Andre Nel has his first two-year-old runner of the season in the Fillies Maiden Juvenile at Kenilworth today and, given all his first-timer success with three-year-olds, there is going to be a lot of interest in Lanark.

The grey is a daughter of Sail From Seattle and her trainer admits that, to some extent at least, he is in the dark. “We generally don’t run two-year-olds but she is precocious and needs to run,” he says. “She has only had one grass gallop and we have left a fair bit to work with. She is running without much pressure and she will give us a guide as to where we stand with our other juveniles.”

She has already been backed from 7-2 to 28-10 with World Sports Betting while Sassy Lady has drifted from 5-2 to 5-1. This is the form horse and gets a tentative vote although Lanark seems sure to get into the shake-up and there has been significant support for fellow newcomers Ballroom Dance and Freedom Charter.

Time To Think has gone close in her last two starts and is having her third run after a rest in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden.  Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount is even money favourite and she is preferred to both the consistent Miss D’Aray (2-1) and her own stable companion Tiffindell who is a 3-1 chance.

The early money in race three – a 1 200m maiden – has been for the Vaughan Marshall newcomer Captain Falcon. Backed from 4-1 to 5-2 favourite the Captain Al colt cost R500 000 and is a full or half-brother to a string of useful winners. Given the market support, he looks the one.

He is taking on three of his own age and seven older horses but this is the time of year when the two-year-olds start to prove the better in maidens like this one. The Barry Burn (4-1) is also a juvenile and raced green when sixth to the smart Silver Coin on debut.

Of the others the one that makes most appeal is Lauren Of Rochelle who ran on strongly, but too late, when a quarter-length third to Power Shift three weeks ago. At 6-1 you can take out insurance by backing him each way if you don’t like the idea of an unraced favourite.

Shall Be Free is 5-2 to resume winning ways in the 1 400m handicap (race six) but this is an open race and Line Break could be worth a few rand at 5-1 with Candice Bass-Robinson and Aldo Domeyer in such form.

Strictly on the book he might not confirm last time’s Pinnacle placings with Purple Mountains who was hampered and is a huge price at 10-1. However Glen Puller is taking the blinkers off after three races with them on.

By Michael Clower

The Vaal Standside course has a low key eight race meeting today where the highest rated race is a MR 88 Handicap over 1400m.

Forest Fox has become a consistent sort and is off a competitive merit rating at present. His number one draw might be against him, although at last week’s meeting on this track they were all going to the far side rail in many of the races, meaning the low draws were not at all disadvantageous. He has some class, is ideally distance suited and Gavin Lerena stays aboard. Refuge is a promising sort who is having his third run after a rest over the trip of his last win. He also has a low draw but Strydom rides him for the sixth time and knows how to get the best out of him.

Count Tassilo was beaten fair and square by Forest Fox last time they met and being 0,5kg better off is unlikely to see him reverse the form. On the plus side he is drawn on the standside and if this proves advantageous on the day he should go close. He tended to over race over 1600m, so this looks like the right trip. Bizjet had some good KZN form and is ideally distance suited. On his Highveld debut he found no extra from a handy position, but should have benefitted from the run. Hidden Agenda is a versatile type and will have benefitted from his last outing over 1200m. He has won three times over 1200m and also over 2000m, so this trip should be suitable.

Punters could get off to a good start in race one over 1000m with the speedy So Var, who hasn’t been out of the first three in three starts and has been running in strong fields. However, there are some interesting first-timers here and none more so than the Australian-bred Ancient Spirit. He is by top sire Fastnet Rock out of an Irish-bred Encosta De Lago mare who is a half-sister to the Gr 1 winner Holy Roman Emperor.

In the second race over 1000m Brave Mary also has plenty of speed and has not been disgraced against fair opposition to date, so she is the one to side with, although a lot could depend on whether her low draw is unfavourable or not.

Race three is over 1600m and the best strategy for the Pick 6 could be to include all of the previous raced horses with the exception of the no hoper Bidvee, The race could well be dominated by first-timers and the most appealing of them on pedigree is Jika who is by Jay Peg and is a half-sister to four-time winning sprinter Varumba and to the promising Rumbavar.

