Sean “Woer-woer Masjien” Singleton” and Neil Patrick Smith have been “living a dream” with their stalwart stayer Hermoso Mundo and are grabbing “a once in a lifetime opportunity” with both hands and sending the gelding to race in Dubai.

The other part-owners of the six-year-old Ideal World gelding are NC Smith, GD Cahn, G Morris and W Volschenk.  

Hermoso Mundo (Candiese Marnewick)

Current trainer Weiho Marwing will hand over the reins to Mike de Kock but the former will be on hand for consultation and will remain very much involved.

Hermoso Mundo’s chief target will be the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup run over 3200m on turf at the World Cup meeting on March 30, 2019, at Meydan racecourse.

The prize money for this race has been raised to US$ 1.5 million for its 2019 renewal.

Hermoso Mundo made history in the 2016/2017 season when landing the unofficial stayer’s triple crown, winning the Gold Bowl, the Gold Vase and the Gold Cup, and he was duly crowned Equus Champion Stayer.

Singleton’s colourful victory war cry, which ends with the words “jou woer-woer-woer masjien!” became a much-looked forward to aside during last year’s SA Champions Season. Furthermore, the story of Smith, his opponent and an umpire huddled together on a tennis court in Germany watching the Gold Vase on a laptop, after the former had requested a break in play in a tennis tournament match, was one of the most heart-warming tales of the season.

Hermoso Mundo was a gallant runner up nine days ago in the defence of his Gold Cup crown.

“It was heartbreaking to come second after he had come from so far back,” reflected Singleton and Smith, “but It’s My Turn was a deserving winner. Based on that run we have decided to send him overseas. He is an out and out stayer and there is nothing really for him here. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we have to do it. We believe he will do very well there and Mike thinks he will do ok. We are very happy to be going with Mike as he is an absolute champion trainer. It’s very exciting. He is by Ideal World so can still run for a few years and can race in other countries. If he does well we can expand and wouldn’t mind going to Australia for the Melbourne Cup. There are lot of other races for him in Australia too. There are some beautiful turf tracks with long straights overseas. Whatever happens we are going to have some fun. It’s a dream.”

Hermoso Mundo was on his way to Cape Town last Thursday. The Kenilworth quarantine station is the first leg of an arduous five month journey to Dubai, which goes via Mauritius and Europe.

By David Thiselton

Aldo Domeyer, forced to give up his rides at Durbanville on Saturday, aims to be back this week after picking up an infection following his hectic 18-winner 11-day Cape championship chase.

Captain America

He said on Saturday: “I think all that travelling caught up with me. I am on antibiotics and I am trying to get some rest.”

Rest is what Champions Cup winners Captain America and Sail South will have from now on. Both have been retired.

Brett Crawford said: “Sail South has gone to his owners (Nigel and Jenny Pott plus Gill Dempsey) in Plettenberg Bay while Captain America will go to the Steenberg Golf Estate.”

There has been surprise in some quarters that Captain America, so clearly at the top of his game, has not been kept in training for a further season.

Crawford said: “He won so well that he could have done but personally I think it is fantastic that he has gone out at the top. He has won three Group 1s and he has had the weight of the stable on his shoulders for four of the last six years.”

Stable companion Lady Of The House, winner of last year’s Woolavington, is apparently destined for a new career as a broodmare. She was due to be sold by Mayfair Speculators at the recent Central Route Trading Sale but was withdrawn beforehand. According to sales boss Grant Knowles, she was purchased by Ridgemont.

By Michael Clower

Richard Fourie intends going for the championship if he is within striking distance of the leaders in the last few months of the season.

He rode a four-timer at Durbanville on Saturday to add to his double at the country course last Wednesday and said: “My target is 200 winners and the championship depends on the support I get. I am riding freelance – I am not retained by the Chrigor Stud (still his sponsor) this season – but, if I need to give it a little bit extra at the end, I will.”

With Grant van Niekerk on his way to Hong Kong, Fourie is much in demand from Snaith Racing which has supplied all his six winners so far and Chris Snaith remarked: “Richard is always worth a length or two.”

