Ladonna (SAF) 57.0, Journal (SAF) 57.0, Sahara (SAF) 57.0, Moneycantbuymelove (SAF) 57.0, Ice Belle (SAF) 57.0, Imperialist (SAF) 57.0, Annawood (SAF) 57.0

Golden Horse Sprint (SAf-G1) (5/31)

Plane Sailing

JJ The Jet Plane swept aside any lingering doubts about his place in the pecking order of South African speed merchants when he carried 60 kgs to what can only be described as a facile victory in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville on Saturday, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

There were plenty of Doubting Thomases who felt that JJ was being asked to achieve, if not an impossible, at least an extremely difficult task for a 3yo in what is after all a handicap. In the end he made it look almost as easy as a Boeing 747 outgunning a bunch of Dakotas down the runway.
For all the understandable question marks that hung over J J The Jet Plane in his first foray outside of Gauteng, Lucky Houdalakis’ gelding still went off as the favourite in a field of 16. Flintlock and recent facile course-and-distance winner Centaur were considered to be amongst his principal dangers, with plenty of support at big prices for the likes of Tropical Empire and Red Flyer. Rebel King, back to what is widely considered to be his best distance and meeting J J on 8.5 kgs better terms for a 2.5 lengths beating over 1200m at the Vaal in March, was another whose supporters reckoned they had the favourite’s measure.
The pace was on from the start, with Red Flyer and Relinyane showing the way ahead of Archipeligo as Centaur, Pegasus Emblem, and Flintlock raced prominently. J J The Jet Plane was held up some three or four lengths off the early speed, but the frontrunners were starting to feel the heat racing into the last 400m. J J found himself behind a wall of horses in a bunched field, but he was visibly still full of running and only needed some space to stretch his legs. Switched out around horses by Piere Stryom, the top weight bounded into action the instant he had clear air in front of him. He settled the issue within strides, and 200m out had the race won. He easily built up a nice lead, and Strydom could afford himself the luxury of a lazy look around before easing J J The Jet Plane to a hugely impressive 2.25 lengths success. The margin could have been considerably bigger, and as good as J J has looked in the past this performance lifted him to a whole new level.
Centaur had no chance with the winner, but still came out second best. The 12 pound penalty he received for his nine lengths victory in a minor race ten days earlier didn’t do him any favours, but he could have been penalised six pounds instead and he still would not have won this. He nevertheless showed himself to be a very good sprinter, capable of winning a decent race, and may well get that chance in the forthcoming Gr2 Post Merchants (hcp) at Greyville. Rebel King finished less than a length further back in third, beaten further by the winner than at the Vaal despite his huge pull at the weights. Pegasus Emblem was beaten as total of four lengths into fourth, the only KZN-trained horse (satellite stables aside) to reach the frame in any of the day’s four Gr 1 events. Tropical Empire didn’t have the greatest of luck in the running, but wasn’t good enough anyway. Flintlock, who had run J J The Jet Plane to a neck in the Gr 1 Computaform Sprint at Turffontein four weeks earlier, showed nothing like the same form here and faded disappointingly to finish last.
“He was more relaxed than ever,” remarked Piere Strydom of J J The Jet Plane, adding that “he was clipping heels at the 400m, but once he had a clear run it was race over.” Lucky Houdalakis may have been criticised in some quarters for asking too much of his stable star, but, as the winning trainer later put it, “if he wants to be the king, he must earn it.” There is no remaining doubt that J J The Jet Plane has done exactly that. Still unbeaten in six starts up to 1400m, J J could take in the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint over 1200m at Clairwood in July. Unlike the Golden Horse, that race is run at WFA and it is impossible to think of a horse who can beat him on those terms. No future plans for J J were discussed in the post race interviews, but many of us have been dying to see a top sprinter take on the best of Europe’s speed horses. The Australians have done that with plenty of success in recent years, thanks to the likes of Choisir and Takeover Target, and we do love to think that anything the Aussies can do we can do just as well.
J J The Jet Plane is a son of champion sire Jet Master, who himself won this race twice when it was known as the Golden Spur. He is the sixth foal and fourth winner of Majestic Guest, a daughter of Northern Guest who won four races including a Listed event up to 1600m. Bred by Patricia Devine and bought almost on a whim for R70 000 at the 2006 National Two Year Old Sale, J J The Jet Plane has won six times from nine starts and earned R1 455 750 for a quartet of owners which includes Lucky Houdalakis – a rapidly emerging force in the training ranks – himself.

Scottsville, SA, May 31, R500k, 1200m, turf, good, 1.07.62 (CR 1.07.00).
J J THE JET PLANE (SAF), 60.0, b g 3, Jet Master (SAF) - Majestic Guest (SAF) by Northern Guest. Owner HSN du Preez, CF Strydom, L Houdelakis & CD Boyens; breeder PJ Devine (SAF); trainer M Houdelakis; jockey P Strydom (R312.500)
Centaur (SAF), 57.5, b g 4, Western Winter - Dance Every Dance (SAF) by Northern Guest
Rebel King (SAF), 58.5, ch c 4, National Emblem (SAF) - Cousin Linda (SAF) by Badger Land
Margins: 2¼, ¾, 1
Also ran: Pegasus Emblem (SAF) 53.0, Thunder Key (SAF) 55.0, Something Else (SAF) 58.0, Jaroslaw (SAF) 55.0, Relinyane (SAF) 56.0, Tropical Empire (AUS) 54.5, Charlies Island (SAF) 53.0, Lightning Lecture (SAF) 58.5, Red Flyer (SAF) 56.0, Escobar (SAF) 56.0, Archipeligo (SAF) 57.5, Fair Brutus (SAF) 56.0, Flintlock (SAF) 59.5

Gold Medallion (SAf-G1) (5/31)

Winter Warmth

Unbeaten Warm White Night looked to have a fairly straight forward task when he took on eight rivals in the Gold Reef Resorts Gold Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville on Saturday. He emerged with his spotless record unscathed, although perhaps not quite with the degree of comfort that many may have anticipated, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

Warm White Night had looked special when winning a Gr3 and a Gr2 event in his two appearances at Turffontein and was predictably a hot 9/20 favourite to lift his first Gr1 against a Gold Medallion field where nothing had shown anything like comparable talent. Anton Marcus had him prominent in around third place as Thekkady – one of two fillies in the field – set the pace from Jinzo, with Secret Life also very prominent. Second favourite Sealed With A Kiss was further back, with Cerise Cherry, already placed second twice behind Warm White Night, towards the rear.
Warm White Night came forward to lead racing into the last 300m as Thekkady began to weaken. He went a couple of lengths ahead, and never gave his supporters cause for concern even though Cerise Cherry ran on very strongly over the final furlong to get to within 1.25 lengths of the punched-out winner at the wire. Secret Life finished 2.25 lengths further adrift in third. This was the 3rd time in succession that Warm White Night, Cerise Cherry and Secret Life finished 1-2-3 in a Graded race, although the gap between the first two has narrowed each time. Sealed With Kiss was beaten a total of 4.25 lengths into fourth place, without posing any threats.
Winning trainer Charles Laird spared a thought in his post race interview for fellow conditioner Paul Matchett, who trains both Cerise Cherry and Secret Life and who must be heartily sick of the sight of Warm White Night, but the latter is simply a cut above the rest and there is no disgrace in repeatedly chasing him home. Cerise Cherry will sooner or later find a decent race which he can win, and as the full brother to Gr 1 winning miler Battle Maiden he may well be looking for a step up in distance, but then again so is Warm White Night. The real reason behind Laird’s colt having his margin of victory trimmed every time he crosses swords with the same opponent may be that sprint distances are becoming increasingly inadequate, and Warm White Night is a strapping colt with the potential to turn into something really outstanding as time goes on. One has seen too many star two-year-olds go backwards later in life to make too many emphatic predictions, but Warm White Night looks to have an extremely rosy future.
Warm White Night represents the same owner/trainer/jockey team who won this race a year ago with Seventh Rock, but promises to be a different type of horse to his sprinting stable companion. A son of Western Winter and the stallion’s 2nd Gr1 winning juvenile of the day after On Her Toes’ shared success in the Allan Robertson Fillies Championship, Warm White Night is the 10th foal of the outstanding mare Thousand Nights. A daughter of Foveros who won eight races including the Listed (now Gr3) Jubilee Hcp, Thousand Nights has also produced dual Gr1 Gold Cup winner Highland Night, dual Gr2 winner Prince Asad, and Listed winner Night Watch.
Not surprisingly, owner Markus Jooste had to pay R1.8m to acquire Warm White Night from the select session of the 2007 National Yearling Sale, but as a Gr1 winner the colt already has the ingredients of a future stallion and such creatures don’t usually come cheaply. (Sometimes they do, like R15k weanling Jet Master, but he’s an exception, and arguably even a freak.) Warm White Night was bred by Highlands. His three wins from as many starts have earned him a nice round R750k in purses.

Scottsville, SA, May 31, R500k, 1200m, turf, good, 1.07.78 (CR 1.07.00).
WARM WHITE NIGHT (SAF), 57.0, b c 2, Western Winter - Thousand Nights (SAF) by Foveros (GB). Owner Mrs I & Mr MJ Jooste; breeder Highlands (SAF); trainer CS Laird; jockey A Marcus (R312.500)
Cerise Cherry (SAF), 57.0, ch c 2, Goldkeeper - Cherry Girl (SAF) by Pochard (ARG)
Secret Life (SAF), 57.0, ch c 2, Kitalpha - Indecent Proposal (SAF) by Raise A Man
Margins: 1¼, 2¼, ¾
Also ran: Sealed With A Kiss (SAF) 57.0, Jinzo (SAF) 57.0, Thekkady (SAF) 54.5, Hypothetical (SAF) 57.0, Leela (SAF) 54.5, Mule (SAF) 57.0

SA Fillies Sprint (SAf-G1) (5/31)

Rat Trap

Rat Burana was without a win since landing the Allan Robertson Fillies Champion at the corresponding meeting twelve months earlier, but she marked that anniversary in style with an easy success in the SA Fillies Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville on Saturday, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

Dancer’s Daughter is many an expert’s idea of the likely Gr1 Vodacom Durban July winner and was a well backed favourite here despite returning from an 18 week rest and running over a distance well short of the 1600m and 1800m where she had achieved her two Gr1 wins at Kenilworth in the summer. Ethereal Lady had her supporters in her bid to win this event for a second year in succession, with Rat Burana and recent easy Gr2 winner Surabi others with their fare share of fans.
Viva is very quick and set a brisk pace early from Emblem Of Liberty, Rat Burana, and Soft Landing, with Ethereal Lady and Oracle News further back as Surabi found herself outpaced at the rear. Dancer’s Daughter was not very far off the early action, either, but would fail to find the necessary gears when the time came. Rat Burana began to assert herself a good 400m from home, where she quickly kicked clear of her field, and it was soon plain that she was not for beating. Her 13 rivals were left chasing shadows as Anthony Delpech steered the 3yo to an impressive 3.5 lengths success, leaving one to wonder just what went wrong when she finished only 6th behind Hot Reception in the Gr3 Poinsettia S over the same course-and-distance earlier in May.
Rat Burana had looked rather above herself on that earlier occasion, proving something of a handful at the start, and some might have questioned the wisdom of again fitting her with the blinkers she wore for the first time that day. Blinkers or no blinkers, Rat Burana again looked a little edgy at the gates and had to be fitted with a blindfold for stalls entry, but she put up a far better performance and those who thought they had given her enough chances discovered yet again just how perilous it is to ignore a Mike de Kock runner in a Gr1 race. All five of those who had beaten Rat Burana in the Poinsettia re-opposed her on the identical weight terms, but the best of any of them could manage was a second place finish. That came from Poinsettia Stakes fourth Ethereal Lady, who arguably put up her best performance since winning the Fillies Sprint in 2007 but who stood no chance with the winner.
Lady Perez looked briefly dangerous before finishing a neck behind Ethereal Lady in third, with a further half-a-length away to Ladybe Quick, who stayed on steadily to finish 4th, but the terrific turn of finishing speed which Surabi had shown to win the Gr2 Camelia S over 1160m at a soggy Turffontein four weeks earlier was nowhere to be seen on this vastly different fast ground. One must remark, though, that the Scottsville course visually appeared to be in better shape than it has been for this particular race meeting in a long time. The grounds staff can take a bow, but an endlessly wet summer and a winter which hasn’t kicked in yet obviously helped a great deal.
Dancer’s Daughter eventually could only finish 7.85 lengths behind the winner in 11th place. She will certainly come on with this run, and she is very much at her best over further than 1200m, but one might reasonably have hoped for a better effort. Her next performance will tell us more, but Scottsville has been the undoing of many a good horse racing there for the first time and it would be unwise to throw her out of the Vodacom Durban July equation because of this. It wasn’t a great KZN debut, though, whichever way you slice it.
Assistant trainer Natie Kotzen did the honours in Mike de Kock’s place and remarked about Rat Burana that “when I saw her up with the pace early on I knew she would be a tough horse to beat.” It would be easy to think that the Brazilian-bred import is a specialist sprinter, but she ran Stratos to a head in a Gr1 race over 1600m at Turffontein in March and connections may still be entertaining a bid for the Gr1 Garden Province S over that distance at Greyville in July – without the blinkers, perhaps. A daughter of Dodge out of the Southern Halo mare Carmina Burana, Rat Burana has won three times from nine starts for R806 250 in stakes and will make a superb addition to the broodmare band at her owner Mary Slack’s Wilgerbosdrift when her racing days are over.

