It was a case of déjà vu at the 2018/2019 Cape Racing and Breeders Awards, held recently at the Vineyard Hotel, with Snaith Racing and Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud again dominating the awards.

Justin Snaith was crowned Cape Trainer of the Year, while his charges Do It Again, Oh Susanna, Kasimir, Magnificent Seven and Miss Florida collected eleven of the Cape Racing and Breeding Awards between them. Do It Again, who was crowned Champion Older Male (breeding and racing), Champion Miler (racing), Champion Middle Distance Horse (breeding) and Horse of the Year (breeding and racing), was the star of the Cape Awards and is likely to repeat the exercise at the upcoming Equus Awards. His nemesis, the Eric Sands trained Rainbow Bridge, was named Champion Middle Distance Horse (racing), while his dam Halfway To Heaven was awarded Broodmare of the Year for owners Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Stud, who also collected the Champion Breeder award.

Snaith was full of praise for his exceptional superstar. “It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving horse”, he said. “He has everything that you could want in a champion racehorse, looks, temperament and talent, he literally ticks all the boxes.”  Snaith, who has enjoyed an incredible year with Do It Again becoming the first horse since El Picha (1999/2000) to achieve back to back victories in Vodacom Durban July, was also awarded the Exceptional Achievement Award for the second consecutive year.  His brother Jonathan, who is a key element of the Snaith Racing team, thanked the breeders and owners of the Western Cape for their contribution. “We have a cohesive industry in the Cape and it is the people that make racing in the Western Cape great.”

Drakenstein Stud was named the Outstanding Breeder of the Year with Gabor being crowned Champion Two Year Old Filly (breeding), Kasimir collecting the Champion Sprinter trophy (breeding and racing) and Clouds Unfold named as the Champion Three Year Old Filly (racing). Owner Nic Jonsson also enjoyed a memorable evening with Do It Again, who he part owns, named Horse of the Year, while his homebred Miss Florida received the Juvenile Filly award (racing) and Magnificent Seven was named Champion Stayer (racing).

By Liesl King

Image: The Snaith Racing Team . . . recently awarded the Exceptional Achievement Award at the Cape Racing and Breeders Awards held at the Vineyard Hotel.

It will be a long time before the bookmakers recall the name Al Bragga without a warm glow spreading through their systems and in the first at Kenilworth on Saturday a massive gamble on the newcomer went spectacularly wrong.

Mike Stewart, who trains Red Rum-style on the beach at Noordhoek, may have a Summer Cup to his name but he operates at bargain basement level and scores with well-backed first timers about as often as Justin Snaith has a winner starting at 30-1.

The money poured on Andre Hauptfleisch’s homebred as if there was no tomorrow and the Captain Al colt’s price tumbled from 15-2 to 19-10 favourite. “It’s not my money but I don’t think he will get beaten,” said the trainer.

Yet the favourite lost ground at the start and never got into it, finishing with only one behind him and over 20 lengths off the winner Psychedelic. “He had shown plenty at home but Donovan Dillon said it was the ground and that the horse hated every minute of it,” said a mystified and bitterly disappointed Stewart. “I have worked Al Bragga in the wet, but in ground that was possibly not as wet as it is here.”

It was Kate Meiring and Juan Batt who solved the mystery. The course vets examined the colt on the instructions of the stipes and found him to be lame on his off-fore.

The stipes had a busy time and they also quizzed Snaith about the dramatic improvement of the 30-1 winner. “He showed a lot of pace in his first two runs but at the end he died,” the trainer reported. “Now, with gelding and a little bit more fitness, he managed to finish the race – but I was surprised.”

Less so by the two Drakenstein homebred winners sired by the ill-fated Kingsbarns – Queensbarns who looked a bit special when storming home five lengths clear under Robert Khathi and Casino Queen who completed a double for the eloquent Sandile Mbhele, rider of Psychedelic and now on the 49-winner mark.

But the one that stood out, by winning distance at least, was Cane Lime ‘N Soda who went clear over a furlong out under M.J. Byleveld in the Betting World Maiden to score by more than eight lengths and give Vaughan Marshall good reason to celebrate his 68^th birthday a day early.

“I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but he was bloody impressive and he looks to have a bit of a future,” said Robert Bloomberg who shares ownership with Ron Chetty.

If ever an owner deserved a medal for perseverance it is Alfie Baum whose Duntoche came good at the age of five and at the 18th time of asking in the Tab Telebet Maiden. She had been placed on half her starts so she has kept producing a return and the Paul Reeves-trained mare never hesitated when Morne Winnaar asked her to lead from the start.

We hear a lot about small trainers and the problems they face so it is good to be able to report that Harold Crawford is pulling away from that troubled category. Assistant Michelle Rix, who has turned things round for her father, revealed after Orferd’s Flash’s victory under Ossie Noach that the one-time single figure stable now has 30 horses plus ten two-year-olds to come.

Brett Crawford, no relation, was responsible for three of the seven runners in the 2 000m handicap, and had a one-two with Principessa and Magic Mary. But it was last-race Reenan who kept the punters happy by winning the finale with a Glen Puller horse for the third time in the last six Kenilworth meetings. Ready To Rumble came home at 25-1 under Brandon May to give part-owner George Eveleigh the birthday present he wanted most of all.

By Michael Clower

Sean Tarry did not believe he had the firepower to win last season’s National Trainers championship so it came as a bonus along with his season’s chief target of “getting Chris (van Niekerk) over the line.”