Richard Fourie (Liesl King)

The most significant, and certainly the shortest-priced, of Saturday’s four was Frank Lloyd Wright who weakened from a prohibitive 1-5 to 1-3 for the TAB Telebet Maiden. The Captain Al colt made most of the running in the distinctive Qatar Racing colours with his rider doing little more in the final furlong than twice looking back for what proved to be non-existent dangers.

“He has a good future,” said Fourie. “He is a couple of lengths behind the best but he had the experience and he won like it. He gave me a good feel.”

But punters and racegoers alike are apparently going to have to wait a bit. “We have raced him a little more than we would have liked so we will now ease up on him and put him away for the Cape summer season,” said Jonathan Snaith.

“He is a class horse and hopefully the best is still to come. He is possibly a Guineas horse and he qualifies for the R5 million CTS Mile. But his performance here tells you how impressive the Langerman winner One World was. He gave us a galloping lesson and I think he is definitely the Guineas favourite at the moment.”

The Vaughan Marshall colt gave Frank Lloyd Wright 4kg in the Langerman and beat him by more than five lengths. On the other hand Black Indy, beaten seven and a half lengths into fourth, did little for the form when managing only three lengths-plus third to More Magic in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden 40 minutes later.

What is more the Candice Bass-Robinson winner had had five previous attempts, admittedly from a series of wide draws. The colt was ridden by Stuart Randolph who flew in to substitute for the sidelined Aldo Domeyer and recalled that on his only previous visit in the last five years racing had been washed out.

Liam Tarentaal, 20, signalled his arrival in Cape Town by springing a 50-1 shock on the Eric Sands newcomer Bellingham Bay in the first. The 2.5kg claimer has moved from Durban, had four rides here last Wednesday and this was the 21^st success of his career.

Greg Ennion proved, not for the first time, that winners can still be bought cheaply when the Donovan Dillon-ridden Parisian Gold got up inside the last 100m of the 2 400m maiden.

“I bought him with the only bid of ten grand at the Ready To Run,” Ennion related. “He was a huge backward horse and his sire Biarritz was not fashionable but I liked him. He has taken for ever to come to hand but I think he will now go on from this and I have turned down an offer of R130 000 for him.”

By Michael Clower

The folly of backing first timers, especially three-year-olds against older horses this early in the season, was driven home at Scottsville yesterday as hot favourite Mela Stregata came up a nose short in the opening maiden.

A year older and racing in blinkers for the first time, Tuulikki was the first of a quick hat-trick for Garth Puller as Mandla Ntuli kept his mount going just long enough to hold off the favourite.

“She has been disappointing,” said Puller of Tuulikki. Blinkers, declared after the publication of the official form guides, appeared to have done the trick.

Anton Marcus, who got home in the next two races for Puller, was nonplussed. “I got beaten on my best ride,” he said after winning comfortably aboard the first timer, but four-year-old Mashari in the third.

“She was green and hanging in,” said beaten trainer Duncan Howells of Mela Stregata. “She will also need further.”

Marcus was made to work just as hard on the odds-on favourite Dyno Man. The grey looked a beaten horse 50m out as Merlin From Berlin tried for a bit of magic, but Marcus pulled out all the stops and Dyno Man rallied gamely for the win. He’s a horse that looks as if he will go a trip as this was only his second outing and he only got into gear late.

Mashari, coming of two barrier trials, was also send out odds-on for the third but was hard-pressed at the death to hold off the attentions of Wildly In Love, the runner-up a little unlucky as she took a knock out of the pens and then the scenic route home.

It’s been nearly a year between drinks for World Mission but Keagan De Melo got the better of his wayward tendencies in the Sikalele Projects Handicap although he was all over the place in the drive for the wire. “He’s not the easiest,” said De Melo of Dean Kannemeyer’s gelding. “He’s looking for a trip but doesn’t settle.”

“He has ability but hasn’t brought it all to the racecourse yet.”

