South Africa are readying themselves to embrace a new equine hero in the Mike De Kock-trained  Hawwaam, who cantered to victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and now has his eyes on the Vodacom Durban July.

The Silvano colt arrived in Durban as a twice Grade 1 winner, of the SA Classic over 1800m and the Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m, both at Turffontein, but he still had something to prove in the Daily News as he was up against the toughest opposition he had faced to date in the form of Twist Of Fate.

The latter, merit rated four points lower than Hawwaam on 117, had the run of the race as he went to the front and led at a comfortable pace and then got a tow from Zillzaaal from the 1100m mark onward.

Meanwhile, Hawwaam had missed the break and his plan to lead was out the window. He followed Zillzaaal but when that one went to the front he was trapped one wide without cover. This did not phase him as he continued to relax and Anton Marcus then edged him forward to join Zillzaaal.

In the straight the top class Twist Of Fate’s chase was always in vain.

Out in front Marcus rode hands and heels. He said later this was in order to keep him straight and he might have been thinking of his mount in the previous race, Front And Centre, whose hanging antics might have cost her victory in the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000.

Hawwaam looked to have something in hand when crossing the line 1,60 lengths clear. There was a further 4,90 lengths back to the rank outsider Capoeira, an 81 merit rated horse who proved the decision to supplement him had been  worthwhile.

De Kock said if it was up to him Hawwaam would line up in the July, but the final decision will rest with owner Sheik Hamdan and his racing manager Angus Gold.

Hawwaam will carry 56kg in the July if his merit rating stays unchanged on 121. If he does get a raise the very most he can carry is 57kg, the maximum weight for a three-year-old male.
De Kock said Hawwaam had now proved himself against the best and pointed out his big heart, as it was the second time he had won without the race panning out in his favour. He said he was on his way to being rated alongside the like of Vercingetorix and Variety Club, whom he said were the last “proper” horses he had trained.

Anton Marcus said it had been a win full of merit and he believed in a couple of months’ time “the world could be this horse’s Oyster.”

.Marcus is contracted to ride Hawwaam’s half-brother Rainbow Bridge in the July. Gavin Lerena seems the likely replacement as he was aboard Hawwaam for his SA Classic win. However, it will depend on whether any Wilgerbosdrift Stud or Mauritzfontein Stud-owned horses are in the big race as Lerena is retained by them.

Hawwaam has shortened into 2,35/1 for the July with Track And Ball and Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge have now drifted out to 5/1 apiece.

Hawwaam was the second Grade 1 winner of the day to be by Silvano out of a Jet Master mare.

Earlier the Justin Snaith-trained Silvano’s Pride had led from start to finish to win the Woolavington 2000 under Richard Fourie. This horse has always led in his races or at least been handy due to her tendency to take a keen hold. However, Snaith said in the build up to this race he had been working on this problem and as it happened the strongly built filly settled well in front and dictated at a good gallop. She kicked well in the straight and it was going to take a good one to catch her. The 21/10 favourite Front And Centre made a storming run from second last but unfortunately hung all the way from the outside to the inside despite Marcus’s efforts. She was only 0,3 lengths shy at the line of the 16/1 chance winner so this antic might have cost her the race. The progressive Blossom ran on well for third ahead of Seville Orange and the twice Grade 1-winner Return Flight.

Silvano’s Pride did not attract a bid at the sales and has therefore been raced by breeder Anthony Peter.

Snaith said in the post race interview how disappointed he had been by Bunker Hunt’s scratching in the Daily News as he believed this one would also have caused an upset.

Earlier, the Grade 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup over 2400m saw the former Sean Tarry-trained Summer Cup winner Liege bouncing back to his best. He won comfortably under Raymond Danielson from Gimme One Night and Silver Rose. The step up in trip appears to have been the key to this horse.

By David Thiselton

Hawwaam’s price for the Vodacom Durban July has predictably been slashed following his convincing win in Saturday’s Daily News and Mike de Kock’s public confirmation that he wants to run his latest star.

Track And Ball, one of the first off the mark, cut the colt from 10-3 to 2.35-1 but by mid-morning yesterday he was as short as 16-10. Rainbow Bridge and Do It Again have been pushed out to 5.25-1 while Saturday’s runner-up Twist Of Fate has come down markedly, from 25-1 to 13-1.

De Kock, who will be bidding for his fifth July but his first for eight years, answered ante-post punters’ prayers by spelling out the exact scenario in his post-race interview with Deez Dayanand.

He said: “The July is our premier race – it’s the one everyone wants to win – and I have always maintained that I am very happy to run this horse in it. If it is up to me, he runs. But I must emphasise the fact that this decision will be made by Sheikh Hamdan and Angus Gold (his racing manager) – the Sheikh likes to be involved in this sort of thing – but they will be encouraged by me to run and, as soon as I get the agreement from them, the public will be told.”

De Kock made the point that Hawwaam’s year older half-brother Rainbow Bridge (who runs in Saturday’s Rising Sun Gold Challenge) is second favourite – “It would be fantastic to see Hawwaam with an older sibling in the same race. It would be a great spectacle and something which I would hope can happen.”

