No Sleeping Beauty!
The Judpots are flying and the Varsfontein stallion produced his most recent eyecatcher when the Alec Laird-trained Maleficent turned on the charm and the jets
13th June 2016
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The Judpots are flying and the Varsfontein stallion produced his most recent eyecatcher when the Alec Laird-trained Maleficent turned on the charm and the jets
Alec Laird updates us on Smart Call, the Breeders’ Cup and the journey so far
Over the centuries that man has been racing horses, there have been many special ones along the way. Each had some special quality that marked them out as different, a cut above the rest and it’s a quality that transcends time, borders and continents. These are horses that change lives and re-set the course of destiny. These are the magic horses.
Despite glancing behind in disbelief, JP van der Merwe never stopped riding all the way to the lollipop – as the winner drifted out marginally in the process of his enthusiastic, albeit largely unnecessary, urgings
Arriving on course for the Queen’s Plate has become like visiting an old friend – there are always enough familiar touches to make you feel at home, but as special friends always make an effort, you know there will be quirky new additions to look forward to, to make each day memorable.
The Alec Laird trained Smart Call will take her place in the Gr1 J&B Met after making a sensational local debut to score a superb win in the R1 million Maine Chance Farms Gr1 Paddock Stakes at Kenilworth on Saturday
Moofeed and Aurum Pot look set to fight out the finish and as long as he doesn’t get too far out of his ground, the De Kock galloper holds a slight edge
Trainer Alec Laird took his next step towards a bid for Paddock Stakes glory when the Ideal World filly Smart Call came home strongly to win the R400 000 Gr2 Ipi Tombe Challenge
‘You can’t win without a penalty so you’ve got to take it, but to get six points for beating a horse like ML Jet, a Graduation Plate winner, and a two-time winner like Mac De Lago, seems unwarranted’
The next chapter towards a prospective Paddock Stakes showdown of epic proportions between our top 3yo fillies of last season, could be written at Turffontein on Tuesday evening
Alec Laird turned the heat up on his Summer Cup aspirations and recorded his second consecutive Gr2 Charity Mile success, when the Argentinian-bred gelding Bouclette Top produced an electrifying turn of foot under our champion jock
Just 48 hours after Cheeky Wink’s smart win at Tipperary, the Kieswetter and Heffer families enjoyed another champagne moment at Sandown
Ridgemont’s Rafeef fairytale received more endorsement on the Championships Finale at Turffontein on Saturday when his daughter, Chasing Happiness, ran her eight opponents off their feet to register her second stakes success when winning the TAB Gr2 Senor Santa Stakes
The number of entries compares favourably in quantum with recent years, with 58 first entries received in 2024, 60 in 2023, 68 in 2022, 53 in 2021, 52 in 2020, 49 in 2019, and 69 in 2018
Ironically, it was a colt which provided Alan with a first Gr1 success, this being Alec and Gillian Foster’s homebred Cereus, who landed the 2001 Gold Cup at Hollywoodbets Greyville, his victory completing a momentous double on the day, with the Gr2 Golden Slipper having gone the way of juvenile filly Tatler, a great-great-great grandaughter of Sun Lass!
