Grant van Niekerk made a sensational start to his Hong Kong venture at Sha Tin yesterday, landing a first and last race double.

He won on his first ride, 73-20 chance Triumphant Jewel in the opening Harcourt Handicap. He was then unplaced on four rides before teaming up with the Tony Millard-trained World Record in the concluding Albert Handicap. The gelding drifted out to 162-10 just before the off and seemed to have no chance when sitting in last place for much of the way.

But Van Niekerk had other ideas. He got the horse running into the bit going into the final turn and, as he rounded it, he asked his mount to race in earnest. The gelding fairly ate up the ground to pip the favourite Rattani in the last half stride and win officially by a nose.

Hong Kong owners, and therefore trainers, are notoriously fickle with so much depending on whether the jockeys are considered lucky. After this performance Van Niekerk’s name will be top of the popularity charts. He and Callan Murray (who had to be content with a half-length second from five mounts) were well supported by Millard and fellow South African trainer David Ferraris.

At Durbanville on Saturday the unbeaten Rainbow Bridge and Pleasedtomeetyou will both miss the 1 250m Pinnacle.

Eric Sands was unable to get permission to gallop the Winter Guineas and Winter Classic winner at Kenilworth on Saturday so Rainbow Bridge won’t be ready – “He takes quite a lot of sharp work until he is fit.” The Milnerton trainer still has the Matchem on October 7 on the agenda but he wants the horse to first prove that he is ready enough and that he will handle the course.

Andre Nel, who also has La Favourari and Percival in the Pinnacle, said: “Pleasedtomeetyou will either wait for a handicap at Durbanville on September 11 or the Fairview Wine Sophomore Sprint there four days later.

“Everything about him says that he will get further but Querari’s offspring have caught me out before and so I will run him over 1 200 or 1 250m next and see how he goes.”

Nel lost his appeal against the impressive debut winner’s 92 merit rating and both the adjudicators and the handicappers will be patting themselves on the back after the way Trip To The Sky, beaten over seven lengths into third, emphatically franked the form at Kenilworth on Saturday.

No specific plans have yet been made for Whisky Baron after his encouraging  return at Goodwood nine days ago but Ridgemont racing manager Craig Carey expects last year’s Met winner to run quite soon because autumn is approaching in England and Whisky Baron doesn’t act in the soft.

Piet Botha, who had his first runner as a trainer on Saturday – the pace-setting Head Of The Pack who was sixth to Trip To The Sky- broke his right ankle in a fall when riding work and arrived at Kenilworth on crutches.

By Michael Clower

Jack Mitchell and Nick Jonsson, who combined with Bernard Kantor to win the July with Do It Again, may have struck gold a second time.

Certainly their decision to buy Crown Towers out of a Markus Jooste dispersal at Durbanville looks a good one. The Australian-bred had some of those closest to him reaching for predictions -Richard Fourie: “He is going to the top” and Jonathan Snaith: “He will be a serious horse” – after the powerful way he drew clear of his rivals on debut at Kenilworth on Saturday.

The colt is bred in the purple, being by triple classic winner Camelot out of a Galileo mare who won five races, and he cost Jooste A$280 000 (then almost R2.8 million) at the 2017 Melbourne Premier. The present owners paid R1.7 million for the colt at the Central Route Trading sale in July.

Justin Snaith said: “The owners saw him at the sale and said they had to have him. We haven’t done a lot with him since so this was quite impressive.”

Snaith’s decision to adopt a far more patient approach with his two-year-olds last season, and so avoid the high ratings that so many juvenile winners prove unable to live up to, is making his three-year-old maidens a formidable proposition and Trip To The Sky’s rivals in the St Dalfour were simply unable to live with him in the final furlong despite some concern from the man on top.   “He was gasping for air the last bit but I did go a bit soon on him,” said Fourie.

The champion trainer and his jockey won four of the first five races and the Settlers Trophy at Durbanville on September 23 is next on the agenda for Magnificent Seven who made it four wins from his last five starts when comfortably leading throughout the Pravda Vodka Open Handicap.

