The Grade 2 Victory Moon Stakes to be run at the Vaal over 1800m tomorrow is a good pointer to the Grade 1 Gauteng Summer Cup and although the weights have been set for the latter race a condition of that event states that the weights may change up to the time of declarations on 19 November. 

Soqrat carries topweight but is the ultimate professional, a horse who relaxes beautifully in the running and then runs on strongly in the straight. He has a plum draw and can make it another Graded success. AL Mutakawel is a full-brother to the SA Derby winner Al Sahem and although officially out at the weights the best has not yet been seen of him and he can rise above his current rating. He has a sustained finishing run and was not suited to the tight Turffontein Inside track last time. He will relish the step up in trip on this galloping course and has a fine chance.

Shenanigans was also not suited to the Turffontein Inside track last time and should be staying on strongly down the long straight if he is able to find cover. He proved when running on well in the Jubilee Handicap that he is effective over this trip. Roy Had Enough is capable of a strong finish too although he should come on for the run being an entire whose target is the Summer Cup. Green Haze won emphatically when tried over 1800m again last time and is interesting stepped up in trip again.

Divine Odyssey is capable of a strong, sustained finish and is well drawn over a suitable trip in his second run of the season. Noble Secret often disappoints but with the blinkers now on he might start showing the class he has always possessed. Seville Orange should come into her own this season being by Duke Of Marmalade and not only is she distance suited but she is the best weighted horse according to official merit ratings. 

In the Listed Gardenia Stakes over 1000m Dancing Queen could be the one to beat over a course and distance she has had two wins and a second on in three starts. Ulla is a decent, consistent sort and steps back up to the trip of her penultimate win. Singforafa is capable of blitzing a field and will be dangerous over this quick 1000m track. Green Plains deserves topweight and can never be ignored. Dalai’s Promise has speed and class and has won twice over the course and distance. Montreal Mist ended off last season well and makes her seasonal reappearance here. 

A difficult day’s racing starts with a workrider’s maiden over 1200m where the improving Malteza has a chance and Madame Patrice should also be right there.

The next over 1000m can be fought out by two promising sorts, Capitiana and Masaaqaat. 

The third over 1400m sees the debut of the French-bred five-year-old Tzaritza, who is a half-sister to Whisky Baron. She does not have a lot to beat and Flower Of Scotland and Emerald Crest are the two raced horses who make most appeal.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 Tulip Way is an improving daughter of Captain Al and is selected to beat hard-knocking Virtuosa and first-timer Intimidate, a Pomodoro filly who is a half-sister to stakes-placed speedster Leta’s Bonnet. 

In the fifth race Illusion should be fit after his first two outings and looks likely to relish the step down in trip. True To Life has plenty of class but it is her seasonal reappearance. Ikigai also has promise although it will be a touch on the sharp side. 

The sixth race is a tricky sprint handicap but Old Man Thyme, Life Is Good and Chief Of State have looked the part lately.

The last leg of the Pick 6 is also tricky and as many as possible should be included. 

By David Thiselton

South African horseracing will bid farewell to one of its great characters and leading trainers at the end of this month.

Former Cape champion trainer Joey Ramsden has decided to close down his South African operation.

Whatever his personal reasons for making this sea change in lifestyle, there is little doubt that he will go down in history as some of the collateral damage, which includes many individuals and sectors of the racing and breeding industry here, of the Joostegate scandal.

While he was a top trainer long before Markus Jooste’s arrival, Joey was one of the men most exposed when the former Steinhoff boss hit a brick wall back in December 2017.

“We’re taking a sabbatical as both Steph and I feel that this is the right decision for ourselves and our family to take a step back for a while and reassess in the future. Goodhope Racing will be closing its doors on 30 November 2019.We thank you all for your understanding in what has been an extremely testing time and an extremely hard decision we’ve had to make,” writes Joey in an email that has done the rounds of racing’s unforgiving bush telegraph in the past few hours.

He goes on to say that they need to reiterate that this is not a knee jerk reaction to any ‘news’ that’s been released – ‘we simply needed to take the time to speak with our family, friends, staff and owners before we made anything public’, he writes.

He adds that naturally the horses in their care will be looked after as per their usual high standards until new homes are found.

“Having been lucky enough to have trained many Champion racehorses it has been the staff behind me that have made it all possible and it has been heartbreaking to tell them and I can’t thank them enough for their loyalty and their understanding. It’s been a privilege and an honour to train in this beautiful country and I’m going to miss Cape Town very much,” he says in closing.

Joey obtained his trainers licence in 1995 and has been Cape Champion Trainer four times. He has trained 20 Gr1 winners of 26 Gr1 races, including Variety Club, Attenborough, Just Sensual, Winter Solstice, The Conglomerate and Red Ray.

