Objections in horseracing are a hoary chestnut and have been for time and memorial. But just how objections are ruled on will always be subjective no matter the rules as inevitably it is a situation that will have grey areas. Over the years these rules have been revised and changed depending on the flavour of the day but in the final analysis no hard-and-fast rules can apply and as the current rules stand, it is up to the Objection Board to make a judgement call.

Needless to say, each incident will be viewed in a different light by different people but the final say lies with the Objection Board constituted to view the incident and make a ruling.

The issue raised its head again at Scottsville on Sunday where Keagan de Melo’s (Silent Obsession) protest against Warren Kennedy (Ideal Winter) was over ruled by the Objection Board although not all were happy with the decision to over-rule.

The official Stipendiary Stewards report read as follows:

1. SILENT OBSESSION (K de Melo) was hanging in over the final 500 metres.
2. IDEAL WINTER (W Kennedy) was hanging out in the final straight, shifted out near the 150 metre mark inconveniencing SILENT OBSESSION (K de Melo). Thereafter IDEAL WINTER (W Kennedy) shifted out near the 100 metre mark brushing SILENT OBSESSION (K de Melo). IDEAL WINTER (W Kennedy) and SILENT OBSESSION (K de Melo) brushed shortly before the finish.
3. A race review was called by Mr D Howells, trainer of SILENT OBSESSION (K de Melo) which was followed by an Objection lodged by Jockey K de Melo, rider of the second placed horse SILENT OBSESSION against the winner IDEAL WINTER (W Kennedy) on the grounds of interference in the latter stages. The Objection Board after hearing all the evidence including the distance of an increasing half a length between these two horses at the finish was of the opinion that despite the incident complained of, SILENT OBSESSION (K de Melo) would not have beaten IDEAL WINTER (W Kennedy) and therefore over-ruled the Objection, refunded the deposit and allowed the Judge’s result to stand.
4. Jockey W Kennedy signed an admission of guilt for a contravention of Rule 62.2.7 in that as the rider of IDEAL WINTER he failed to ensure that he did not cause interference to SILENT OBSESSION (K de Melo) in the closing stages. A warning was imposed.

The current rules concerning to interference reads as follows; the pertinent clause highlighted in bold:

68.2.6     bumping, boring, crossing, jostling or other interference, intimidation or any other action on the part of the HORSE or its RIDER during the running of the RACE;

69.3     When an OBJECTION is lodged in terms of RULE 68.2.6. the OBJECTION shall not be upheld unless the OBJECTION BOARD is satisfied that:-

69.3.1     a placed HORSE was interfered with by another placed HORSE and/or its RIDER during a RACE and the HORSE which was interfered with would, but for the interference, have finished ahead of the HORSE which caused the interference, in which event, the OBJECTION BOARD shall place the HORSE which caused the interference behind the HORSE which was interfered with or it may disqualify the HORSE which caused the interference;

69.3.2     any HORSE in the RACE was interfered with by any other HORSE and/or its RIDER and as a result of which the chances of the HORSE interfered with were jeopardised, the OBJECTION BOARD may, if it believes that the nature of the interference warrants such action, disqualify the HORSE which caused the interference.

69.4     For the purposes of RULE 69.3, a placed HORSE shall mean any of the HORSES placed in the first five to finish the RACE by the judge.

In other words, if the Objection Board feels that no matter the severity of the interference, they feel that the offender would have won no matter the interference, the result stands. They have to make a judgement call.

By Andrew Harrison

Tyrandeus can get punters off to a winning start in the opening Itsarush.co.za Maiden at Kenilworth tomorrow after running so well on debut earlier in the month.

Starting an unconsidered 20-1, he ran on well in the closing stages like a certain future winner to beat all except Captain Falcon in a field of 14. Maybe it wasn’t a strong maiden but it was an eye-catching performance.

Candice Robinson (hamish NIVEN Photography)

“I hadn’t galloped him – I just chucked him in but he ran very well,” recalls Candice Bass-Robinson who cautions: “He is going to need ground.”

A bigger problem could be the colt’s 19 draw. The going on the outside and middle of the sprint course has been slower than the inside in recent weeks and last Saturday the penetrometer showed a 2% advantage for those racing on the inside. In terms of lengths that amounts to a lot over 1 200m but over half the field are newcomers so the in-form Aldo Domeyer may be able to take advantage of their inexperience and tack across without too much difficulty.

