Horse Racing News | Gold Circle Horse Racing And Betting

2014 Vodacom Durban July

PUBLISHED: April 29, 2014

The first round of entries for the 2014 Vodacom Durban July were announced on April 17 at the media launch of Champions Season which took place at Greyville racecourse.

The turf track at Greyville has been narrowed to accommodate the construction of the new Polytrack along its inside and consequently a maximum of 16 runners will be allowed to face the starter for the Grade 1 R3,5 million Vodacom Durban July over 2200m on Saturday July 5.

While Gold Circle reserves the right to ultimately determine the final field, the Company will convene a panel comprising Messrs Graeme Hawkins (Gold Circle Racing Executive), Jay Harrielall (Gold Circle Racing Manager), Roger Smith (Senior Handicapper based on the Highveld) and Matthew Lipps (Senior Handicapper based in KZN) to adjudicate.

Neil Butcher, Chairman of Gold Circle’s Racing Sub-Committee, will be in attendance at all meetings of the Selection Panel. The Panel will also be responsible for issuing a series of logs, the first of which will appear on Tuesday May 6.

Gold Circle’s Racing Sub-Committee has resolved that the winners of the following races (from January 2014 to June 2014) will be precluded from elimination save that, where appropriate, the Company reserves the right to request a public gallop to determine the wellbeing/fitness in the event that any of these winners have not raced within three months of the date of final declarations:

L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate (Gr 1), Kenilworth 1600m, (Winner: Cape Town Noir)
J&B Met (Gr 1), Kenilworth 2000m, (Winner: Hill Fifty Four)
Investec Cape Derby (Gr 1), Kenilworth 2000m, (Winner: Legislate)
SA Classic (Gr 1), Turffontein 1800m, (Winner: Louis The King)
SA Fillies Classic (Gr 1), Turffontein 1800m, (Winner: Athina)
SA Derby (Gr 1), Turffontein 2450m (Winner: Louis The King)
President’s Champions Challenge (Gr 1), Turffontein 2000m (Winner: Yorker)
Daily News 2000 (Gr 1), Greyville 2000m
Woolavington 2000 (Gr 1), Greyville 2000m

Rising Sun Gold Challenge (Gr 1), Clairwood 1600m Winners of the following four races (November 2013 to June 2014) will enjoy preferential consideration for inclusion in the final field while the Company also reserves the right to include a maximum of two special invitations at its discretion:

Sansui Summer Cup (Gr 1), Turffontein 2000m (Winner: Yorker)
Betting World 1900 (Gr 2), Greyville 1900m
Cup Trial (Gr 3), Clairwood 1800m
Betting World Jubilee Handicap (Gr 3), 1800mThe logs issued by the Selection Panel will reflect the horses in order of preference at the time of publication with due regard to the above.

IMPORTANT DATES TO DIARISE:

May 13 – First Supplementary Entries
May 13 – First Declarations
June 2 – Second Declarations
June 9 – Final Supplementary Entries
June 10 – Weights Published
June 23 – Declarations close
June24 – Announcement of Final Field and Barrier Draw
June 26 – Vodacom Durban July Gallops at Greyville Racecourse

For more information visit www.vodacomdurbanjuly.co.za[/expand]

Majmu to stay in SA for classics

PUBLISHED: April 29, 2014

Top class two-year-old Majmu is likely to remain in South Africa to contest next season’s three-year-old classics, following her smashing victory in Saturday’s R400,000 SA Fillies Nursery over 1 160m on Champions Day at Turffontein.

Majmu (Anton Marcus) made it three wins from three starts in this Gr2 contest, leaving the runner-up almost nine lengths in her wake – this after starting her career with a Listed success in the Ruffian Stakes and a Gr3 victory in the Pretty Polly Stakes. It’s hard to recall the last time a locally-trained young filly commenced her career at Listed level and stepped up a notch in class twice, unbeaten in all.

The Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship over 1 200m on 24 May at Scottsville is next on Majmu’s agenda. She’s raced in small fields so far and will take on what is normally a maximum line-up of the speediest, up-and-coming fillies in the land, but considering her dominant manner of racing Mike de Kock and his connections will already be thinking, “Bring It On!”

De Kock has shipped fillies of lesser talent to Dubai to compete successfully at the Carnival, but South African racing fans will be pleased to know that Sheikh Hamdan’s grey is unlikely to be among the stable’s select runners on the August 2014 shipment to Mauritius and the UAE.

De Kock commented: “Majmu is a high quality filly, she’s already strong but she’s the type of filly that needs more time to furnish. I don’t think that flying her halfway around the world will do her any good. We’ve learnt from experience that the young horses don’t always travel well, the fillies in particular, and they have to be rushed to race fitness when they get to the desert. They’re barely out of their two-year-old careers when the export protocols force us to stand them in quarantine in various locations, where they miss an important amount of the exercise they would normally be given to develop as we’d like them to.

“Let’s add to this the fact that the travelling three-year-olds in effect lose their classic careers in South Africa – it’s great when they can win in Dubai during the Carnival and go on to European campaigns, but we’re going to be a bit more selective with Majmu. She’s a good classic prospect for next season and winning a Gr1 in South Africa or Europe is worth more for her pedigree than anything she can win at the Carnival, at three.”