But Nordic Breeze’s strong run to lead over 100m out in the Protea Toyota Bellville Conditions Plate was her swansong as she is to be retired to stud. Her first mate is, according to Oliver Foulkes, to be decided over several glasses of red wine “and the stallion we can remember the next morning is the one she goes to!” An early, and considerably more sober, assessment apparently makes Twice Over favourite.

The Snaith fancy that got away was Without Limits in the Carl Greaves Brokers Work Riders Maiden. Star stable rider Levis Kuse proved unable to weigh out at or near the required weight and the stipes suspended him for one race as a result. The change of rider came too late to be included on the yellow Card Changes Report and many of those who backed the filly from 13-10 to odds-on were unaware of the switch until after they had seen the hotpot drop away in the final furlong.

Lungisani Geledu, who has been with Vaughan Marshall for more than seven years, made all on 11-1 shot Double Rosie and the stable doubled up with the MJ Byleveld-ridden Potawatomi in the last.

Joey Ramsden’s vaccination nightmare is apparently almost over. Although Made In Hollywood had to be withdrawn after yet another dirty trach wash, Fours A Crowd got up in a blanket finish under Fransie Herholdt to spring an 18-1 surprise in the Infiniti Insurance Handicap. “We have gone very easy with the horses in the last two weeks but they are coming right and we are almost there,” said assistant Ricardo Sobotker.

By Michael Clower

After 30 successful years of training Ivan Moore has decided to retire and take up a more passive role in his recently licensed grandson’s yard. Young Darryl Moore struck up a partnership with his grandfather but has now taken the plunge and gone on his own. Darryl is extremely grateful to his grandfather for all the support and guidance he has given him over the years.

Moore said that this had enabled him to step up and take the yard to the next level. Ivan will still be active in the yard and Darryl will be able to call on his expertise at any time. “I do believe that I have youth, experience and a huge amount of passion and hopefully this will bring new owners into the yard as well as the racing industry,” said Moore.

“I have a solid base of current owners and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support and trust in me. I look forward to growing the stable along with my grandfather,” he added.

Moore stated that he was excited for the great things still to come. He was also an assistant for many years to the now retired Charles Laird and Darryl’s father, Robert, is the chief riding master of the South African Jockey Academy. He is based in Gauteng. Two of the stables shining stars are, Ballymaine and Unbelievable Lad and there is no doubt that when racing is in your blood, it is in your blood!

By Warren Lenferna

Featured Image: Newly licenced, young Summerveld based Trainer Darryl Moore  with one of his stable stars, Ballymaine. Moore is looking at taking his yard to the next level with the guidance of his recently retired grandfather Ivan and he is excited for the yards future.

Image by Candiese Marnewick

Scottsville turned up three gems yesterday and if you have a notebook of horses to follow, add Solid Gold, In The Stars and Thanksgiving to a list of horses that look headed for the top.

Master Of My Fate was not the easiest of horses to train as Dennis Drier will attest to and he appears to have passed on both his ability and temperament to In The Stars. Master Of My Fate stands at Varsfontein Stud and the filly races in the stud’s silks.

Seemingly hopelessly left at the start of the second race, she made up ground relentlessly. “When we got left five lengths, I thought I would just ride her for a place,” confided Sean Veale. “But going through the 500 I knew it was race over. I just had to find the right gaps.”

Well Veale’s name could have been Moses as the field opened up like the Red Sea and In The Stars simply cruised home.

“She’s not easy but she’s not a dilly filly. In her barrier trial she was well behaved until she got to the pens,” explained Drier. She was promptly hopelessly left which accounted for her seemingly poor trial.

“I rate this filly very highly. Her work at home has been phenomenal and I think she has a bright future.”

Duncan Howells expressed similar sentiments about the Dave MacLean-owned colt Thanksgiving in the Soccer 6 Maiden. Drawn wide, Muzi Yeni allowed the big-striding son of Dynasty to use his action and with a clear run to the line Thanksgiving won in the manner of a decent horse.

“I knew that I had a good horse coming to the races today and with a bit of luck he would pull it off for us,” said Howells. “Like all Dynasty’s he’s maturing and starting to come on nicely.”

Yeni had little more to do than keep his mount out of trouble and his mind on the job without using his stick as Thanksgiving was still green. “He’s a scopey horse. He takes time to get rolling so he should be well suited to a track with a long run-in like Turffontein.”