He has three young daughters, Holly, Zara and Ruby who he once said keep him busy and broke!  His partner Stephanie Grentell worked for Inglis in Australia before meeting Joey.

– Sporting Post

Captain Tatters, only a dwindling four-tenths of a length behind Silver Operator in the Cape Classic at Kenilworth 12 days ago, will renew rivalry with the Vaughan Marshall star in the Cape Guineas on December 21.

As he was bought to race in Hong Kong there were fears that the gelding would be put into quarantine now that he has shown he is good enough but Justin Snaith has been given the go-ahead to prepare him for next month’s classic and he is understandably delighted.

He said: “Captain Tatters has to be a big runner. If you watch his races you will see that he has flown home in them and that the line has come just in time for the opposition. He will be suited by the extra 200m and by the summer course.”

Snaith has won the Cape Guineas only once with Solo Traveller nine years ago but he has taken two of the last four runnings of the Woolavington and his Strathdon is 9-2 favourite for Saturday’s 2 400m test.

Anton Marcus, who rides the gelding, is reunited with One World in the Cape Mile and the Marshall colt has opened favourite at 16-10. Marcus won four out of five on One World last season including the Concorde Cup, CTS 1600 and Winter Guineas.

MJ Byleveld, successful on the four-year-old in the Matchem last month, is this time on stable companion Tap O’Noth on whom he won the 2017 Cape Guineas. Tap O’Noth is third favourite at 15-2 with the Brett Crawford-trained Charles on 7-2.

The hat-trick seeking Boomps A Daisy (Greg Cheyne) heads the market for the Laisserfaire Stakes at 7-2.  Marcus, who cannot get anywhere near the filly’s allotted 52kg, rides fellow Ridgemont runner Nastergal who is a 13-2 shot.

Aldo Domeyer, on paternity leave from Hong Kong, has seven rides and his best chances (at least according to the opening betting) would appear to be on the Candice Bass-Robinson trained Mayfern in race three and on What A Lover for Piet Steyn in the last.

By Michael Clower

Exciting news emerging from Mike de Kock’s six winners at Turffontein Standside on Saturday is that he is “seriously” thinking of running the impressive four-year-old Irish-bred filly Queen Supreme in the Grade 1 Gauteng Summer Cup on November 30.

On Saturday she became the third stakes winner for her USA-bred Gone West dam, Call Later, when cruising to a 4,25 length victory in the Grade 3 Yellowwood Handicap over 1800m, beating two classy fillies in Ronnie’s Candy and Roy’s Riviera.

It was her fourth win in five starts.

Queen Supreme is by Darley shuttle stallion Exceed And Excel, who was Australian champion sire in 2012/2013.

De Kock said, “She didn’t beat much but I have been impressed with the way she has gone through the divisions and am seriously thinking of running her in the Summer Cup. She will go down to Cape Town for the Paddock Stakes and Sun Met later.”

Queen Supreme was originally bought at Ireland’s foremost yearling sale, the Goffs Orby Sale, in September 2017 on behalf of Markus Jooste.

She was landed for 130,000 Euros.

De Kock bought her back at a later dispersal sale and she is currently owned by a syndicate consisting of Mauritzfontein Stud, De Kock himself, Larry Nestadt, JR van der Linden and Noeline Malherbe. 

Queen Supreme is six months younger than her contemporaries, being Irish-bred, and will be improving continually.

She wears a sheepskin band on her forehead to solve a habit she had developed of rearing up.

De Kock’s Grade 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile winner Barahin sounded a warning to his Summer Cup opponents.

Jockey Callan Murray said after the 3,50 length win on Saturday, “The blinkers made a massive difference. We just tracked the speed and when we turned into the straight it felt like a five furlong race the way he quickened up. I just held on to him, he extended to the line impressively.”

The maestro trainer added, “Barahin has always been a nice horse, in fact he’s a proper horse. He was unlucky as a three-year-old to be bumping Hawwaam all the time. But today the rain helped him, he’s never been the greatest mover or strider. The sting out of the ground was fantastic for him.”
Barahin was raised nine points by the handicapper to 131, which is going to make his Summer Cup task tough. The weights for the big race were set on Monday and he was allotted joint topweight of 60kg together with his stablemate Soqrat. They will have to give the field 5,5kg and more. On the other hand there are only 13 horses in the handicap as it stands, the rest are under sufferance. 

Before Saturday, a mile was considered to be a touch on the sharp side for Barahin, but three of his earlier wins were from 1200m to 1400m. However, he ran on strongly when winning the Jubilee Handicap over 1800m last season so should enjoy the Summer Cup trip.