Scottsville, SA, May 31, R350k, 1200m, turf, good, 1.07.50 (CR 1.07.00).
RAT BURANA (BRZ), 56.5, b f 3, Dodge - Carmina Burana (ARG) by Southern Halo. Owner Wilgerboschdrift (Nom M Slack); bred Haras Anderson (BRZ); trainer MF de Kock; jockey A Delpech (R218.750)
Ethereal Lady (SAF), 58.0, b f 4, Model Man (SAF) - Amber Gem (SAF) by Argosy)
Lady Perez (SAF), 58.0, b f 4, West Man - Rosie Perez (SAF) by Cordoba
Margins: 3½, neck, ½
Also ran: Lady Bequick (SAF) 56.5, Maelstrom (SAF) 58.0, Emblem Of Liberty (SAF) 56.5, Soft Landing (SAF) 58.0, Oracle News (SAF) 58.0, Hot Reception (SAF) 58.0, Viva (SAF) 58.0, Dancer's Daughter (GB) 58.0, Surabi (SAF) 58.0, Royal Vision (SAF) 58.0, Garden Princess (AUS) 58.0

Allan Robertson Fillies Chship (SAf-G1) (5/31)

Cliffhanger

The Allan Robertson Fillies Championship over 1200m at Scottsville on Saturday produced the first Gr 1 dead-heat in
a long time when Gauteng visitor On Her Toes and Port Elizabeth raider Geepee S shared the honours after a terrific tussle to the wire. Eleven two-year-olds lined up
for the first Gr 1 juvenile race of the season in South Africa, with impressive recent Clairwood debut winner Thin Red Line disputing favouritsm with unbeaten
Gr3 course-and-distance winner She’s A Winner.
Rock Concert had her supporters despite not having raced since her easy debut win at the Vaal in February, while Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery winner On Her Toes had her supporters at around 11/2 as well.
Geepee S was an unconsidered 25/1 chance despite having trotted up in a Listed event over 1200m at Fairview in her last appearance, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

On Her Toes was out in a flash and immediately showed the way with Rock Concert and Geepee S closest to her. She’s A Winner showed early toe, with Hold Fast and Thin Red Line not far away, but ultimately the three that showed up the best throughout dominated the race to the finish. Thin Red Line didn’t find much when asked for her effort, while She’s A Winner faded tamely to eventually finish a disappointing last and was found to have pulled up lame. Up front, Geepee S launched a strong challenge for the lead coming to the 200m, with Rock Concert still right in the mix. Geepee S managed to work her way alongside On Her Toes in the final stages, and to the naked eye it looked as if she might have secured the narrowest of outright victories, but the camera revealed otherwise, showing that the extremely gallant On Her Toes had held on for a share of the honours.
Rock Concert, bidding to emulate the 2005 Allan Robertson success of her full sister Rock Opera, was only a neck behind at the line, with two lengths back to a never-dangerous Zirconeum in fourth, but almost all eyes were riveted on the two fillies in front. On Her Toes and Geepee S were respectively ridden by Weichong Marwing and Bernard Fayd’-Herbe, 2 of the strongest jockeys in the business, and all things considered a dead-heat seemed like the perfect outcome to a stirring race.
On Her Toes is trained by Mike Azzie, who was quick to pay tribute to Geepee S’s trainer Nic Claassen. “He was training in my grandfather and father’s era,” remarked Azzie, and indeed it has been more than half-a-century since Claassen first took out a trainer’s licence. Best of all, Saturday marked Oom Nic’s 82nd birthday and a better present than a Gr 1 winner would be hard to imagine. Claassen is no stranger to big race success at Scottsville, having once won what is now the Golden Horse Casino Sprint with Forest King long before anyone dreamed there would ever be a casino on site, and the octogenarian still has a razor sharp retort or two up his sleeve. When asked if he thought Geepee S had a realistic chance, he immediately replied, “I didn’t bring her here to look at the bluegum trees.” It might be noted that Eastern Cape-trained winners of the Allan Robertson are not all that unusual. It was only five years ago that Silver Arc made the trip from Port Elizabeth to win the race for Alan Greeff.
Opinions may vary over which of the winning fillies has the brighter future, but On Her Toes seems to have a bit more by way of stamina in her pedigree even if the speed she showed here makes one wonder just how far she really will go. On Her Toes is a daughter of former dual champion sire Western Winter. She is the second foal and first winner of Badger Land mare Savannah Breeze, who won three races up to 2000m and who is a half sister to Gr1 winners Follow The Falcon and Savannah Queen. Bred by Highlands, she was bought for R800k on the select session of the 2007 National Yearling Sale and has won twice from three starts for earnings of R265k.
Geepee S has more modest origins. She cost little more than one-tenth of what it took to acquire her fellow Allan Robertson winner and was purchased for R85k at the 2007 GrandWest Yearling Sale. A daughter of proven sire Goldkeeper, she is the second foal and first winner of Complete Warrior mare Complete Journey, who won twice over 1400m and who is the half sister to Gr2 runner-up Lite Spark. Geepee S was bred at Daytona and has won 4 of her 5 starts, earning R275375.

Scottsville, SA, May 31, R350.000, 1200m, turf, good, 1.08.82 (CR 1.07.00).
*GEEPEE S (SAF), 57.0, ch f 2, Goldkeeper - Complete Journey (SAF) by Complete Warrior. Owner BE Miskin, N Claassen and AR Rapp; breeder Daytona Stud (SAF); trainer N Claassen; jockey B Fayd'herbe (144.375)
*ON HER TOES (SAF), 57.0, ch f 2, Western Winter - Savannah Breeze (SAF) by Badger Land. Owner V & A Singh and Team Valor; breeder Highlands (SAF); trainer MG Azzie; jockey W Marwing (144.375)
Rock Concert (SAF), 57.0, b f 2, Lecture - Drummer Girl (SAF) by Al Mufti
Margins: *dead heat, neck, 2
Also ran: Zirconeum (SAF) 57.0, Dragon Lily (SAF) 57.0, Goat (SAF) 57.0, Joyful Applause (SAF) 57.0, Hold Fast (SAF) 57.0, Kesha (SAF) 57.0, Thin Red Line (AUS) 57.0, She's A Winner (SAF) 57.0

Gr1 Gommagomma Challenge (SAf-G1) (5/3)

Master tactician Piere Strydom was at his awesome best when he steered sole 3yo Eddington to a pillar-to-post victory in the R3.5 million GommaGomma Challenge over 2000m at a wet and cold Turffontein on Saturday, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

This more than vindicated connections’ decision to run their colt in Africa’s richest ever race rather than the SA Derby earlier in the day, which may have been partly based on the fact that a pair of 3yos (Pick Six and ill-fated Emperor Napoleon) had dominated the finish to this conditions race twelve months earlier. It was also apparently done in order to test Eddington “against older horses before the Vodacom Durban July”, which inadvertently let slip the fact that – for all its colossal prize money – the GommaGomma can still amount to no more than a test run for the less endowed but considerably more prestigious Greyville showdown.
This however is not the place to allow provincialism to rear its ugly head. It is a sad reality that major Gauteng races are virtually the sole preserve of Gauteng horses. The difficulty of raiding from the Cape is well known and was further illustrated by Desert Links finishing a lonely last in the GommaGomma, and one still longs for the day when KZN can once again mount even a half-baked challenge on races like this. None of this is Eddington’s fault, and when all is said and done he trounced what opposition there was.
In a wide open market, Eddington went off as a 7/1 chance as She’s On Fire attracted strong support to go off as favourite. Her trainer Ormond Ferraris had bemoaned the fact earlier in the afternoon that “it had not rained as much as he would have liked”, given his mare’s facile Gr2 win in soft ground five weeks earlier, but Ferraris got his wish as the afternoon wore on and the rain set in. The Charles Laird-trio of Hunting Tower, Our Giant, and 2007 GommaGomma winner Pick Six all had their supporters, as did last November’s Gr1 Summer Cup hero Strategic News.
The lack of a solid early pace always looked a distinct possibility even before the ground turned soft and Strydom simply thrives in these circumstances. He took Eddington straight to the front and set a very ordinary gallop from She’s On Fire and Bound By Honour, with Pick Six and Our Giant keeping each other company just in behind that. Hunting Tower, as always, was held up early and raced at the back of the 14 runner field. Silverpoint made progress around horses to be within striking distance turning for home, where Bound By Honour was the first to try and get to grips with Eddington. She’s On Fire had a dream run up the far rail and also recognised the danger of waiting too long to launch an attack on the frontrunner. The mare had her chance to get to grips with Eddington, but the baby of the field still had something left in reserve. Shaking off all challengers, Eddington clearly had the race won at least 200m from home and found another gear to win handsomely by 2.25 lengths from the gallant She’s On Fire. Catmandu made steady late headway to finish a neck further back in third and a similar margin in front of Bound By Honour. Our Giant finished a never dangerous fifth, beaten 5.25 lengths in all, and probably is at his best over less than a testing 2000m.
The fact that only third placed Catmandu made much impact at all of those racing from behind underlines the fact that the GommaGomma was run at a very sedate pace indeed, and we have lost count of how many times in races big and small that Piere Strydom has emerged victorious in these circumstances. It was a great tactical ride, and a very different scenario from the start-to-finish win a year earlier of Pick Six, who set a very strong pace and galloped his opponents into the ground. That Eddington’s time for the 2000m was about 3.4 secs slower than that recorded by Falstaff in a merit rated 94 handicap earlier in the day is, however, evidence more of how much the rain had affected the ground in the intervening four hours rather than anything else. Anybody who tries to tell you that Falstaff would have won the GommaGomma by fifteen lengths should politely and respectfully be directed to the nearest loony bin….oops, I mean psychiatric facility.
Eddington had not previously won above Listed level against his own age group and looked to have a fair old task even under bottom weight of 53 kgs, but there was so fluke about his success and more big race glory could beckon – unless, of course, he falls prey to the international headhunters and departs our shores for greener pastures before he gets the opportunity. The GommaGomma winner is trained by Dominic Zaki, whose toothpaste commercial smile was predictably broader than ever, for owners George O’Brien, Warren Oakley, and Alan Burke. When it was pointed out to him that he had never previously won a race with a R3.5 million stake, Zaki was quick off the mark and replied “nor has anyone else.” Quite true. The race was worth R3 million in 2007.
Piere Strydom admitted that he was hoping to “hold on for a place” early in the straight, before adding that the expected challenges simply never came. It was only around 200m from home that he realised the race was his for the winning, by which time the race was on only for second place. Strydom and Zaki have had something of a rocky relationship, but their well-publicised split in 2007 didn’t last very long and now seems like a distant memory. They have always made for a great team, whatever differences may have arisen, and what relationship is ever wrinkle-free?
As an aside, we have to commend Sean Cormack, rider of runner-up She’s On Fire, for his dedication to duty. While almost everybody else was deservedly having a good time at assorted post-race parties at Turffontein, he was on a plane back to Durban, where he rode in four races at the Greyville night meeting. He was rewarded with victory in a maiden plate, being knocked almost off his mount by the original winner before being awarded the race on an objection and earning not much more than one-twentieth of what he collected for chasing Eddington home in the GommaGomma. To those critics who like to slate jockeys as being overpaid and underworked, the question is, would you have done the same?
Back to Eddington. Between one thing and another it would not be prudent to go overboard about his chances of defying whatever penalty he will collect for this success in the Vodacom Durban July, a race in which he is very unlikely to enjoy such an easy lead or such soggy conditions (for which he had already shown a distinct liking during Johannesburg’s very wet recent summer), but he cannot be entirely without hope of a remarkable double. A son of deceased Model Man, Eddington is out of the non-winning Mr Prospector mare Sit Alkul, who produced just one winner from seven UK foals before being imported. However, Sit Alkul has a lovely pedigree and is the full sister to UK Gr1 winner Lycius and to French Gr 3 winner Tereshkova, as well as a half sister to dual American Gr1 winner Akabir. Eddington was bred at Lionel Cohen’s Odessa Stud and was acquired for R150 000 at the 2006 Equimark Vintage Yearling Sale. He has now won 5 from 9 and earned R2 620 438 in stakes. To think that it was little more than 20 years ago that his dad became South Africa’s first equine millionaire, with much accompanying fanfare. With She’s On Fire also joining the millionaires’ club courtesy of the GommaGomma, eight of the 14 who took part now boast seven-figure career earnings.
Turffontein, SA, May 3, R3.5m, 2000m, turf, soft, 2.08.35 (CR 2.00.13).
EDDINGTON (SAF), 53.0, b c 3, Model Man (SAF) - Sit Alkul  by Mr Prospector. Owner GL O’Brien, AR Burke and W Oakley; breeder D Cohen & Sons (SAF); trainer D Zaki; jockey P Strydom (R2.187.500)
She's On Fire (SAF), 54.0, b f 5, Jet Master (SAF) - Cream Of The Crop (SAF) by Concertino (FR)
Catmandu (SAF), 55.5, b g 4, Makaarem - Gypsey Spirit (SAF) by Coastal
Margins: 2½, nk, nk
Also ran: Bound By Honour (SAF) 55.5, Our Giant (AUS) 58.0, Silverpoint (AUS) 55.5, Singing Sword (SAF) 55.5, Strategic News (AUS) 58.0, Prince Asad (SAF) 56.5, Hunting Tower (SAF) 58.0, Pick Six (SAF) 58.0, Succesful Bidder (SAF) 58.0, Fork Lightening (SAF) 55.5, Desert Links (SAF) 55.5

