David Thiselton

Star Major is the second favourite for the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and this progressive Querari colt has been in fine fettle at Randjesfontein after his superb win in the Gr 2 WSB Guineas.

Tim Woodruff is the Randjesfontein assistant to trainer James Crawford and he said about the Maine Chance Farms-bred bay, who is owned by passionate Durban-born owner, Ravi Naidoo, together with Neville Isdell, Mr J I Bloch and Mrs Prakashni Pillay.

Tim said, “He is all good, we have just tried to freshen him up because it is a quick turnaround between races, but he is doing good. You do get your things between races you sometimes have to deal with, but I do think he will be alright for the Daily News.”

Star Major jumped from a wide  draw in the WSB Guineas and was dropped out.

He turned for home in last place with a number of lengths to make up, but then produced a good turn of foot followed by an impressively resolute finish coupled with an eyecatching late gear change that saw him surging to a 0,90 length victory over the hot favourite Tin Pan Alley.

 Of course sectional timing invariably shows that apparent late surges or apparent flying finishes are usually an optical illusion caused by the other horses slowing down at a more rapid rate than the apparently strong-finishing horse. Invariably the surging horse is actually also slowing down.

Indeed the sectional timing of the WSB Guineas shows Star Major’s 100m to finish time to be his slowest sectional of the entire race.

However the fact that he was able to have the fastest 100m to finish time of the whole field, despite having had to make up many lengths to get there, seems to show that he has got some stamina.

He did win the Gr 3 Politician Stakes over 1800m and finished a fair 3,20 length fourth in the Gr 1 Lucky Fish Cape Derby over 2000m, both at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. In the latter race he ran on despite having been a bit keen in the running.

That would illustrate he has the stamina, but hopefully he will be able to settle better this time.

He settled very well in  the WSB Guineas and due to his wide draw Tim Woodruff said the same tactic of being dropped out will be employed.

He added, “Obviously it’s a short straight so it’s obviously not ideal. But just looking for a good run  and then obviously the July afterwards.”

He gave his opinion on the 2000m distance, “He should get the trip.”

Querari won a Gr 1 over 2000m and Star Major is out of a mare by stamina influence Silvano and this mare not only won over 1900m, but was an own sister to Follow The Star, who won the Listed Glenair Trophy over 2800m.

So on pedigree he will easily stay the trip.

Mickaelle Michel retains the ride and if winning it she will become only the second woman in SA history to win a Gr 1, the only one to date to have won one being Lisa Prestwood on the Buddy Maroun-trained Al Nitak in the Golden Horse Sprint on June 1, 2023, almost exactly 23 years ago.

Mickaelle has been in excellent form and Tim confirmed that if everything went well in the Daily News she would keep the ride for the Hollywoodbets Durban July too.

Tim agreed she had been outriding many of her male weighing room colleagues and added, “She has got the touch.”

It would be somewhat ironic if Mickaelle did win the Daily News with a horse conditioned by assistant trainer Woodruff, because Tim’s mother Carol (nee Millard) was the first woman to have a professional license in SA. She had started riding work for her legendary father Terrance Millard at the age of 12 and from age 14 started riding in and winning many amateur races. She was apprenticed overseas and rode in the tough school of England and Germany in professional races. However, the SA authority of the time refused to allow her to ride in professional races in SA, gross unfairness. To get around the legalities the authority installed a rule that overseas apprentices wee not allowed to ride here. This came back to bite them because years later a top apprentice from Europe came over only for everybody to discover he was not allowed to ride here. Carol was able to ride in Cape Hunt races against professional jockeys, ironically a more dangerous discipline than flat racing, and she was able to ride in Zimbabwe under a “Day” license, which was usually utilised when there were not enough professional riders available. She remembers winning a Cape Hunt race on Hawkins, who had formerly been one of Terrance Millard’s many Gold Cup winners. She also finished second in “The Schweppes” in Zimbabwe.

But back to Star Major, who is still a colt meaning a Daily News win will look very good on his stallion CV.

Tim said, “If you win the Guineas and the Daily News it is just next level.”

Tim said Star Major had a fine chance of realising the dream of Ravi Naidoo and no doubt all the other owners too, a win in the R10 million Hollywoodbets Durban July.

He concluded, “He is ticking all the boxes, He’s a machine.”

