A R350,000 yearling purchase by Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum’s Shadwell, Soft Falling Rain was trained throughout his career by Mike de Kock and was voted the country’s champion juvenile following an undefeated season, the highlight of which a fluent victory in the Gr.1 SA Nursery at Turffontein.

Exported to Dubai, the colt stretched his perfect record to seven from seven, with impressive scores in the Gr.2 Godolphin Mile, Gr.3 UAE 2000 Guineas and Guineas Trial.

Soft Falling Rain finally relinquished his unbeaten record eight months later when runner-up in his English debut, the Gr.2 Hungerford Stakes, only to bounce back in what was for many his finest racetrack performance.

Contesting Newmarket’s Gr.2 Nayef Joel Stakes, the South African-bred displayed a devastating turn of foot to leave his rivals trailing, a spine-tingling performance which set him up perfectly for a crack at the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Sadly, the colt failed to act in the bottomless going and was eased out of the race.

Soft Falling Rain ran just three times this year. Patently in need of the run when unplaced in his Dubai pipe-opener, the Gr.3 Mahab Al Shimal, he was a close-up second to Variety Club in the Gr.2 Godolphin Mile.

Unfortunately, the horse did not travel well and was sick upon arriving back in Britain. Having missed around ten crucial days of training, the interrupted preparation told in the Gr.1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, where he could finish no closer than sixth, four lengths behind Sussex Stakes hero Toronado. That proved to be the final racetrack appearance for Soft Falling Rain, and he bows out the winner of eight races from 13 starts.

De Kock had high praise for his former stable star: “Soft Falling Rain was a world class sprinter-miler and will bring a valuable pedigree, remarkable versatility and true international quality to our community of breeders.” He added, “Soft Falling Rain has been doing plenty of travelling which is not ideal for a horse of this calibre competing at the highest level. It takes its toll. This is the right time to have retired him. That Sheikh Hamdan has kept a share is most encouraging. He will support Soft Falling Rain with some of his top broodmares. Wilgerbosdrift, too, has a terrific broodmare band.”

A product of the Highlands paddocks, Soft Falling Rain is a member of the penultimate crop of Danzig’s excellent son National Assembly, whose stallion sons National Emblem and Announce, together with grandson Rebel King, have ensured his legacy as a sire of sires.

Cleverly named, Soft Falling Rain is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Gardener’s Delight, while his grandam is by Triple Crown legend Seattle Slew.

Picture: Liesl King

The powerfully built grey filly is by the top USA sire Tapit out of a USA mare and was bred to southern hemisphere time by Highlands Farm Stud.

She had finished a strong finishing fifth and sixth respectively in both the Gr 1 Durban Golden Horseshoe and the Gr 1 Thekwini at the end of last season, so came into yesterday’s race, a Novice Plate over 1600m for fillies and mare, with a merit rating of 101.
She started at odds of 8/10 and was slow away for the third time in succession.

She then raced wide around the final turn, but that proved to be of no consequence as she powered clear to beat a promising sort in Cousin Annie by 7,5 lengths.
Another horse to take out of the day is Go West McGraw, who was caught wide throughout in a 2000m handicap, but still only just failed in an exciting three-way finish that was won by the Jet Master gelding Roy’s Jet under Stuart Randolph.

Another progeny of reigning champion sire Jet Master, the Dennis Drier-trained filly Gathering Fame, won a maiden over 1600m with ease under Sean Cormack and should have more wins in her.

The Charles Laird-trained Bold Inspiration later proved that gelding has brought the best out of him when winning the highest rated race on the day, a MR 93 Handicap over 2000m, by a comfortable 2,75 lengths under Kevin Shea.

The Horse Chestnut gelding has now won four races in six starts and could take in a feature race soon.

Shea formed a lethal partnership with Dean Kannemeyer at this time last year and the pair are repeating the dose. They had a another winner together yesterday with the Argentinian-bred Equal Stripes colt Boyes Drive, a three-year-old who won a maiden over 1400m at the second time of asking.

Meanwhile at Deauville in France the sensational miler Kingman cruised to his fourth Gr 1 in succession in the Prix Jacques. The John Gosden-trained three-year-old colt by Invincible Spirit runs in the same Khalid Abdullah-owned colours that Frankel sported and was ridden by regular pilot James Doyle.

Picture: Nkosi Hlophe

The colt, named Bombardino, was sent up by Varsfontein and is a half-brother to the Vaughan Marshall-trained MLjet who was unlucky when dead-heating for third in last month’s Premiers Champion Stakes.