Gr1 Computaform Sprint (SAf-G1) (5/3)

J J The Jet Plane is fast becoming South Africa’s most popular speed merchant since the mighty Golden Loom. Having failed through lack of stamina to emerge as a Classic prospect, the horse with the crooked legs and the funky name has reinvented himself as a shortcut specialist deluxe and thrilled his legion of fans with a battling success in the Tedelex Computaform Sprint over 1000m at Turffontein on Saturday, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

Nine took part in this WFA contest, but only three attracted any real interest from punters, who seemed to be sharply divided between J J The Jet Plane, his fellow three-year-old Seventh Rock, and year older Mythical Flight, who had stopped the clock in an almost incredible 55 seconds when winning the equivalent race twelve months earlier. The only thing everybody could agree on was that whoever won the 2008 Computaform Sprint would do so in a much slower time than 55 seconds. A persistent if light rain was steadily turning the ground soft, whereas it has been lightning quick in 2007.
Fans of Mythical Flight would have been starting to work out early in proceedings that things would not go their way. Normally a lightning quick frontrunner, he was a couple of lengths adrift as J J The Jet Plane – contrary to most expectations – found himself showing the way from Rosinante, Flintlock, and Archipeligo. Seventh Rock was next in line with Mythical Flight. Absolutely nothing happened when the latter was asked for an effort and any remaining hope of a Computaform Sprint double for Sean Tarry’s speedball had gone out the window racing to the last 400m. Archipeligo was still in contention towards the inside as Flintlock came forward on the outside rail and Seventh Rock began to make up some ground. Flintlock threatened to pull of an unexpected win and briefly headed J J The Jet Plane, but Piere Strydom extricated more from the younger gelding close home and got J J to the wire a neck to the good from a thoroughly game Flintlock. For the record, he stopped the clock in 58.44 seconds, which was just over 1.5 seconds slower than the time recorded by National Victor in the merit rated 96 handicap which opened the day’s proceedings. Given the intervening rain, this means less than nothing except to highlight the perils of comparing raw times without factoring weather and track conditions into the equation.
Seventh Rock was three-quarters of a length further away in third, with Lightning Lecture running on to be another half-a-length adrift in fourth, but Mythical Flight eventually finished last. He had won on soft ground earlier in his career, so the going seems difficult to offer as an excuse, and concerns that all was not well with him after he hung badly and managed to get himself beaten as the 1/7 favourite in the Cape Flying Championship 15 weeks earlier looked well-founded. He probably is a much better horse on faster ground than he encountered here, but Mythical Flight has never been quite the same since he finished lame and lost his unbeaten record to Kildonan in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint at Scottsville last May.
Piere Strydom admitted that he was surprised as just about everyone else to find himself in front almost from the start on J J The Jet Plane, adding that he wasn’t worried when Flintlock momentarily headed him. “He has won up to 1400m, so I knew he would find more.” This marked a first Gr 1 win both for J J and his trainer Lucky Houdalakis, a new kid on the block who has only been training for a couple of years but who has very quickly made a name for himself in the competitive Gauteng arena. J J The Jet Plane remains unbeaten over distances up to 1400m, and clearly thrives on racing despite his less-than-copybook forelegs. He won a Gr 2 at the Vaal on Easter Monday and a Gr 3 at Turffontein in mid-April, leading up to the Computaform. It remains to be seen whether he will be given a break or whether he will turn up at Scottsville for the Golden Horse Casino Sprint on May 31st, but he seemed to answer the much debated question of who is the better horse between him and Seventh Rock. The handicapper had the latter rated as four pounds superior to J J before the Computaform, but a rethink will no doubt have followed after Saturday’s contest.
J J The Jet Plane is a son of Jet Master, whose second successive sires’ championship is virtually assured with less than three months of the season remaining. He is out of the Northern Guest mare Majestic Guest, a Listed winner of four races between 1400/1600m and dam of three other winners from five previous foals. Bred by Patricia Devine and bought for R70 000 from the 2006 National Two Year Old Sale, J J has won five of his eight starts and earned R1 143 250 for a quartet of owners which includes his trainer.

Turffontein, SA, May 3, R1m, 1000m, turf, soft, 58.44 (CR 54.96)
J J THE JET PLANE (SAF), 58.5, b g 3, Jet Master (SAF) - Majestic Guest (SAF) by Northern Guest. Owner HSN du Preez, CF Strydom, L Houdelakis & CD Boyens; breeder PJ Devine (SAF); trainer M Houdelakis; jockey P Strydom (625.000)
Flintlock (SAF), 60.0, b g 4, Dominion Royale (GB) - National Joy (SAF) by National Assembly
Seventh Rock (AUS), 58.5, br c 3, Rock Of Gibraltar (IRE) - Ruby Clipper (NZ) by Rubiton (AUS)
Margins:nk, ¾, ½
Also ran: Lightning Lecture (SAF) 60.0, Archipeligo (SAF) 60.0, Cedar (SAF) 60.0, Rosinante (SAF) 56.0, Fanyana (SAF) 60.0, Mythical Flight (SAF) 60.0

Gr1 SA Derby (SAf-G1) (5/3)

Kings Gambit would now be en route to Saudi Arabia had a reported one million US dollar sale not fallen through when he failed a veterinary exam because of a minor knee problem, but there’s nothing wrong with the way he runs. The 40/1 winner of the SA Classic in early April completed a quick Gr 1 double when he easily captured the Edblo SA Derby over 2450m at Turffontein on Saturday, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

This time, Kings Gambit went off as the favourite, which was hardly a surprise given that the withdrawal of Lion’s Blood left Lance Wiid’s gelding rated ten pound superior to the second best horse in what was in truth not a great Derby field at all. It was second highest rated Rudra who attracted plenty of support in the belief that he could reverse a 4.5 length beating in the SA Classic over the 650m longer Derby distance and he went off as a well backed second favourite.
The Derby was run at a furious pace on sticky ground, with Burke’s Luck charging off into a big early lead and showing the way to Solar Symbol and Classic Oasis, with Master Khan and Quicksand further back as the two market fancies were both waited with a long way behind the pacesetter. It was a certainty that Burke’s Luck would cave in a long way before the finish was reached and turning for home he was already going out the back door. Piere Strydom wasted no time in picking up the cudgels on proven stayer Classic Oasis, going for home at the top of the straight and opening up a lead of what must have been at least six lengths at one point.
It may have seemed for a time that Classic Oasis had completely burgled the Derby from under the noses of his opposition, but few jockeys young or old are less inclined to fluster than Gavin Lerena. Clearly confident in his mount’s abilities, Lerena showed no inclination to panic as Kings Gambit began to set off in pursuit of Classic Oasis from some 400m out. It may have looked at first as if he had been left with just too much to do, but at the 200m mark it was starting to look pretty plain that Classic Oasis was only in front temporarily. Delivered with that proved to be a perfectly judged finish, Kings Gambit strolled on by to eventually beat Classic Oasis by 2.5 lengths. Nothing else ever got into the hunt and it was 2.75 lengths further back to third placed Rudra, who cannot escape the reality that he just isn’t in the same league as Kings Gambit. Master Khan eventually finished fourth, all of 14 lengths behind Rudra as the balance of the field struggled home like something out of a Market Rasen midwinter steeplechase rather than a Derby.
Kings Gambit is not a Vodacom Durban July entry, although of course he can still be supplemented, but one has to seriously wonder whether he is the right type for a tight course like Greyville. He is a long-striding, galloping sort who will always be at home on tracks like Turffontein, where he can bide his time and unwind his challenge. He looks to have plenty of stamina, and could yet remain of great interest to overseas buyers, especially perhaps from Europe or Australia, where opportunities abound for good horses with plenty of stamina. Kings Gambit is a son of much travelled Silvano, who was completing a same-day Classic double after the earlier success of Happy Spirit in the Gr 2 SA Oaks. Kings Gambit is the third foal and second foal of Al Mufti mare Lady Brompton, who won seven races up to Gr1 level between 1300/1700m. Bred at Danika Stud by Nicky and the late Basil Bartlett, the Derby winner was a R600 000 buy from the 2006 National Yearling Sale and has now won four times from only six starts for R1 496 325 in purses.

Turffontein, SA, May 3, R1m, 2450m, turf, soft, 2.37.11 (CR 2. 31.59).
KINGS GAMBIT (SAF), 57.0, ch g 3, Silvano (GER) - Lady Brompton (SAF) by Al Mufti. Owner the Late Mr JP Herholdt; breeder Danika Stud (SAF); trainer L Wiid; jockey G Lerena (625.000)
Classic Oasis (SAF), 57.0, b g 3, Classic Flag (SAF) - Oasis (SAF) by Centenary
Rudra (SAF), 57.0, ch c 3, Parade Leader - Tawny Red (SAF) by Northfields
Margins: 2½, 2¾, 14
Also ran: Master Khan (SAF) 57.0, Royal Captive (AUS) 57.0, Causation (AUS) 57.0, Solar Symbol (SAF) 57.0, Burke's Luck (AUS) 57.0, Blue Tooth (SAF) 57.0, Quicksand (SAF) 57.0

Gr1 SA Classic (5/4/08)

Grand Master

A full field of sixteen went to post for the Gr1 SA Classic and with all of the principals from both the Dingaans and Gauteng Guineas involved, a mouthwatering clash was expected. Collateral form was aplenty, but with rapidly improving 3yo’s, form like many other factors, can be just like a game of chess, writes Steve Furnish.

