Andrew Harrison

IF Warren Kennedy has any say, She’s A Keeper will be his mount in the Vodacom Durban July come July 3. Beaten only once in her career, the Gareth van Zyl-trained filly turned it on in style to win the Gr2 WSB 1900 at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday.

Ironically, it was the race that got Belgarion into the July last year and his defection yesterday when favourably weighted cleared the way for She’s A Keeper.

Whether Belgarion would have won or not is a moot point but the fact that two rank outsiders, Matterhorn and Shavout, chased her home will be food for thought. But they were also at the bottom of the weights and no slouches in their own right.

Lightly raced Matterhorn will also surely have done enough to garner an invite into the VDJ starting line-up.

Justin Snaith was all doom and gloom about his stable’s chances in this year’s VDJ given the handicapping even though Do It Again could not have had a better prep race in his build-up to the big race. Given the conditions of the Pinnacle Stakes, Do It Again seemed assured of a comfortable victory but Sir Michael gave him an unexpectedly tough race that should have done a lot to blow away any cobwebs.

It was a courageous effort from the dual July winner who had not found the winner’s enclosure for nearly two years, but also a powerful ride from Richard Fourie who got his mount’s head down when is counted.

Sir Michael was possibly a touch unlucky as he was caught in traffic at the top of the straight and Do It Again was given a chance to wind up, but he did go past Do It Again and looked a winner 100m out.

But the champion dug deep and it was a win full of merit.

A quirky filly, Keep On Dancing has not been the easiest but Wendy Whitehead has done marvels to get her to settle down and her patience paid off with a black type victory in the KRA East Coast Cup (Listed). Warren Kennedy produced her with a perfectly time run. As he intimated post-race, she has a tremendous turn of foot but it has to be timed as she tends to ‘empty out’ if sent for home too soon.

Mark Dixon’s yard has been going through a lean spell with viruses and dodgy blood pictures so it will have been with relief that Prince Tyrion broke the ice with an end-to-end win in the second. Athandiwe Mgudlwa had his mount out quickly and with the stiff tailwind helping him home, Prince Tyrion kept on all the way to the line.

It’s been something of a slow start for apprentice Kaidan Brewer and he had only one winner behind his name before he rode a cracking race aboard Burning Wings for Glen Kotzen. Sitting in off the pace, he got Burning Wings to quicken through a gap to win in fine style.

David Thiselton

Record-seeking trainer Justin Snaith scratched L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate winner Jet Dark from the Vodacom Durban July yesterday and other significant scratchings were the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year Summer Pudding and the promising Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Puerto Manzano. 

Meanwhile, Snaith said he would be doing everything he could to preserve Do It Again’s current merit rating in the build up to the Vodacom Durban July, so the six-year-old is thus avoiding the World Sports Betting 1900 at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday, the race where reigning July champion Belgarion will be making his first SA Champions Season appearance.

Snaith said last week Jet Dark’s 130 merit rating was the  chief off-putting factor for the July and he duly decided over the weekend to scratch.

Jet Dark is the highest rated three-year-old in the country at present and as things stand would have had to carry 56kg in the July and give the like of Linebacker (124) and Kommetdieding (120) 3kg apiece.

Snaith said it would not be in the horse’s interests to carry that high a weight in the tough Grade 1 handicap but did not hide his opinion of the Trippi colt by saying, “He is too good to run in the July.”

Snaith believes the 2021/2022 Cape Summer Season is going to be one of the best ever as he predicts the Covid-19 vaccine roll outs worldwide will enable travel once again. He thus plans to race all of his main contenders for that season not more than twice in the SA Champions Season.” 

Jet Dark put up an outstanding recent racecourse gallop at Hollywoodbets Greyville which put him on track for his chief SA Champions Season mission, the Grade 1 weight for age Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge on June 12.

Snaith believes Do It Again, who will make a second attempt to become the first horse to win the July three times, will likely run this Saturday. However, it will be in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1600m where he will be the best weighted runner and will thus be unlikely to incur any merit rating raise even if he wins. 

Snaith told Racing News Social TV over the weekend he had not been bullish last year when Do It Again had to carry 59.5kg and give the like of Belgarion and Got The Greenlight 6.5kg apiece. However, he said he was “quietly bullish” at present with him carrying 57.5kg as things stand. He described Do It Again as the “purest athlete” among the country’s thoroughbreds, one who “glides” down to the start and added that if he brought his best form then “Rainbow Bridge and everybody else is in trouble.” 