By Michael Clower

Brave Move is to race on despite finishing plumb last on her reappearance in the Interbet.co.za Pinnacle at Kenilworth on Saturday

The Ladies Mile and Final Fling winner went from hero to zero in the Cape season, showing about as much enthusiasm towards the end of it as a turkey for Christmas. Adam Marcus, though, reckoned he could rekindle the sort of spirit that had won the mare six off the reel: “I put her in a paddock and let her soften up – and I waited until she showed me she was happy before bringing her in again.”

The treatment seemed to work: she was alert, on her toes with ears pricked and taking a keen interest, as she walked out onto the course and it was only the punters who were sceptical, allowing her to drift from 10-15 to 16-10. They looked like being proved wrong when Diego de Gouveia pressed the button. She moved up like a winner but just as suddenly she emptied and dropped away.

Marcus was not surprised: “I brought her into this very fresh expecting it to be a 1 000m race but almost at the last minute they changed it to 1 400m and she had had no grass gallop. But she did look happy and her work has been good so we will carry on from here.”

The race was won by the Snaith-trained Libra ridden by Robert Khathi who picked up two whip fines  – more than 12 strokes – in successive races earlier in the afternoon.

Many racegoers were openly wondering how Anthony Andrews would get hotpot Constable across from the slower inside to the better going on the outer without giving away too much ground in the maiden juvenile. He seemed to manage it pretty seamlessly, and well after the initial 200m keep-straight section, but seemingly appearances were deceptive.

Andrews reported: “It wasn’t that easy but I didn’t want to get beaten on an odds-on favourite by staying on the inside when my instructions were to come up the outside.”

Jockeys tend to take a jaundiced view of instructions, certainly those of the verbose sort, and for the last two meetings a quote from Lester Piggott has adorned the weighing room wall. It says, beneath a picture of the great man: “A good jockey doesn’t need orders and a bad jockey couldn’t carry them out anyway. So it’s best not to give them any.”

Morne Winnaar gives them to himself, particularly now that he is doing so well. After completing a Glen Kotzen double on Pearl Tiara he said: “When you go out there you’ve got to have a plan and beforehand I said ‘when she comes out of the pens I am going to be close.’ You don’t want to be at the back with too much ground to make up.”

Backers of Var Express in the Betting World Maiden can count themselves unlucky. The 2-1 favourite cast a front shoe on the way to the start and then lost the replacement during the race. He managed only fifth behind M.J. Byleveld on the Geoff Woodruff-trained The Perfect Wave.

Liam Tarentaal had a good week, following up a winner for Vaughan Marshall at Durbanville on Tuesday with success for Justin Snaith on Fortune Flies here. The 21-year-old’s total now stands at 35.

Work riders’ races are not popular with punters – the form is unreliable – but they play a vital part in racing’s labour relations and, something the rest of us tend to forget, they are looked forward to for days beforehand by the participants. “This was a big day for me,” said Dean Kannemeyer staff member Bulelani Thwalani after making all on the Mike Stewart-trained Hollywood Belle, adding that it was his second winner and rattling off where he had finished in a string of other races.

By Michael Clower

Two questions were answers at Greyville yesterday. Hawwaam is the best three-year-old in the country over a middle distance and it is almost a given that he will take his place in next month’s Vodacom Durban July.

Given the hype around Mike de Kock’s colt, it would have been a mighty let-down had he not landed the odds in the Gr1 Daily News 2000. But he did it with the minimum of fuss as he comfortably held off recent G2 KRA Guineas winner Twist Of Fate with the balance in another race.

There were fears before the race that Hawwaam’s suspect temperament may get the better of him in the preliminaries but he behaved like a gentleman although De Kock was granted permission for the colt to do one lap of the paddock before heading to the start.

“He’s a pretty straight forward horse,” said De Kock, “but he is a real man and likes to dominate. He gives you time to put the saddle on, time to get the jockey on but if you leave it too long, he can be difficult. He is a strong-minded horse and there are temperament issues.”

General expectations were that stable companion Atyaab would set the pace but that never materialised as Twist Of Fate went to the front with Anton Marcus sitting off the pace, Hawwaam keen to get on with it.

“The pace was just ordinary,’’ confirmed Marcus. The pair took up the challenge at the top of the straight but Marcus did not have to resort to the stick. “I kept the stick off him and just kept him as balanced as possible.”

“You have got to be impressed. Races like this are never a gimme. Twist Of Fate was only rated 4lbs inferior so it was a win full of merit. A couple of months down the line the world will be his oyster.”

A relieved De Kock said the race was always going to be a test. “You have to beat the best and the second best three-year-old around (Twist Of Fate) was going to test him today.”

“Nothing went well and he still came through. The plan was to go to the front today.”

De Kock heaped praise on Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum and his racing manager Angus Gold. “Sheik Hamdan is a massive asset to South African racing. All owners are important but Sheik Hamdan as been a staunch supporter, just frustrated by the current export protocols.”