In proven ability the Dingaans winner Lions Blood looked to be a very serious runner so it was no surprise to see him shorten in the market into 4/1 from 7’s. The only other runner to find any real support was Lubricator. Weiho Marwing’s charge was backed in to 7/1 from 12’s during the morning, but was allowed to ease back out to 10’s on course. The favourite was the unbeaten Smart Banker and with his trainer Charles Laird having just won the two graded juvenile events on the card, he was as short as 22/10 for a while before easing right out to 3’s at the off.
As could quite easily have been expected, it was the Charles Laird trained Solar Symbol who elected to set the pace. Stable companion Cashel raced second with Hamlool close up third and Eddington, who did well to quickly overcome a wide draw, positioned in fourth. Kingdom Come and the easy to back Kings Gambit came next whilst Smart Banker and Lions Blood raced towards the back end of midfield. The pace was a fair one and as they rounded the turn the field was quite strung out. On entering the straight the leaders moved towards the middle of the track and as the field quickly began to concertina the runners fanned out in the style of a cavalry charge. Their job done, Solar Symbol and Cashel were quickly swallowed up as they approached the 400m marker and it was Hamlool and Eddington who headed a wall of horses. Kingdom Come, Thundering Jet and Kilcoy Castle were amongst those in the shake up at that stage as was Kings Gambit who had switched out for his run against the outside rail. The Gauteng Guineas winner Imbongi was just three away having made up ground from the rear and also making good headway was Rudra who had been hampered 1100m out. Lions Blood didn’t get the clearest of runs when the race began in earnest, but despite that he was less than two lengths behind Kings Gambit when that one struck the front 300m from home. Kings Gambit ran on strongly from there onwards and went on to score very comfortably by two. Clearly elated at winning his first Gr1 event, jockey Gavin Lerena was saluting in the fashion of someone leading a charge well before the line and as a result was fined R2000. Lions Blood finished well to take second, but try as he might he couldn’t make any impression on Kings Gambit in the closing stages. Eddington stayed on determinedly to secure third, whilst the much improved Rudra ran on stoutly to take fourth. . A R600,000 purchase from the national sale, Kings Gambit is a son of Silvano out of the Al Mufti mare Lady Brompton. He’s now won three of his five career starts to date and has already amassed stake earnings of over R870,000. Kings Gambit also provided trainer Lance Wiid with his first Gr1 success and he too was clearly over the moon. Kings Gambit beat a top class field in good style here and has a very bright future ahead of him.

Gr1 SA Fillies Classic (5/4/08)

Ace Of Pace

The Mike De Kock runners Rat Burana and Gilded Minaret headed the merit ratings and the bookmakers not surprisingly priced up accordingly. However, when it comes to form one has to look at the pace of a race and few could have expected the fiasco that ensued, writes Steve Furnish.

Rat Burana was the one in form from the De Kock stable and as that one strengthened into 12/10 in the betting market, stable companion Gilded Minaret proved friendless. In an otherwise quiet market Urabamba was nibbled at, whilst both Miss Turbulence and the Natal raider Flight Queen found outside support.
There were no confirmed frontrunners in the field and although there were several who prefer to race handy, many pundits were concerned that there wouldn’t be a strong gallop. As the gates opened the field set off as if they were contesting the 7200m of the Grand National. Acoustical had been drawn in gate one and despite the efforts of her rider to hold her up, she couldn’t help but hit the front. Urabamba raced with her and clearly unsettled as indeed were most, was waiting for someone to go. On reaching the turn Urabamba had pulled herself to the front and still travelling at a very sedate pace, her jockey Piere Strydom clearly decided to make the best a bad situation. Renowned for his judgement of pace, Strydom then took up the mantle. The field had settled nicely as they turned for home and Urabamba, usually one to run on from off the pace, actually looked quite relaxed at the head of affairs. Mat Gold and Acoustical raced second and third whilst both Laser Fan and Blue Swift were close up. On entering the straight Acoustical quickly came under pressure, whilst running on stoutly were Blue Swift and Miss Turbulence. As they approached the 400m marker Miss Turbulence had gotten within a neck of Urabamba and with Glenrossal now hot on her heels, the race had finally begun. Urabamba quickly found extra when challenged and with the effort to get on terms by Miss Turbulence now taking its toll, it was Urabamba’s old adversary Glenrossal who looked the biggest threat. Glenrossal had beaten Urabamba by a neck in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas last time out and as they hit the distance it was clear that little would separate them again. Urabamba kept on determinedly on the run to the line and although Glenrossal answered every call from jockey Francois Naude, she couldn’t make any impression. Running on for 3rd and gaining very steadily was the favourite Rat Burana. She clearly had not found it easy to quicken off the slow pace. Trained by Robbie Sage, Urabamba is a daughter of Fort Wood out of the Our Casey’s Boy mare Princess Ampato. She’s now amassed stake earnings of over R812000 which is not far off double her purchase price of R475000. She’s clearly one of the best of her generation, but as to whether the form of this race will stand up, well that’s another matter.

Gr1 Horse Chestnut Stakes (5/4/08)

Gigantic

Our Giant has improved hand over fist in the past six months, and after bolting up in his prep run went off a warmish 18/10 favourite for this WFA mile. And win it he did, albeit by the narrowest of margins, as the seemingly accursed Emperor Napoleon would surely have grabbed the major spoils given the luxury of another jump. Not that the winning connections should be overly concerned about that, writes Ken Nicol.

Succesful Bidder was best handicapped on paper for this event, but the lightly raced 6yo has appeared slightly out of sorts at his last few. That negative pattern continued here, as he produced a rather insipid finish after adopting his usual style of racing from well off the early pace.
Which was set by outsider Braggadacio, who got over smartly from a wide draw to set what looked a fairly relaxed gallop. Sole filly Stratos, and Summer Cup winner Strategic News raced within a length or so, with Our Giant, Fork Lightening and Dynamite Mike next best, but no more than four lengths off the speed. Pick Six raced mid division in company with the supported Buscador, while Emperor Napoleon and Catmandu seemed content to give eight lengths start, with only Hunting Tower and Succesful Bidder further adrift.
Rank outsider Jaroslaw looped runners to challenge for the lead as they turned into the long home stretch. This short-lived effort soon fizzled out however, and the net result was Dynamite Mike being cramped on the outside rail as Jaroslaw started to drop out of things.
Any thought of Braggadacio being a token pacemaker were swiftly put to bed when he gave another kick at about the 400m pole, but by now challenges were starting to appear. Pick Six moved up menacingly, but just as suddenly was a spent force. He doesn’t seem to be quite the same horse who won the Gomma Gomma last year, although he was admittedly well weighted on that occasion.
Braggadacio still led entering the final furlong, but by now Anton Marcus had Our Giant poised to apply the coup de grace‘, and he made what seemed a telling swoop into the lead about 150m from the post. Quickening almost unnoticed between runners though was the friendless (4/1 to 8/1) Emperor Napoleon, who really turned on the gas late to only go down by a diminishing short head in what turned out to be a frantic finish. The gallant Braggadacio ran the race of his life to stay on only a length and a half behind, while Catmandu made steady progress into fourth despite not finding the clearest of passages.
Spare a thought for Emperor Napoleon. He now has a quartet of Gr1 seconds to his name, with the largest margin of defeat the length he was off Pick Six in last years’ Gomma Gomma Challenge. He must be the most talented horse in SA racing history never to have won a Graded race, and should come into this year’s renewal with a huge chance at the weights.
Something of a late maturer, Our Giant has always been highly rated by Charles Laird. He seemed a few lengths off the best as a 3yo, but has certainly blossomed over the past year, and is now capable of trading punches with any local horse in training, with Pocket Power the notable exception.
By Australian sire Giant’s Causeway, and out of the Gr3 placed mare Macrosa, Our Giant was purchased for A$480K at the Magic Millions sale of 2005. He has now won eight of his eighteen appearances for stakes of R1,900,550.

Gr1 Empress Club S. (SAf-G1) (3/1)

Turffontein, SA, March 1, R1 m, 1600m, turf, good, 1.37.50 (CR 1.35.44).
STRATOS (SAF), 60.0, b f 5, Jet Master (SAF) - Gilded Star (SAF) by Golden Thatch (IRE). Owner Team Valor; breeder D Cohen & Sons (SAf); trainer MG Azzie; jockey W Marwing (R625.000)
Rat Burana (BRZ), 57.0, b f 3, Dodge - Carmina Burana (ARG) by Southern Halo.
Bold Ellinore (SAF), 60.0, b f 5, Kahal (GB) - Ellinore (SAF) by Northern Guest.
Margins: nose, 1, ½
Also ran: She's On Fire (SAF) 60.0, Carry On Katie (SAF) 60.0, Run Angel Run (SAF) 60.0, Surabi (SAF) 60.0, Silver Empire (AUS) 60.0, Mochachino (SAF) 57.0, Royal Fantasy (SAF) 60.0, Island Swing (SAF) 60.0, Moneycantbuymelove (SAF) 57.0, Soft Landing (SAF) 60.0, Alejate (SAF) 60.o

Up In The Clouds

Stratos ended her career on the best possible note, recording her first Gr 1 success when coming out on top in a nail-biting (if somewhat untidy) finish to the Empress Club Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein (standside) on Saturday, writes Matthew Lips.
Both trainer Mike Azzie and owner's representative Robin Bruss suggested afterwards that the five-year-old mare would be retired to stud now, but given the time of year one imagines that there is plenty of time for a rethink.

Mike de Kock had won this race twelve months earlier with three-year-old Little Miss Magic and Rat Burana was a heavily supported 2/1 favourite here to give the stable its second successive Empress Club success with a sophomore. Stratos, returning from a three month rest and seeking a hat-trick of Graded race wins, was the 9/2 second choice, with plenty of support at big prices for Run Angel Run and Royal Fantasy.
The race had been delayed a few minutes by the presence of a lightning storm and was run in rather murky and damp conditions. Soft Landing immediately went off to the front and charged her way to a lead that must have been a good eight lengths at one point, with Rat Burana and Stratos closest to her. Moneycantbuymelove was next in line, with Royal Fantasy in midfield and stuck wide after starting from gate 14. Soft Landing was still well clear turning for home, but there was no way that she could sustain such a hectic pace all the way to the line.
The pacemaker was starting to wobble halfway down the straight. Bold Ellinore had started a forward move towards the inside and eventually disputed the finish with Rat Burana and Stratos. Any of the trio could have won 200m out, with Bold Ellinore appearing to perhaps be going just the best until she began to shift left under pressure close home and force stable companion Rat Burana off a straight course. Stratos was also mildly inconvenienced by this, but if anything it galvanised her into action. Driven right out by Weichong Marwing, Stratos edged past her two De Kock-trained rivals in the shadow of the post, winning by a head from Rat Burana, with Bold Ellinore eventually weakening late to be almost a length away in third. She's On Fire ran on steadily wide out to finish fourth, beaten 1.5 lengths by the winner, while Soft Landing predictably compounded and finished with only one behind her.
Just what the result would have been had Bold Ellinore run straight all the way to the finish we will never know. It is possible to consider Rat Burana a somewhat unlucky loser, but Stratos was all heart in sticking her head out where it mattered most and fully deserves to go to stud as the winner of a Gr 1 race. She had been impressive when winning a Gr3 in November and a Gr 2 in December, and looks well set to fulfil her trainer's wish that she be named as the Highveld Feature season older filly of the year in a couple of months time.
According to Mike Azzie, "Stratos has a lot of problems," and added that owner Barry Irwin (of Team Valor) "had spared no expense" in keeping the mare going long enough to record her 1st success at the highest level. Robin Bruss represented Irwin (who evidently watched the race live in Kentucky) and remarked that Stratos would remain in SA for stud purposes. Team Valor also own 2007 Empress Club winner Little Miss Magic, who is now in training in France.
Like Little Miss Magic twelve months before her, Stratos is a daughter of all-conquering champion sire Jet Master. She's a member of the stallion's 1st crop, and we can now only marvel at the general apathy towards Jet Master's earliest offspring that allowed Azzie to buy Stratos for just R32 000 at the 2004 Vintage Yearling Sale. Needless to add, it took a great deal more than that for Team Valor to later acquire Stratos in a private deal. Stratos is the third foal of Golden Thatch mare Gilded Star, who never won a race but who has also produced Gr1 pl World Of Stars. She was bred by Lionel Cohen at Odessa and has now won seven of 18 starts for stakes of R1 225 250. She is yet another superb advert (along with the likes of Sun Classique!) for the Equimark Vintage Yearling Sale, which takes place this year on Sunday March 16th at Durbanville racecourse.

