The Equus Awards voting panel submitted their final selections following the Greyville meeting on 27 July 2019.

The voting panel comprised of Matthew Lips, Alistair Cohen, Lennon Maharaj, David Thiselton and RA chairman Larry Wainstein as non-voting chairperson.

The panel submitted their first round of nominations after Vodacom Durban July Day and voting for the finalists took place after the Gold Cup race meeting.

The categories and finalists are:

Champion Two-year-old Colt – distance immaterial: Eden Roc, Got The Greenlight

Champion Two-year-old Filly – distance immaterial: Gabor, Miss Florida

Champion Three-year-old Colt – distance immaterial: Chimichuri Run, Hawwaam, Soqrat (AUS)

Champion Three-year-old Filly – distance immaterial: Celtic Sea, Clouds Unfold, Front And Centre, Return Flight, Silvano’s Pride

Champion Older Male – distance immaterial: Do It Again, Kasimir, Pacific Trader, Rainbow Bridge

Champion Older Filly/Mare – distance immaterial: Camphoratus, Oh Susanna (AUS)

Champion Sprinter – (1000 – 1200m; age/gender immaterial): Celtic Sea, Chimichuri Run, Kasimir, Pacific Trader

Champion Miler – (1400 – 1600; age/gender immaterial): Celtic Sea, Do It Again, Soqrat (AUS)

Champion Middle Distance – (1800 – 2200; age/gender immaterial): Do It Again, Hawwaam, Rainbow Bridge

Champion Stayer – (2400 and up; age/gender immaterial): Dynasty’s Blossom, Magnificent Seven, Return Flight, Samurai Warrior, Walter Smoothie

Voting Criteria

The awards are based on graded races and in particular Grade 1 races. As regards the stayer category, the winning horse will be at the discretion of the voting panel. This decision was taken as the only Grade 1 race in SA is the SA Derby, which would mean that this should be the obvious winner based on a single run. This would also have excluded fillies and mares.

Breeder Awards:

Stallion of the Year
Broodmare of the Year
Breeder of the Year

The Thoroughbred Breeders Association may include outstanding and/or international achievement awards.

Individual Awards:

Champion Apprentice
Champion Jockey
Champion Owner (based on stakes earned)
Champion Trainer (based on stakes earned)

Horse of the Year Award

The awards are a glittering black-tie gala event that takes place at the Convention Centre at Emperor’s Palace on Tuesday, 13 August. Clyde Basel will be the master of ceremonies for the evening and guests will be treated to an array of entertainment. There will also be an after party at the same venue.

A limited number of seats are available, the cost is R650 per person, should you wish to book, please contact Penny Morsner on (011) 683-3220.

Rainbow Bridge will have a different early campaign this season as Eric Sands gears the Sun Met and WSB Champions Cup winner towards achieving owner Mike Rattray’ lifetime ambition of winning the Vodacom Durban July.

Sands said: “Last season he wasn’t guaranteed to get a run in some of the big races so I had to put him in things like the Matchem and the Cape Mile. This time I would like to go 1 200, 1 600m and 2 000m although there is no obvious 1 200m race for him – he would have a very big weight in the Cape Merchants.”

Rainbow Bridge’s performance in beating Soqrat just under half a length in the Champions Cup was apparently better than it looked as Sands reported: “Richard Fourie’s saddle slipped over the side of the horse’s withers and as a result he couldn’t ride him out properly.”

Now Rainbow Bridge is back with Julia Pilbeam enjoying a working holiday on the Soetendal Estate near Wellington. “He enjoys three meals a day, trots in the mornings and spends the rest of each day in a paddock where he gallops around giving himself a fair workout. He will be there for at least a month.”

“What am I going to do with him? Maybe the handicappers can help,” was Justin Snaith’s reply when asked when General Franco is going to run.

This is the Frankel colt who looked a potential superstar when winning on debut in mid-April only to finish plumb last when odds-on for his only subsequent start the following month; slightly sore shins was the only plausible reason to emerge.

The root of Snaith’s present quandary is that the handicappers have given the colt a rating of 102 (97 under the old system plus the August 1 all-round five point increase), a mark which he considers far too high.

“Just have a look at what he beat (only two of the ten that finished behind him have won since) – they have handicapped him on reputation and on what appeared in the papers. I can’t run him in a handicap off that mark – it would break his spirit.”

By Michael Clower

It is not an easy time of year for punters but there do look to be some opportunities at the Vaal tomorrow.

