David Thiselton
Hollywood Racing have always aimed high and Stuart Ferrie confirmed that two of his Hollywood-owned stalwarts, impressive debut winner Cognac and r 2 Post Merchants winner I Am Giant, will be on their way to Cape Town together with stable star Gladatorian.
On Sunday at Hollywoodbets Scottsville the Rafeef colt Cognac went off as the 5/1 second favourite, but proved far too good for the odds on favourite Son Of Rafeef and he romped in by 3,30 lengths in the 1200m contest.
It is interesting to note that Cognac is out of a twice-winning Silvano daughter of the former Mike de Kock-trained Jet Master mare Gluwein, whom Hollywood Racing’s racing manager Antony Delpech rode to a dead-heat victory in the Gr 1 Majorca Stakes together with the Mike Bass-trained Love Is In The Air, who was also by Jet Master, back in 2010.
Delpech’s association with that equine family might have had something to do with the R400,000 purchase of the Narrow Creek Stud-bred Cognac at a sale in Cape Town. Delpech also spoke after Sunday’s race of how much he had loved this horse from day one while watching him during the bay colt’s days at Ashburton and spoke specifically of “the beautiful head on him”.
Ferrie said the colt had always shown nice work at home and had galloped well with the decent sort Town Crier, although he added it was hard to guage how good a horse was before his debut.
As it happened Cognac showed tremendous natural speed througout. He jumped well and free wheeled down the middle without cover. He only came off the bit at about the 300m mark and then quickened well with just a shake of the reins. The 56/100 shot Son Of Rafeef could only chase in vein as Cognac cruised in without Sean Veale having had to give him anything more than a few shoulder taps to try and strighten him as he was tending to hang away from the grandstand as first-timers often do at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
Stuart said he would be on the float to Cape Town on around November 10 together with the like of Gladatorian and I Am Giant, although he did not know yet what his program down there would be.
Rafeef was a Gr 1 Computaform Sprint winner over 1000m, but also won over 1400m and was runner up in the Listed Wolf Power 1600 and fourth in the Gr 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes. Besides the three Computaform Sprint winners he has produced (Master Archie, Thunderstruck and William Robertson) he has also produced both a SA Derby winner and an SA Oaks winner (Aragosta and Frances Ethel respectively). So as Cognac’s dam won twice over 1400m and 2200m respectively and she is by stamina influence Silvano, there is reason to believe Cognac could have classic potential.
Ferrie will be hoping he is another Gladatorian i.e. a horse who can win sprints at Graded level, but whose stamina capacity is the same as his pedigree suggests it should be.
Meanwhile, I Am Giant will be looking at running at the same meeting as Gladatorian on November 7 before departing for Cape Town. There is a Conditions Plate over 1200m for I Am Giant at that Friday turf meeting and a Conditions Plate over 1600m too, so Gladatorian could run in either.
I Am Giant’s first run in Cape Town will be in the Gr 2 Cape Merchants on December 13.
All of the stable’s Cape Town campaigners will be staying at Milnerton in the Lucinda Woodruff yard.
