Fairytales and great timing. Sometimes the stars align and horseracing dishes up the feelgood stories that drown out the endless cloud of negativity.
And with the BSA November 2yo Sale on our doorstep at 12h00 on Saturday, James Armitage of Sandown Stud is a happy man. But read on
When the Pathfork gelding Esquevelle popped up at 50-1 to win on debut for trainer Clinton Binda at Turffontein on Saturday, he sent a heads-up to buyers at this coming Saturday’s BSA November 2yo Sale, where his full sister Empress Game comes into the ring late in the show as lot 154.
squevelle (Joshwin Solomons) staves off General Hancock (Warren Kennedy) to win well on debut (Pic- JC Photos)
“I spoke to Clinton Binda before Esquevelle ran on Saturday and said that it would be really nice for him to run a decent race with his beautiful full-sister on the sale this week. Clint said he wasn’t ready and he hadn’t done much with him. He was chubby and looked rough. But what a lovely surprise to see him win like that,” said Sandown Stud’s James Armitage, who bred the gelding and Saturday’s sale prospect. James races Esquevelle in partnership with the Binda’s Dreamstar Racing and pedigree guru, Karel Miedema.
Clint Binda, who is enjoying a purple patch of winners, confirmed that Esquevelle was not fit or very ready for Saturday’s race.
“We wanted him to get out and see the track but had not been hard on him at all. He jumped, showed pace and came back after being headed. We couldn’t ask for more, and even when I’m looking at him right now in the paddock, he doesn’t look fit at all! So who knows?” he laughed.
The story actually starts in early 2016 when the Kahal filly Evening Breeze was trained by Clint.
She had a bit of a mind of her own and had a few issues with the starting stalls.
“She used to jump like a marlin, but had serious ability and was bloody good,” recalls the trainer, who had leased her in a package of four horses from Cape breeder Hassen Adams.
Clint won three races with the beautifully-bred Evening Breeze and when her racing career was over, he duly returned her to breeder Hassen Adams
“Hassen called me one day and said that they were reluctantly giving up on her. She wouldn’t go into their ‘beautiful’ crush and had almost broken the Vet’s arm. I realised that she was probably associating the crush with the starting stalls. My family loved her and we believed that on ability and blood, she was certainly worth taking a chance on. I then called James Armitage and the rest is history!”
Clint Binda – has enjoyed a good run (Pic- Candiese Lenferna)
Discussions over what stallion would suit Evening Breeze ensued and Karel Miedema became involved in the partnership.
“Look, we were quite limited in terms of choice as we didn’t want her travelling for covers. So our resident Pathfork was probably the logical choice and Karel endorsed it,” said James, who was travelling to Johannesburg for the BSA November 2yo Sale on Wednesday, when we chatted to him.
Clint recalls that he prefers to let the experts do their thing, and knows that Messrs Armitage and Miedema are leaders in their respective fields – but when the colt was eventually named Separate Ways, he chimed in.
“This is the famous ‘E’ family. Who are we to break the tradition of not naming the family with an E?. So Separate Ways – clever for Pathfork admittedly – became Esquevelle!”
On Saturday, Empress Game (#154) will certainly have her admirers. Her third dam is a Gr3 winning half-sister to triple Gr1 winner, champion, and top sire, Elusive Fort
The sale starts at 12h00 on Saturday.
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