Sheikh Hamdan’s representative Angus Gold won’t dispute De Kock’s sentiments. Gold said that he had always felt that Majmu was an Oaks filly and she was winning on sheer class, this early, and would go further in time to come.
– Mikedekockracing.com[/expand]

Bremner beaming after first Grade 1

PUBLISHED: April 29, 2014

Port Elizabeth trainer Yvette Bremner landed the first Gr 1 win of her career at Turffontein on Saturday courtesy of her six-year-old gelding Copper Parade, who produced a devastating finish under Piere Strydom in the R1 million Computaform Sprint over 1 000m to beat the hot favourite Via Africa by 0,75 lengths.

The connections are now eyeing the Gr 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint over 1 200m at Scottsville on May 24 for the Ascot-bred son of Lecture, who is now a dual Gr 1 winner.

Bremner ran a live sms conversation from the parade ring until after the finish on Saturday with her former stable jockey Karis Teetan, who was watching from his new base in Hong Kong, so he was the first to congratulate her.

However, in her own mind she has battled to elevate this prestigious win above any other.

She said, “A lot of people have asked me what it is like to have won my first Gr 1. I generally don’t show any emotion, although I was excited, but every win, even if it’s a maiden, is a very good feeling if you have put the work in and everything goes according to plan. For me the pressure was off in this race when Piere Strydom phoned and asked for the ride.”

Strydom had said during the phonecall that if the horse ran to his Johannesburg form he must have a chance, although he was not sure it was a winning chance.

Copper Parade had run at Turffontein twice before, winning the Listed Golden Loom Handicap over Saturday’s course and distance on November 2 last year by a comfortable two lengths, before being beaten 3,75 lengths by Here Comes Billy when carrying topweight in the Gr 2 Merchants over 1 160m.

Copper Parade was involved in an incident in the Gr 1 Cape Flying Championship earlier this year, when being loaded early and then breaking through the stalls, that had landed Muzi Yeni in hot water for cursing the starter.

“We have never had any luck in Cape Town,” said Bremner, who also referred to the problems Blaze of Fire had experienced at the start of the Gr 1 Cape Guineas in 2011.

However, Copper Parade returned to Port Elizabeth and won a Conditions Plate over 1 000m at Fairview in good style.

In his penultimate start in the Listed East Cape Sprint Cup over the same course and distance nothing went right, but he still finished a 1,25 length second to Vauclair.

Bremner said, “We had expected a good pace in that race with Cap Alright in the field, but it didn’t happen and Copper Parade ended up absolutely reefing behind them pulling Keagan Latham’s arms out. Even in a longer race if it’s a crawl and a sprint the horses that stay won’t catch the leaders and that’s what happened that day. It was a disaster.”

However, Bremner was confident that Copper Parade would run to his best against top class company, where the pace is likely to be truer. “He likes to be covered up and then when he is switched out he takes off. He loves it.”

Everything worked out perfectly on Saturday and, although the style of his run didn’t surprise her, just how well he did it might have. Strydom was certainly surprised, although he said that the horse had felt very good going down to the start.

Just two backhanders was all that Strydom required and the horse suddenly emerged like a jet propelled rocket on the outside to spoil the party for favourite backers.

Via Africa had to settle for the runner up spot for the second year running, but unlike last year, when slowly away, she ran a perfect race this time. She pinged the start, showed her usual high cruising speed and kicked at just the right time to repel the challenge of her nearest market rival Contador. Both jockey Kevin Shea and assistant trainer Alex Rymill admitted that she had done everything perfectly, but was just beaten by the better horse on the day.

Yvette recently took over the share in Copper Parade of her life partner Hedley McGrath, but clarified yesterday that it was still “our share”. The other share is held by Optima Trust, whose nominee is Val Fenix.

Copper Parade enjoyed a fine career with top Cape trainer Joey Ramsden before moving to Bremner’s Fairview yard at the beginning of last season. He won the Gr 1 Golden Horseshoe over 1 450m at Clairwood as a two-year-old, albeit after and objection against Kavanagh, and finished second in the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint as a three-year-old as well as fourth in the Gr 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint as a four-year-old.

Bremner said Copper Parade always travelled well (he was transported up to Johannesburg last Wednesday), but revealed that he was going to stay up in Johannesburg until the Golden Horse Casino Sprint as he enjoyed the training tracks up there during his previous Johannesburg stint. Alec Laird will take care of him.

He is likely to be given a big merit rated raise for the win, but Bremner was not concerned as she felt he would have carried topweight, or close to it, in the Golden Horse anyway. Unlike Saturday’s weight for age event, the Golden Horse is a handicap.

The yard’s previous biggest away success had been when their five-year-old Victory Moon entire Blaze of Fire had finished third under Teetan in last year’s

Gr 1 Champions Cup over 1 800m at Greyville. He was subsequently named the Port Elizabeth Horse Of The Year. Bremner said the handsome bay had “loved Durban”, so she would consider another Champions Season campaign depending on how he did in his next start, which would be his third run since returning from injury.