He continued, “We just have to get him 100% right inside, which I think we have done.”

Snaith said the six-year-old had had niggles but added the “beautiful grass paddocks” he had built around his Summerveld yard, where he was able to relax and graze, were “very important for his ulcers.”

Snaith concluded, “He is doing really, really well, I think he is a massive runner.”

Belgarion is also in fine shape at present but Snaith said he would only be at about 80%  for the WSB 1900. He said it would be a springboard into the July. He said a lot of his horses were still behind “the 8-ball” but that was exactly where he wanted them to be.

He concluded, “You see a lot of horses walking around at the moment like superstars but our aim is to have them looking like superstars on the day of the July.”

Andrew Harrison

THERE was a few dashed dreams and many reasons for hope after yesterday’s Hollywoodbets Scottsville meeting. Perceived or just a flock of sheep, the jockeys plundered the going up the inside rail down the straight course to such an extent that the ‘keep straight for a furlong rule’ was just on paper.

There were plenty of excuses across the board as riders hunted the inside rail and a close watch on race-replays may well prove profitable come Golden Horse Sprint day.

Sean Tarry and Dean Kannemeyer were bemoaning their misfortune in the Listed In Full Flight Handicap as Mombela and Seventh Gear found themselves caught in traffic but there was not taking away from course specialist Ishnana, responsible for the first boil-over over the afternoon, an 18-1 chance and paying R27 on the tote.

Garth Puller was lavish in his praise of rider Ant Mgudlwa. “He was ridden properly, the way he likes it. He needs a horse in front of him and that’s what he got,” said Puller as Ishnana powered home out of the pack with Good Rhythm, managing to out-strip a few from his inside draw, getting up for second.

Owner and breeder Robert Smith has been a long-time breeder and supporter and this win would have been just rewards for him and co-owner Thabo Mhlongo.

Tarry and Lyle Hewitson had taken their medicine with Mombela and although only eight horses lined up for the Gr3 Strelitzia Stakes, Hewitson refrained from tracking to the inside rail and Sound Of Warning gave notice that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship.

Hewitson hunted the speed and produce Sound Of Warning with a perfectly timed run as she sped clear of her rivals with Corne Spies’s filly Captain’s Run a well beaten second.

Favourite High Hosanna ran her race a long way out and it was debutant Sky Glitter who caught the eye as she came from a seemingly hopeless position to fill fourth.

Cosmic Highway was a popular choice in the Gr3 Godolphin Barb Stakes but he too was a victim of the inside rail although nothing can be taken away from the winner Good Traveller. His form had been franked early in the day as Party Time, a short head behind Good Traveller in the maidens, had roared home to a comfortable maiden win.

Gelded after his last run, a ‘handful’ according to Glen Kotzen, Good Traveller, who was ridden from off the pace, now looks primed for the Gr1 Gold Medallion. Grant van Niekerk, who admitted to an up-and-down day negotiating the traffic, confirmed that his mount was still aggressive but with a bit of schooling would be a contender for more black-type honours. Good Traveller races in the colours of Howard Schwegmann, who raced many a horse with his late father Bernie.

Cosmic Highway may well be looking for further at this stage of his career but Keagan de Melo had to wait patiently for a rails run to open and the colt should benefit from the outing if nothing else.

Van Niekerk was again on the receiving end of traffic as he was unable to negotiate the well-fancied Favorita through the roadblocks in the Gr3 Poinsettia Stakes.

Stuck in behind runners as the field again concertinaed up towards the inside rail, he only managed a split late – too late to catch Vihaan’s Pie as Warren Kennedy took full toll of his rival’s misfortune.

It was an inspired decision by Ashburton-based Kom Naidoo to drop his charge back to a sprint. “We tried her over 1400m and a mile but as she looked to be going on to win, she ran out of steam.”

Vihaan’s Pie had run some promising races in good company, so this win, although a little unexpected, was not out of turn.

Andrew Harrison

COSMIC HIGHWAY has garnered something of a reputation early in his career after two impressive victories at Kenilworth.

Winning narrowly on debut, Dean Kannemeyer’s colt revelled in the step up in trip second time out and could take a power of beating when he lines up in the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.

The race is no doubt a warm-up for the Gr1 Gold Medallion for many in the field and Vaughan Marshall has made a cracking start to Champions Season. He saddles Safe Return, a son of the Marshall-trained William Longsword.

After making a smart debut, Safe Return made all the running in a facile maiden win. The opposition is a little stronger this time around but he does look progressive and Marshall will not have brought him up for a look at the scenery.

