Sunday’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale proved a solid success, with prices remaining competitive throughout the one day auction.

Five lots made R500 000 plus on Sunday, with the superbly bred Trippi colt Hurricane Harry (Lot 85) making the top price, when knocked down to prominent owner Nick Jonnsson. Consigned by Summerhill Sales (Agent), Hurricane Harry made a very healthy R2 300 000, which was a most encouraging result for all concerned –especially given the tenuous start of the current market.

Lot 85 Hurricane Harry (Candiese Marnewick)

Sunday’s sales’ topper was produced by the winning Fard mare Jordie, with Hurricane Harry’s three winning siblings include new Summerhill Stud stallion Rabada, whose victories include the 2015 Premiers Champion Stakes and 2016 Daily News 2000. Jordie is also dam of the very useful Glider Pilot and River Tyne, a stakes placed winner of four who ran third in the Listed Lady’s Slipper Stakes.

Star filly Takingthepeace’s Duke Of Marmalade half-brother, The Sandwich Man (Lot 91), was sold to Fortune Racing for a R1 000 000, with the Captain Al colt Captain Carmel (Lot 101) also making a million when knocked down to the bid of Form Bloodstock’s Jehan Malherbe.

Top priced filly was the beautifully bred Dynasty daughter Tel Aviv (Lot 21), who was consigned by Patterson Racing (Agent). That filly, who made R550 000, is from the same family as international G1 winning half-brothers Ectot and Most Improved, and she was snapped up by Form Bloodstock.

The now Lammerskraal Stud based Visionaire was the Leading Sire by Aggregate, with the G1 winning son of Grand Slam responsible for 30 lots who grossed R4.15 million.
Summerhill Sales, once again, lead the Vendors List, selling 59 juveniles for a gross total of R11.23 million, while Nick Jonsson topped the Leading Buyers List, acquiring four lots for R3.1 million.

Overall, 89 of the 104 lots to come forward (seven were withdrawn) were sold for an aggregate of R16 715 000, with the Ready To Run Sale achieving the respectable average of R187 809. Pleasingly just 15 lots failed to find a home, with the clearance rate standing up to similar results achieved at BSA sales this year.

Bloodstock South Africa’s Gary Grant said off the sale, “It was a resounding success whose performance exceeded our expectations by some way. Thank you yet again to our vendors for their support of BSA and to all buyers for the resilience and custom. We are also seeing a trend of increased participation from foreign buyers which is heartwarming for both our vendors and BSA.”

A full list of prices for the 2018 Ready To Run Sale can be viewed live at www.bsa.co.za

Images: Sales topper Lot 85 Hurricane Harry

Dan Katz has issued a heart-felt plea to the authorities to change the terms of some of the staying races in the Cape summer season.

He said: “There are three races in Cape Town for stayers leading up to the big one, the Western Cape Stayers on Met day, yet all three – Woolavington, Cape Summer Stayers and Chairman’s Cup – are handicaps.

“The best horses should be running in these features and the public want to see them but you can’t continually pitch your good horses into them with huge weights, and nor should they be weighted out like this.

“The handicapper has given Let It Rain 64.5kg in the Woolavington on Sunday but I have to run the horse because I need to get races into him and, in any case, the next staying race is also handicap. They should seriously think about adjusting the conditions along the lines of a Pinnacle and then the best horses might not have to give away quite so much.”

Katz had his biggest success so far when Let It Rain won the Grade 2 Heineken Cape Stayers in January. Since then the six-year-old has travelled the country. He went to Ashley Fortune to win the second of his three races in Johannesburg before going to Durban for the Gold Vase and the Gold Cup. He returned to Katz at the beginning of August.

Greg Cheyne rides this time but no horse has won the race with more than 62kg this century. Dean Kannemeyer has the best record and relies upon Meryl (Keagan de Melo) as he bids for his eighth Woolavington.

By Michael Clower

Mushi Sterek went straight onto the Fillies Guineas shortlist of many Kenilworth punters when she burst onto the racing scene like a certain future star in Saturday’s Royal Horse Maiden. But seemingly we are all going to have wait a good 12 months before the Australian-bred gets the chance to unleash her real potential.

Brett Crawford

Brett Crawford explained: “She has a very soft mouth, it is difficult to restrain her and putting her round the turn is going to be difficult. It has taken a lot of time to get this far. Obviously she has a lot of scope but we need to plan carefully and go slowly with her. At this stage we have to look after her rather than chase the better races. I think we will get her there eventually but it will be next season rather than this one.”

Anton Marcus rode her with kid gloves. For much of the 1 200m he sat with his hands resting on the filly’s withers, and with the lightest possible hold on her mouth, as she cruised along in the lead. Approaching the furlong marker he asked her to stretch and it was if he had pressed the turbocharger. She produced the sort of acceleration that most jockeys (and trainers) usually only see in their dreams. Even the official five-length margin considerably understates her superiority.

Marcus said: “I have probably never in my life ridden a horse with such a sensitive mouth but I’d been on her back twice before so I knew she had some kind of ability. She is not the easiest to work with but she is really exciting.”