De Kock confirmed that he had always intended to run Hawwaam in the Vodacom Durban July. “I was always happy to run the horse in the July – if it’s up to me the horse runs. It’s the most important race in South Africa but I must stress that it is up to the owners whether he runs or not.”

Twist Of Fate put up a cracking performance in second but found one too good for him on the day.

The Gr1 Woolvington 2000 proved to be something of an upset result as 11-1 chance Silvano’s Pride went to the front and never looked like getting caught although there were a few hard luck stories behind Justin Snaith’s filly.

Marcus lost his compass aboard favourite Front And Centre drifting across the entire width of the track to the inside rail causing a few runners to ease but finishing a clear second. He now faces a stewards inquiry.

“We have been looking for the right race,” said Snaith. “In her races the others always seemed to quicken past her. But everything came together today and I’m very proud that my horses always run to the line.

Silvano’s Pride is not among the Snaith nominations for the Vodacom Durban July, Oh Susanna withdrawn on Friday, but there is still one further supplementary stage so Silvano’s Pride may well still feature in the final field. Second declarations for the Vodacom Durban July are on Monday and will be accompanied by the final VDJ log while the final supplementary stage is on Tuesday, June 18.

Snaith has been relatively quiet so far this Champions Season but sounded a warning yesterday saying that this was now the sharp end of Champions Season and he was about to get serious.

By Andrew Harrison

David Thiselton

Matthew de Kock said the question of Hawwaam running in the Vodacom Durban July would be clearer after his participation in Saturday’s Grade 1 Daily News 2000.

The classy Silvano colt is the ante-post 33/10 favourite for the July with Track And Ball and is 33/100 for the Daily News.

Matthew said there was no longer any reason to be concerned about Hawwaam over-racing, as he had done in both the Grade 3 Tony Ruffel Stakes over 1400m and in the Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas. The latter race was his only defeat, although he did still run on well albeit from too far back.

The fitting of a customised bit coupled with a decent pace helped him settle in the Grade 1 SA Classic over 1800m, which he won impressively.

Anton Marcus’s taking him up handy in the Champions Challenge also helped, although he was a little bit strong before finding the box seat. He was arguably even more impressive in that race.

Hawwaam will have the best of both worlds on Saturday as he not only has a good draw of two but stable companion Atyaab has been put in the race in “to ensure a good pace.”

Hawwaam’s chief weapon is his tremendous turn of foot and this should make him suited to the tight Greyville circuit, as most progeny of Silvano are.

The only question mark will be the strength of the Johannesburg form versus the strength of the Cape Town form. 

The Cape Town form is best represented by the Joey Ramsden-trained Twist Of Fate.

This Master Of My Fate colt cost just R20,000, but has proven himself top class.

He was defeated just 1,25 lengths by Hawwaam’s stablemate Soqrat in the Cape Guineas.

Mike de Kock clearly rates the three-times Grade 1-winning miler Soqrat highly but has never spoken about him in quite the same terms as he has Hawwaam.

Twist Of Fate did gain revenge on Soqrat in the Grade 2 KRA Guineas, by 2,40 lengths, but the latter was undone by a wide draw in that race.

However, the performance which Hawwaam’s connections have most to fear could well be Twist Of Fate’s demolition job in the Grade 3 Politician Stakes over 1800m at Kenilworth.

The unprepossessing colt over raced for most of the back straight that day after finding himself in front and then trapped one wide. Usually that would spell the end of a horse’s chances, especially one who is carrying 61kg and giving lumps of weight away to the entire field. Instead, he won going away by 2,25 lengths.

He must have some engine in him and is going to provide Hawwaam with a tough test.

There are some progressive sorts among the rest, such as Bunker Hunt, Charles and Thanksgiving.

It is a race for the purists to look forward to.

Matthew said Atyaab might not take his place in the July after playing his role here and might instead be given a staying race campaign. 

the yard run the new recruit Blossom in the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000. She was previously trained by the recently retired legend Ormond Ferraris.

Matthew said, “She has been doing well. She took some time to settle in but has turned the corner. She is a nice filly and moves well.”

He believed her habit of coming from well off the pace, as she had done in all three legs of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara, had more to with wide draws than running style. She has a another tricky draw of eight on Saturday.

Matthew was not sure how she would handle Greyville as the yard have not been working with her for long.

However, she is by Silvano, so should enjoy the track. 

Blossom’s mother Cherry On The Top failed as favourite in this race but she had been coming off her tiring Triple Tiara success and was not herself that day.

The yard run Noble Secret in the Grade 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup over 2400m, where he carries top weight of 60kg.

Matthew said, “His form over staying distances has been very good and he has won a couple of them with top weight.”

Asked on whether the tight Greyville track would pose any problems for the strapping galloper, he replied, “Not at all.”

The connections would give serious consideration to running him in the July if a win here qualifies him.

The yard’s only other runner on the day is Protea Paradise, who looks unlikely to get into the July. Matthew believes he will not stay much further than 2000m either. However, he said he would be competitive in Saturday’s eighth race, a MR 88 handicap over 1700m, despite being widely drawn and having to carry topweight. 

The horses will travel to Summerveld tomorrow (Friday).