Gr1 Champions Challenge – Happy Landing

Happy Landing

Happy Landing caught most pundits completely unawares when he scored a 55/1 surprise in the President’s Champions Challenge over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday, writes Matthew Lips.

Having never won from seven previous outings on Turffontein’s standside course and being weighted to finish in the bottom third of the field in this conditions event, Happy Landing was easy to overlook and most punters probably thought they had witnessed a crash landing when the four-year-old captured the R1.25m first prize on offer in the most valuable contest on Africa’s richest race day.

Dancewiththedevil came here on the back of two very impressive Gr 1 wins over 1600m and was the 14/10 favourite to complete a hat-trick at the highest level despite never having been tried over 2000m.  Rudra and his stable companion Flirtation – both past winners of the Gr 1 Summer Cup over the same course-and-distance – were respectively the second and third favourites at 6/1 and 13/2, with Earl Of Surrey going off as a 7/1 chance.

Dancewiththedevil’s stable companion Call To Combat quickly worked his way to the front of the 15 runner field, but it was a far from searching gallop that he set and herein lies the key to the eventual outcome.  Happy Landing was content to jog along in second, with Mahogany, Tales Of Bravery and Power Park further back    Dancewiththedevil was as always held up towards the rear with Rudra also well back as Flirtation raced last of all.

Call To Combat soon came under pressure in the straight and Happy Landing was in the perfect position to strike as the frontrunner began to fade.  Captain’s Wild began to work his way into contention wider out, with Goat briefly mounting a challenge against the outside fence.  Tales Of Bravery was not far off the action as Happy Landing was sent on his way by Muzi Yeni inside the final 400m.  Rudra was also starting to move up from off the pace, but Dancewiththedevil simply never got going (at least until the race was over).  Having effectively enjoyed the run of the race, Happy Landing grimly hung onto his advantage as Captain’s Wild edged ever closer in the final stages.

Flirtation was now running on strongly, but her effort was always going to be too late and in the end the finish only really concerned two horses as Happy Landing kept going strongly to repel Captain’s Wild by a neck.  Captain’s Wild had beaten Happy Landing by 4.5 lengths into fourth place when he won the Gr 2 Colorado King Stakes over the same course-and-distance four weeks earlier and a 1.5 kgs swing in favour of Happy Landing does not seem enough by itself to explain a turnaround of nearly five lengths, but everything just went right for the winner on Saturday.  Flirtation ran on all the way to the line and finished 1.25 lengths further back in third, with Rudra three-quarters of a length behind her in fourth, giving Mike de Kock a 2-3-4 result which still netted a hefty R700 000 in stakes for the yard.

Dancewiththedevil finished 4.25 lengths behind the winner in sixth after battling all the way down the straight to get into top gear.  It is possible perhaps that a stronger early pace would have suited her better, but she produced nothing like the kick which saw her win those consecutive Gr 1 events by big margins and there is every possibility that she failed to see out the 2000m.

Happy Landing is trained by Joe Soma, who was naturally ecstatic at returning to the Gr 1 winning ways to which he was introduced by the magnificent two-year-old Special Preview back in 1994.  One of the most enthusiastic and savvy men in racing, Soma has always had a very high opinion of Happy Landing and noted afterwards that, “we always thought he had a Gr 1 in him.”  He went on to thank the gelding’s owner Markus Jooste for keeping the faith even when Happy Landing was beaten more than once as a short priced favourite in minor races.

For jockey Muzi Yeni, this was his biggest payday ever and his wide smile could have lit up half of Gauteng for some time after the race.  Yeni noted that the race had worked out as planned in the knowledge that most of the fancied runners would be held up towards the back of the field.  The bid to try and pinch the race early in the straight worked out beautifully for the young rider who currently sits in third place on the national jockeys’ log.  “He gave me a beautiful kick,” remarked Yeni – and that made all the difference.

Whether Happy Landing will ever come close to matching this performance again is debatable to say the least, but it scarcely matters right now.  It was a much needed fillip for his trainer, who was overcome with emotion afterwards as he announced that his wife has been battling against cancer, and one can only imagine at what hour of Sunday morning the festivities in at least one private box at Turffontein finally wound down.  This writer has been part of those festivities (and been virtually the last person to leave the course) even on big days when the Soma stable won nothing, so requires little imagination to visualize the scenes on Saturday.  Let’s just say it would come as no surprise if the southern suburbs of Johannesburg ran out of ice.

Happy Landing is a gelded son of deceased Al Mufti.  He is the third foal and second winner produced from Badger Land mare Landing Liza, a half sister to Gr 1 winner Eldoriza.  Bred at Danika Stud in Port Elizabeth and acquired for R525 000 from the 2008 National Yearling Sale, Happy Landing has won five of his 19 starts and earned R1 604 675 in stakes.