Champion On The Double

Pocket Power became the 1st horse in 29 years to win the J&B Met (SAF-G1) for a second time, following Politician's wins in 1978/79. Pocket Power scored another notable double both this year and last, by winning the Queen's Plate (SAF-G1) and J&B Met (SAF-G1), the two main races of the Cape Summer season in the space of 5 weeks. Pocket Power, ridden as usual by jockey Bernard Fayd'herbe, came with his customary late burst of speed to overhaul the leaders and score comfortably. “He thought he'd done enough when he hit the front and started loafing, so I had to remind him, to which he responded well. We won easily.”
Pocket Power, who started a short-priced favorite,  races for the partnership of owners Shirtliff and Webber, who were the buyer and underbidder respectively when the horse was sold as a yearling. Webber acquired a half share after the sale.
Trained by Mike Bass in Cape Town, Pocket Power was bred at Zandvliet in Robertson, a farm known as much for its fine wines as thoroughbreds. The 5yo gelding is the 3rd J&B Met winner produced by Zandvliet, following Peter Beware (1968) and Wild West (1985).
Pocket Power's dam Stormsvlei won 3 up to 1400m, and is a half sister to G1-winning sprinter Harry's Echoe. The mare has produced 6 winners to date, of which Pocket Power and his full sister River Jetez are the only stakes winners. The pair were sired by SA's Champion Sire Jet Master, who earned that title for the first time in 2007, remarkably with just three crops racing. Jet Master, a multiple G1-winner in his own career, was voted Horse of the Year, as was Prince Florimund, the sire of Pocket Power's dam Stormsvlei. Following his SA successes, Prince Florimund competed in the USA under Charlie Whittingham's care, in the days of John Henry.
Pocket Power has now won 10 of his 20 lifetime starts, incl. 8 Graded races (of which 4 G1), for earnings of R3m. He was SA's Horse of the Year in 2007 and looks well on his way to similar honours for this season, which ends in July.

CASH IN POCKET

Goodbye Politician, hello Pocket Power.  The former's 29 year reign as the last horse to win the J&B Met twice ended on a hot sunny afternoon at Kenilworth last Saturday, when Pocket Power successfully defended his title in the Cape's premier horse race and ensured his place in the history books.  It was widely expected, of course, but as Mythical Flight showed us in no uncertain fashion just one week earlier, it ain't never over ‘til the fat lady yelps.  The proverbial obese woman may have sung her lungs out as Pocket Power scooted past the line at the head of the Met field, but any musically-inclined bookmakers would have been thinking more in terms of a funeral dirge.  This result cost them a fortune as Pocket Power, wonderfully treated by the changed weight conditions of the Met, started as the 7/10 favourite.
No degree in rocket design was needed to work out that Pocket Power had plenty going for him, especially since Gold Circle were kind enough to change the weights structure of the Met from the cumulative penalties of old to a system of basic WFA plus a once-off penalty for any Graded races won.  This had a concertina effect on the weights, and Pocket Power found himself conceding less weight to his rivals than would have been the case hitherto.  This was ostensibly done to try and make it more feasible for a proven star to win the race, but cynics will choose to think that it may have had more to do with the fact that the old system rewarded those horses that hadn't already accumulated maximum penalties and who conveniently lost their lead-up races, at least until the Met weights were finalised.  You only have to cast your mind back to some of the allegations which flew thick and fast in the run-up to previous Mets to get the drift.
Pocket Power had unleashed a truly awesome turn of foot when he won the Gr 1 L'Ormarins Queen's Plate for a second time in late December and was always going to be a tough nut to crack in the big one.  The last time he was beaten in a race around the turn at Kenilworth was way back when he was still a maiden, and it's hardly surprising that he was an odds-on chance to win the Met again.  The likes of Pick Six, Succesful Bidder and Floatyourboat attracted some interest from those who saw no value in the favourite, while Buy And Sell was tickled up at big prices, but most pundits would have agreed that it was up to Pocket Power to get himself beaten.  This he splendidly did not do.
Likeithot set a brisk pace early and showed the way from Pick Six and Wonder Lawn, with Our Giant and Buy And Sell next in line.  Floatyourboat, Succesful Bidder and Bill Of Rights were further back as Pocket Power settled down about two-thirds of the way down the 17 runner field.  Biarritz as always was towards the rear, with Silver Mist last of all.  The pace seemed to cool down a little between the turns, but the order of running underwent no significant changes and Likeithot was still in front sweeping into the 600m straight.   Floatyourboat began to launch his challenge inside the last 400m, with Our Giant and Buy And Sell both very much in contention as Likeithot began to give way.  Pick Six folded tamely from 300m out and would eventually finish last, but starting to loom large in the mirrors was Pocket Power.
Switched to the outside of the leading bunch to secure a clear run, Pocket Power was visibly going great guns more than 200m from home and soon put the issue to rest.  He swept to the lead well inside the final furlong and in the end had something still in reserve as he won by 1.25 lengths under Bernard Fayd'Herbe, a rider not given to extravagant displays of emotion but who couldn't resist a jubilant victory salute as Pocket Power romped into history. 
Our Giant fought all the way to the line and was rewarded with second place, but was simply no match for the winner even in receipt of 2.5 kgs.  Hunting Tower ran on well from off the pace to finish a further 3-parts of a length away, making it a 2-3 finish for the Charles Laird stable. Buy And Sell showed his disappointing Queen's Plate effort to have been all wrong by finishing only another short head behind Hunting Tower in 4th and would just about have won (at least in theory) if the old Met weights had been applied.   Floatyourboat was beaten a total of 2.30 lengths into 5th, with Silver Mist running on well from the rear to in turn be another short head behind that.  Neither of this pair was done any favours by the new-look conditions of the race, to put it mildly, and Silver Mist in particular would have had a real chance of winning if he had run to this form under the previous system. 
Still, let's not waste any more time wondering what the outcome might have been if things had stayed the way they were.  We will never know, anyway, and it doesn't matter.  Aside from bookies and the connections of rival runners, most racing enthusiasts will have been delighted to see a true-blue champion win the Met instead of some one-off hero looking for his 15 minutes of fame.  We are lucky that Pocket Power is still here, and hopefully here he will remain.  Winning trainer Mike Bass (a master at the big race game who just gets better and better at it), there have never been any real plans to export Pocket Power, but the possibility was not altogether ruled out when he was asked what future plans were for his champion.  The other alternatives obviously are another KZN winter campaign and/or an assault on the big money races of the forthcoming Gauteng Feature season, but we all know how difficult it is to raid Johannesburg from Cape Town and more than one horse's career has never recovered from it.
Pocket Power has all the attributes of a champion.  He can switch off in a race, accelerate as if shot from a cannon, and know when he's done enough.  “He pulled me through but then started to get lazy,” said Fayd'Herbe, “and I had to give him a bit of a hard ride before he picked it up again.”  Well, he picked it up all right, and really in the end was in a different division to the strongest field of older horses that could have been found to oppose him.  It is redundant to remark that Pocket Power is the best middle distance horse in SA, but it sounds good so we'll say it anyway.
Pocket Power is co-owned by Marsh Shirtliff and Mr and Mrs Arthur Webber.  “Have you ever seen an old man cry?” was the almost-speechless Shirtliff's 1st remark in his post-race interview.  “Marsh is becoming a legend,” added Mike Bass, and we cannot argue with that, before adding that “Bernard rode a great race.”  Agreed on that point, too. 
It was back in the gloomy days of March 2004 that Pocket Power was acquired from the Cape Summer Yearling Sale at Durbanville.  The equine influenza epidemic had just swept through most of the land, the Cape summer season had been lost in almost its entirety, and cash for new horses was so scarce that black humour abounded about depressed breeders hanging themselves from the trees which surround the country course.  It was a buyers' market deluxe, if you had anything to spend, and in the circumstances it took a considerable leap of faith for Bass to spend R190 000 on a colt by a first season sire.  190k may not sound like much in an era of telephone number prices, but in that time and place it was a hefty sum and indeed amounted to the 2nd highest price of the sale.  Dan de Wet, who bred Pocket Power at his Zandvliet, would have been only too happy to cash the cheque.
The first season sire was, of course, Jet Master.  His progeny may have made their sales debut in depressed circumstances, but they have done so much ever since to enliven the South African racing scene.  None more so, of course, than Pocket Power.  Now aged five, the gelded son of Prince Florimund mare Stormsvlei has grabbed one horse-of-the-year title already and is way ahead of the pack in his bid for a second.  The 2008 J&B Met marked his 10th win from 20 starts, and elevated his earnings to a massive R4 034 775.  Accidents aside, he will add significantly to that sum.  The power is nowhere near being exhausted.  The rest of us who have to put up with Eskom's wretched bungling should be so lucky - but that's another story.

J&B Met (SAf-G1) (1/26)
Kenilworth , SA, January 26, R2m, 2000m, turf, good, 2.04.43 (CR 2.01.00).
POCKET POWER (SAF), 58.0, b c 5, Jet Master (SAF) - Stormsvlei (SAF) by Prince Florimund (SAF). Owner NM Shirtliff and AD Webber; breeder Zandvliet (SAF); trainer MW Bass; jockey B Fayd'herbe (R1.250.000)
Our Giant (AUS), 55.5, ch c 4, Giant's Causeway - Macrosa (AUS) by McGinty (AUS)
Hunting Tower (SAF), 58.0, ch c 5, Fort Wood - Stirrup Cup (SAF) by Royal Chalice (SAF).
Margins: 1 1/3, ¾, nose
Also ran: Buy And Sell (SAF) 57.5, Floatyourboat (SAF) 58.0, Silver Mist (SAF) 56.0, Wonder Lawn (SAF) 55.5, Succesful Bidder (SAF) 58.0, Appelate Court (SAF) 56.0, Hilgrove (SAF) 56.0, Likeithot (SAF) 56.0, Biarritz (SAF) 55.5, Jagged Ice (SAF) 56.0, Dynamite Mike (SAF) 55.5, Bill Of Rights (SAF) 55.5, Farolito (SAF) 55.5, Pick Six (SAF) 57.5

Gr1 Cape Derby (SAf-G1) (1/26)

Kenilworth, SA, January 26, R500.000, 2000m, turf, good, 2.05.27 (CR 2.01.00).
RUSSIAN SAGE (SAF), 57.0, b c 3, Jallad - Sage Blue (SAF) by Badger Land. Owner Fieldspring Racing; breeder Highlands Farm Stud (SAF); trainer J Snaith; jockey R Fourie (312.500)
Tan Can (SAF), 57.0, ch c 3, Silvano (GER) - Tanover (SAF) by Model Man (SAF)
Bucked Off (SAF), 57.0, b g 3, Casey Tibbs (IRE) - See Me Fly (SAF) by Caesour.
Margins: nk, ¾, ¾
Also ran: Golden Riviera (SAF) 57.0, Paris Perfect (SAF) 57.0, Casey's Son (SAF) 57.0, Galaxy (BRZ) 57.0, Kingdom Come (ARG) 57.0, Field Event (SAF) 57.0, Causation (AUS) 57.0, Judged Excellent (SAF) 57.0, Al Pasha (SAF) 57.0, Red Treasure (SAF) 57.0

The Snaith boys were at it again when Russian Sage credited their stable with its fourth Gr1 success of the summer season by winning the Investec Cape Derby over 2000m on Saturday. The Derby is the final Gr1 of the Kenilworth summer extravaganza and Justin and Jonathan can now pause for a breath before looking ahead to the KZN winter carnival. They certainly do have the firepower, writes Matthew Lips.