The third on the list of horses to follow got home by the smallest of margins but Solid Gold won like a good horse as apprentice Ashton Arries gave him a tremendous ride, coming from off the pace to snatch victory on the line.

“He’s a bit of a handful,” said Michael Roberts, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a bite-sized bruise on his bicep. “He’s not nasty, just playful.”

“He’s a horse that should go a mile easily but he shows a lot of pace. I was looking for a 1200 for him but because he shows so much pace I took a chance over the 1000.

Solid Gold has the pedigree for a mile and further and the fact that he was able to win over 1000m is usually a sign of a good horse.

By Andrew Harrison

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Conghua Racecourse officially opened Monday marking the beginning of a new era for the sport of horse racing in Hong Kong and for the ever closer relations between Hong Kong and Guangdong.

The Club celebrated this momentous occasion at an opening ceremony attended by more than 500 guests, including government officials from the Mainland and the Hong Kong SAR, Club members and horsemen, as well as partners involved in the development of the project.

Situated in the Conghua District of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, Conghua Racecourse is the first world-class racecourse and thoroughbred training centre in the Mainland. Operating as part of a dual-site model, Conghua Racecourse complements the existing training centre at Sha Tin.

Stabling

With its state-of-the-art stabling, training and horse-care facilities, it will enable the Club to further develop the quality of its world-class racing.

“The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world leader in the sport of horse racing and home to some of the world’s top racehorses. Conghua Racecourse will enable us to elevate our racing to an even higher level of excellence,” said Club Chairman Dr Simon S O Ip.

“It has outstanding training and horse care facilities, including the first world-class equine hospital in the Mainland. Conghua District itself has high environmental standards, with excellent air and water quality. In short, it is a superb place in which to train our horses.”

Essential to Conghua’s operation is its location in the Mainland’s only large-scale internationally recognised equine disease-free zone, which ensures that Hong Kong horses have the same health status in Conghua as in Hong Kong. Under a series of special arrangements agreed between authorities in the Mainland and the Hong Kong SAR, horses are able to travel freely between Conghua and Hong Kong.

Racing tracks

“At Conghua, we have highly experienced staff, ranging from racing, tracks and veterinary management to stables staff from Hong Kong, who are working alongside local employees trained under internationally accredited programmes developed in Hong Kong. Together they will provide an excellent level of horse care, equal to that available in Hong Kong,” said Club Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.

Also speaking at the ceremony were Mr Chen Jianhua, Chairman of the Standing Committee of Guangzhou Municipal People’s Congress, and Professor Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health of the Hong Kong SAR.

“After years of persisting efforts by relevant parties, a modern, high-tech, world-class racecourse and China’s largest world-class horse sport training center is now rising in front of us,” said Mr Chen.

“The opening of Conghua Racecourse lays a solid foundation for horse industry co-operation between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, opens things up for imagination and presents a promising prospect for development. The establishment of Conghua Racecourse is a collaborative achievement involving the Hong Kong SAR and the Mainland, building on the strengths of the Mainland’s infrastructural facilities, the Hong Kong SAR Government’s experience in equine inspection and quarantine, and The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s expertise in equestrian sport,” said Professor Sophia Chan.

“The establishment of Conghua Racecourse is in line with the direction of the Bay Area development, the equestrian sport and related fields in the area, setting an excellent example of the Bay Area development.”

Conghua Racecourse will also contribute to the development of equine sports in the Mainland as well as to the economy and to employment.

This continues the Club’s support for equine sports in the Mainland, including for the equestrian events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

Some 90% of employees are recruited from Guangdong and the training they will receive will help advance professional standards. Conghua will also become a showcase for the sport of horse racing; the only place in the Mainland to experience world-class horses in action.

All of this will help raise Conghua’s profile both nationally and internationally.

Looking forward, Conghua Racecourse has great potential to support the development of an equine industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and in the Mainland as a whole.

“In other parts of the world, equine industries contribute substantially to the economy and to employment. They could do the same here,” said Dr Ip. “With its world-class expertise, the Club stands ready and willing to give its full support.”