Geoff Woodruff’s Triple Crown winner Louis The King takes Durban by storm on Saturday
SA Triple Crown hero Louis The King has overcome major obstacles in his short career and faces his acid test when he steps into the Greyville lion’s den on Saturday. South Africa’s joint richest race for 3yo’s looks set to sort the men from the boys and whoever comes out victorious in the R2 million Gr1 Daily News 2000 can proudly claim his place as champion 3yo.
Saturday’s race is a fascinating contest all round and is also the crossroads of the warpath to the 2014 Vodacom Durban July.
There is plenty at stake. Provincial pride. Longheld debates as to who is who and who is best. And a golden ticket for a front row seat in Africa’s great race on 5 July.
Starting Over
Triple Crown winner or not, Saturday will really be like starting all over for Louis The King, who has his first run beyond the comforts of home. There is an oft held perception that the Gauteng form can be brittle when put under pressure. Saturday will tell.
The hard truth is also that SA Derby winners do not have a great record in the Daily News. We have to go all the way back to 2006 to find the last winner of both races.
His name was Elusive Fort, a top quality son of Fort Wood who these days stands at Klipdrift Stud as an exciting stallion prospect. He won the Daily News when it was still run over the July trip of 2200m. It was reduced to 2000m in 2008.
Woodie Pecks Again
A big plus for Louis The Kings’ supporters club will be that Geoff Woodruff was the man in charge when Elusive Fort achieved his commendable feat and the skilled horseman has been the architect of the rise to fame of the 2014 Triple Crown winner. And Louis The King has swept all before him, raising his game just when he appeared ready to falter.
His most recent victory in the SA Derby was a super effort as he hit the front early and ground away resolutely under Robbie Fradd. Kevin Sea takes the hot seat on Saturday. While Louis has the advantage of a favourable draw, his chief adversary will be hard to beat.
Legal Claim
The exciting Dynasty colt Legislate is set to confirm his potential as one of SA’s top 3yo’s
Justin Snaith’s Legislate goes for a hat trick of classic wins and he looks all set to pull it off, with the decided advantage of proven ability on the unique Greyville circuit. The son of Dynasty won the Cape Derby in a canter and came out firing three months later to win the KRA Guineas beating Bezanova in an arrogant three length breeze up. He has a wide draw to overcome.
Collateral
The Alec Laird trained Bezanova may be the obvious collateral link between the Gauteng and other province form. He was beaten a similar distance as the KRA Guineas defeat by Louis The King in the SA Classic at his penultimate start . So that means, on one line, that there is little to choose between Louis The King and Legislate. But we knew that, anyway.
In a powerful attack, Alec Laird also saddles perennial Triple Crown placer As You Like and the National Assembly colt, Earl Of Derby.
Both are well held by Louis The King, but As You Like is a consistent son of Tiger Ridge who looks to have a Gr1 win in him if the top two have an off day.
The Captain
Brett Crawford trained Jackson to win this race in 2012 and he saddles Captain America. The son of Captain Al was beaten by Legislate in the Cape Derby and then ran just over 3 lengths behind the Snaith galloper in the KRA Guineas. He has shown himself to lack pace in the finish of is races. That will cost him dearly in this company at Greyville. A winner with Vercingetorix last year, Mike De Kock saddles the Silvano gelding Whistle Stop.
He was sorely in need of his comeback run when five lengths behind Master Sabina in a Pinnacle Stakes over a mile at Turffontein on Sunday.
Mike explained of the 2013 Gr3 Graham Beck Stakes winner afterwards: “With a bit of luck Whistle Stop can still make it into the July, if not be a factor in other features this season, but he is also more than good enough to go to Dubai for the 2015 Carnival too.”
Flight Mode
Mike Bass’ Top Jet was well beaten in the KRA Guineas but should prefer the extra here. He is not well drawn though and will need some luck.
Anton Marcus gets aboard Louis The King’s stablemate Rake’s Chestnut. The son of Horse Chestnut is a July entry but would need to win this to get in.
He was withdrawn with an abnormal blood count from his last start and looks stretched to assert himself against this lot. The Joburg visitors Atomic Rush and Everest should struggle, as will Sean Tarry’s Mercado, who has lost form completely and has no chance on current standings.
Flip The Coin
It is a straight toss up between Louis The King and the exciting Legislate. Tipping against a Triple Crown winner in top form would be folly. The draw favours Louis too. If he handles Greyville and doesn’t take is time to get rolling, he will win it.
If he misses a beat, Legislate will be there. Whistle Stop and Captain America look best of the rest. The emerging picture of the forthcoming Vodacom Durban July and the broader course of South African horseracing history lies in the Daily News melting pot. We live in exciting times.
Crowning Glory
While comparisons between our two Triple Crown winners are inevitable, the task is a difficult and meaningless one. Horse Chestnut was a legend and had the flash and pizzaz that Louis probably lacks. Check the winning margins out if you are doubting that. Horse Chestnut had his last start in South Africa when beating Dangerous Donald in the 1999 SA Derby.
He only ever raced once in KZN at Clairwood and never saw Greyville Racecourse. The last dual SA Derby and Daily News winner was Elusive Fort, also a son of Fort Wood.
By Fort Wood out of the Col Pickering mare London Wall, Horse Chestnut was bred and owned by the late Harry and Bridget Oppenheimer.
Foaled in 1995, the colt won the South African Triple Crown and was awarded both the Equus Award for Horse of the Year and Champion 3-year-old Colt at three.
He ran 10 races, winning 9 and being placed 3rd once. Some of his most notable wins include the Gr1 J&B Metropolitan Stakes over 2000m by 8¼ lengths, the Gr I South African Derby over 2450m by 10 lengths and the Gr I South African Classic over 1800m by 4 lengths. Sent to race in the United States, he won the Gr3 Broward Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida over 1700m by five-and-a-half lengths in 2000.
During his preparation for the GrI Donn Handicap, Horse Chestnut fractured a piece of his splint bone on his near-foreleg, resulting in his early retirement from racing. The Oppenheimer’s subsequently sold the majority of shares in Horse Chestnut to Seth Hancock’s Claiborne Farm in Kentucky where he went to stud. He was brought back to SA in 2009 and now stands at Drakenstein Stud.