RACE 1

1 BISON WARRIOR   5 THE SWAN SONG   2 ASHEEF  8 KIKI U BEAUTY

   Preview: BISON WARRIOR (1) has been runner-up at his last two. He makes his poly debut but from the best draw and is the one to beat considering the exposed runners. THE SWAN SONG (5) makes his debut from a strong visiting stable should be watched in the market while ASHEEF (2) is a filly making her debut with a 2.5kg claimer aboard. (Andrew Harrison: 1-5-2-8).

RACE 2

5 LIZ HERLEY   6 SEI BELLA   10 LADY JEROME   7 FLORAL KINGDOM

Preview:  LIZ HURLEY (5) made good improvement second time out and should be primed for this. SEI BELLA (6) has made steady improvement and was beaten by a promising filly last time out. LADY JEROME (10) has the widest draw but was a close-up second at long odds at just her second start. FLORAL KINGDOM (7) is also showing signs of improving but does look held on current form. (Andrew Harrison: 5-6-10-7).

RACE 3

2 MANAGERIE   3 LEGAL TANGO   1 BOOGEY   7 DANCING PARTY

Preview: MENAGERIE (2) has been touched off in her only two starts, last time in the Strelitzia Stakes. She looks the part here. LEGAL TANGO (3) made good improvement second time out at long odds. A repeat should see her close again. BOOGY (1) made good improvement second time out and from the best of the draw should put in a telling blow. DANCING PARTY (7) found some market support on debut and likely to improve with the experience. (Andrew Harrison: 2-3-1-7).

RACE 4

7 BARRY’S BOY   4 KA CHOW   8 DONMAGOO   2 HIGHVELD STORM

Preview: BARRY’S BOY (7) comes with some steady Cape form and lines up against some modest opposition. KA CHOW (4) is a two-year-old that started favourite on debut but disappointed. He gets a 2.5kg claimer aboard and can make amends. DONMAGOO (8) has been knocking at the door in Open Maidens. Keagan de Melo stays with the ride and the gelding should be competitive in this line-up. HIGHVELD STORM (2) is struggling but has shown patches of good form and can surprise. (Andrew Harrison: 7-4-8-2).

RACE 5

9 GRAND OCCASION   2 HODGEPODGE  7 SASCHA’S DREAM   5 ZENA ROSE

Preview: GRAND OCCASION (9) is smart and a 2.5kg claimer aboard will help her cause as she has won on the synthetic surface. HODGEPODGE (2) has been climbing up the handicap after her last two wins and got a five-point raise for her last effort. She does appear to be improving and the switch to the poly could see her go in again. SASCHA’S DREAM (7) is seldom far back and has taken to the poly taking on males at her last two. FINE WINE (8) and ZENA ROSE (5) do battle once again with Zena Rose slightly better off at the weights this time around. (Andrew Harrison: 9-2-7-5)

RACE 6

3 FLYING FATE   1 MYSTIQUE ROUGE   7 ACT OF GRACE   10 LILAC IN WINTER

Preview: Competitive handicap. FLYING FATE (3) is lightly raced and was not far back when making her handicap debut. She will much prefer this trip and should go close. ACT OF GRACE (7) is still on the up and was a comfortable winner in her local debut over the distance. She has useful Cape form and can go in again. MYSTIQUE ROUGE (1) got a hefty shunt up the handicap for her last win. She does take on stronger here but has a light weight from a good draw and has a chance again. LILAC IN WINTER (10) was narrowly beaten over course and distance last time out and has a handy galloping weight. (Andrew Harrison: 3-1-7-10).

RACE 7

2 SUGAR BUSH   3 CAPPELLINO   10 TRAFALGAR SQUARE   4 ROCK MUSIC

Preview: Wide open. SUGARBUSH (2) takes on males but has come down in the handicap and also down in class. She caught the eye last run and can do better here. CAPPELLINO (3) is consistent over the trip and with a handy galloping weight he should be competitive. TRAFALGAR SQUARE (10) is never far back and loves this trip. ROCK MUSIC (4) is down in class and with his 4kg claimer staying with the ride he must have a fair chance. (Andrew Harrison: 2-3-10-4).