The winner looks well bought by the Kieswetters’ Ridgemont operation at A$180,000 (R1.85 million at current exchange rates) at last year’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale but also make a note of Vardy who made a winning debut under Aldo Domeyer 40 minutes later. The Var gelding started at a little-considered 11-1 but he was impressive.

“He had shown us a lot of ability at home –whatever I worked him with he simply cruised next to them. But he was all legs and what he showed here was just raw ability,” said Adam Marcus who, typically, intends taking it slowly via the easiest possible route.

Remarkably, and unusually, the third maiden was also won by a first-timer, the Fosters’ homebred Belgarion and the Snaith team followed up with Captainofthesea in the last.

Mike Robinson celebrated his 47^th birthday by winning with his only runner- the Donovan Dillon-ridden Hemero – while the connections of Mr Lover Boy saw their seemingly endless patience rewarded when Shadley Fortune got up 30m out in the Drillco Handicap. It was only the six-year-old’s second win in 51 starts. Little wonder that he started almost unbacked at 28-1.

By Michael Clower

Rainbow Bridge will bid to extend his unbeaten record to five in the R150 000 Cape Mile at Kenilworth on Sunday. Eric Sands confirmed the gelding a runner at the weekend and said that Bernard Fayd’Herbe, who won the Matchem on the four-year-old last month, will again have the ride.

Rainbow Bridge (Liesl King)

Victory for the Met and Queen’s Plate hope would be an appropriate tribute to owner Chris Gerber whose death from malaria, contracted on a fishing trip to Tanzania, is such a loss to South Africa’s breeding and racing industries.

Richard Fourie, who rode Rainbow Bridge in his first three wins – including the Winter Guineas and the Winter Classic, resumes his partnership with the Glen Kotzen-trained Eyes Wide Open on whom he won last season’s Cape Derby.

Justin Snaith has booked Lyle Hewitson for Silver Maple and has also declared Copper Force who was ridden by the champion when a surprise second in the Queen’s Plate. Rocket Countdown, second in the Winter Guineas and Classic, runs for Candice Bass-Robinson who has also entered Horizon. However both Brave Move and the unbeaten Hashtagyolo will wait for easier pickings in the mile fillies Pinnacle on Thursday week.

Magical Wonderland has been installed 3-1 favourite for the Laisserfaire Stakes on the same card and Mrs Bass-Robinson has confirmed her a runner “even though they disgracefully gave her 64.5kg (a hefty 10st 2lb in old money).”

World Sports Betting has Too Phat To Fly (11-2) and Elusive Heart (7-1) next in the market. Both are trained by Kotzen who will also run 20-1 shot Ostinato and 50-1 chance Princess Vicky.

Snaith will also run four with Fourie on Casual Diamond (7-1), Hewitson on Township Melody (22-1), Robert Khathi riding 12-1 chance Angel’s Trumpet and Athandiwe Mgudlwa on 35-1 long shot The Boston Rose.

Wayne Kieswetter reports that last year’s Sun Met winner Whisky Baron has gone to his farm in Ireland for a break and that his Group 1 Pretty Polly winner Urban Fox has been retired. She visits Dubawi next year.

By Michael Clower

The scratching of the filly Mighty High (coughing) from the KZN Guineas Trial robbed the race of some of it’s gloss but that will not have bothered Gavin van Zyl as Stream Ahead took full advantage under Craig Zackey.

If the betting tells a story, the grey was not the stable elect, as the recently acquired Affranchi was sent out favourite. But there was a no-show from Affranchi as Stream Ahead took the shortest way home to collar Thanksgiving with White Lightning running a cracker in third.

An outside draw over the Greyville 1600m is tantamount to a death sentence unless one has luck in running but Mark Khan was hung out to dry on Thanksgiving with nothing giving way on his inside.

Stream Ahead (Anneke Akal Kitching)

Khan was eventually forced to go for broke, racing around his field and looking to pinch a winning lead in the straight. But there was no turkey to carve.

Zackey had the run of the race on Stream Ahead who slipped up on the inside rail and ran Thanksgiving down to win by a neck, the balance of the field well beaten.

Monte Christo has always been a classy individual but one plagued with problems. But Peter Muscutt, KZN assistant to Brett Crawford appears to have him sussed. Monte Christo jumps from barrier trial to barrier trial to a race, all to good effect.

He started favourite for the Pinnacle Stakes and Anton Marcus gave him a peach of a ride.

The filly On That Boulevard set quick early fractions but folded like a wet tea towel in the straight as Monte Christo closed in like an attacking shark.

It was only when Twice As Smart loomed up dangerous on his outside that Marcus asked the question and Monte Christo gave him the right answer as Twice As Smart was not able to make up the leeway.

With the Western Cape season starting to boil, Dean Kannemeyer will be focussing on home territory but his KZN operation is also starting to warm up. Banjo On My Knee didn’t give any obvious signs that 2400m would be his ideal trip but Keagan de Melo had no qualms as he sent his mount around the field for home climbing the hill and was never in danger of being caught by the luckless Belfry who had to settle for second once again. There were some quiet tears shed in the winner’s box as Banjo On My Knee was owned by Chris Gerber who died tragically earlier in the week.

Duncan Howells has had a frustrating season so far with a string of second placings but there was some salve to the wound as Buffalo Soldier finally got his act together to run out a fluent winner of the last.

By Andrew Harrison