Many of the old faithfuls go again in the Tab Telebet Handicap but Strathdon is the youngest horse in the race and is improving so he may be able to defy the three points the handicappers gave him for last month’s win over a furlong further. The bookmakers certainly think so and World Sports Betting opened him 12-10 favourite yesterday with Domeyer’s mount Waiting For Rain next best at 2-1.

In race three, the Tabonline.co.za Maiden, Domeyer may win again on Poetry. This one has a reasonable draw and showed plenty of promise first time in a good race. She was just over three lengths third but the second, third and eighth have all won since.

She is favourite at 33-10 with her main market rival being 7-2 shot Township Melody who drops back from her second over 1 400m a fortnight ago. “I felt that was a bit far for her,” explains Justin Snaith. “She is doing very well at home. It’s just the 18 draw – she is going to have to come across.”

Also worth considering is Fresnaye (4-1) even though the Joey Ramsden filly has been off for over four months. She ran well against older horses on debut that day and is well drawn.

At Long Last has been off the course for more than six months but he might be worth a few rand each way at 14-1 in the last as Andre Nel explains: “He was relocated from Durban and had to spend 40 days in quarantine in George. He might find the trip a bit short but he is doing well and he could run a big race.”

By Michael Clower

The new Durbanville surface was given a unanimous thumbs-up by the jockeys yesterday but the course’s reopening has been put back a fortnight to September 23 when it will stage the Settlers Trophy.

Phumelela boss Clyde Basel, after having a lengthy meeting with trainers, jockeys, owner representatives and officials, said: “There is now a wonderful future for Durbanville but the consensus is that we should give the grass two more weeks and return to racing here on September 23.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe (Liesl King)

“We will then stage seven consecutive meetings at Durbanville while the three scheduled fixtures prior to September 23 will now be run on the winter course at Kenilworth.”

Justin Snaith provided six horses for the testing of the resurfacing and Bernard Fayd’Herbe, after partnering The Barry Burn in a 1 300m spin with Fake News (Anthony Andrews), said: “The course is awesome and is probably now one of the better tracks in the country.

“You would be able to stage big races on it and going through the first corner with its camber I felt that it is going to be so much better than it was.”

Snaith incidentally, said that the social media-hyped Fake News will make his long-awaited debut next month.

Aldo Domeyer, after riding Talitha Borealis in a similar spin with Lightning Trail (Grant van Niekerk), said: “At this point in time the course feels a bit superior to Kenilworth. The surface is smooth, it turns well and in the straight you can put your horse anywhere.

“It should make for fairer racing but it feels very firm and how tough it is I don’t know.”

Dean Diedricks, who has master-minded the resurfacing programme, was adamant that there is no question of opening up the course for weekly gallops in the immediate future. Most of the trainers agreed with this but some of them felt that the recommencement of racing should also be deferred.

Greg Ennion

Greg Ennion, speaking in advance of the meeting and its decision, said: “The course really needs the whole of September with the sun on it. It would be OK to race once a fortnight but we would be back where we started if we staged all ten scheduled meetings.”

The trial was much better attended than most people expected – although the racecourse thoughtfully laid on plenty of refreshments – and other trainers present included Candice Bass-Robinson, Vaughan Marshall, Glen Kotzen, Andre Nel, Paddy Kruyer, Riaaan van Reenen, Mike Robinson, Andries Steyn and Dan Katz.

Richard Fourie rode in the trial and Racing Association boss Larry Wainstein took an early flight from Johannesburg to watch it. Others present included senior stipe Ernie Rodrigues (“In time it will be magnificent”), Derek Brugman, Darryl Hodgson, Karl Neisius and NHA vet Lauren Brewis while the media representation included a Tellytrack broadcasting team.

The new-look racing surface has taken ten months to complete and involved removing the original turf, levelling out the old ridge and furrow, cambering or cross-falling the bends and replanting with a kikuyu-grass sod purchased already fully grown.

By Michael Clower

An ”absolute gentleman” was the common thread when the shocked racing community reminisced about the late Alec Forbes, who passed away in hospital of pneumonia in the early hours of the morning last Thursday having ridden a winner at Scottsville just hours earlier.