Queen Supreme was raised from a 97 to 110, but she will nevertheless be 3,5kg under sufferance as it stands if she lines up in the Summer Cup. 

Another impressive winner for the yard on Saturday was the three-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding Frosted Gold. This strongly built grey is by All Too Hard, a four-time Group 1 winner in Australia from 1400m to 1600m, and he is out of a stakes-placed sprint-miler by Verglas. Frosted Gold won the Grade 2 SA Nursery last season and also looks to be a sprint-miler, although his second dam produced the winner of the Grade 1 Grand Prix de Saint Cloud over 2400m.  

De Kock said, “He is a nice horse although he is temperamental. He will go for the Dingaans and we will take it from there.”

Frosted Gold was raised two points to 114, which puts him level with last season’s Equus Champion two-year-old male Got The Greenlight. 

One of De Kock’s maiden winners on the day, the Noble Tune colt Hellofaride, looks a possible SA Derby prospect as he is an imposing horse who won effortlessly over 1600m in just his second start despite still being green. 

However, De Kock is never one to jump the gun and said, “It was a weak field, but I liked the improvement he made from one run to the next, it was impressive. But he needs to improve again. I am not one to overrate a horse like the handicappers do. He is definitely looking for further though.”   

The yard’s Australian-bred gelding Atyaab won for the first time since his victory in a weak renewal of the Grade 1 Cape Derby at the beginning of the year. He stayed on to win the Listed Java Handicap over 2400m. De Kock said he had “come well” and gelding him in June had made a big difference. However, he admitted he was no more than “a handicapper.”

His other winner on the day was the Australian-bred Snitzel gelding Alameery who won a maiden over 1160m. De Kock said this horse was looking for further.

By David Thiselton

Class told yesterday as Sunset Eyes ran out a comfortable winner of the Gold Circle Podcast Handicap at Hollywoodbets Greyville. Competitive at the highest level, the three-month break was of minor concern for Brett Crawford’s runner and his supporters.

Taking the ‘golden highway’ as Anton Marcus has dubbed the outside of the Greyville synthetic track, the six-year-old went to the line virtually unchallenged.

Elusive Heart chased shadows for second with the lightly weighted Hey Boy staying on for second. Fillipo, expected to make some impression, folded early to finish out with the washing.

The question of soundness is of major concerns for trainers. Vets bills are an unwelcome attachment to training bills, but find a solid and sound horse and you have a ‘champion’, no matter what the horse does to make it to the top.

Big King, an eight-year-old gelding, turned the tables on the three-years younger Mutawaary when landing the fifth. Greg and Karen Anthony’s gelding winning his seventh race from 40 starts.

Multiple champion Marcus is not a man to be run down easily but Joshwin Solomons, son of Western Cape jockey Morne Winnaar, came from a long way back on the Dennis Drier-trained Dune Dance to out-point race favourite Captain Of Colour when the race looked all over.

Jason Gates is one of the more driven apprentices in the SA Jockey Academy. “He even wants to win barrier trials,” commented one trainer who was looking for an easy introduction to the track for his charge.

With that in mind, one would do well to take cognisance of all Gates’s mounts although Dust Storm gave little early notice that he was a contender in the card opener.

Gates had ridden Garth Puller’s charge in both his barrier trial and one debut, finishing down the field in both outings. A four-year-old that pulled up lame on debut, it was little wonder that he started at 45-1 yesterday but finished like an even money shot.

Favourite James Peter, later reported to have pulled up lame, and visiting Touch Of Fate set quick early fractions and when James Peter fell away, Touch Of Fate looked set for victory. But Gates coaxed a finishing burst that took Dust Storm past his rival.

Warren Kennedy started the day 20 winners clear of nearest rival Greg Cheyne in the jockey championship, and although there is still a long way to go before the cock crows, Kennedy rarely goes a meeting without a winner. He restored some confidence in favourites with a hard-fought victory on Arianos Spinner for Robbie and Shannon Hill, holding off a game challenge from At Your Request, having her first run for Dean Kannemeyer.

Desolate Road looked very much the best bet on the card in the third but Anton Marcus earned his riding fee as he was hard-pressed on Tony Rivalland’s gelding to keep The Master at bay.

Lowly Fillies and Mares Handicaps are notorious for results that don’t necessary correspond with current form although Je Na Sais Quoi’s win was not entirely unexpected as she was going over her prefer trip. Up from the Western Cape, Glen Kotzen’s filly was given a pipe-opener from a poor draw on her KZN debut, but sent over 2000m yesterday, Stuart Randolph waited until the final furlong to pull the trigger and Je Ne Sais Quoi responded with a burst of speed to overhaul Abbey.

By Andrew Harrison