De Melo eased punters pain when getting favourite Ronnie Rocket home for Pat Lunn in the Just Property Handicap after 25-1 shot Komeshans Flight under apprentice Eric Ngwane for Yogas Govender lead to a boil-over in the exotics.

Warren Kennedy, successful for Kom Naidoo in Kimberley on Saturday, has got his season off to a cracking start, successful on Bangkok in the fifth who Gavin van Zyl feels “still has a lot to learn”, and then riding a driving finish on Just Vogue to get the better of Gratuity in the Wayne’s Scrap Metal Handicap for a stable double.

Mark Khan is becoming a regular visitor in KZN of late and rounded off the day by getting Shadow Hunter home with a late effort for Lezeanne Forbes.

By Andrew Harrison

Frank Lloyd Wright is an almost unbackable price for the TAB Telebet Maiden at Durbanville tomorrow but he will be many punters’ idea of a banker for multiple bets.

The Captain Al colt has finished second in four of his five races and this will be the third time that he has started odds-on but his Langerman performance – beaten only by One World – marks him apart from this opposition even if he was receiving all the allowances.

Richard Fourie’s mount, incidentally, is named after the American architect who developed the cantilever roof used on many of the most impressive racecourse stands around the world.

Richard Fourie

World Sports Betting opened him at 2-9 with the only others in single figures being the wide-drawn unraced Windcheater and Consul Of War who has been off for over ten months.

Snaith Racing, three winners here on Wednesday, are expecting another good day and they field the favourite in four of the eight races. All of them are ridden by Fourie and all may win.

Black Indy (17-10) has 19-20 shot More Magic to beat in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden. The latter has a decent draw for once whereas the selection will start widest of all. He does, however, hold More Magic by just over a length on their running a month ago and we have seen many times how a quick start here can make light of a bad draw whereas “giving the horse a chance” is usually the kiss of death.

Magnificent Seven is odds-on for the Betting World Handicap – unfortunately down to only four runners – and he may just be able to account for the Brett Crawford-trained Gimme One Night who has been running well over further.

But watch out for Red Peril. The top weight is the 10-1 outsider of the party but this is just the sort of race in which the wily Bill Prestage instructs his jockey to try and slip the field – and so often those tactics work on this course.

The Boston Rose has become a punter-reliable and those she has rewarded in the past are unlikely to desert her in the Supabets Handicap even though she has been off for three months and has gone up three points after only just holding on in her last race.

Adam Marcus has had a high strike rate in recent months and Red Rascal can further boost the averages in the Interbet Handicap at the principal expense of top weight Silver Master.

By Michael Clower

Kimberly’s premier race meetings takes place tomorrow. This annual race day features three non-black type races that include the RA Diamond Stayers race, RA Flamingo Mile and the Betting World Sprint on the testing sand track.

The feature races on the day will start from races six through to eight and judging from the pools on previous year’s punters have taken a liking to the pick three bet specifically for these features.

Portman Square

Trainer Tinie Prinsloo said he is extremely excited for the day and is expecting decent runs from most of his runners. He saddles Portman Square in the sixth which runs in the RA Diamond Stayers non-black type. “He is a difficult horse to assess as he needs things to go his way, but he will most probably go to the front as that’s his favourite position. His work has been excellent and he looks well so I’m hoping for the best.

The stable companion Sea Bean is coming into form at the right time. “She has been putting in decent work of late and my stable jockey Shadlee Fortune has opted to ride her. If she settles well in the running she will be involved in the finish,” he said.

“Silver Swift in race three should be included in quartets, if reproducing her work she should be running on strongly.

“Nice Chap in race four has been consistent and his form speaks for itself and is a must include in all bets however does have a tricky draw,” concluded Prinsloo.

KZN based trainer Kumaran Naidoo usually makes the trip up every year and takes a string of 19 runners this time.

Royal Katrina in race five looks to be one of the better bets on the card based on current form and jumps from a reasonable draw of five and is currently trading at 4-1.

If you are one to believe in omens the nine-year-old Tuscan runs in race nine and jumps from draw eight with Serino Moodley aboard. The game son of Easing Along won the ninth race in Flamingo Park last year with Lyle Hewitson aboard.