Loyal owner Van Niekerk will receive the South African Champion Owner award for the second time at the Equus Awards next week, where Tarry will receive the Trainer’s trophy for the fourth time.

Tarry said, “I thought Mike and Justin had the goods last season. It is usually the trainers who win the R4 million races who win it, so maybe it was days like Scottsville which kept us in the race.”

Tarry won three Grade 1s in one day for the first time in his career at Scottsville’s annual Festival Of Speed meeting in May and was unlucky not to clinch a Jackpot of Grade 1s as Cavivar was hampered in the Allan Robertson Championship and lost by a head. Tarry also sent out the trifecta in the main race, the Tsogo Sun Sprint.

Tarry will approach this season like last and said, “I will just tack on and if things look good will start worrying.”

His dual Grade 1 winning sprint-miler Celtic Sea will remain in training although she is not a certainty to go down for the Cape Summer Of Champions season.  

Grade 1-winning sprinter Chimichuri Run is also not a certainty to travel down as there is only one proper race for him, the Grade 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship over a five furlong distance which is a touch sharp for him, although it is a tough five furlongs.

Tarry said realistically speaking he did not appear to have a Sun Met horse, unless the three-year-olds put their hands up, as Cirillo, whilst having proven class, was not as good as the like of Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge.

He said a line could be drawn through Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion winner Eden Roc’s run on eLan Gold Cup day in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m as something had worried him on course and he had become uncontrollable in the parade ring.

He labelled Putontheredlight, runner up to Eden Roc in the Grade 2 Durban Holden Horseshoe, as another of his three-year-old classic hopes for the season although added races like the Dingaans and Cape Guineas were the true tests which showed whether a horse was up to it or not.

He mentioned a number of horses as candidates to clinch him a third successive Gauteng Summer Cup. 

He said, “I have a couple of nice horses off decent marks. Lord Silverio had a premature injury last season which put paid to his campaign and he is back in training, there is Al Mutawakel (unbeaten in three starts), Zillzaal has had the gelding he needed badly, although the Summer Cup might come too soon.”

He will also target the defending champion Tilbury Fort at the Summer Cup and will consider running his Grade 1 SA Fillies Classic, Grade 2 SA Oaks and Grade 2 Gerald Rosenberg-winner from last season, Return Flight, although he said it was not the perfect race for her.

Tarry’s chief jockey Lyle Hewitson has departed for a stint in Hong Kong, so will need to be replaced. He said, “I don’t want to force any new relationship but have got a lot of horses and those who put in the hard work will get the opportunities.”

Gold Circle have allowed Tarry to take a “sabattical” from his KZN satellite yard at Summerveld which he will open again for the SA Champions Season.

By David Thiselton

Unless you make a big splash in your apprenticeship, and those riders are few and far between, it can be really tough when you come out of you time. The academy is no longer a safe haven and you have to rely on wits, ability and just plain hard work if you are going to make a decent career as a jockey.

Serino Moodley is not long out of his time and his hard work is starting to pay off as he collected a double at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.

Ashburton-based trainers generally have to rely on apprentices to ride the majority of their work and fully-fledged jockeys are a rare sight.

Moodley’s efforts to make the trip up from Durban in the mornings are starting to pay dividends as he is picking up some good rides and proving well worth his booking.

Gary Rich has a small string but he has been around the block a time or three and when he gets a good one, he makes the most of it. Connect Me picked up her fifth win as Moodley made all the running and kept her firing all the way to the line to comfortably hold off the attentions of Philae and favourite Stelvio in the fifth.

Earlier, Moodley judged a perfectly timed run for Karen and Greg Anthony on the filly Abbey in the fourth.

Moodley has been on the wrong end of the new 12 strikes and you are out whip rule but hefty fines kept his arm in check yesterday.

Luke Ferraris is one apprentice that has made a splash and although he comes from a family steeped in racing and as a result has been given ample opportunity to prove himself, he has made the most of his good fortune and the started the new season as champion apprentice.

Bay Tibbs was something of an armchair ride for Garth Puller in the third but the favourite was last for most of the race. In the straight, Ferraris was aware that he had plenty of horse under him and instead of ducking for a clear run up the inside, he anticipated an opening and drove Bay Tibbs through to win well. It was not the greatest of opposition but Bay Tibbs won with authority.

By Andrew Harrison

The 2019-20 horseracing season has started and TAB is making changes to its betting menu for the new season.

Betting turnovers highlight that the R1-unit Rolling Double on all consecutive races at South African race meetings holds little appeal for the majority of TAB customers.

Consequently, Rolling Doubles on local races will fall away from Friday, 9 August, and be replaced by a Daily Double with a R6 unit.

The first leg of the Daily Double on South African meetings will always be the race after the first Jackpot leg. Thus, on a nine-race programme the Daily Double will be on Races 6 and 7 with the BiPot starting on Race 2, the Place Accumulator on Race 3 and the Pick 6 and Jackpot on Races 4 and 5 respectively.

The Daily Double should put the spotlight on the big race at most local meetings because it will normally incorporate the main event. That coupled with a R6 unit, which should ensure significant payouts and will hopefully re-energise the bet and renew its appeal to TAB customers.

The Daily Double will also be added to the betting menu for selected international race meetings screened on Tellytrack. When the Daily Double is offered on such international race meetings, it will always be on the last two races with the exception of Dubai, Mauritius, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Those four countries will be treated identically to South African meetings with the race after the first Jackpot leg forming the first leg of the Daily Double.