MJ Byleveld’s job as stable jockey to top Cape trainer Vaughan Marshall has had pressure attached to it which not many in the grandstand would understand, but he proved on Saturday with his cool ride on William Longsword in the Gr 1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas he is now taking it in his stride.

Meanwhile, Derek Brugman, racing manager of Markus Jooste’s Mayfair Speculators ownership operation, said a decision would be made at the end of the Cape Summer Of Champions Season whether to keep William Longsword in training or retire him to stud. The latter option would coincide with the colt’s Champion sire, Captain Al, nearing the end of his stud career.

A number of Marshall’s top horses over the last few years have been owned by Jooste, who retains top jockey Anton Marcus. Therefore, Byleveld, who is at Marshall’s Milnerton yard riding work every morning except for his “off day” on Sunday, has been left in a situation where he has had to try and make the most of the limited Gr 1 opportunities coming his way. The pressure attached to each of these opportunities is thus increased.

“As you get older you learn to take the pressure,” he said before elaborating and saying his philosophy towards a big race these days was to just go out and do his job and treat it as he would any other race.

Referring to Marcus’ retainer with Jooste, he said, “I have learnt to live with it – it is all about teamwork – you have to look at the bigger picture.”

“Bakkies”, as MJ is known to many of his friend’s partly due to his fanatical support of the Blue Bulls rugby team, went in to Saturday’s race confident.

He said, “I had worked a couple of the contenders and was quietly confident.”

He added, “He is a big horse but has such a lovely temperament and a good action and good turn of foot. In work he does what you want him to do, you can put a kid on him.”

Byleveld was modest in his assessment of his ride, especially considering the horse had to jump from stall 13 of 16. He said, “He showed good gatespeed and is a horse I can’t really restrain so I got lucky as there was not a lot of speed and he got across quickly and found himself a nice position.”

In actual fact Byleveld made a decisive, race-winning move before the turn, one which a less experienced jockey might have flinched at. He expertly eased the horse over and slotted him in in front of Elevated. William Longsword was now one off the rail and covered behind Elusive Path, who was lying on the quarters of the surprise pace setter, the favourite Table Bay.

William Longsword, a big, long-striding bay, travelled beautifully from then onward.

Byleveld continued, “Table Bay was in trouble 400m out and my horse quickened very well, I then just hoped nothing would come and catch us.”

Byleveld’s last Gr 1 victory was on the Marshall-trained The Secret Is Out at Scottsville last June. He showed the calmness of the consummate professional on that occasion, easing and switching the horse at a crucial moment, and displayed this asset once again on Saturday.

He remained patient until the 200m mark at which stage he made a necessary change of whip hand as his horse was shifting inward. He then drove his mount out vigourously to the line, in between cracks of the whip. This was enough to keep Gold Standard at bay by 0,5 lengths.

Byleveld confirmed William Longsword was “most definitely” one of the best he had ever ridden and probably the best.

He felt he would be even better as a four-year-old.

However, it remains to be seen whether he will keep the ride in the US500,000 CTS Mile on J&B Met day.

Derek Brugman, Mayfair Speculator’s racing manager, said the latter race was William Longsword’s probable next target. A decision whether to keep him in training would be made thereafter.

John Koster, part-owner together with Jooste of Klawervlei Stud and a member of its founding family, said the decision to retire William Longsword lay entirely in the hands of Mayfair Speculators. However, he said it would make sense for a son of Captain Al to come in 16 years after the latter had won the same race, the prestigious stallion producing Cape Guineas.

He revealed, “Captain Al is twenty years old now and is becoming increasingly sub-fertile.”

Koster pointed out William Longsword’s dam is a half-sister to Victory Moon, a Gr 1-producing stallion who was a great loss to the breeding industry when passing away at the age of just nine. Furthermore, William Longsword himself is a half-brother to Gr 1-winning sprinter Real Princess (Trippi).

William Longsword was also bred by Klawervlei and his dam Pagan Princess currently has a yearling by Trippi and is in foal again to Captain Al.

By David Thiselton