Overall this meeting always produces decent pay-outs and punters will need to asses form thoroughly and especially take note of trainer comments as these meetings are never easy from a punting perspective.

The race day is also beginning to grow rapidly in importance since its inception. There will be a host of entertainment for the whole family including a playground area for the kids and huge crowds are expected. The meeting has a mouth-watering betting menu for racing enthusiasts with the Pick 6 pool estimated to reach in excess of R1.6 million.

By Devonne Govender

The numbers for the Savages Football Club Maiden, card opener at Scottsville on Sunday, are a little thin given that many trainers are desperate for a straight six furlongs on the grass.

But as one trainer commented, “If barrier trials hold any water, this should win by a street.”

He was referring to the Scat Daddy filly Mela Stregata who simply smoked home in her barrier trial in spite of her rider’s efforts to restrain her.

Bought out of the Mayfair Speculators dispersal, Mela Stregata has shown exceptional work at home and although Duncan Howells was stressing at possibilities when quizzed at Ashburton yesterday, the filly should not have any trouble seeing off the opposition and is likely to start deep in the red.

Mela Stregata (Candiese Marnewick)

Howells will be hoping that she can half emulate US Triple Crown winner Justify, also by

Dyno Man is one of the ‘old boys’ in the Savages FC Old Boys Maiden but although a late starter for Garth Puller he caught the eye with a cracking debut over the Scottsville 1200m, finishing close-up behind the well fancied Autumn Rain. The gelding is bred to stay this trip and from pole position draw and Anton Marcus in the irons, he should take some beating.

If there is a danger it could come from Merlin From Belin. Ivan van Wyks’s gelding was a little disappointing last run even though he was taking on winners, but on debut had run Marchingontogether to two lengths. That form has worked out quite well.

Marcus and Puller team up with Mashari in the third with the four-year-old making his debut after two barrier trials. Puller, a master horseman and superb jockey, makes full use of the opportunity to tune up his horses in trials and Mashari has indicated in his two trials that he is good enough to win on debut.

His biggest threat could come in the form of Wildly In Love. The filly takes on males and older horses but was in a competitive maiden last time out and will prefer this trip.

Another to keep an eye on is Al Jackson. Wendy Whitehead’s colt had tongues wagging in the paddock for his barrier trial. He dwarfed most of his rivals in the paddock and is an exceptionally good-looking colt. However, he was carrying heaps of condition so his poor trial showing is probably best ignored.

He should strip a lot fitter on Sunday and should improve but his indifferent trial is a concern.

Burra Boy has been a loyal servant for owners Cathy and Blake Richard and he is definitely a horse for a course, the Scottsville 1400m right up his alley.

He has been unfortunate enough to meet up with two of Shane Humby’s well fancied runners in Waywood, a winner again next time out, and Moon Bird, but can finally score the fifth win of his career for Mark Dixon in the opening leg of the Pick 6.

Howells will be hoping for at least a double with Ninjinsky’s Son in the fifth.

Runner-up at his last two, he is at his best on the turf and was running on well enough over the mile last time out to suggest that he will have no difficulty seeing out Sunday’s trip, even though he has pulled an outside draw.

The sixth is difficult with the form behind Kilmokea likely to prove decisive but Queen’s Plain was a touch unlucky that day and can get the better of Star Evolution and Roy’s Stingray. Not a race to go light in for the exotics.

Bonnie Dawn is quick and can get the better of her male rivals in the seventh. Louis Goosen’s filly put in some good work at Ashburton on Thursday and looks primed for this.

The Goosen-trained Gratuity also showed good work and should have a good chance in the eighth while young apprentice Xola Jacobs takes 4kgs off the back of Love Theme and she could prove the biggest threat to the selection.

The last is another mine-field for punters and Lilibet, even from her wide draw, is a tentative selection from Indian Rain while Little Audrey is likely to make big improvement over this trip.