The Derby had a rather more open look to it than the Fancourt Majorca S and J&B Met which preceded it on the big day and there didn't look to be much to choose between several horses. Galaxy had run on well to finish just behind Russian Sage when third in the Gr1 Cape Guineas three weeks earlier and many experts were of the view that he would reverse the form over the 400m longer Derby distance. Dean Kannemeyer's colt started favourite ahead of Russian Sage, with Guineas fifth Kingdom Come (one of only 3 horses in a field of 13 to have previously won over the distance) also attracting considerable support.
Causation was immediately taken to the head of affairs and set a reasonable pace from Al Pasha and Russian Sage, with Bucked Off and Golden Riviera next astern as both Galaxy and Kingdom Come were waited with some way down the field. Judged Excellent sat last of all after a tardy start. Causation and Al Pasha were still in the firing line halfway down the straight, but were soon under heavy pressure as Russian Sage slipped through towards the inside to lead. It was Tan Can, a lesser fancied stable companion to Galaxy, who eventually emerged as the one real threat to Russian Sage. Dean Kannemeyer's handsome Silvano colt was galvanised into action from well off the pace by Bernard Fayd'Herbe, and for a moment he looked to have enough momentum to sweep on past Russian Sage.
Fayd’Herbe may well have had visions of emulating Jeff Lloyd's 2007 feat of winning all three of the Gr1 races on J&B Met day, but a neck is as close as Tan Can ultimately would get to achieving the dream. Very broadly speaking, top class horses come in two categories. Those that can sit off the pace and take off like a Boeing (e.g. Pocket Power), and those who go handy and are virtually impossible to pass once they get their head in front. Winter Solstice and Jamaica are a couple of good recent examples of type B, and so is Russian Sage. He has, if memory serves, never lost a race where he was in front 200m from the line and he would once again not surrender in the Derby, holding on grittily under Richard Fourie to win by a neck from Tan Can. The runner-up is owned by John and Karen Newsome of Fieldspring Racing, but they won't be complaining. They also own Russian Sage, who incidentally beat yet another Fieldspring horse (First Honour) when he won the Gr 2 Selangor Cup in December. First Honour and Tan Can are trained by Dean Kannemeyer - who is, no doubt, a tad sick of the sight of Russian Sage.
Bucked Off was beaten only one length into third at the finish, with Golden Riviera showing largely unanticipated reserves of stamina by staying on to finish a further length away in fourth. Galaxy and Kingdom Come posed no threats before respectively finishing seventh and eighth, but Eastern Cape raider Paris Perfect stayed on well to finish an honourable fifth ahead of Casey's Son.
There had been some doubts expressed whether, as a son of Jallad, Russian Sage would stay the Derby distance. Now we know. He is out of the Badger Land mare Sage Blue, who won up to 2000m and whose half brother Silver Sliver (by predominantly speed sire West Man) won the Gr 1 SA Derby over 2450m. In any case, Jallad has sired a 3200m Gold Cup winner (Major Bluff), a winning hurdler in England (Grand Jete), a 2400m KZN Derby winner (Free My Heart), and two previous Cape Derby winners (Grande Jete and Rabiya). With the splendid benefit of 20/20 hindsight, we should never have doubted that Russian Sage would stay.
This was the third Derby winner from the last five runnings for Fieldspring Racing, who won with Dynasty in 2003 and ill-fated Rabiya in 2005. The race was not run in 2004, because of the equine 'flu. Tan Can is a horse with tons of scope and will surely yet emerge as a big race winner of the future, and it will be interesting to see how the 2 colts' careers map out over the next twelve months or so, but Russian Sage won the Derby fair and square. Bred by Highlands and bought for R450 000 at the 2006 National Yearling Sale, he has won five times from 11 starts and earned R822 275 in stakes.
At the 2008 National Yearling Sale a half brother by Fort Wood is on select night.

Gr1 Majorca S. (SAf-G1) (1/26)

Kenilworth, SA, January 26, R400.000, 1600m, turf, good, 1.38.53 (CR 1.35.80).
DANCER'S DAUGHTER (GB), 57.5, gr f 4, Act One - Reason to Dance (GB) by Damister. Owner GJ & RD Beck; bred in UK; trainer J Snaith; jockey B Fayd'herbe (R250.000)
Royal Fantasy (SAF), 58.0, b f 4, Al Mufti - Davidia (SAF) by Fort Wood
Nania (SAF), 53.0, ch f 3, Western Winter - Nacarat (SAF) by Pas De Quoi (SAF)
Margins: 1 ¼, ¾, 1 3/4
Also ran: Rat Burana (BRZ) 53.0, Rei Rei (SAF) 53.0, Joshlin (SAF) 53.0, Carry On Katie (SAF) 58.0, Ethereal Lady (SAF) 58.0, Crimson Blossom (IRE) 58.0, Joshua's Mistress (SAF) 53.0, Ice Belle (SAF) 53.0, Zooming Zellie (USA) 58.0, Oracle News (SAF) 58.0, Ladonna (SAF) 53.0, Festive Occasion (SAF) 58.0, Veiled Essence (SAF) 58.0

Dancer';s Daughter is well established as the best older filly in training after she completed a Gr 1 double in Saturday's Fancourt Majorca S over 1600m at Kenilworth.
The English-bred grey had won the Gr1 Paddock S 3 weeks earlier in devastating style, and despite the Majorca's 200m shorter distance it seemed very difficult indeed to look beyond her as the likely winner. The Justin Snaith inmate went off as a heavily backed odds-on favourite to beat a field which included four other previous Gr1 winners, wtites Matthew Lips.

Oracle News came across from a wide draw to lead early and set a decent pace from Crimson Blossom and Ice Belle, with Dancer's Daughter just in behind them and racing noticeably closer to the action than when she had come from a long way back in the Paddock Stakes. Royal Fantasy followed the leading quartet, but was stuck wide throughout after starting from the worst gate of all. Nania and Zooming Zellie were further back as Rat Burana raced well off the pace in her first try beyond sprint distances.
Oracle News began to feel the heat soon after turning for home and 400m out there were numerous horses fanned across the course with a realistic chance. Jockeys were not shy to employ almost the entire width of the course, which made for fair racing and a nice change from the bunching towards the outside which blighted several Kenilworth meetings in the run-up to the big day. Dancer's Daughter was travelling really well halfway down the straight and soon took the lead without much fuss. She had the race won 200m from home, and in the end won a little more comfortably than the 1.25 length margin implies.
Royal Fantasy finished second, and deserves plenty of credit. Geoff Woodruff's 4yo can be a little unpredictable and was a completely unheralded outsider here, but the former Gr1 winner has tons of ability and could have made a real race of this had she not been obliged to take a scenic route around the turns. The Gr1 Empress Club Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein beckons for her and she may well win it if she can run the same race she did here. That is a pretty big "if", though.
Nania came out best of the three-year-olds and stayed on steadily to finish another three-quarters of a length away in third, 1.75 lengths in front of a running-on Rat Burana, who got the distance well and who is a lightly raced 3yo with the capacity to win a decent race this season. Ethereal Lady was never seen with a chance, much as had been the case in the Paddock Stakes, and sprinting is probably this Gr 1 1200m winner's forte. Joshlin and Joshua's Mistress respectively finished sixth and tenth in their first starts since being acquired by Team Valor. Oracle News, the only KZN-trained runner on the entire ten race programme, faded to finish with three behind her. Anybody who argues that things are getting better in the Cinderella province of South African racing is, it seems, sadly living in dreamland. Even Port Elizabeth managed to drum up two competitors on the day, with Paris Perfect earning R12 500 for finishing fifth in the Derby.
Dancer's Daughter was ridden (as in the Paddock Stakes) by Bernard Fayd'Herbe, who one hour later would pilot Pocket Power to J&B Met immortality. The now-concluded Cape summer season proved to be remarkable for Snaith racing, for whom the fun and games would not end with the Majorca Stakes. It was a feature season almost completely dominated by two stables, Snaith and Bass, and the almost legendary public relations for which the Snaith brothers Justin and Jonathan are so well known is now paying off in spades. It was interesting to hear their great rival Mike Bass remark in an interview earlier in the week that Dancer's Daughter was one horse he would have been scared of had she been routed to the J&B Met, because she would have been very well weighted, but the decision to take on the fillies at WFA in the Majorca instead will largely be considered to have been as wise as it was prudent. She made her own bit of history, anyway. Even the mighty Sun Classique came unstuck when attempting the Paddock/Majorca S double a year ago and could only finish second in the former before winning the latter.
Dancer's Daughter is fully entitled to be still improving. She is still two months away from her real fourth birthday, and in theory should be an even better filly if and when she turns up in KZN for the winter season. She is from the first crop of In The Wings stallion Act One out of the Damister mare Reason To Dance, and has now won 6 from 9. Owned by Graham and Rhona Beck, Dancer's Daughter has collected R1 061 000 in stakes and will eventually enjoy a tantalising career as a member of her owner's splendid broodmare band.

Gr1 Cape Flying Ch'ship (SAF-G1) (1/19)
Kenilworth, SA, January 19, R400.000, 1000m, turf, good, 58.63 (CR 56.67).
O CAESOUR (SAF), 58.0, b g 8, Caesour - Al Damirji (SAF) by Al Mufti. Owner SE Barbour, SW Fletcher, A Pastellides & L Humby; breeder Varsfontein Stud (SAf); trainer SW Humby; jockey G Hatt (R250.000)
Mythical Flight (SAF), 58.0, ch g 4, Jet Master (SAF) - Mythical Bird (SAF) by Harry Hotspur (SAF).
Personal Fantacy (SAF), 58.0, ch g 7, Personal Hope - Fancy Fantasy (SAF) by Rainbow Dream (FR).
Margins: 1¼, nk, nk
Also ran: Rebel King (SAF) 58.0, Hear The Drums (SAF) 58.0, Ice Wine (SAF) 58.0, Lucky Boy (SAF) 58.0, Relinyane (SAF) 58.0, Something Else (SAF) 58.0, Miller Time (SAF) 54.5, Joshua's Dream (SAF) 54.5

Goodness knows when last a horse anywhere on the planet won a Gr1 race with a starting price of 125/1, let alone a contest run on WFA terms. To top it all, we surely never expected to see another Gr1 event won by a horse born in the 20th century. We got all of that at Kenilworth, when 8yo O Caesour blasted his way past 1/7 (yes, that is a seven) favourite Mythical Flight to win the Graham Beck Wines Flying Championship over 1000m. Racing's capacity to produce the unexpected seemingly knows very few bounds, but then that uncertainty is the very glue which keeps the whole thing together, writes Matthew Lips.

