Two horses displayed their Gr 1 Sansui Summer Cup credentials over the weekend, the Mike de Kock-trained Dynasty colt Alghadeer at Greyville when winning the Listed Jonsson Workwear Michaelmas Handicap over 1900m on the Greyville polytrack under Antony Delpech, and the Joey Ramsden-trained St. Tropez on the Turffontein Inside track, whose magnificent turn of foot saw him cutting through a Pinnacle Stakes field over 1800m like a knife through butter under Andrew Fortune.
Greyville was awash with pink at Friday night’s PinkDrive meeting. The generosity of the sponsors of race 2 to 9 on the card (Klawervlei Stud, Sean Tarry Racing, Investec, Drakenstein Stud, Jonsson Workwear, Varsfontein Stud, Cape Thoroughbred Sales and Gold Circle) enabled Gold Circle’s Racing and Marketing Executive Graeme Hawkins to present a cheque of R300 000 to PinkDrive, who work tirelessly in aid of the worthy cause of breast cancer awareness. Additional money was raised through an auction and donations and the big and appreciative crowd enjoyed a plethora of live entertainment laid on for the night.
In the Michaelmas the four-year-old Dynasty colt Alghadeer didn’t get the best of starts from the widest draw in the 12 horse field but Delpech persisted with the plan of going to the front and once he had got there, at about the 1400m mark, the horse settled well. However, his supporters would have been a tad concerned that too much use had been made of him as he had to come three wide around them on the turn. Meanwhile, the four-year-old Frank Robinson-trained Dynasty filly Olma, who was giving Alghadeer 3kg, had found the perfect position one wide in about fourth place, just behind the fancied Master James.
However, Alghadeer found a fantastic kick in the straight and then kept on resolutely, and Olma, despite running on well on the outside, never quite looked like getting to him. In the end she was beaten a length by her paternal half-sister in what was yet another triumphant result for the leading sire Dynasty. The Royal Rhumba came from last to finish third, just pipping the courageous seven-year-old gelding Penhaligon, who was having his third run after an eight month rest. Alghadeer, who was bred by the Gary Player Stud and is owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was steady in the betting throughout as 4/1 favourite, while Olma was backed in from 14/1 to 9/2 and Master James, who finished fifth, started 11/2.
Alghadeer (pictured) only ran off a merit rating of 92. However, Delpech rates him a good horse and reckoned he could win a Gr 2 or Gr 3. That does not say much for his Summer Cup hopes but the manner of the victory, in which he found extra after his early exertions, could see him in with a shout if he is able to sneak into the field with a light weight.
The other two most impressive winners on the card were the Garth Puller-trained four-year-old Fort Beluga gelding Sea Urchin and the Paul Lafferty-trained three-year-old Warm White Night gelding Apollo’s Gift.
Sea Urchin was having just his third career start in a 1000m Maiden. He broke well for the first time in his career and strolled to a comfortable victory under Delpech, which suggested he would prefer further. Being a four-year-old and therefore favourably weighted in this maiden according to the weight for age scale, he will not be given a high merit rating and could run up a sequence of victories.
Apollo’s Gift was having only his fifth career start in a MR 74 Handicap over 1000m and won effortlessly to give Delpech a meeting hattrick.
Craig Eudey and Alec Forbes got the meeting rolling when the improved Kildonan gelding Buster Brown powered to an easy victory in a 1400m Maiden in his 17th career start at odds of 8/1. The Dennis Drier-trained 15/10 favourite Ricochet Flyer faded tamely to finish unplaced.
The Drier yard made amends in the second, another Maiden over 1400m, as the hard knocking four-year-old Ashaawes gelding First Sea Lord finally got it right in second time blinkers in his ninth career start to just get up under a strong ride from Sean Veale at odds of 3/1, beating the Doug Campbell-trained 18/10 favourite Shine Up by a head. The Charles Laird-trained first-timer by Visionaire, Stokvel, ran on well for third and is one to keep an eye on.
Wendy Whitehead’s fantastic recent run continued as the four-year-old Kahal filly Thanda, who started at 15/2, put the bad luck of her last start behind her and under a good ride by Forbes won the third race, a Maiden for fillies and mares over 1400m, after fighting off the Michael Roberts-trained Chinese Whisper. The favourite Queen Of Thrones almost fell to her knees at the jump and finished tailed off.
The fifth race might have seen a world first, because all the jockeys wore the same colour silks, pink. It didn’t stop the great commentator Craig Peters delivering a faultless call with the only the colour of the caps to go on. Doug Campbell kept his good form rolling in this race as the Overlord filly Overlap and jockey Keagan de Melo recorded a quick 1600m polytrack double, having won together over course and distance four weeks earlier. She started at odds of 6/1. However, she ended up Tote favourite after original favourite Let It Rip was scratched at the start.
In the seventh, a MR 82 Handicap over 1000m, the Robbie Hill-trained Tiger Ridge gelding Bengal Boy surged through late to give De Melo a meeting double and deny Campbell’s Fire The Rocket a course and distance double. However, the horse for the notebook is the Sean Tarry-trained Arabian National, who was unable to make use of his blistering early pace after a tardy start and instead pulled for his head in behind horses. He still looked likely to win when running on well, but had no answer to the winner’s late charge and was just pipped for second.
In the ninth, a Maiden for fillies and mares over 1000m, the hard knocking Kumaran Naidoo-trained Querari filly Simla overcame an outside draw before powering clear and easily converting 16/10 favouritism under Ian Sturgeon.
At Turffontein on Saturday, the classy four-year-old Silvano gelding St. Tropez was having his first start since staying on for second under a bit of a weak ride in the Gr 3 tabGold 2200 on Vodacom Durban July day. He was always travelling well under Andrew Fortune in midfield and turned it on impressively in the straight before staying on resolutely to repel the persistent pacemaker Ahlaam. St. Tropez looks likely to love the 2000m course and distance of the Summer Cup and the long straight should suit his style.
Another impressive winner at Turffontein was the Mike de Kock-trained three-year-old Tiger Ridge gelding Noah From Goa, who overcame a wide draw in a MR 74 Handicap to win by 6,25 lengths, giving Delpech his fourth winner on the weekend. This was Noah For Goa’s first start on turf and his only defeat in three starts to date has been in a Non-Black Type feature over the too sharp 1000m on the Vaal sand. Saturday’s win could earn him a place in this Saturday’s Gr 3 Graham Beck Stakes over 1400m, although he is unfortunately drawn widest of all among the 27 horses still standing their ground.
– David Thiselton
– Picture: Alghadeer winning the Michaelmas Handicap at Greyville on Friday night (Nkosi Hlophe)