By Andrew Harrison

The underrated sire Mambo In Seattle has relocated from Moutonshoek Stud to the KZN Midlands where he will stand at Peter and Jenny Blyth’s Clifton Stud.

The syndicate members are still the same and he will stand for R10,000 a live foal.

The Kingmambo sire has produced a number of stakes horses but the statistic which caught Peter Blyth’s eye above all before accepting him was his good winners to runners record.

In his first season his 28 male runners returned 22 winners and in his second season his 32 female runners returned 21 winners.

Same Jurisdiction

Mambo In Seattle, whose dam is a half-sister to the great AP Indy, is suited to South African-bred mares as his second and third dams are the blue hen mares Weekend Surprise and Lassie Dear respectively. These two mares have had a great influence on the South African thoroughbred breed.

Lassie Dear is the dam of Al Mufti, who was SA Champion Sire, SA Champion Broodmare Sire and also sired the SA Champion Sire Captain Al as well as the Grade 1 producing sire Victory Moon.

Weekend Surprise is the dam of the late Wilgerbosdrift stallion Tiger Ridge (Storm Cat), who has had a lot of success in South Africa, including producing Triple Tiara heroine Cherry On The Top.

Weekend Surprise’s greatest progeny was AP Indy, who was the US Champion three-year-old colt in 1992, the US Horse Of The Year in 1993, the leading sire in North America in both 2003 and 2006 and the leading broodmare sire in North America in 2015.

Current AP Indy stallions standing in South Africa include the successful sire Judpot, who has produced three individual Grade 1 winners, KZN sire Just As Well and Marchfield. Furthermore, Jay Peg’s sire Camden Park was by AP Indy.

Mambo In Seattle is bred on the same lines as the prominent USA stallion Lemon Drop Kid. Both stallions are by Kingmambo, both of their dams are by Seattle Slew and Lemon Drop Kid’s second dam is Lassie Dear, who is the third dam of Mambo In Seattle.

All in all, Mambo In Seattle provides a good opportunity in SA for fans of line breeding.
As a racehorse his finest moment happened when he came second by a nose in the Group 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga to Colonel John despite running six wide. The Travers Stakes is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to international classifications behind only the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
Mambo In Seattle also won a Listed race over 1800m at three.

His best progeny to date is Same Jurisdiction, a twice Grade 1 winner who went on to place in a Group 3 in the U.K.

He has also produced stake performers like Majestic Mambo, runner up in this year’s Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and fourth in the Vodacom Durban July; Saratoga Dancer, who has a number of Graded places to his name and finished fifth in the July; and stakes winners Mambo Mime, Smart Mart, Fortune Fella, Night In Seattle and Mambonick.

Mambo In Seattle finished 14th on the National Sire log of the season just past.

Majestic Mambo (JC Photographics)

Blyth said he had settled in well since arriving in Mooi River a month ago. “He is fine, is doing well and is as relaxed as anything.”

He said the handsome bay, who was born in 2005, had a lovely temperament and was easy to work with.

Clifton Stud produced the like of Horse Of The Year Classic Flag when based in Mpumalanga. Since relocating to Mooi River there have been a number of black type winners born and raised at Clifton Stud, including Kangaroo Jack, who won two Grade 2’s and a Grade 3 from 1200-1450m, Bezanova, who won the Grade 2 Charity Mile, the Grade 2 Victory Moon and the KZN Breeders Million Mile and finished third in the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge, as well as Covered In Snow, Whatalady and Midnight Serenade. Cutting Edge, born and raised at Clifton, won the KZN Yearling Sale Million.

Horses born and raised at Clifton won 44 races last season, 56 the previous season and 58 the season before that.

Blyth has a policy of letting foals loose with their dams five days after foaling and they are then only brought in again for sales preparation. This ensures they are brought up tough.

Mambo In Seattle joins promising young sire Crusade at Clifton. The latter was relocated from Scott Brothers after their recent dispersal sale.

Blyth has taken care of a class stallion before, Allied Flag, who was the sire of Classic Flag but unfortunately passed away prematurely.

Mambo In Seattle and Crusade are in good hands and should both receive good support.