John Buckler runs a tight satellite yard for Glen Kotzen – they saddled a four-timer at Hollywoodbets Greyville last Wednesday – and they send out the unbeaten Good Traveller. Gelded since his last run, he has the benefit of a race over course and distance when shedding his maiden in fine style. He made all the running when holding on narrowly at his next Greyville start but the visit by the vet probably tells a story.

Corne Spies and Sean Tarry have both opted to take on males with Eastern Belle and Social Image respectively instead of the Gr3 Strelitzia Stakes, the filly’s equivalent. Eastern Belle is still a maiden but does have a light weight while Social Image is tremendously fast but ‘stopped’ last time out.

Mike Miller has some smart fillies in his yard and Civil Rights can build on her Scottsville form with victory in the Strelitzia Stakes, but it will not be easy with visitors rampant in the early Champion Season features.

Miss Putin didn’t do the form of Civil Rights any favours when finishing last at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday, but outside of that her form is promising.

Likely favourite is High Hosanna who started a short-priced favourite in a strong Juvenile feature on Cape Town Met day. She blew her chances with a tardy start but was making up ground in the finish. She should make good progress from that showing. Casa Inverno shed her maiden in good time on the tricky Durbanville course and if ready she can also make a bold showing.

Justin Snaith saddles Foverita in the Gr3 Poinsettia Stakes and his filly should be ideally suited to this course and distance. At her penultimate she ran star filly Celtic Sea to within two lengths in the Sceptre Stakes and on that showing she could be hard to beat. Stable companion Keep The Lights On was not disgraced behind Princess Calla last outing with the latter running a cracker in the WSB Fillies Guineas next time out. With that run under her girth Keep The Lights On can fight it out. Singforafa is never easy to catch right but when she’s good, she’s very good. She disappointed badly last run at this course when weighted to win but is capable of a top flight performance. Overlook her at your peril. Frank Robinson has gone carefully with Gr2 Golden Slipper winner Love Bomb in the lead up to the season and she needed her last run. She should prefer further but has a touch of class and can feature.

In Full Flight, involved in what was possibly the Cape Guineas race of the century when dead-heating with perennial rival Sentinel, was classy enough to win 1000m sprints but he also won the Durban July in 1972.

So, the In Full Flight Handicap (Listed) a 1100m dash, like the Scarlet Lady named after one of the top sprinting fillies ever but run over 1800m, is something of an anomaly. It may be a pedantic view but we sort of do those champions of the past a disservice.

Dennis Drier was a young man in 1972 and will have remembered In Full Flight well but will be looking to Tempting Fate to find the form that saw his colt win the Gr1 Gold Medallion last season. He has been disappointing since that win but a horse’s form often works in cycles and Tempting Fate is due to be coming to hand.

He was always prominent in the Gr 1 Cape Flying Championship before weakening late and does not face that quality on Sunday.

Drier took a calculated risk by running Princess Anastasia in a race where she was a long way under sufferance. She did not win but her runner-up place was punished with a 13-point hammering in the handicap. But she does appear to be progressive and can defy the handicappers. Of the others, Admire Me goes for her fourth win on the bounce which is not easy and she too took a knock in the handicap. Star Vega has been rested and may just need it but is smart and can feature prominently.

