High drama, a touch of poetry, a champion 3yo and an army of orange and black clad supporters who converged on Turffontein on Saturday, formed a fitting backdrop to the arrival of a memorable and historic third SA Triple Crown champion.
Abashiri (Karl Zechner) stays on powerfully to beat Rocketball (Warren Kennedy) in a thriller (Pic – JC Photos)
Mike Azzie’s outstanding Go Deputy gelding Abashiri held on in a thriller to win the R2 million Gr1 SA Derby and secure a coup of magnanimous proportions for his connections and the industry as a whole.
What a race. What a horse. What an owner. What a jockey. What a trainer! We could go on – excuse the literal theatrics and let’s pay tribute to the massive unheralded team behind the orange and black tsunami.
In no particular order that about sums up the Abashiri fever that has swept South Africa for the past two months and enveloped us all in a dizzying cloud of emotion and entertainment that has surely captivated even the most cynical in a game that tends to shoot itself in the foot every other day of the week.
Horse Chestnut – the first Triple Crown hero
And what a day as Abashiri marched in the hallowed footsteps of Horse Chestnut and Louis The King – to become the Azzman’s next big horse after the outstanding National Currency – two very different athletes, but both possessed of that supreme ability and mercenary will to win that sets the great apart from the good.
How we suggested it would pan out
After the Gauteng Guineas and the SA Classic, the only question was whether Abashiri would stay – and that he did.
The Highlands sponsored Karl Zechner, demonstrating the confidence of a man at the top of his game, had the big fellow switched off at the rear as his stablemate Scheme Of Things set the pace ahead of Premier Chance and Trip To Paradise.
Into the home run the premier pair made their move early heading for the outside rail as a few efforts peaked and petered.
At the 400m marker he looked under pressure as Gavin Van Zyl’s Rocketball moved up menacingly and the race was on.
With Zechner glancing postwards every few strides, time stood still but the jockey changed whip hands as Abashiri dug deep and kept the glorious dream alive to hold Rocketball to a head in a time of 154,02 secs.
Samurai Blade stayed on strongly late for third a further 0,70 lengths back in third, with Stebbins 2 lengths off the winner in fourth.
Karl Zechner – great ride
The rest were well beaten.
A breathless Karl Zechner wondered whether he had done the right thing and admitted later he had been under immense pressure.
Zechner said: “He’s a champion and you’ll never see good horses beat, they always put their heads down at the right time. I thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for the support.”
Trainer Mike Azzie thanked breeders Lammerskraal and everybody associated with the horse but reserved the biggest accolades for his wife Sharon and for owners Adriaan and Rika Van Vuuren.
Addressing Adriaan, he said, “You’re a machine we love you and we know you love us back.”
Azzie ended with a colourful Mohammed Ali like poem describing Abashiri’s SA Triple Crown victories – and a hint at the July rounding off a big season.
The Van Vuurens on their Dubai trip to visit Pylon last year
Abashiri was bred by Lammerskraal Stud and is a son of this season’s sire sensation Go Deputy out of the seven time winning Elliodor mare, Donya, who won from 1200m to a mile.
He cost R400 000 on the National Yearling Sale and with his sixth win and second place from his 8 starts, he took his normal stakes earnings to R3 440 000.
That is excluding the R2 million Triple Crown bonus and he was also the recipient of the R152 500 BSA Added Value Stakes Bonus Series – a sweet total of in the region of R5 592 500 – not bad for a horse that has only seen the racecourse eight times.
The Azzman hinted at the Vodacom Durban July. Gold Circle will be hoping he makes the trip to the coast.
For now he is savouring the day – the kind of day we all dream of.
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Gr1 SA Derby (SAf-Gr1)
Turffontein, South Africa, April 30, R2 million, 2450m, turf, good, 2.34.02
1 – ABASHIRI (SAF), 60.0, b g 3, Go Deputy (USA) – Donya (SAF) by Elliodor (FR). Owner Mr A & Mrs F J Van Vuuren; Breeder Lammerskraal Stud; trainer MG Azzie; jockey K Zechner
2 – Rocketball (SAF), 60.0, b g 3, Judpot (USA) – Kite Runner (SAF) by Kabool (GB)
3 – Samurai Blade (AUS), 60.0, br c 3, Where’s That Tiger (USA) – Shao Shao (AUS) by Shinko Forest (IRE)
Margins: 0.20, 0.70, 1.10