RACE 8

2 MILITARY COMMAND   8 CATCH A PENNY   11 SUMMER WINTER   5 MIGHTY ZAMBEZI

Preview: MILITARY COMMAND (2) ran well below par last time out. He has come down in the ratings  and should be competitive in this line-up. CATCH A PENNY (8) takes on males but has run two smart races on the poly and can feature again in spite of her big weight. SUMMER WINTER (11) has a tough draw but has done well on the surface and is not out of it. MIGHTY ZAMBEZI (5) has improved with cheek pieces and is over his best course and distance. (Andrew Harrison: 2-8-11-5).

Andrew Harrison

Punters face a competitive card on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville today but the first leg of the Pick 6 should fall the way of Managerie.

Stuart Ferrie’s filly has been touched off in her only two starts, last time in the Strelitzia Stakes behind Querari Dancer. She does take to the poly for the first time but looks the part.

If there are dangers, then Legal Tango made good improvement second time out at long odds for Michael Roberts and a repeat should see her close while Boogey made good improvement second time out and from the best of the draw could put in a telling blow.

Bison Warrior looks the part in the first leg of the Bi-Pot as far as the exposed form is concerned as he has been runner-up at his last two. He makes his poly debut from the best draw and is the one to beat but Justin Snaith saddles the first timer The Swan Song that should be watched in the market while Asheef is a filly making her debut for Louis Goosen with a 2.5kg claimer aboard.

In the second, Liz Hurley made good improvement second time out for Candice Bass and should be primed for this although Doug Cambell’s filly Sei Bella  has made steady improvement and was beaten by a promising filly last time out. Lady Jerome has the widest draw but was a close-up second at long odds at just her second start and should improve with the experience.

Lucinda Woodruff has made a splash this Champions Season and Barry’s Boy is her only runner on the day. He comes with some steady Western Cape form and lines up against some modest opposition. Two-year-old Ka Chow may be a danger as he started favourite at his second star but disappointed. He gets a 2.5kg claimer aboard and can make amends. Of the rest, Donmagoo has been knocking at the door in Open Maidens. Keagan de Melo stays with the ride for Kom Naidoo and the gelding should be competitive in this line-up.

Four competitive handicaps round off the card. In the fifth, Grand Occasion is smart and Gareth van Zil has a 2.5kg claimer aboard will help her cause as she has won on the synthetic surface. Hodgepodge has been climbing up the handicap after her last two wins and got a five-point raise for her last effort. She does appear to be improving and the switch to the poly could see her go in again. Sascha’s Dream is seldom far back and has taken to the poly taking on males at her last two. Fine Wine and Zena Rose do battle once again with Zena Rose slightly better off at the weights this time around.

The sixth is a wide open handicap but Dean Kannemeyer’s filly Flying Fate is lightly raced and was not far back when making her handicap debut. She will much prefer this trip and should go close. Act Of Grace is still on the up and was a comfortable winner in her local debut over the distance and has useful Cape form. Mystique Rouge got a hefty shunt up the handicap for her last win and does take on stronger here but has a light weight from a good draw and has a chance again. Lilic In Winter was narrowly beaten over course and distance last time out and has a handy galloping weight and can feature.

The seventh is another tricky handicap but Sugarbush takes on males but has come down in the handicap and also in class. She caught the eye last run and arrive at good odds for Andre Nel. Cappellino is consistent over the trip and with a handy galloping weight he should be competitive along with Trafalgar Square who is never far back and loves this trip.

Peter Muscutt saddles his only runner of the afternoon and Military Command ran well below par last time out. He has come down in the ratings  and should be competitive in this line-up. Catch A Penny  takes on males but has run two smart races on the poly and can feature again in spite of her big weight. Summer Winter has a tough draw but has done well on the surface and is not out of it along with Mighty Zambezi  who has improved with cheek pieces and is over his best course and distance.

Andrew Harrison

Hollywoodbets Scottsville patrons were treated to a brilliant display of jockeyship and courageous horses on Saturday with all nine races highly contested, none more so than the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint Brough to you by The Witness and Gr1 Gold Medallion, the headline features on the day.

Close finishes are what always what get the pulse racing but when two top class horses go head-to-head it takes the heart beat a few beats higher and that is what patrons got in the Gr1 Gold Medallion.

Rich Man’s World had shown that he was a horse to be reckoned with when disposing of the highly rated Master Magician at his last start and Haute Couture was still an unknown even after demolishing his maiden field on debut just two weeks back.

