Vaal-based trainer Coenie de Beer celebrated a long overdue feature victory when the unshod Overlord gelding Talktothestars pulled off a sensational win in the R400 000 Gr2 Senor Santa Stakes at Turffontein on Saturday.
Brandon Lerena drives Talktothestars (in blinkers) up to beat Lazer Star on the line (Pic – Coastal Photos)
A straightshooting colourful personality, De Beer has been around horses for 43 of his 57 years and while he currently only has nine horses in his string, he told the Sporting Post that he loves the game and the win had given him immense satisfaction.
The De Beer family hail from the Vryburg area and his father Dawie was a successful trainer of feature winners from his base 350km from Joburg.
“He did wonders with the horses he had and taught me a lot. I started out as a teenager with a day licence riding at Bloemfontein in the days when Muis Roberts was still an apprentice,” reminisced Coenie as he reflected on a memorable day at Turffontein.
We asked if he had felt that Talktothestars could win the Gr2 feature.
“Yes, of course. Nobody tipped him but most of the tipsters I have ever met don’t even have their own cars and have you ever seen one of them buy a round of drinks?” he joked.
As regards Talktothestars’ wellbeing on the day, Coenie was adamant that there was no magic to training horses.
“There is no secret recipe for training racehorses. Let nobody fool anybody. You can fancy them one day and they disappoint you – the next time they come up on you. The real key in racing is the ability of the horses themselves and the capabilities of the grooms, and I am fortunate in both respects,” he said.
Winning a Gr2 without shoes is something that doesn’t happen too often.
“Speak to Lennie Taylor. He had a horse than ran unshod and won features – Horatius? A horse’s feet are very important and there are many skilled farriers. But when I have to pay R500 a pop to have my horses shod and the farrier watches his staff doing the work from a distance, then I have to question the genuine value added. The feet are very sensitive and I believe that often damage is done during shoeing and only detected when a horse comes under pressure in a race. Then the deduction is that the horse is not fit enough and more pressure is put on him – aggravating the injury. It is my theory and so far it is working for me. And funny enough, the first horse I ever ran without shoes won!”
Brandon Lerena – riding very well
Brandon Lerena, who thought he had gone a touch early, rode a cracker and relaxed Talktothestars a few lengths off as Mod Barley cut out the gallop. At the 250m marker the favourite Lazer Star came out of the pack with Talktothestars and the two went to the line as one.
The De Beer galloper got the verdict by a head in a time of 66,31 secs.
Lazer Star, one of only two fillies in the line-up, ran a gallant race in second, with Pivotal Pursuit rocketing out of the pack to grab third ahead of a hard-ridden Dollar Dazzler, who choked up in running.
Talktothestars is a son of one-time record-breaking Aussie yearling Overlord, himself a son of world champion sire and successful sire-of-sires Danehill, out of a half sister to Royal Academy.
The winner is out of the one-time winning Spaceship mare, Tellittothestars.
He has won 8 races with 4 places from 21 stars for stakes of R694 475.
The winner was bought by the astute Coenie de Beer for R40 000 in a package deal from Scott Brothers:
“Talktothestars went through the ring unsold at the National 2yo Sale. I liked him and offered Mr Scott R50 000 for him. But he was in a bad mood that day and turned my offer down. A few months later we did a package deal and Talktothestars was included in it. I knew the family well as I had trained some and they could all run,” he said.
And what’s next for Talktothestars?
“We will see what happens next. The Computaform Sprint is not ideal as it is a weight-for-age race. He goes maximum 1200m and I think his best trip is 1000m. For now we will celebrate the win and enjoy the moment,” he said in closing.
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Gr2 Senor Santa Stakes (SAf-Gr2)
Turffontein, South Africa, March 26, R400k, 1160m, turf, good, 1.06.31
1 – TALKTOTHESTARS (SAF), 58.0, b g 4, Overlord (AUS) – Tellittothestars (SAF) by Spaceship (ARG). Owner Mr F C De Beer; Breeder Scott Bros; trainer FC de Beer; jockey B Lerena
2 – Lazer Star (SAF), 55.5, b f 4, Toreador (IRE) – Empress Of Ozz (AUS) by Sri Pekan (IRE)
3 – Pivotal Pursuit (SAF), 52.0, b g 6, Pivotal (GB) – Issa (GB) by Pursuit Of Love (GB)
Margins: 0.10, 1.50, 0.10
