Galloping Grey! Anthony Delpech guides Rumya to an impressive in the Gr1 Golden Slipper
The running of the R500 000 Gr1 Durban Golden Slipper at Greyville on Saturday had trainer Mike De Kock in various stages of elation and aggravation . De Kock trained the superbly impressive winner of this race, but also had to contend with what he termed a ‘circus’ at the start of the event.
De Kock is never a man to mince his words and he was visibly angry with the oft cited high jinks at the start in KwaZulu-Natal.
In a scene that obviously irked the champion trainer, Rumya’s stablemate Tayba and Alec Laird’s Pirate Girl were withdrawn. Tayba had injured her left-hind when kicking out, while Pirate Girl reared and had sustained a head injury. Ironically both sustained a 12 day suspension, just to add insult to injury, as it were. De Kock suggested that it was time that certain officials needed to be kicked from behind and also posed a leading question – ‘when are going to learn?’
We are after all talking about an expensive game and valuable horseflesh that have been tuned and prepared to the minute on one of our premier racedays.Owners and trainers deserve to be supported and given every chance with professional facilities.It is not the last we have heard of this subject.
Despite all the side-shows, the New Zealand-bred Rumya stole the day and showed that she is going to be a superstar as she matures. She should also go ten furlongs plus, which really just adds to the excitement.
Another grey was backed into favouritism. Vaughan Marshall’s recent Allan Robertson winner All Is Secret was all the rage and Anton Marcus did a superb job in getting the 2-1 favourite across from her wide draw after that diabolical start. She tracked the pacy Var filly Schiffer and Corne Spies’ Straight Set all the way around and into the straight. At this stage Rumya was in sixth position and looked to have absolutely no chance as Delpech punched and urged her for an effort.
Jeff Lloyd set Corne Spies’ Straight Set alight early in the home run and she looked a winner. But Delpech had managed to knock some sense into the De Kock grey down the inside and she showed great strength of character and raw ability to go and fetch the leader and eat her for breakfast. The New Zealand bred daughter of Red Ransom was obviously still very green and lacking in experience. She won by 0,75 lengths in a time of 81,68 secs – faster than that of War Horse in the male equivalent.
While she had no chance with the winner, Corne Spies’ well backed Straight Set showed that her brilliant second to Potent Power in the Gold Medallion was no fluke. Dennis Drier’s Var filly Schiffer also ran a gallant race to hang on for third, and sprinting is probably her ideal game at this stage.
SA Fillies Nursery shock winner King’s Temptress showed up nicely, and redeemed herself with a strong finishing late burst for fourth position. She appeared to run green late and hung inwards.
Undefeated in her two career starts, Rumya has earned R350 000 and the sky is the limit for a filly with her obvious talent. She also has the blood to match. The New Zealand-bred is by deceased son of Roberto, Red Ransom. A stallion who helped to perpetuate the Roberto/Hail to Reason male line, he was euthanized in 2009 because of complications from intestinal surgery. Red Ransom stood at Tom Simon’s Vinery in Australia. His fee in his final year was Aus $66,000.
Red Ransom was a superbly bred specimen, being out of the Damascus dam Arabia who was a half-sister to Mellon’s homebred grade I winner Winter’s Tale. Red Ransom got off to a good start as a stallion, topping the freshman list in 1994. One of his daughters from that foal crop, Bail Out Becky, won the Gr1 Del Mar Oaks the following year.
Red Ransom began shuttling to Vinery on a regular basis in the late 1990s. He also stood several seasons at Sheikh Mohammed’s Dalham Hall Stud in England this decade.
Rumya is out of Sayuri San, a 3 part sister by Fuji Kiseki to the dam of UAE Oaks winner Raihana, who was also trained by De Kock.
The beautiful grey winner is already being compared in some quarters to the illustrious Empress Club. It is early days yet, but De Kock obviously has another very special sort on his hands here.
Result:
Golden Slipper (SAf-G1) (7/7)
Greyville, South Africa, July 7, R500.000, 1400m, turf, good, 1.21.68 (CR
1.21.13).
RUMYA (NZ), 58.0, gr f 2, Red Ransom – Sayuri San (AUS) by Fuji Kiseki
(JPN). Owner & breeder Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum (NZ); trainer
M F de Kock; jockey A Delpech (R312.500)
Straight Set (SAF), 58.0, ch f 2, Victory Moon (SAF) – Sublime Surge (SAF)
by Elliodor (FR)
Schiffer (SAF), 58.0, b f 2, Var – Model I.Q. (SAF) by Jallad
Margins: ¾, 3, ¾
Also ran: King’s Temptress (SAF) 58.0, Fire Wheel (SAF) 58.0, All Is Secret
(SAF) 58.0, Dylan’s Promise (AUS) 58.0, Ilha Da Rock (AUS) 58.0, Diva’s
Daughter (SAF) 58.0, Catalonia (SAF) 58.0, Anne Trulove (SAF) 58.0, Lady De
Winter (SAF) 58.0, Lizzy Grey (SAF) 58.0