Both horses jumped well and it was clear a long way out that it was going to be a match race. Callan Murray sat Haute Couture in behind Richard Fourie on Rich Man’s Gold with the balance of the field not in the race.

From there on it was a case of who was going to blink first, Fourie or Murray. Leaving the 400m lollipop behind Murray’s arms were the first to push but Fourie was wise to the move and over the final 200m it was anyone’s race with two smart colts giving it their best with Haute Couture just out-lasting Rich Man’s Gold.

Murray said post-race, “When Richard’s horse was a bit keen I thought that I would just take a seat off him. My horse is very tractable. That’s going to help him a lot going forward, switch him off and turn him on whenever I need him to. Today he turned on when I asked him and put a really good field to bed.”

“Today we saw two fantastic horses,” said winning trainer Mathew de Kock. “We hope to see them against each other in the future.”

If the Medallion was a tactical battle, the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint Brough to you by the Witness was a scrambled egg for the two main contenders, Asiye Phambili and Double Grand Slam.

The pair were in all sorts of trouble 400 m out, both faced with a wall of traffic as the field concertinaed up the inside rail. Asiye Phambili was under big pressure through the halfway mark with Sean Veale hard at work chasing Double Grand Slam who looked to have got the drop on Duncan Howells’s mare. Veale then switched his mount out into daylight and Asiye Phambili responded with a sustained finish. Andrew Fortune had his own troubles finding a passage and eventually shifted in dramatically to find a gap. When it opened, Double Grand Slam quickened through and the race boiled down to a 200m battle with two great mares fighting it out and the balance watching.

There was a head separating them at the line but Asiye Phambili went one better than she did last year and a well-deserved Gr1 victory and Sean Veale finally vindicated.

The Gr2 Golden Horse Sprint was always going to be a dogfight and so it proved as the majority of the 16-horse field finished within three lengths of the winner Taxi To The Moon in a thrilling spectacle.

Tony Peter’s gelding had shown his best recent form over 1000m and there were doubts about whether he would see out the extra furlong in tough company.

Given Tristan Godden’s pre-race instructions, the stable were never any doubt that Taxi To The Moon would see out the trip and although it was a close-run thing at the finish the gelding poked his nose in front when it mattered. He edged out Café Culture and favourite One Eye On Vegas  with reserve runner Kaalvoet finishing strongly for the shallow end of the purse.

It was something of a chance mount for Godden who had to hunt around for a ride but he is riding with great confidence since his win in the Gr1 Betway Summer Cup and so it proved.

Instructions were to have his mount in the vanguard. “At the 600 I let him find himself, give him a bit of a breather and he quickened up very well.”

Dennis Drier was once regarded as the ‘King of Scottsville’ but Sean Tarry has since taken over the mantle. The Allan Robertson Fillies Championship was always in the past a Gr1 race before being down-graded to Gr2 an Tarry was denied his 22^nd Gr1 at the Hollywoodbets Scottsville track as Get Up simply destroyed a smart field under Gavin Lerena.

Always in the vanguard, Lerna said,  “It was just about getting her into a rhythm and she is so natural. She really enjoyed it out there and I just hung onto her as long as I could, as I always thought that I had a very good filly under me. She’s won a very good race.”

Tarry was looking for a crack at the colts in the Gr1 Gold Medallion. “ I was looking to see where she would fit in as this was a Gr1 and this is no longer a Gr1. It’s heart breaking. These are proper races that have been down-graded. We were going for the Gr1 but at the last minute Kevin (Somerville, Drakenstein’s racing manager) said hang on, let’s go for the Gr2,” that in hindsight was probably the best move given the results.

David Thiselton

The Jackpot of Graded features at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday culminated in six-year-old Asiye Phambili becoming the most deserved Gr 1 winner for the last season or two under an outstanding ride by Sean Veale in the SA Fillies Sprint.

It was an emotional moment all round for Veale, the Hollywood Racing team and for trainer Duncan Howells when the slow motion replay showed that the 2/1 chance Asiye Phambili had prevailed by an official margin of a neck over the 18/10 favourite Double Grand Slam.

Howells is not known for outward displays of emotion and said in an interview on Sunday, “It is the closest a horse has ever brought me to tears. It was a race I really wanted to win and it was chiefly for the horse’s sake. I felt it was the best highlight of my training career, it was really very, very special.”