Malherbe said: “He is a lovely colt, a half-brother to a very good horse and by a terrific sire. He was bought for a long-standing client and will be trained by Dean Kannemeyer.”

The previous record for this sale – R1 050 000 – had stood for nine years. The R33.5 million aggregate was also a record but the R84 810 average was 15% down, partly because of the much larger catalogue.

The next TBA sale is the Ready To Run at the end of October with the associated Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup set to break all previous South African stakes records. According to Summerhill, which has dominated this sale since its inception in 1988, the race will be worth R3.85 million, making it the richest race ever run on the African continent.

An understandably enthusiastic Mick Goss said: “It will take a tad over 80 seconds for a field of this class to complete the 1 400m journey, which means they will be running for the best part of R50 000 a second, every stride of the journey.”

The former pair are two of Drakenstein Stud’s most prized recent purchases and look to be the perfect match.

Beach Beauty, known sometimes as the Pocket Rocket, was evergreen and won three Gr 1s last season as a six-year-old to increase her career tally to five.
Her suitor, who is by Danehill and is now ten-years-old, earned worldwide fame as a four-year-old in 2008 when winning five Gr 1s on the trot in France, Ireland and England.

These included the prestigious Prince Of Wales Stakes over ten furlongs and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over twelve furlongs, both at Ascot, as well as the Juddmonte International Stakes over ten furlongs which was run at Newmarket that year.

One of his wins was on firm ground and two on good to firm, so he should be ideal for South Africa’s general fast conditions.
Furthermore, the progeny of Danehill’s offspring, bought mainly from Australia, have done very well in South Africa. This year for example two daughters of his son Rock Of Gibraltar, Alboran Sea and Rich Girl, finished first and second in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship and less than an hour later Guiness, who is by Rock of Gibraltar’s son Seventh Rock, won the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion.

Beach Beauty is by the top local sire Dynasty, who received the “Outstanding Stallion” prize at the recent Equus Awards, having also produced the Horse Of The Year, Legislate, as well as Gr 1 winner Futura. His progeny won seven Gr 1s between them this season.

John Bescoby, a member of the Shanks syndicate that raced Beach Beauty, paid tribute to the great mare recently, saying, “What I will remember most about her is that whenever she lost, she never lost by far and she also must be the only horse in history to have defended her crowns in all of the Gr 1 Paddock Stakes, the Gr 2 Drill Hall Stakes and Gr 1 Garden Province Stakes. She just never let her supporters down and whenever she had “meeting banker” status she delivered.”

Drier said that the build up to her last event, the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes on Vodacom Durban July day this year, had been nerve-wracking and will always be the race he most remembers. He revealed, “I was told that Hammie’s Hooker was unbeatable.” Drier had obviously wanted her to go out on a high note and victory had also been particularly important because the decision had been made by the connections to avoid the July. Furthermore, whether it was due to Drier’s nervousness being mis-interpreted or just one of those inexplicable racing phenomenons, a rumour had spread like wildfire on the Friday before the race that not all was well with Beach Beauty.

Drier recalled, “Gill (his wife) and I were both at the Sales and within a few minutes of each other we received phonecalls enquiring whether Beach had a problem. The rumours were completely false. She had never been better, but it added to the pressure, especially when she began drifting in the betting and Hammie’s Hooker began shortening.” She proved the rumours wrong by putting in one of the performances of her career, finding another gear to repel Hammie’s Hooker’s threatening challenge and jockey Sean Cormack could afford to wave to the crow before the line.

She won by 0,75 lengths with two Guineas winners beaten 5,75 and 8 lengths respectively. Drier’s post-race words in her final season usually included the phrase, “She was just too good”, because by the end of her career there were no more superlatives left to describe her. She had a perfect racing temperament, as gentle as a lamb in her stable, but one that always relished her work and her races. She was bred by the late Trevor Armitage and his practice of letting them loose on the farm no doubt contributed to her always being tough and as sound as a bell. However, she will most be remembered for her early speed, her devastating turn of foot and her ability to fine another gear when challenged.

Another phenomenon has been occurring at Drakenstein in the paddocks as Schiffer has for some reason become fiercely protective of the tiny Beach Beauty. They never stabled together at Drier’s Summerveld yard, but Drakenstein’s stud manager Ross Fuller put them in a paddock together when they arrived at the farm. When they were later moved into a more populated paddock, Schiffer would chase any other mare that came close to Beach Beauty off before returning to her side.”