In the first leg of the Jackpot, Queen Anne, Momo and Charter Jet make the most appeal in a weak race and they should be enough to get punters through.

In the fifth race over 1200m, Last Girl Standing has a fair chance. She did not have much luck last time out over 1450m, but made up ground in eyecatching style in the straight. However, she ran out of steam late suggesting she would prefer 1200m. Indeed in her previous start she burst through and went close. However, she did become one paced late, so is not easy to win with and probably needs tp be held up for as long as possible. Therefore a couple of others, Burundi Bush and Pied Piperess need to be included in the Pick 6. They are both capable sorts.

The next race is a competitive 1000m handicap and a number of horses have to be included in the exotics. However, Just Africa is made the value bet of the day. He has a lot of speed and is particularly effective in fast going. He should get the fast going he likes and is off a competitive merit rating.

The last leg of the Pick 6 over 1400m is also a competitive affair, but the one who makes most appeal is Nephrite. This horse clearly did not like the blinkers last time and they are duly off. As a two-year-old he finished three lengths behind Rabada in a Grade 1 over 1600m, so has not surprisingly been knocking on the door off his current merit rating of 70. His draw is close to the standside, which would be advantageous by trends. Marco van Rensburg has ridden him in his last two starts and is back aboard, so should get the best out of him.

By David Thiselton

The jockeys championship has been thrown wide open by Gavin Lerena’s decision to ride in England for much of the remainder of the season.

The 2014/15 champion was eight clear on 129 winners at the start of yesterday’s racing but, with him out of the running, Anthony Delpech (121), Greg Cheyne (118) and Anton Marcus (116) are vying for favouritism.

Cheyne, the only one of the trio not to have been champion before, was many people’s idea of the likely winner before Lerena hit top gear but at the weekend he once again insisted that he is determined not to be sucked into a gruelling fly-everywhere battle, saying: “I am just going to carry on the way I am.”

It’s not just a three-horse war either. Five others went into yesterday with more than 100 winners – Craig Zackey (109), Richard Fourie (104), Muzi Yeni, Andrew Fortune (both on 103) and S’Manga Khumalo (102).

Lerena is to ride for Lambourn trainer Charlie Hills and his trip is being sponsored by the Chelsea Thoroughbreds Syndicate managed by Joey Ramsden’s brother James. Its 27 horses are spread around nine trainers thus increasing Lerena’s possible opportunities.

Mike de Kock is to train Goddess Var, the Var grand-daughter of champion Promisefrommyheart who set a new National Yearling Sale record when sold to Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell South Africa for R5 million on Friday.

Form Bloodstock’s Jehan Malherbe, who did the bidding, also bought the top-priced lot at the Emperors Palace Select Yearling Sale a fortnight earlier. Grab The Light, a full brother to Jackson, will go to Dean Kannemeyer. The purchaser of the R3.8 million colt asked Malherbe not to reveal his or her name although it will be readily accessible once the ownership is registered.

Michael Clower

History was made when a Var filly was knocked down for R5 million on Friday, the final day of the 2017 National Yearling Sale.

The filly, named Goddess Var, is the most expensive yearling ever sold at BSA auction, surpassing the R4.75 million paid for Savannah Cat in 2015 and she was knocked down to Shadwell South Africa. Consigned by Varsfontein Stud she will be trained by Joey Ramsden.
The sale proved favourable for buyers, with many picking up notable bargains, but a lack of middle market was once again in evidence and reflected in the sales’ overall statistics.

While the aggregate of the 2017 National Sale rose from R106 885 000 to R11 770 000 (a rise of nearly 5%), both the average price and median dropped. The average fell from R320 015 to R304 550 (or 5%), while the median dropped from R200 000 to R180 000.

The number of horses failing to sell increased notably from 58 a year ago to 68 in 2017.

Jehan Malherbe of Form Bloodstock was by far and away the leading buyer his 29 yearlings purchased grossing a total of R20.245 million. Next on the list was Shadwell South Africa, whose five lots grossed R9.2 million and included Goddess Var.

Varsfontein Stud headed the vendors list, with 23 of their 27 lots offered grossing R15.495 million, averaging R673 696. Mauritzfontein, Wilgerbosdrift, Lammerskraal and Drakenstein Stud rounded off the top five vendors.