It was essentially impossible to look beyond Mythical Flight. Unbeaten from seven tries at 1000m and winner of the corresponding race in 2007, he had between ten and 36 pounds in hand over his ten rivals on merit ratings and he was coming here off both an impressive win under 62 kgs at Turffontein in December and an excellent public workout at the Vaal one week before the Flying Ch'ship. Only Rebel King, recent winner of the Gr2 Diadem S on the course, was expected to give Mythical Flight any kind of a race and you could pretty much write your own ticket about any of the others.
The race seemed to be following the script for much of its short distance. Mythical Flight bounded out of the gates and showed plenty of pace into a fresh headwind, clear of Ice Wine and O Caesour over towards the inside, while Hear The Drums headed the group which races on the stands' side. Something Else and Relinyane were further back, with Rebel King beaten for early speed and racing some way off the action. Mythical Flight was still going strongly up front racing into the final 200m, with his opponents all seemingly flat to the boards and battling to reel him in.
Things started to go pear-shaped coming to the last 100m, or so. Mythical Flight had already started to hang out towards the centre of the course, and suddenly the finishing post seemed an awful long way away. He still led to close home, but he was now in deep trouble as O Caesour switched to his inside and rattled on by in the last 50m to beat the scalding hot favourite by a length under a jubilant - and perhaps slightly disbelieving - Glen Hatt. Personal Fantacy, by far the lowest rated horse in the field, was an even bigger surprise than O Caesour, staying on well to finish third at the familiar odds of 125/1, with Rebel King running on to finish 4th and suggesting again that 1200m suits him considerably better.
Just what to make of it all is the question, and it seems unlikely that the official handicapper will be presented with a bigger headache this year. O Caesour was a dual Gr2 winner (even if it was a long time ago) and was once rated 112. He had dropped to a 99 by the time the Flying Championship came around and he had not won a race for considerably more than a year, but Personal Fantacy contested this off a rating of just 84. Mythical Flight is a 120, so one can understand why both the winner and the third horse started at telephone number prices. How one would reassess Personal Fantacy after this performance is a task which I gratefully leave to others.
O Caesour is a horse who has had his fair share of problems during his lengthy career and trainer Shane Humby did a superb job to get him in shape to record the biggest win of his career at an age when the huge majority of thoroughbreds have long since passed from the scene. Yet it is impossible to escape the fact that Mythical Flight ran a long way below his best. He has also had his own problems, and the way he wandered off a straight course just when he needed it least must suggest that he was feeling something.
There has been considerable criticism lately that the Kenilworth straight course favours horses drawn towards the outside and Mythical Flight did jump from gate 1, but that is no real excuse. It posed no problems for at least the 1st three-quarters of the contest, and the winner ended up on his inside at the line. The brilliant 4yo simply wasn't himself on the day, even if weather conditions were admittedly not ideal for a horse with his style of racing, but if memory serves there was also a fresh south-easter blowing when he ran away with the equivalent race 12 months earlier. We can only hope that this was a temporary blot, that he will redeem himself in the Gr1 Computaform Sprint in the autumn, and that plans to campaign him in Europe's (very winnable) big sprints have not been derailed.
One could easily have been forgiven for thinking that O Caesour's days of competing in big races were well behind him. He could only finish 4.60 lengths 6th behind Rebel King on the same weight terms in the Diadem S, and his last 6 starts had produced just one 3rd placing, in a merit rated 96 handicap whose winner didn't bother to turn up for the Flying Ch'ship. Perseverance, hard work, and a below-best favourite all added up to produce the unexpected, and one imagines that even O Caesour's ecstatic connections were mildly surprised to find themselves in the winner's enclosure. All this with a horse that was bought for only R25k as a yearling. Forget showbiz, racing is the ultimate dream business.
As his name implies, O Caesour is a son of Caesour, who holds the highly unusual (and quite possibly unique) distinction for a stallion who has been based in SA throughout his stud career of siring Graded Stakes winners on 4 continents. Perfect Promise (Australia) and Irridescence (Asia) were recently joined by Alexandra Rose (North America) after the latter won a Gr3 at Santa Anita. O Caesour is the 1st foal of Al Mufti mare Al Damirji, who won 1 over 1300m but who does represent the same female line that gives us champion sprinters Harry's Charm, Enchantress, and National Currency. Bred at Varsfontein and acquired at the 2001 Cape Summer Yearling Sale, O Caesour has won 11 from 41 and earned R953 547.

Pedigree Points - No Bull About This Taurus

The story of Gr1 Cape Flying Ch'ship winner O Caesour starts with Lucky Libra, a filly born on April 24, 1971 in England. That made her Taurus, and not Libra. We may wonder forever what tipped the scale in naming her. Lucky Libra went through the sale ring as a foal, changing hands for a modest 860 guineas. She was put into training with Capt. Ryan Price, one the turf's colourful characters.

ucky Libra was a daughter of Great White Way, a US bred son of Court Martial. He raced in the US, for 6 wins, incl. a stakes win as a 2yo. Great White Way's dam was the outstanding broodmare Broadway, best known today through her grandson Seeking The Gold. First at stud in the UK, Great White Way was exported to Japan after 3 seasons, before his 1st local crop had raced. One of his best sons, the sprinter White Hope, was born in the same year as Lucky Libra and ended up as a sire with Brian Schonwald in the Cape. He left little of note.
Lucky Libra's dam Vicuna, whose dam and sire both stayed a mile and a half, ran twice as a 3yo, showing nothing. That she got her chance at stud was no doubt due to the fact that she had two stakes winning half brothers who'd both finished 4th in the Irish 2000 Guineas, and a stakes winning half sister, fourth in the Irish 1000 Guineas.
Once-raced as a 2yo, and unplaced, Lucky Libra remained a maiden for her first 7 starts as a 3yo. Then suddenly she got her act together, winning 2, very easily, over 14/1600m. That earned her a respectable Timeform rating of 94, but her owners must have had a belly-full of her by then. A month after the 2nd win, Lucky Libra changed hands at the Doncaster Autumn Sales for 4900 guineas - a fair sum for those days, when the Rand was on a par with a guinea. Lucky Libra was put in foal to Southern hemisphere time the next year and shipped to Varsfontein in the Cape. The stud farm was brand new at the time, owned by Tony Kalmanson and managed by Hennie de Jager.
Lucky Libra was a hit from the start. Her first foal Shoot First (conceived in England, by sprinter Sweet Revenge) became a stakes placed winner of 7. Then followed Crown Sable (by Peaceable Kingdom), a dual stakes winner of 9 races, and the filly Enchanting (by Jungle Cove), a Gr1 winner of 6 up to a mile. The latter achieved lasting fame as the dam of champion sprint fillies Harry's Charm (by Harry Hotspur) and Enchantress (by N. Assembly), and as grandam of another champion sprinter, National Currency (by N. Assembly).
Interesting to see how champion sprinter speed runs like a red ribbon through a family so well endowed with classic miler's stamina.
If further proof of that is needed, in-between Crown Sable and Enchanting, Lucky Libra foaled a filly by Mexico named Trust My Luck who scored five times, all over 1000m. Trust My Luck is the grandam of O Caesour, following matings of first to Al Mufti, then the offspring to Caesour. Neither sire was exactly known for sprinting ability on the track during their own racing careers, but both have Gr1 winning sire sons at stud right now - Cataloochee (Al Mufti) and Tobe Or Nottobe (Caesour).
O Caesour's Gr1 winning sprinting ability certainly doesn't come out of the blue.
From a pure pedigree point of view it is interesting to note the presence of sprint sire Mexico (sire of Trust My Luck) and his son Harry Hotspur (sire of Harry's Charm) in the background of the best runners of this family. Caesour hasn't had many daughters or granddaughters of either Mexico or Harry Hotspur during his stud career to date, probably a handful of both. Apart from O Caesour the offspring includes useful Caesour Rocks and Queen Duleen, both sprint winners. There might be missed opportunties here, as Caesour seems to have more than just a passing affinity for the father-son sprint combo.
National Assembly and Jungle Cove, who themselves make up a strong affinity duo, might well fall in the same camp. With their daughters and grandaughters Caesour hasn't had much of an opportunity either. Hopefully we'll see another big one yet.

Gr1 Cape Guineas (SAf-G1) (1/5)
Kenilworth, SA, January 5, R1 million, 1600m, turf, good, 1.39.09 (CR 1.35.8).
POINTING NORTH (SAF), 57.0, b c 3, Joshua Dancer - Compass Point (SAF) by Model Man (SAF). Owner J Shill, GL Blank, WV Nsele, D Yutar, HN Yutar & RJ Segal; breeder Northwood Stud (SAF); trainer RR Sage; jockey P Strydom (R625.000)
Russian Sage (SAF), 57.0, b c 3, Jallad - Sage Blue (SAF) by Badger Land.
Galaxy (BRZ), 57.0, b c 3, Ghadeer (FR) - Night-Fall (BRZ) by Roi Normand.
Margins: 1¾, sh hd, 2½  
Also ran: Lostintranslation (SAF) 57.0, Kingdom Come (ARG) 57.0, First Honour (SAF) 57.0, Casey's Son (SAF) 57.0, Paris Perfect (SAF) 57.0, Kilcoy Castle (SAF) 57.0, Field Event (SAF) 57.0, Road To Reason (SAF) 57.0, Thundering Jet (SAF) 57.0, Blue Tiger (SAF) 57.0, Alvaro (AUS) 57.0, Northern Frontier (SAF) 57.0, Indigo Blue (SAF) 57.0

It was only on the 28th of October last year that Pointing North made his debut in a maiden plate over 1200m on the inner course at Turffontein. Ten weeks later, and still undefeated, he carved his name into the history books with a terrific start-to-finish success in the Bloodstock SA Cape Guineas. That may well be the fastest maiden-to-Guineas winner conversion of modern times, if not of all time, and a quick look through the Guineas field shows that almost half of Pointing North's 15 rivals had not won a race of any sort since the end of October. Talk about a meteoric rise, writes Matthew Lips.

There were naturally reasons to be slightly sceptical about Pointing North's chances at Kenilworth. He had never raced anywhere but on the Turffontein inner course, he was stepping up to Graded class for the 1st time, and he took what essentially looked to be a sprinter's pedigree up to 1600m for the first time. On this plus side, he had won a Listed race over 1450m with what looked to be plenty in hand in mid-December, and even the weather gods played ball on Saturday and provided him with a nice steady tailwind down the straight, a phenomenon much more common in winter.
Pointing North went off as a well supported 5/2 favourite to win the Guineas, with the likes of First Honour and Field Event expected to provide the stiffest opposition. Gr 2 Selangor Cup winner Russian Sage would have had his backers, but there was plenty of support at long odds for his stable companion Alvaro, the very impressive winner of a minor contest the first time he went 1600m.
Piere Strydom wasted no time in taking Pointing North to the front and set a fairly relaxed pace ahead of Russian Sage and Lostintranslation, with Field Event next in line. Kilcoy Castle was next in line, but was stuck out wide after starting from draw 14. First Honour tracked the leaders down at the fence. A wide false rail saw fields thrown towards the middle-to-outside of the course throughout the day and Pointing North headed towards the stands' side soon after leading them into the straight. He was at least three lengths clear turning in, and was clearly moving very well within himself.
The proverbial writing on the wall was not long in coming for Pointing North's opponents. Once after the other they came off the bit as they valiantly tried to start making inroads into the favourite's lead, but Pointing North continue to travel smoothly up front, with Strydom oozing confidence. It was clear a long way out that Pointing North would not be beaten unless he suddenly blew up, but that never happened. He had more than enough stamina reserves to last out the mile, and while he was perhaps just starting to run out of steam in the closing stages the race was his. He still had 1.75 lengths to spare over a gallant Russian Sage at the line, with Galaxy (a half brother to 2006 Guineas winner Express Way) running on stoutly to finish only a head further back in 3rd. Lostintranslation was 2.5 lengths behind him in fourth. First Honour could only finish 6th, having occupied that position for virtually the whole race, while Field Event faded to finish 10th and once again prove disappointing. Much was made of the fact that frontrunning tactics were not the way to go when he faded to finish fifth in the Selangor Cup, but a change of approach here achieved an even more disappointing outcome.
One eye-catcher was Kingdom Come, who ran on steadily to finish 5th, beaten 4.60 lengths by the winner. Geoff Woodruff's Argentine import is better beyond this distance, and it is no secret that connections are hovering between the J&B Met and the Cape Derby as his target race of the summer. He would surely be one of the leading chances if the Derby is where he does go next, for the 2000m would be right up his alley. That said, the Kannemeyer-trained pair of Galaxy and First Honour also shaped in the Guineas as if the Derby distance could be much more suitable. Their trainer could have a very strong hand in the longer classic, for waiting in the wings is another likely Derby prospect in Tan Can.
The Guineas, though, was all about Pointing North. He more than confirmed the suspicion that he could be genuinely top class, and trainer Robbie Sage fully deserves all the kudos that will come his way for getting the gelding to the top of the class in such a very short space of time. One suspects that 1600m is about as far as Pointing North cares to go, at least at this stage of his career, but he has plenty of pace and he also has the ability to kick again from the front. This high cruising speed is the hallmark of a really good horse, and Pointing North may have a truly fantastic career as a sprinter/miler ahead of him. That is not to completely exclude the possibility that he will stay the 1800m of the Gr1 SA Classic to be run at Turffontein in the autumn, but up to 1600m he is proven as top class. A wise man once said that the hardest horse in racing to assess is one that has never been beaten, and finding out just how deep Pointing North's pool of talent really is promises to be one of the joys of 2008.
Pointing North is a gelded son of Danzig horse Joshua Dancer, and would widely be considered to be his now-infertile sire's best progeny. The Guineas hero is the first foal of Model Man mare Compass Point, who won four times up to 1200m and who is a three-parts sister to Gr1 Computaform Sprint winner Rodoille. She is also a half sister to Blue Tiger, who contested Saturday's Guineas himself but who made no show from the widest draw. Pointing North was bred by Northwood Stud and his four wins from four starts have earned stakes of R787 500 for the seven-man partnership which owns him.