The hearts of all in the industry are with his wife Lezeanne and their young son Zac and also with his older offspring Jordan and Savannah.

Summerveld trainer Lezeanne sent out the Querari gelding Warfarer to win on Sunday at Scottsville and in an emotional moment in the winner’s enclosure jockey Tristan Godden spoke for many when pointing skywards and saying, “This one is for Alec.”

Forbes was clearly a dedicated horseman with a strong work ethic and will be a big loss to racing.

He would have made it in any walk of life as an enquiring mind who was an avid reader and his books and periodicals were his regular companions between races in the jockey’s room.

His riding agent of eleven years Rob Champion was particularly hard hit by the news, especially as he had spoken to him the previous evening and congratulated him on his winner. He said, “We have always been close friends, he was more like a son to me. He was always very honourable and straight shooting, the nicest guy you will ever meet, a total gentleman, the quieter type of gentleman, and an absolute pleasure to work for.”

Forbes had fine associations with the two leading KZN yards, Summerveld’s Dennis Drier and Ashburton’s Duncan Howells.

Drier said, “We had a great partnership over the years. He was an absolute gentleman, he wasn’t scared of work and did me proud with both Beach Beauty and Val De Ra. It is very sad and he is a big loss to the jockey ranks and to racing.”

Forbes rode the champion Beach Beauty to victory in two Grade 2s and a Grade 3 and to two seconds in Grade 1s.

He rode the champion sprinter Val De Ra to victory in the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint, the Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship and the Grade 2 Southern Cross Stakes.

Jockey Karl Neisius recalled that Cape Flying Championships, “I was drawn wider on What A Winter and dropped in behind Val DE Ra, but she kicked again and was too good. Alec was a fantastic guy, a total gentleman and down to earth, you couldn’t meet a nicer guy, it is very sad for the family.”

Howells said, “I knew Alec more on a professional level than a personal one and he was very workmanlike and I had a great amount of respect for him. He was always on time, he put a lot of effort into the work. He performed very well for us.”

Forbes also formed a good partnership at one stage with veteran Summerveld trainer Alistair Gordon.

Gordon said, “It was a huge shock too all of us. I had an awful lot of time for Alec, he was an exceptionally hardworking guy, a true gentleman of the sport and a really good guy, he was top-class.”

Jockey great Anton Marcus also spoke highly of his KZN-based colleague. “He was a great guy, a gentleman of the jockey room and is sorely missed.”

Greg Cheyne was in the same year as Forbes at the South African Jockeys Academy and said, “I am also good friends with his step-brother Paul Devlin, so am lost for words. Alec was a top bloke, quiet and humble and he would just go about his business. I don’t think he had any enemies, he was one of the good guys. I have fond memories of him in our time at the Academy. He was an accomplished rider. When he rode good horses he rode them well and took the chances which came his way. He was still under achieved. But this is more about him as a person. He will be absolutely missed, I can’t say enough about him. He was greatly respected by all of his colleagues.”

By David Thiselton

Mark Dixon has done a masterful job with London Call, a gelding that has not been the easiest to train, but apart from keeping the gelding sound and sane, Dixon has cherry-picked his races to the point where he has won nine of his 16 starts.

London Call (Nkosi Hlophe)

London Call’s record is peppered with lay-offs between runs but Dixon has been smart enough to target pinnacle stakes races where London Call inevitably has an advantage.

London Call showed in both the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint and the Gr1 Mercury Sprint, both won by Bull Valley, that he is just below top class but not by far. At Scottsville yesterday, back in Pinnacle Stakes company, he had plenty in his favour in spite of carrying top weight and didn’t disappoint.

Brandon Lerena, riding his first winner back since his Mauritian nightmare, had his mount out and rolling from the jump and he never let up. Redcarpet Captain challenge briefly and Secret Captain was doing his best work late but London Call was never seriously threatened.

The Qatar Racing Club has identified the South African Jockey Academy as a potential training ground for their riders in an effort to upgrade racing in the Gulf State and the first batch of ten apprentices were put through their paces in the Al Rayyan Apprentice Cup, restricted to the Qatar apprentices.