CEO Michael Holmes said, “In the face of difficult trading conditions, the sale held up well. We are pleased with the aggregate increase, and, while the median is down, the overall result was commendable given the current economic climate the clearance rate is higher than 2016 and we plan on improving it further over the coming years. The market remains very quality conscious and lacks depth, a fact which is reflected in the results.

– Bloodstock SA

A colt named after the greatest of all world leaders ruled on the Rowley Mile, just as so many had predicted he would, with the beautiful beast that is Churchill converting two-year-old dominance to Classic glory thanks to a wonderfully authoritative triumph in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas on Saturday

When Coolmore supremo John Magnier’s wife Sue handed the son of Galileo and Meow the same surname as Britain’s iconic wartime prime minister, she set him a mighty task.
He lived up to that task quite brilliantly to give Aidan O’Brien an unmatched eighth win in the showpiece the sport’s pre-eminent trainer has come to dominate.

As has so often been the case in recent years, Sheikh Mohammed played second fiddle to Coolmore, whose latest champion beat Godolphin’s Barney Roy into second, with French raider Al Wukair a strong-finishing third. Churchill’s Ballydoyle stablemate Lancaster Bomber took fourth.

“He’s not Frankel, but he’s a good horse,” said part-owner Michael Tabor, whose blue and orange colours were donned by Ryan Moore in a Guineas in which the simplicity of the success was striking.

 

Always Dreaming wins Kentucky Derby

With Godolphin’s Thunder Snow taking virtually no part in proceedings, trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez – in many ways the old firm of US racing – joined forces yet again to claim the 143rd Kentucky Derby in emphatic fashion courtesy of Always Dreaming on Saturday.

The fifth straight favourite to win America’s most celebrated race, the Florida Derby victor was always handy as he splashed through the slop in a dominant performance in front of a crowd of 158,070 beneath the iconic Twin Spires at Churchill Downs.

On the other hand, Godolphin’s Kentucky Derby dreams were crushed when UAE Derby winner Thunder Snow, said to be the Dubai team’s best-ever chance of success by trainer Saeed Bin Suroor, seemed to lose his footing from the gate and started bucking. His mount unrideable, Christophe Soumillon had no choice but to pull him up in front of the stands first time around. No injury came to light in an initial veterinary examination.

Long since regarded as the most powerful combination in American racing, Pletcher and Velazquez have teamed up for a multitude of big-race triumphs over the years. They had each won the Derby once before, with Super Saver (2010) and Animal Kingdom (2011) respectively; never, though, had they managed to win in tandem.

“It does mean a lot,” said Velazquez, 45. “We’ve had so much success in the past but we’ve never won the Derby and he’s just an incredible horse. This is the best horse Todd and I have ever come to the Kentucky Derby with. Nothing against all the others, but this was the best horse.”

– Racingpost.com

Callan Murray is a rising star amongst the jockey ranks and Mike de Kock has been quick to recognise his talents – major recognition from a world-respected trainer – so it was more about Murray’s feat of landing three Gr1 victories in an afternoon than the shock defeat of Legal Eagle in the Gr1 Premier’s Champions Challenge.

Geoff Woodruff is also a Murry supporter and they plotted the downfall of Legal Eagle. It was the relatively unheralded Deo Juvente who came up trumps in a desperate finish with two short heads separating the winner, Legal Eagle and the filly Nother Russia.

“We obviously schemed of a way to beat Legal Eagle; not nice I know. But we felt that he did not truly see out 2000m, his best ratings coming over a mile,” said Woodruff.

Marcus certainly rode a confident race on the 1-5 favourite and when he moved into contention approaching the 400m mark the writing appeared to be on the wall. At this stage in the past Legal Eagle would have taken command but this time he had a battle on his hands. Deo Juvente stuck to him like glue and in spite of Marcus shifting in on his rival, Murray was not intimidated and nore was Deo Juvente who battled all the way to the line. Nother Russia was tremendous in defeat and boasts a superbly consistent record.