In the second race over 1600m Greenwood Drive is an effective front-runner who was swamped last time over 1450m in a big field but he should be able to dictate the pace here over a step up in trip he will appreciate in a field of just five runners. He has a big weight to carry but Muzi Yeni knows him well and he has come down one point in the merit ratings. Manitoba finished second in a useful field last week and could be the chief threat.

It usually pays to follow in form trainers in the month of August and Starting Line may provide another winner for Paul Matchett in the third over 1400m. Matchett has already had two winners this season, which is not even a week old, and Starting Line ran on well last time over 1450m after having to come from some way off the pace due to a high draw. He looks to have scope for improvement and should be closer to the pace down the straight. Theatre Of Dreams moved up well from last place over 1200m on debut before her run petered out, but her tongue was found to be over the bit and she now wears a tongue tie. She will appreciate the step up in trip too. Princess Penelope has proved disappointing being a R1,4 million filly by Silvano out of the multiple Grade 1 winner Princess Victoria but she should earn here and Little Sparrow and Princess Nicole have to be respected too.

In the fourth race over 1400m Pink bumped a good one last time but off only a one point higher mark she has a fine chance here as she has always struck as being a touch better than her current lowly rating of 63. Sammi Moosa had a wide draw last week when disappointing over 1450m around the turn but in her last three runs over this straight course and distance she has finished a close second every time, so should be right there. Seattle Tango beat Sammi Moosa by half-a-length on one of those occasions and is only half-a-kilogram worse off so should be right there too. 

In the fifth race over 1800m Seventh Of June from the in form Paul Peter yard just failed last time from the front over this trip and off only a one point higher mark he can go close again. He does have another tricky draw to overcome but Warren Kennedy now climbs aboard which will give his chances a big boost. Powered Beauty will be a big threat despite going four points up in the merit ratings for his win last time over 1600m because he will appreciate the step up in trip. Corrido goes for a hattrick for the Peter yard and the trip is suitable but he has to overcome a five point raise and Kennedy has jumped ship. Master And Man is always thereabouts and jumps from a plum draw over a suitable trip. Kurt’s Approval’s last win was over this trip and he is better drawn this time so he can be involved despite being four points higher in the merit ratings.

In the sixth race over 1200m What A Red disappointed last time having made an impressive debut on the Highveld but it was not a bad run. She was perhaps a touch handy that day in a race run at a blistering pace so with the blinkers now off she can bounce back as she is likely still ahead of the handicapper. Fictitious should go close with the accomplished 1,5kg claimer Jason Gates aboard as she is off a competitive mark over a suitable course and distance. I Ain’t Trippin is in good form and should be considered and Hear The Trumpet and Only To Win could also earn. 

In the seventh race, an apprentice handicap over 1000m, Lithuanian’s Dream was bounced out last time over this trip under this same 4kg claimer and waltzed in start to finish by 4,50 lengths. He has the same number one draw and a maximum eight point raise might not be enough to stop him if the same tactics are employed. Snow In Seattle sneaks into the handicap with the minimum weight and has won over this course and distance before. He has accomplished apprentice Ashton Arries aboard. Battle Creek will be thereabouts if maintaining his recent form and Tripod and Alex The Great also warrant consideration.

In the eighth race over 2000m the in form Alec Laird yard could have a winner with Circle Of Latitude. The last time she went over this trip she stayed on and just failed. After one more run she had a year’s layoff. She has recently had two comeback runs over 1400m and now steps back up to her right trip. She also gets blinkers on. The courageous Rabia The Rebel can be relied on to try her hardest over this suitable trip and she has a fair draw. Pilgrim’s Progress beat Rabia The Rebel by 2,25 lengths last time over this trip but is now 2,5kg worse off and has a tough draw.

The last race over 2000m is tricky. African Sunbird is well drawn and is distance suited so is the selection but all of Emerald Bay, Itsmydarlin, Always Red, Jacko Boy and Angelic Appeal warrant consideration for the Pick 6. 

By David Thiselton

Calypso Beat went into the notebooks at Kenilworth on Saturday even though it was his jockey who stole the show, amazing his audience with one trick after another like a conjurer at a children’s party.

It was straightforward enough for Greg Cheyne on the R1 million Querari in the 1 000m maiden fillies. The 57-20 favourite took an early lead and proved far more superior to the opposition than the eventual two-length verdict would suggest.

“I got out smartly and at the 600m she found her feet, pricked her ears and took the bit without me asking – always a good sign,” Cheyne reported.