Keagan De Melo (Nkosi Hlophe)

Most of the riders have limited race-racing experience but Abdulla Saleh kept Paul Lafferty’s 12-1 chance Tropical’s Son running to the line to hold the more fancied stable companion Freddie Flint but there was plenty of huffing-and-puffing behind them.

By their very nature objections are often contentious but the one-eyed Silent Obsession has been on the receiving end on two occasions.

First time across the line first he was on the wrong end of a boardroom decision before winning next time out. Yesterday, he had the filly Ideal Winter leaning on him for much of the home straight.

Keagan de Melo was quick to object on Silent Obsession’s behalf, “he never left me alone in the straight,” he protested but his protestations were in vain with the result standing.

Had there been a head or less in it at the line, De Melo’s protest may have been upheld but Silent Obsession was half-a-length back at the line.

The current ruling on objections is that the objection board must be confident that the offended would have beat the offender. Clearly in this case the objection board were not convinced.

By Andrew Harrison

One of the best jobs in South African racing is up for grabs as Sabine Plattner and Andre Nel have decided not to renew Grant van Niekerk’s contract as first jockey.

Andre Nel

Van Niekerk was appointed shortly after Aldo Domeyer replaced him as stable jockey to Candice Bass-Robinson after the Sun Met meeting at the end of January. The combination has had quite a bit of success but seemingly that was not enough.

Nel explained: “I still rate Grant highly but he and I didn’t really gel as a team in the way we should, and his contract came to an end at the end of last season. At the moment we are freelancing but the job is open and we are looking.”

Plattner Racing has a string of superbly bred horses, which have been a force to reckon with during the reigns of Chris Snaith, Brett Crawford and Yogas Govender. Indeed they give every appearance of being on the way back to their very best under Nel’s guidance.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe, who has not ridden since the end of last month, expects to resume at Kenilworth on Saturday.

He said: “I had a fall riding work at Philippi eight weeks ago and hurt my shoulder but I carried on riding taking anti-inflammatories, and then I injured my elbow in the pens in a KZN sales race at Greyville.

“I am booked off until Friday and I see the specialist this Monday. I am confident of being cleared to resume as I rode work on Saturday and everything was fine. The rest has done me good because it has helped to heal other injuries but I have missed a lot of winners and that is not cool.”

Grant Van Niekerk (Nkosi Hlophe)

Morne Winnaar is back in Cape Town after a successful stint in Durban, saying: “I want to establish myself here again before the summer season starts. The Durban trainers have their regular jockeys so rides there are harder to come by out of season. Also there are a maximum of 12 runners in races on the poly at Greyville and that also restricts opportunities.”

Craig du Plooy, sidelined since April and initially concerned that he might have to have a back operation, is optimistic that he will be in action once more by the beginning of December.

He said: “I have had rhizotomy treatment where they burn the nerve endings so that the disc can heal naturally. It takes a bit longer this way but it works better.”

Bertie Dobbie and his brother Melvyn bring the curtain down on half a century of bookmaking when they stand for the final time at Kenilworth on Wednesday. They say that it will not be viable to operate on-course when the increased fees come into operation. They intend continuing off-course and say they expect their place to be taken by World Sports Betting.

By Michael Clower

Cot Campbell may yet recoup punter losses despite costing his backers dear for the third time in four starts at Kenilworth on Saturday. I know it sounds like an old-fashioned record stuck in a groove – and such horses tend to benefit only bookmakers – but the three-year-old showed plenty in defeat in the Mark Well Handicap.

Richard Fourie (Nkosi Hlophe)

Richard Fourie and Justin Snaith, faced with a wide draw, opted to rein back and tack over to the rail. Their goose was promptly cooked by Brandon May, drawn one worse on Rocketeer, going straight to the front and setting a gallop that had the favourite third last and 12 lengths adrift after a furlong.

Cot Campbell still had ten lengths to find when Fourie started work early in the straight and, although his mount really motored in the final 200m, he was two lengths away where it mattered. He returned with blood in his mouth but nobody was offering that as an excuse

“Even with a good draw he would have needed further – he wants a mile,” was the rider’s verdict while Snaith added: “Under the old system I wouldn’t have run the horse but with draws after declarations in Cape Town there is nothing we can do. He found a bit of trouble with a horse going in and out in front of him but I was impressed with the ground he made up.”

