Dorrie Sham’s star galloper Memphis Mafia has established something of a pop star following down Port Elizabeth way and the roar from the locals as he hit the front to win the first leg of the local Triple Crown at Fairview on Friday sent a shiver down the spine.
JP van der Merwe has Memphis Mafia leading the charge – again! (Pic- Coastal Photos)
“I was ecstatic when he won his maiden and what has happened since is just a dream,” said an over the moon breeder-trainer-owner Dorrie Sham after her ‘baby’ had trounced his opponents to win the R150 000 Listed Ibhayi Stakes run over the turf 1400m.
Memphis Mafia attracts more attention in PE than Steve Hofmeyr could ever hope to and his reliability in the face of adversity has made him a hit with punters and ordinary racing fans.
JP van der Merwe – knew how much horse he had under him
Regular pilot JP van der Merwe has done little wrong since winning the Met and made another smart call when he sent Memphis Mafia early in the straight past leader Paulus, with the tailwind in the back of his mind.
The result was never in doubt as Memphis Mafia stormed clear to beat Fly Like The Wind by 1,25 lengths in a time of 83,65 secs.
Welsh Emperor improved again but was his own worst enemy as he ran green, but secured third a further length back.
Cape challenger and even money favourite Fifty Cents had no kick late and had to be content with a modest fourth spot.
“He just doesn’t know how to run a bad race and he has now posted four feature wins. They said he had it all to do at the weights today but he gave up to 5kgs away and he won so well. They will have to meet him at level weights in the Guineas – so that is quite exciting!” quipped winning trainer Dorrie Sham.
We asked her what the immediate plans were for the 3yo gelded son of Lecture.
“Everybody is asking that. It really makes sense to stay at home and go for the Sophomore Challenge rather than the KZN Champions Season.”
But will the Sham soldier stay the 2400m of the third leg East Cape Derby?
Dorrie Sham – Memphis Mafia growing in stature
“I really can’t say if Memphis Mafia will stay! His full brother Bob ‘N Weave held the Fairview 1000m course record, so that tells us how versatile the family is, on top of it being a sobering thought on the stamina test. But it is a nice problem to have. If we won the Guineas we’d probably have to have a dip at the Derby,” she said with a happy ring in her voice.
The obvious curved ball was thrown into Dorrie’s court – we asked whether there have been any big money offers for Memphis Mafia – and would they consider any serious bid?
“He really is our baby and it would have to be a serious sort of offer. But if he never wins another race, he owes us nothing and it just goes to show what one can do with relatively unfashionable breeding.”
Bred by Dorrie, Memphis Mafia is a son of Lecture out of the four-time winning Special Preview mare, Olympic Special.
He has earned a gross R389 500 and has won 5 races from 1400m to 1600m, with 7 places from his 14 starts.
He has a nephew on the forthcoming CTS March Yearling Sale – and lot 178 in the Hemel ‘N Aarde draft will attract some attention in view of the exploits of his smart relative.
He is an Antonius Pius colt out of the Eyeofthetiger mare, Kiss From A Rose, a half-sister to Memphis Mafia. She was a winner at 2 and was raced by the Shams before being passed on to David Hepburn-Brown.
The Listed Ibhayi Stakes was the opening leg of the R900 000 Eastern Cape Sophomore Challenge
Diarise the dates of the next two legs and follow Memphis Mafia’s progress – just how good is this fellow?
The sky seems to be the limit for the gelding that was catchily named by Sham assistant Rocky Agrella – and we look forward to April Fool’s Day and the R150 000 Listed East Cape Guineas run over a mile.
Then we will start worrying about the next hurdle – the R350 000 Gr3 East Cape Derby run over 2400m on Sunday 15 May.
Makes for interesting racing!