In an afternoon of high drama, Carry On Alice was all the rage for the Gr1 Computaform Sprint but the De Kock genius was to the fore again as a drop to a sprint and a set of quarter-cup blinkers brought out the best in Rafeef, a full brother to the earlier SA Nursery winner Mustaaqeem.

Carry On Alice inched ahead of the chasing pack approaching the 300 m mark but was clearly hard-pressed to hold her lead under a driving ride from S’Manga Khumalo. But all his efforts came to naught as Rafeef came charging home as did Talktothestars who finished strongly to deny Carry On Alice second. “He quickened like a machine,” was Murray’s ecstatic comment after the win.

With this victory under his girth the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint at Scottsville would be an obvious target for Rafeef.

Al Sahem, runner-up in both the first two legs of the Triple Crown, made good in the Gr1 SA Derby, running out a fluent winner from Pagoda and hot favourite Heavenly Blue. Stamina was hardly put to the test as King Of Blues and Captain At Sea towed the field along at a pedestrian gallop with Al Sahem and Heavenly Blue content to settle in amongst the back markers.

Heavenly Blue tracked Al Sahem into the straight and the pair gradually built up momentum as the opposition struggling to quicken. Heavenly Blue was going well enough as he tracked Al Sahem but went the chips were down he cashed in early and never got to his rival and it was left to outsider Pagoda to do the chasing, though the truth be told, Al Sahem was never in danger of defeat.

Everything went my way and he got to the front so easily,” said Delpech. “I knew it would take a good one to beat me.”

Al Sahem gave the starter’s assistants a tough time and according to Tarry it was a matter of timing. “He was always behind the black ball fitness wise in the first two legs (of the Triple Crown). But we stuck to the plan and when he got off the float this morning I knew he was a bomb.”

It was an Australian one-two in the Gr1 SA Nursery as Mustaaqeem put the field to the sword with stable companion Naafer a well-beaten second but also clear of the chasing pack.

Whorly Whorly set a smart gallop but Mustaaqeem was always in the hunt with Naafer back early. Approaching the halfway Naafer had moved into a challenging position but when all went for home approaching the 400 m marker, it was race over. “When he dug down at the 400 I knew it was race over,” confirmed Murray. “Coming into this race I was confident and I tell you what I still had a bit more in hand.” Barrack Street, who had moved up alonsides Mustaaqeen, was quickly disposed of as Murray punched is mount out hands and heels. Naafer tried to make a fist of it but once Murray drew his stick,

Mustaaqeem kicked again and won going away. Mike de Kock commented that it did not always work out when putting the best to the best but it certainly worked out yesterday. Champion Redoute’s Choice and National Colour was a great filly and was only touched off in the Nunthorpe. Hopefully he will go to stud in this country. We need this sort of blood but I won’t be surprised if I’m instructed to take him overseas.”

“I will put him away now. I don’t want to run the legs off him but the other one (Naafer) will probably go to Scottsville.”

Joey Soma has pulled of more than one surprise on a big day and it was the turn of Wind Chill to freeze out the opposition in the Gr2 Wilgerbosdrift Oaks. Orchid Island and Smiling Blue Eyes, winners of the first two legs of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara, were in warm order for the Oaks but neither got in a blow as Wind Chill moved smoothly through her field under Anton Marcus to win with the minimum of fuss and turning the tables on Oriental Oak who had beaten her two runs back.

Both fancied runners were towards the tail end of the field for much of the early exchanges but came up empty when asked the question.

A big raceday seldom passes without champion trainer Sean Tarry taking home a trophy and it was the Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery that got his day off to a cracking start as Green Plains stormed to victory to beat home Winter’s Forge with the hither to unbeaten Daring Diva in third. Approaching the 400 m mark, Fortune went for broke on pacemaker Daring Diva but Green Plains was always travelling ominously well while Winter’s Forge was making up ground quickly on the inside.

Daring Diva tried gamely to hold onto her lead but Green Plains soon had her measure. Winter’s Forge came through quickly on the inside of this pair and although making up ground on the winner she was unable to get to terms with Green Plains.

Andrew Harrison

Pictures: JC Photos
1- Deo Juvente (centre) holding off Legal Eagle (closest) and Nother Russia
2- Al Sahem
3- Mustaaqeem