Schiffer, who has just turned five, is by another outstanding stallion in Var and was retired for the reason that Drier said he felt he would not be able to keep her sound for yet another season. She was at one stage thought to be the successor to her great stablemate and paternal half-sister Val De Ra, but chipped a knee as an early three-year-old, which put her out for nearly a year. She ended up being a five-time winner from just ten starts and achieved deserved bold black type in her last race when winning a Listed event over 1000m at Greyville on Gold Cup day.

Justin never fails to point out that his success relies on a team effort.
In fact, the setup of the Snaith yard is a model that all ambitious trainers could learn from an aspire to.
Justin’s mother Sue explained how it works.
“Justin does the manual work, the training, the horse care and the stable management. He was virtually born in the stable and has had a rapport with animals his whole life. He loves them and has naturally become an outstanding horseman. He went over to Australia as a youngster where he was assistant to the top trainer David Hayes. That gave him a very good grounding and reference. However, the backbone of the yard is really Jonathon (Justin’s older brother). He is the brains behind it and it takes a lot of brains to put it all together. He has a degree in accountancy, so does all the books and the paper work for the Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban yards. His other field of expertise is marketing, so he does all of that, such as the Facebook page, and also takes care of client relations. He always gives 110% and also helps Gaynor Rupert market the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate. Chris and myself fill in the gaps in the yard. We also offer advice and they sometimes take it or sometimes don’t. For the sales, Jonathon, Chris, myself and John Freeman sit down together and select our top 20. We then have them vetted and are hopefully able to buy them. Horses don’t know their cost and the ones we select come at all different prices. In fact Legislate only cost R100,000. Jonathon passed his trainer’s exam exceptionally well, so could be a good trainer in his own right. He has filled in for Justin on occasion. However, the pair of them work together very well as brothers, which is unusual. They get on together like best friends. They have really taken the yard to a new level.”
The Snaiths fell six winners short of the magic 200 mark this past season and four short of their own record of 198 set the previous season.
They will once again be lamenting the harshness of the Cape’s winter weather, for in the previous season a Durbanville meeting was abandoned in the final week and this year the Kenilworth meeting on the last Saturday, for which they had assembled a big team, went the same way.
However, they will no doubt relish the challenge of trying to pass that elusive mark this season and like all champions of their respective professions would not have dwelled on the success of last season for more than a celebratory day or two.
Before the Daily News 2000 meeting at Greyville, Snaith was just over 560,000 clear of his nearest protagonist Geoff Woodruff, and Sean Tarry was hot on their heels.
However, Snaith then won both the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 with Legislate, the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 with In The Fast Lane and then five weeks later the big one, the Vodacom Durban July, with Legislate.
He ended the season on earnings of R19,490,725, close to R5 million clear of Woodruff.
The yard’s earnings were well short of Mike de Kock’s 2009/2010 season record of R22,191,845.
However, it has traditionally become difficult for non-Highveld based trainers to win the title, as the difficulty of raiding high altitudes means that trainers with Highveld bases tend to have their big money races in the Autumn to themselves.
Justin was recently praised by a colleague in the training ranks for his tremendous capacity for work.
His demeanour at Clairwood during this year’s Champions Season was one of unstinting focus. He was clearly determined to keep the title firmly in his grasp.
Consistently this season he has blamed himself for the disappointing runs of some of his leading horses, and without exception they have bounced back to their best within a run or two.
Like all champions in the sporting world he learns from his mistakes rather than denies them and prefers to accept responsibility rather than make excuses.
Snaith is also able to bounce back from setbacks.
He didn’t dwell for long on the shockingly bad luck his fancied runner Jet Explorer suffered when brought down in the Rising Sun Gold Challenge.
This horse was strongly fancied that day and what made it a lot worse was that it put Snaith’s stable jockey Richard Fourie out for most of the rest of the season, just when it looked possible that he could make a bid for the Jockey’s Championship.
Fourie was a vital party of the Snaith success and, like many South African jockeys before him, matured into the complete rider after a stint in Hong Kong.
He is now truly world class and a sign of his high level of professionalism was that his finely conditioned physique likely prevented any serious long term injury after that shocking fall at Clairwood.
The Snaith’s professional approach could see them gain a grip on the Championship that Mike de Kock, who is concentrating his efforts abroad these days, had over the previous few years and they will be the yard to beat again this season.