The strong but athletically built What A Winter filly actively looked proud of herself after the race as she trotted back to her groom.

She stood for a moment with head raised majestically, ears pricked and surveyed her surrounds. After a number of near misses she was finally able to say, “I am the Champ.”

Duncan continued, “She is a lovely filly and is one of those horses that grows on you.”

Sean Veale was emotional afterwards too and thanked Hollywood Racing’s racing manager Anthony Delpech for “having his back” as the choice of jockey.

Gavin Lerena is the other chief Hollywood Racing jockey and had ridden Asiye Phambili in her last start in Cape Town in the Diadem. He was on the injury list when Asiye Phambili had her first start of this season’s Champions Season in the traditional SA Fillies Sprint pointer race, the Gr 3 Poinsettia Stakes over the same Hollywoodbets Scottsville 1200m course and distance, a race in which she put in one of her most impressive career performances, running out a 3,70 length winner under Veale.

It would not have been an easy choice for Delpech. considering Lerena is a twice SA Champion Jockey and is the reigning Champion.

Delpech opted to keep Veale aboard and Howells knew he had made the right decision.

He said, “I wouldn’t have thought it fair to put on a jockey who had only ridden her once. He had to have somebody on the horse who knew the horse, it wasn’t a debate about the expertise of riders. Sean Veale knew the horse backwards. You can’t change that and you may never get another chance of winning a race like this. Sometimes it could work against you, but I felt in this situation it would work in her favour.”

Veale paid back the faith shown in him with the ride of the season.

Pre-race planning goes into any race and with this Gr 1 being viewed as a two horse race between Double Grand Slam and Asiye Phambili it could be predicted that it might boil down to the tactics employed by the two  jockeys involved, Andrew Fortune and Sean Veale respectively.

In Hollywoodbets Scottsville’s big sprint races the horses tend to drift from the outside draws inward and this creates traffic problems for horses coming from off the pace from inside positions.

With Fortune drawn ten and Veale eight it was predictable that Fortune would sit on the outside of Veale and box Asiye Phambili in … and that is exactly what he did.

However, Veale responded superbly to the situation even if it initially looked like the filly was in trouble as she ended up further back than she would have liked.

He dropped Asiye Phambili behind Double Grand Slam and with the pace on in the race he began driving her to build up momentum for an early move.

Meanwhile, Fortune’s tactic did have its consequences because Princess Of Gaul came from a wide draw and sat on his outside, forcing him to check slightly before diving for a gap all the way to the inside.

Michael Roberts, South Africa’s only Hall Of Fame jockey was known for his tactical superiority and he based it all on doing what the other jockeys had least expected.

Veale then delivered his trump card.

He switched to the outside of Princess Of Gaul and began charging for the line just after the 400m mark, plotting a straight course to the line, an unexpected move considering the best going had appeared, from previous races on the day, to be on the inside.

Meanwhile, Fortune had burst clear on the inside rail and it would be reasonable to assume he believed Asiye Phambili to be buried somewhere back in the scrum. He must have been shocked to see her surging up to him wide out in the centre.

Asiye Phambili did begin hanging towards her rival, as is natural for a racehorse, but she had momentum on her side.

They flashed past the line together just a couple of metres apart.

Howells thought she had been beaten.

He said, “Last year I thought she had got beat but thought we had a squeak of winning it. This year I genuinely thought she had got beat.”

Duncan was over the moon when the slow motion replay confirmed she had clearly won, although the official margin of a neck is surprising … it looked closer even in the slow motion replay.

Duncan reflected on the moment two years ago when the preparation had gone just as perfectly as it had this year only for the jockey Rachel Venniker to be dislodged at the start after Asiye Phambili had pecked badly.

He said whilst he did not think she was better today than back then he believed her to be tougher.

“She is a very hardy filly, she’s been going flat out for three years and traveling up and down and she’s never let us down. She has been a bit of a miracle horse.”

Duncan revealed the key to preparing an older mare like her, “Older horses sometimes maintain their fitness better than younger horses because they have been through the mill before and often, as is the case with her, you have to keep them fresh to maintain their attitude.”

Duncan had bumped into Andrew Fortune in Checkers on Friday night and there was a bit of banter.

On Sunday he magnanimously praised Fortune for a fine tactical ride, but was outwardly proud of the hard-working Veale for delivering the stable its ninth Gr 1 victory.