By David Thiselton

Aldo Domeyer is to concentrate once more on Cape Town – and in particular on his first-jockey job with Candice Bass-Robinson – after riding winners all over the country in the final few days of last season to achieve his objective.

Much has been made of his third in the national log earning him a place on the South African team to ride in Singapore next month but in fact his aim was focussed much nearer home.

He said yesterday: “I was trying to win the Cape jockeys championship which was decided on national winners’ basis. From this season, though, it is back to a Cape racemeeting only basis and Richard Fourie could be hard to beat in that.”

Aldo (Candiese Marnewick)

Domeyer rode 18 winners in the last 11 days of the campaign. For four of those days he didn’t ride but the other seven were scattered from Flamingo Park to Fairview and from the Vaal to Greyville.

He said: “I had a mountain to climb and I didn’t think I was going to do it but I don’t think I have ever been on a roll like this one.

“However I missed a lot of work, Candice has a lot of horses and I need to be fair to the clients so I won’t be doing all that again. I will go to Jo’burg to ride for Ashley (trainer wife of his father Andrew Fortune) when they need me but I doubt that I will go to other centres for them.”

The new season began on just the right note for Paul Reeves at Durbanville yesterday when the consistent Photocopy benefitted from a positive ride from Donovan Dillon to finally get his head in front where it mattered.

Reeves, 51 on Tuesday, reckons this could be just the first of several wins, saying: “He has been frustrating but he is still a big baby and he has always shown so much. He has a future.”

Justin Snaith only waited until race two to start the ball rolling in his bid to land a third trainers’ championship and younger brother Jonathan reckons punters should make a note of the Richard Fourie-ridden Margrethe.

He explained: “She is a bit light so we will probably stick her away for a bit but she has a lot of scope and is definitely one to follow. Over 1 400m and a mile she will be even better than this.”

African Night Sky has joined Mike de Kock and is in quarantine prior to being campaigned in Dubai. Fred Crabbia’s Winter Series winner started favourite for the Durban July but suffered more than any other horse from the long delay at the start. By the time the runners were eventually loaded all he wanted to do was gallop as fast as he could and Grant van Niekerk found him impossible to settle. He finished an expensive fifth.

*  Michael Clower won with four of his five selections at Durbanville yesterday.

By Michael Clower

Justin Snaith was officially crowned National Champion trainer when the season closed on Tuesday. Snaith led for much of the season on his way to his second championship, finishing R6 million ahead of reigning champion Sean Tarry.

The Championship is judged on stakes won and Snaith runners, that included 162 winners, earned R26 794 988. Tarry had 138 winners and his runners earned R20 522 775.

Justin Snaith

Mike de Kock finished third with Brett Crawford in fourth place.

The unfortunate fall that side-lined Anthony Delpech for the final three months of the season left the door open for apprentice Lyle Hewitson who took full toll. Hewitson racked up 184 winners in a memorable season that saw him land the National Jockey’s Championship as an apprentice, emulating the legendary Michael Roberts who was the last apprentice to win the National Championship.

Muzi Yeni finished a clear second on 149 winners and Aldo Domeyer edged out Delpech for third by just a single winner with Greg Cheyne, two back in fifth.

The battle between Domeyer and Cheyne went down to the last race meeting of the season with the pair fighting it out for a place on the three-man South African team to take part in the Singapore Jockey’s International taking place on September 25. Domeyer will join Hewitson and Yeni.

Naturally, Hewitson also took the National Apprentice title with Denis Schwarz and Ashton Arries in second and third places respectively.

Sun Met and Woolavington 2000 winner Oh Susanna was the leading stakes earner followed by Undercover Agent and Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again.

In sixth place was Yulong Prince, the re-named Surcharge, who will resume his racing career in Hong Kong.

The race for the National Breeders Championship was again a close-run thing but reigning champions Klawervlei Stud retained their title from perennial rivals Summerhill Stud.

By Andrew Harrison

Top 10 apprentices

Top 10 Trainer

Top 10 horses by stakes earned (restricted races excluded)