Six months ago, at the end of the racing season in July, Graham Beck's favourite Highlands stallion Joshua Dancer missed by a hair's breath equalling Captain Al's record for most juvenile winners from one crop. For the best part of the season Joshua's juvenile offspring could do no wrong. Week after week he found himself at the head of log of 2yo's by stakes as well, and it was only in the very last week that he was passed by champion Western Winter, thanks to the latter's two Gr1 winners at Clairwood's Champions Day. Western Winter's 7 juvenile winners contrasted sharply with Joshua's total tally of 21, one short of the South African record, writes Karel Miedema.

Joshua's juveniles went on to greater heights as 3yo's, notably with Matchem Stakes winner Joshua's Dream and Diana Stakes winner Joshlin. To that Joshua's Mistress added a Gr1 third from the Cape Fillies Guineas, and black type was also earned by Road to Reason and Jazz Giant.
The best, though, was still to come, and did in the shape of the colt Pointing North, who made his debut as a 3yo, at the very end of October. A mere two months later Pointing North had run four times and was the unbeaten winner of the R1 million Gr1 Cape Guineas. In the same race Joshua got his revenge on Western Winter good and proper - the latter had the favourite for the Guineas, Field Event, who didn't make the frame.
Pointing North won the Guineas in the style of a really good horse. He raced upfront, at a cracking good pace and kept going, making it physically impossible for his pursuers to catch him. Put simply, Pointing North won the race when he took command early on in the race, much in the way another champion, Mythical Flight, wins his 1000m sprints.
Pointing North was bred by Northwood Stud, and born and raised at Highlands in Robertson, where Joshua Dancer stood before fertility problems finally got the better of him. The bay 3yo is the first foal of his dam Compass Point, a 4-time winning half sister to Gr1 sprinter Rodoille and Cape Classic winner Blue Tiger, the latter also a runner in Pointing North’ Guineas. All of Compass Point's wins came over 1000 and 1200m, and in 17 starts she was not once tried beyond sprints. The filly was a good front runner and won at least twice setting her own pace. Since she wasn't tried beyond sprints, it is impossible to say whether she was a sprinter, pure and simple. Her sire Model Man certainly stayed a mile. And Compass Point won the final start of her career making all over 1200m on sand at the Vaal, not an easy task.
As it is, Pointing North stays a fast run mile. How much further he'll go only time will (perhaps) tell - on balance of probability a mile is probably his limit in top company, racing upfront.
The cross of Joshua Dancer with daughters of Model Man looks an interesting one. Six such mares have between them had eight runners, of which six are winners. They include Gr1 winner Pointing North, Gr2 winner Philippa Johnson, and Gr1 placed Joshua's Mistress.
The affinity is possibly explained by the presence of Danzig (sire of Joshua Dancer). Model Man mares and stallions with Danzig are also responsible for Gr1 winner National Spirit and black type runners Young Sensation, Summer Frolic, National Display - all of them sired by National Emblem. That cross may be a combination to keep an eye on, as is the cross of any Danzig sire (Danehill!) with Model Man.

Gr1 Paddock S. (SAf-G1) (1/5)
Kenilworth, SA, January 5, R1 million, 1800m, turf, good, 1.52.64 (CR 1.48.98).
DANCER'S DAUGHTER (GB), 56.5, gr f 4, Act One (GB) - Reason to Dance (GB) by Damister (GB). Owner Mr GJ and Mrs RD Beck; breeder Mrs DO Joly (GB); trainer J Snaith; jockey B Fayd'herbe (R625.000)
Carry On Katie (SAF), 57.5, b f 4, Western Winter - Katie Firth (SAF) by Best By Test.
Captain's Lover (SAF), 52.0,  f 3, Captain Al (SAF) - Sunshine Lover (SAF) by Badger Land.
Margins: 3, 1¼, nk
Also ran: River Jetez (SAF) 57.5, Gilded Minaret (SAF) 52.0, La Bella Donna (BRZ) 57.5, Ice Belle (SAF) 52.0, Ethereal Lady (SAF) 57.5, Cymbeline (SAF) 57.5, Crimson Blossom (IRE) 58.0, Escapology (SAF) 58.0, Veiled Essence (SAF) 58.0, Jabulani Jive (SAF) 57.5, Aqua Star (SAF) 57.5, Loofah (SAF) 57.5, Winona (SAF) 58.0

The Snaith brothers, Justin and Jonathan, must be walking on cloud nine this summer. Their stable's run of terrific form shows no signs of ending any time soon and they made winning a Gr 1 race look easy when Dancer's Daughter slaughtered 15 rivals in the TBA Paddock Stakes over 1800m at Kenilworth on Saturday. For good measure, the Snaith team also saddled third finisher Captain’s Lover, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

Gilded Minaret had been widely considered unlucky when beaten a short head by Captain’s Lover in the previous month’s Fillies Guineas and was sent off favourite to win a race where three-year-olds hold a proud record. Captain’s Lover remained the second choice of the market despite some doubts as to how she would cope with this 200m longer distance, but there was plenty of support for her stable companion Dancer’s Daughter, who went off as a 5/1 chance. Ethereal Lady, a Gr 1 winner over 1200m with real stamina question marks despite being a full sister to Gr 1 2000m winner Amberpondo, found support at big prices.
Gilded Minaret hopped out smartly, but soon it was Winona who went on to set a decent pace from Loofah and Jabulani Jive (the latter yet another representative of Snaith racing), as Gilded Minaret eventually settled into around fourth just ahead of Captain’s Lover. River Jetez was never able to get across from her 12 draw and was stuck out wide, in around midfield. Dancer’s Daughter was waited with well down the field, with Ethereal Lady held up at the back.
Winona still led turning for home, but the rank outsider’s moment of prominence was soon to end. Gilded Minaret and Captain’s Lover were soon snapping at her heels, with River Jetez starting to make steady headway wider out. Captain’s Lover began to shift out quite sharply coming to the last 200m, but she was still right in the mix whereas Gilded Minaret was starting to labour under pressure. Carry On Katie came from well off the pace with a strong run towards the inside, but by then Dancer’s Daughter had unleashed a withering run against the outside fence. It was race over coming inside the last 200m, with Dancer’s Daughter plainly travelling a whole lot faster than any of her rivals, and the English-bred grey eventually stormed to a three lengths win under Bernard Fayd’Herbe. It adds to the value of the performance that a fresh tailwind – unusual for this time of year – would not have counted in favour of a horse racing from well off the pace turning for home.
Carry On Katie had no answer to the winner, but still came out readily second best and was 1.25 lengths ahead of Captain’s Lover at the line, with River Jetez a further neck away in fourth. Gilded Minaret could only finish a rather one-paced fifth and with hindsight it may have been better to employ the hold-up tactics used on her in the Fillies Guineas. Piere Strydom came in for a great deal of criticism for that ride, largely unwarranted one suspects, but for whatever reason Mike de Kock’s filly ran a touch below that form in the Paddock Stakes. Captain’s Lover was reported post-race to have had a slipped saddle in the closing stages and could not be assisted - which goes some way to explain her hanging out.
Dancer’s Daughter was bred to northern hemisphere time (she is still in reality a three-year-old, and will celebrate her real birthday in March), and is fully entitled to be still improving at this stage of her life. The solid early pace no doubt suited her style of racing from behind, but she quickened as only a good horse can and is capable perhaps of a quick Gr 1 double if she turns out for the Majorca Stakes over 1600m on J & B Met day later this month. The 200m shorter distance there could change things somewhat, and it would surely be more of a plus for Captain’s Lover than for Dancer’s Daughter, but the latter has won over a mile before and – given a proper early pace – she could arrive with a mighty late run once again.
Dancer’s Daughter is by Act One, a son of In The Wings who won five races (including two Gr 1’s) from six starts when trained in France and who suffered his only defeat in his final start, when placed second in the French Derby. Dancer’s Daughter is out of the dual winning Damister mare Reason To Dance and races in the ownership of Graham and Rhona Beck. She has won five times from only eight starts, and thanks to the Paddock Stakes’ brand new one million rand gross stake she has now earned R811 000 in purses. She will make a superb addition to her owner’s broodmare band at Highlands Farms Stud, when the time comes. After all, the Paddock Stakes has often been billed as “the race every breeder wants to win,” and now it has the stake money to match.

Graham Beck’s sustained effort to create a strong broodmare band for his Highlands Farm Stud by importing yearling fillies from abroad paid off big time when Dancer’s Daughter won the Gr1 Paddock Stakes over 1800m at Kenilworth in January 2008, writes Karel Miedema.

Officially a 4yo, the grey filly was born in March 2004, which in South African terms makes her a late 3½ yo, and she was weighted accordingly in the important weight-for-age event for fillies and mares which for the first time in its history carried prize money of R1 million.
In a race run at a good pace throughout, she simply toyed with her opponents in the final furlong, winning unchallenged. This was the first time the English-bred filly had been tested in an extended mile run at good pace and she reveled in it.
Dancer’s Daughter was bought as a yearling at the 2005 Tattersalls October yearling sale at Newmarket in England. She’s the sixth foal of her 3-time winning dam Reason To Dance, and the mare’s fifth winner. The best of the previous foals of Reason To Dance was the colt Diktatorial, a son of Diktat. His two wins (from 3 starts) as a 2yo included the 7-furlong Gr3 Somerville Tattersall Stakes, which earned him a 105p Timeform rating. Diktatorial reappeared at 3 in the Gr1 English 2000 Guineas, but made no show. Lightly raced subsequently, he later that year sold for 80.000 guineas to join a small stable. That was about a month after Dancer’s Daughter had been purchased as a yearling.
Reason To Dance won twice at 2 over 1000 and 1100m, and was Gr3 third, rated 87p by Timeform. She improved that rating to 97 as a 3yo, finishing third in a Gr2 and two Listed events over a mile. She never went beyond 1800m, but might well have stayed 2000m. Exported at the end of 3yo days to the USA, she won there over 1300m.
Reason To Dance is by sire Damister, a son of Mr Prospector, and a multiple Gr2 winner in England who stayed a mile and a half and rated 123 by Timeform.
Reason To Dance is the best of a dozen foals produced by her dam La Nureyeva, a maiden half sister to three stakes horses and two dams of stakes horses. Her half brother Icona (Green Dancer) was voted champion stayer in South Africa in 1992, winner of the Gr1 Gold Cup. He had a 119 Timeform rating before coming to SA, reportedly with heart strain. He achieved a 110 rating in SA.
The next dam Flyingtrip (Vaguely Noble) won as a 3yo in Italy and was a daughter of highclass English 2yo Flying Legs (TFR 115).

Unusually, Dancer’s Daughter is the produce of two grey parents. She’s from the first crop of her sire Act One. A son of In The Wings (Sadler’s Wells), Act One was unbeaten in three starts as a 2yo in France, all over a mile, including Gr1Criterium de Saint-Cloud. He opened his 3yo career with two further wins, Gr1 Prix Lupin and Gr2 Prix Greffulhe, then finished second in the Gr1 French Derby next time out. While being prepared for the Irish Derby after that, Act One sustained a hairline fracture of a hind cannon bone and did not race again. He had a 124 Timeform rating and stayed a mile and a half.
Dancer Daughter is the best of Act One’s offspring from two crops to race, which includes a pair of Listed placed winners in England.
On balance of probability there’s every chance that Dancer’s Daughter will stay 2000m and possibly further. No doubt more will be heard of the talented filly, who looks a bright stud prospect to boot for her enthusiastic owner.