Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Great achievement by Bass team (part one of two)

David Thiselton
Mike Bass achieved the remarkable feat of training three of the first four past the post in last Saturday’s J&B Met including the winner, River Jetez.
One has to go back to the glory years of the great Cape trainer Terrance Millard, who dominated the top races countrywide in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, to recall someone having pulled off a similar achievement.
Marsh Shirtliff has a share in all three of the horses, the six-year-old Jet Master mare River Jetez, her champion seven-year-old brother Pocket Power, as well as the up and coming four-year-old Fort Wood gelding, Fort Vogue.
He had said on the eve of the race that he would like to see the Bass yard pulling off a Millard-like result. The race unfolded in exactly that manner. Shirtliff had turned to his girlfriend, Dr Karin Norman, as Pocket Power battled to make up the leeway down the straight and said to her, “It’s not going to happen”. But his disappointment turned to glee as he saw the yellow colours of River Jetez’s part owners, Cedric and Barbara Amm, flying through to catch and overtake the Mike de Kock-trained Mother Russia.
Meanwhile, Karl Neisius had extracted a strong finish from Fort Vogue down the inside rail. Neisius thought he had got third, but Pocket Power had his head down and got the verdict, much to the relief of many PA punters.
Carol Bass, Mike’s wife, had had her eyes on Pocket Power. Such is her love of “Pocket” that she is unable to suppress the tension and anxiety before any big race. In her disappointment her eyes flashed to the finish and she saw the yellow colours, but was not sure it was River Jetez. It was similar to the finish in 2001 when the stable elect Trademark had been pipped by another horse that she thought initially was the Geoff Woodruff-trained El Picha. Only when somebody shouted to her, “Your other one won!” did she realise it was the Bass second-string Bunter Barlow. Ironically, Glen Hatt rode both Bunter Barlow and River Jetez, his only two Met wins. Hatt said River Jetez’s win had been the more special of the two. “She had come so close to a Grade 1 so often and has had real bad luck a few times. It was special that she finally did it.”
Pocket Power was badly cut into during Saturday’s race and pulled up with a long and deep wound on his hind leg from just below the hock downward. Bass was loathe to use it as an excuse, although the veterinarian had said that it might well have effected his performance. In Bass’ view Pocket Power had only been beaten by two fillies that ran “absolute crackers” on the day. He added that had Mother Russia and River Jetez opted to run in the Majorca Stakes, the press would have been hailing Pocket Power for an “unbelievable run”.
Marsh Shirtliff has always loved racing, but his initial strike rate as an owner was poor.
“I looked at my ownership stats and saw they were dismal,” he said. “I had to make a decision to either buy racehorses properly or just go back to punting.”
He decided on the former and after studying some stats identified Mike Bass as the trainer to be with.
Asked on what made Bass such a great trainer, he said, “Affinity for horses. He has been with horses his whole life. He ran a riding school, was a stud farm manager and took part in amateur racing as a trainer and rider before getting his licence. He has a genuine love not only for his horses but for all animals and has an amazing affinity with them.”

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