Brett Crawford, who has handled more stars than a pop singer’s agent, was impressed, saying: “I think she has a future and she is going to be much better when the ground is on top.”

Cheyne teamed up with Crawford again five races later to take the Interbet.co.za Handicap on Ikebana for the Gujadhur Mauritian training family. But this was genius stuff.  Well inside the final furlong, with Grant van Niekerk on It Is What It Is two lengths clear and showing no sign of stopping, Cheyne switched the 3-1 favourite out of the narrowing gap between the leader and the rails and challenged on the other side. Amazingly, his mount ate up a seemingly impossible amount of ground and swept past to win a shade comfortably.

“Grant got first run on me and then he closed the gap,” Cheyne related. “People might say I was a bit cheeky at the end but I could feel the momentum – Grant’s filly had come to the end of her run while I was going away.”

The Cheyne fan club also attracted a whole host of new members in the previous race, the 2 000m Tellytrack.com Handicap, when he lulled the opposition into a false sense of security by setting a modest pace on the Andre Nel-trained Crome Yellow but, when they tried to come at him in the straight, he kept unleashing the reserves he had kept up his sleeve.

“The race was given to me,” he said, modestly playing down his masterclass. “My horse came out of the gate with his head in his chest and the others left me alone.”

Van Niekerk had to wait until Sleeping Single in race five to get off the mark – “The way the first few races went I thought ‘Oh God, I’m an embarrassment to Hong Kong.’” Not for long though as he also won the last for former boss Candice Bass-Robinson on Machiavelli in the Marsh Shirtliff colours.

However the Hong Kong man took only three rides to renew his acquaintanceship with the boardroom, being fined R1 000 for using his whip more than the permitted dozen on runner-up Yosma. The fine means little more to a man of his earning capacity than a car park tip does to the rest of us and surely the time has come for the NHA to substitute suspensions if it really does mean business about over-use of the whip.

Jockeys earn R4 500 for winning the most minor Cape Town race and, if they believe exceeding the limit will turn defeat into victory, they are effectively staking a grand at 9-2 on what they think is a certainty. All they lose is their stake.

Justin Snaith, trainer of Sleeping Single, sprang a 10-1 surprise in the first with Bravura’s three-parts brother Sachdev but the one that got away was 13-20 hotpot Winter is Over, only fifth to Craig Zackey and Geoff Woodruff’s Brother Louis in the mile maiden. “I am going to go back to the drawing board with him and try to find out what went wrong,” said the mystified trainer.

Joey Ramsden, still buoyed by Dynasty’s Blossom’s eLan Gold Cup and last season’s successful campaign (“with only 40-plus horses it was pretty special”), got off the mark for this term with the Ossie Noach-ridden Celtic Voyager.

By Michael Clower

Jockeys are supremely fit athletes and anyone who doubts the skills required in getting the best out of a racehorse would do well to watch replays of the two ‘non-professional’ races run at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.

Aron Xabendlini is a seasoned work rider and is vastly more experience than his fellow participants in the KZN work rider’s series. That experience held him in good stead as he wrapped up all three legs in a tight finish on Dennis Drier’s charge Liquidity. But he was a tad lucky as the inexperience and lack of racing fitness took its toll on Tristan Mustard who went down by the narrowest of margins on Kom Naidoo’s runner Juniper Lane.

As the line loomed, Xabendlini kept the favourite together while Mustard tried to get there before his mount, losing rhythm as his condition gave out and becoming unbalanced. It was valuable experience for the grandson of ex-jockey Leslie Mustard, successful on the Dessie Rich-trained Lightning Shot in the 1977 July.

It was a no-sticks-allowed contest as was the Qatar National Stud Apprentice Cup. The SA Jockey Academy is currently hosting a number of Qatari apprentices who have been riding out in the mornings although many trainers have been reluctant to use their services, mainly due to a language barrier.

But they have been well schooled in other areas at the academy and the Apprentice Cup was the culmination of their South African venture.

Favourite Celebration Rock was possibly an unlucky loser but his rider Salah Salem made a full tour of the Scottsville straight, his piece de resistance left for last as he cannoned into eventual winner Harmonica. Riding to instructions from Duncan Howells, Abdulla Rashid kept his head down and pushed all the way to the line to record an indelible memory, his first race ride being a winner.

It was something of a rat-race behind these two with no quarter asked and there were a few heated exchanges amongst colleagues back in the weighing room and a stern talking to by the stipendiary stewards.

By Andrew Harrison