Others were impressed with Calvin Ngcobo who won the race on the Joey Ramsden-trained Apollo Star, his first ride in Cape Town and his 67^th winner.

Fourie had better luck on League Game and Master’s  Spirit in the Green Street Bloodstock colours. The rapidly-expanding Green Street operation, the brainchild of Justin Vermaak, was founded just under three years ago and now has 55 horses spread through 16 trainers. It also has some 90 owners, 16% of them being new to racing.

Aldo Domeyer is on fire once more. He rode a four-timer on Saturday to take his tally for the season to 15 from just 59 rides and his never-say-die determination played a significant part in getting Hemmingway home for old boss Andre Nel in the Rawson Properties Maiden.

He and Sihle Cele on Dayonaut drew nine lengths clear of the rest as they battled it out in the final furlong and the luckless Dayonaut had to give second best (by less than a neck) for the fifth time in his last six races. But there was nothing ungenuine about his performance  – indeed quite the opposite – so his day will surely come.

By Michael Clower

Cot Campbell is the big attraction at Kenilworth tomorrow when the Cape Guineas hope is tested against older horses for the first time in the concluding Mark Well Handicap.

It is also his first time round the turn and his poor draw is causing some anxiety for Justin Snaith who says: “I am very concerned. Going 1 400m round the turn with a young horse is difficult enough but with a ten draw we are going to have to do it the hard way.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe (Liesl King)

“Cot Campbell is a nice horse with an impeccable pedigree and if he’d had a good draw I would have been quite confident. He can still win but he is going to need plenty of luck in running. Really, it’s 50:50 and I wouldn’t like to put a lot of money on a horse that is going to need luck.”

But this Trippi first foal of the triple Grade 1 winner Ebony Flyer is something special. True, he got beaten in his first two – he lost six lengths at the break when odds-on for his debut and second time he lost just as much ground when, drawn on the wrong side, Bernard Fayd’Herbe found his path repeatedly blocked.

But the colt really lived up to his home reputation four weeks ago, breaking smartly, going clear at halfway and drawing further and further away. At the furlong pole he was six clear and he would have been just as far in front at the line had Fayd’Herbe not been content to let him coast home.

The form has had a mixed follow-up. Second-placed Danger Rock won narrowly next time but the third horse was again third and the fourth unplaced. However Cot Campbell looks way above average and it will be a big disappointment if the in-form Richard Fourie doesn’t manage to overcome the draw disadvantage.

Hemmingway carries an extra M in his name but the legendary novelist would still have been proud of the way the colt ran on debut, overcoming a slow start to go under by only a short head just 35 minutes before Cot Campbell ran away with his race. Aldo Domeyer takes over in the Rawson Properties Maiden and the Andre Nel colt should beat Dayonaut despite the six-year-old running so well ten days ago.

Domeyer can also win the Grinnell Security & Cleaning Services Maiden on the consistent Bernie who probably has most to fear from League Game and Siberian Husky.

By Michael Clower

Turffontein Inside track stages a low key nine race meeting tomorrow which is headed by two MR 80 handicaps over 1800m and 1000m respectively.

In the first of them, the fifth race, Zeal And Zest is a rangy four-year-old gelding by Traffic Guard and should be coming into his own. He does have a tough draw to overcome, but showed a good turn of foot when winning last time over 2000m at this course on July 30 and is only three points higher in the merit ratings. Urgent Fury is now a seven-year-old, but has found consistency and remains off a competitive merit rating. He moved up well last time over 1700m at the Vaal and should prefer this tighter track. Eight-year-old Killua Castle is a former Summer Cup runner up, so would win this race with ease off his 78 merit rating if producing anything close to his best. This is his return run on the Highveld, having ended his Port Elizabeth campaign in March, and he loves this course and distance having won two of his three starts here.

S’Manga Khumalo (Nkosi Hlophe)

Holy Joe is interesting as he returned from an eight month layoff over 1700m and stayed on from pole position to finish just 1,25 lengths behind Urgent Fury. He should have benefitted from the run. However, there is the second run after the rest theory to be concerned about as this race comes just nine days later. He also has a wide draw to overcome, but on the plus side the two time champion jockey S’Manga Khumalo is aboard. Scotland is a nice type of a horse and on first appearance put in a bit of a lacklustre performance last time over this trip on the Standside track. However, the form of that race has turned out to be not bad and off a two point lower merit rating he could make his presence felt from a good draw. Detonation and Revelation also have form chances.