David Thiselton
ON Sunday at Hollywoodbets Greyville the Nathan Kotzen-trained Walton Hall’s victory in the ninth race did not cause much of a stir, being in a MR 78 Handicap and following hard on the heels of big race wins by Rainbow Bridge, Captain’s Ransom and Linebacker, but it was a significant moment for the Armstrong family, who have raced in KZN for three generations.
Former Gold Circle director Bruce Armstrong led in the Wylie Hall gelding with Muzi Yeni aboard and Yeni was wearing the same colours the legendary Lester Piggott wore 50 years ago when Bruce’s grandmother Vi led in a Syd Laird-trained colt called Hang Fire at Scottsville on 20 November 1971.
The colours, black, white stars, red sleeves and cap, were first registered by Bruce’s uncle Graeme Armstrong 58 years ago in May 1963.
Graeme’s close relatives became joint holders of the colours at various stages in ensuing years including Bruce’s father Robert and his grandparents Ross and Vi.   Graeme eventually relinquished the colours and they were in fact held for two months from December 2000 by PJ “Blackie” Swart.
However, Bruce’s eagle-eyed uncle, the well known owner and racing administrator Bill Lambert, spotted the colours with dismay in the parade ring one day and asked Blackie if he could bring them back into his family. Bruce seems to recall Bill presenting Blackie with a case of whisky after the kind relinquishment!
Bill’s son Iain then became the registered colour holder.
Bruce took over the colours in April 2004 and they have been seen in the winner’s enclosure many times since.
Walton Hall has an interesting pedigree which can be loosely tied to Hang Fire and to the history of the Armstrong family.
Walton Hall’s dam Magical Cove is closely related to the great Mike Azzie-trained sprinter National Currency, as she was by the same sire, National Assembly, and their respective dams were half-sisters.
Their respective grand-dam was the top Varsfontein Stud broodmare Enchanting, who was out of Lucky Libra, a mare bought by Varsfontein Stud founder Tony Kalmanson in the UK in the early 1970s.
Lucky Libra was remembered by Tony’s daughter Susan Rowett, who is the current Varsfontein owner, as being extremely tall and leggy and her three victories included a hurdles race over two-and-a-half miles.
Tony also liked the 3×4 in-breeding to Fair Trial (Fairway) that Lucky Libra brought as he believed Fair Trial made for a good cross with Varsfontein’s first stallion Mexico II.
Therefore, it is interesting to note that by coincidence Hang Fire was also in-bred 3×4 to Fair Trial.
Another interesting tie is that Walton Hall fended off Midnight Badger with Warren Kennedy aboard on Sunday and among the vanquished jockeys in Hang Fire’s win with Piggott up was Warren’s father Terrance.  
Piggott’s win on Hang Fire happened on possibly the greatest day in Scottsville history.
In the very next race, The Bull Brand International over 1600m, the great David Payne-trained In Full Flight, with Chilean-born jockey Fernando Toro aboard, put in one of his career best performances, destroying subsequent three-times Summer Cup winner Elevation, with Michael Roberts up, by 5,5 lengths in course record time. In Full Flight’s arch rival Sentinel, ridden by the father of Frankie Dettori, Gianfranco Dettori, was beaten eight lengths into third.
Piggot, who at the time, incidentally, was married to an Armstrong, Susan, although of no relation to the Durban Armstrongs, finished fifth on Jest.
In Full Flight, Elevation and Sentinel were all just young three-year-olds in that race and In Full Flight went on to win the Swazi Spa Holiday Inn Stakes at Kenilworth, the Cape Guineas, the Queen’s Plate, the Concord Stakes, the Newbury Stakes, the Durban July and the Woolavington Cup that same season over distances raging from 1000m to 2200m, truly one of the greatest thoroughbreds in SA history.
The Kalmanson connection to Walton Hall also ties in well with the story.  
Tony Kalmanson was living in KZN at the time of that famous 1971 meeting and might well have done business with the sugar farming Armstrongs being a member of a packaging-business family who provided bags for the sugar industry.
Tony’s older brother John went to Michaelhouse in the 1940s as did Bruce’s father Robert.
Walton Hall was bought by Andy Williams of World Wide Bloodstock at the BSA National Two-year-old Sale of 2018 for R30,000.
Williams was initially a partner in the horse with Bruce Armstrong and Thomy du Charmoy. The trio were members of a crowd who used to gather regularly at the Hollywoodbets Greyville-based Totalisator/Bookmaker facility popularly know as “Club Tab” and are all passionate about the Sport Of Kings. However, Kotzen has latterly taken over Williams’ and Du Charmoy’s shares.
Walton Hall has now had eleven runs for two wins and four places for earnings of R139,750.
Nathan Kotzen is known for bringing horses on slowly but surely and Walton Hall impressed on Sunday.
Yeni tucked the handsome bay in from a wide draw of eleven out of 12 and after turning for home nearer the back than the front he ran on through the centre of the field to win by 1.05 lengths. The handicappers have raised his merit rating five points to 70, but he looks capable of winning more races.
Kotzen said Walton Hall was over the one or two small hiccups he suffered after winning his maiden second time out and believes “there is more in the tank.”
It is a pity Walton Hall is not a filly as he is closely related to the Mike Azzie-trained Wylie Wench, who recently smashed the Vaal Classic track course record when winning the Grade 3 Acacia Handicap over 1600m, and that would have given her some value in the breeding shed.
However, for Bruce and family and friends racing has always been chiefly about fun as anybody who has attended Hollywoodbets Greyville box 19 will attest to.
It is fitting the picture of grandmother Vi and Lester Piggott hangs in that box and Walton Hall’s lead in 50 years on might soon join it.