In the second of the MR 89 Handicaps over 1000m, the four-year-old Trippi gelding Cathedral County is still unexposed and is often backed, so this two-time winner from just five starts is likely held in good regard. He could run on to win from a tricky draw of nine, as there is plenty of pace in the race. Alpine Echo has his second run after gelding and as one who possesses plenty of pace could be a big threat from pole position. Topweight All Night Flight has a good draw and the race should pan out well for him. Fidelio was a touch unlucky last time over course and distance and is now better drawn, although was raised two points for that run. Magic is talented and could surprise if bouncing back to form. Duke Nukem is also talented but has breathing issues.

In race two over 1600m, Artax looks likely to relish the step up in trip and from pole position under Piere Strydom this improving sort is chosen as the best bet of the day.

In the first the first-timer Did I Win is by Dynasty out of a one-time wining Galileo mare and will likely prefer further than 1200m but looks to only have the pole position drawn The Great Duchess to beat.

The third looks a straight between Noceur and Rolled Silver, but Oratorio filly Cloud Nine was backed to favourite last time and was very green so should be given another chance.

The seventh is a difficult race, but Shortstop has everything in her favour and should finish in the first three.

By David Thiselton

London Call, beaten by Bull Valley in two high class features in Champions Season, is back in Pinnacles Stakes company over what is arguably his best course and distance at Scottsville on Sunday.

Mark Dixon’s runner has had his issues over the years but under Dixon’s care and some careful placing London Call has managed to win eight of his 15 starts.

He showed good pace in both the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint and the Gr1 Mercury Sprint before being run out of it late by Bull Valley.

London Call (Nkosi Hlophe)

London Call is back in Pinnacle company on Sunday in the Nashua Maritzburg Pinnacle Stakes and is rated 3kg better than anything else in the line-up that makes him an attractive proposition. However, he does face a couple of younger rivals who may have yet to hit their straps.

The Howells-trained Secret Captain was gelded after a couple of disappointing showings towards the tail end of Champions Season. Prior to that he was second in the Gr2 Daisy Guineas to Janoobi, but he had shown his better form over sprints. “He’s a much better in himself since gelding,” says Howells and although he his way out at the weights with London Call he could prove a threat.

So too Di Mazzio. Louise Goosen’s Australian-bred has only had three outings but caught the eye when finishing stoutly in his Scottsville debut behind Prime Suspect. This is a far stronger test but he gets weight all around and the best may still be to come.

Goosen, recently relocated to Ashburton, holds a strong hand in the Yogas Govender Racing Stables Handicap where he saddles two speedy fillies in Effortless Reward and Hastag Strat. Regular pilot Gunter Wrogemann will have made the trip from the Highveld to partner Effortless Reward who, along with Hastag Strat, were both given a strong blow-out on the sand at Ashburton in Tuesday morning.

Both fillies are quick over five furlongs but so too is Muscatt. Although eight-years-old at the beginning of the month, he has lost none of his speed and is arguably over his best course and distance. Michael Roberts was confident that he would run a good race last time out after returning from a break and is was only caught out over the final 50m.

Apprentice Craig Bantam, back from a successful stint in the Western Cape, takes 2.5kg off his back and the two fillies will need to be close to their best to put one over the veteran.

Brighteyebushytail is held in high regard by the stable and looks the part in the Sugar Hill Stables Handicap. The son of Dynasty made a modest sprint debut but stepped up in trip second time out he finished with a rattle to beat the well fancied Kapen Pride. The opposition on Sunday are mostly well-exposed handicappers and Brighteyebushytail should have a host of supporters.

The South African Jockey Academy is hosting a group of apprentices from the gulf state of Qatar and they have been given an opportunity to show what they have learnt at the academy when they ride in the Al Rayyan Apprentice Cup, marked down as the tenth race on the Scottsville card and not included in any of the exotic bets although it will be run between the fourth and fifth races.

Most of the riders have limited racing experience but the Paul Lafferty pairing of Freddie Flint and Simply Scrumptious have some useful form over the course and distance while Astroman is way better than his last showing over a mile and can do better over this trip.

By Andrew Harrison