TOPCO was launched 21 years ago, with the aim of giving the best South African companies the market exposure and recognition they deserve. Topco Media hosts several annual awards ceremonies that showcase industry leaders in performance, empowerment, women leadership, HR, innovation and national development.  Their Research Department focuses purely on surveying and researching thousands of organisations in order to identify the economy’s top companies and leaders.

One such Awards ceremony is the Top Women Awards, sponsored by Standard Bank.  The event which took place at Emperor’s Palace on the 23^rd August 2018, was attended by 600 guests which included VVIP’s such as former President Kgalema Motlanthe and his wife Gugu, media personality Dali Tambo and his wife Rachael as well as Zanele Mbeki, wife of former President Thabo Mbeki. Mrs Mbeki received the Life Time Achievement Award.

Gold Circle were honoured to be recognised at such a prestigious ceremony as the Top Gender Empowered Company in South Africa in the Travel & Hospitality sector.  Gold Circle’s Chairperson, Dr. Phumla Mnganga and Corporate Services Executive, Veronica Jack attended the function and received the award on behalf of the company.

Gold Circle is a company committed to making a positive contribution to those who have been previously disadvantaged and the empowerment of women within and throughout the organisation is a major priority.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe, who has been on holiday in the Far East, can score at a good price on his first ride back in the Rawson Properties Maiden at Kenilworth tomorrow.

The Eric Sands-trained Divine Law was a 9-1 chance with World Sports Betting yesterday despite being considered good enough to make his debut in a winners’ race and putting up a good performance considering he was squeezed out shortly after the start.

He was beaten just under eight lengths – but at least three of those were caused by the initial interference and all five of those who finished in front of him were winners.

Favourite at 13-10 is the Justin Snaith-trained Tyrian who also met with some interference at the start when fourth to Photocopy at Durbanville but returned making a noise. His previous debut fourth at Kenilworth was much more encouraging.

Dynamite Jack (9-2) is arguably the form horse as he divided More Magic and Black Indy (a winner since) and had Forty Days and Day Zero among those behind. Deposition (10-1), badly drawn at Durbanville last time, has sound place prospects on his previous debut run.

Hopefully the meeting will survive the weather. Windguru was yesterday forecasting light rain during the morning with the heavens starting to open in earnest shortly after 2.00pm

Pippielangkous is favourite for the opening Metropolitan Lodge Maiden and was a Winning Ways tip after his second to fellow newcomer Varsity Limits but the exact worth of the form is hard to assess. Significantly James Goodman qualified his advice by stipulating “when the ground firms up, not in the soft.”

Donovan Dillon’s mount gets my selection even though 11-10 is plenty short enough. The Snaith newcomer Chakri is next in the market at 22-10. Carrying the Mary Slack colours, Richard Fourie’s mount is well bred by Dynasty out of the Allan Robertson winner Rat Burana but few if any (and by my calculations none at all) of the stable’s current three-year-old crop has won first time out either this season or last season as two-year-olds.

The in-form Candice Bass-Robinson-Aldo Domeyer may take the Sons Of Hygiene Maiden with Dragon Power even though this one is only third favourite at 3-1. He has finished third in two decent-sized Kenilworth fields whereas Snaith’s Rip It Up ran at Durbanville when no closer than third on his only start and fellow 16-10 favourite Shadowing has proved consistent but frustrating, finishing second or third in the last five of his six starts.

By Michael Clower

Turffontein Inside course stages a nine race meeting tomorrow and the exotics look the best way to play a competitive card.

The first leg of the PA over 1450m sees Darkest Hour having his first run since being unlucky over 1600m last time and he can make amends off the same merit rating. However, he has another tricky draw. Volcanic Sunset is interesting stepped down to this trip. He has been disappointing but he has consequently come down the merit ratings and he had some good form early in his career over sprints so the step down to this trip from a good draw could see him bouncing back to form. Mount Keith is interesting stepped up in trip considering the ease of his wins up to 1200m and his flying finish over 1000m last time. He is well drawn too.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 over 1200m Kissmeinmydreams did well against the boys on Tuesday over 1400m and has a chance here from a good draw over a likely more suitable trip. She is a progressive daughter of Captain Al and as a lightly raced five-year-old should be coming into her own. There is not much between Quattro and Thewaywemakem on their last meeting when they were both close up over this trip. They were well clear of the third horse and the form was then franked when the winner Private Ruler came out and won on Tuesday. They are both well drawn and should be included in all of the exotics. Cumberland and Lone Survivor can also be included in the Pick 6. The former is only two points higher for his win last time over this trip and he looks to have improved with blinkers and the latter is a lightly raced horse with scope for improvement, although he does have a tricky draw.

In the fifth Countess Var carries topweight first time out the maidens but from pole position can blitz them like she did over course and distance last time with this same 2,5kg claimer on. It is never easy first time out the maidens so two improved horses, Ilha Da Var and Mademoiselle, must also be included in the Jackpot and Pick 6. However, they both have tough draws so River Ayre, who will appreciate the step down in trip, and Rebel’s Idol, who has the advantage of a 4kg claimer up, can also be considered.

The sixth is a MR65 Handicap over 1000m so an upset could materialise. The stand outs are Singaswewin, Rebel Renegade and Stark and the latter pair have good draws. Seventh Son has pace and will appreciate the step down in trip. The maiden Cape Wildcat is a similar type to his Alec Laird-trained stablemate Skiminac, who returned from a long layoff to cruise in on Tuesday, so the feat can perhaps be repeated here.

The seventh is an Assessment Plate over 1600m and at the weights Noble Secret should hold too many guns. However, he might need it having not been seen since his SA Derby third, so Purple Diamond can also be considered.

The eighth over 1600m should be fought out by Fragrant Miss and Hafla, who have always struck as horses with ability and look to be coming into their own. Shelly is the main danger and can be included in the Jackpot and by the risk averse in the Pick 6.

The last race over 1800m is wide open and although Wildlife Safari is tipped to win from a good draw, the whole field can be included in the Pick 6.

By David Thiselton

A win would have been a better result but Paul Lafferty was not unduly worried about White Lightning’s defeat at Scottsville last Sunday. “I thought he ran a good race. I was happy with the run. He’s only had two starts and he should come on a bit now.”

Anton Marcus has stuck with the ride and White Lightning is likely to start a short-odds again when he lines up in the third at Greyville on Sunday.

Last Sunday, most of the field were probably caught out by the tactics employed by Muzi Yeni on winner Duke Of Spin. Going to the front at a solid gallop, most maidens will have been expected to compound in the home straight but Duke Of Spin is obviously a touch above your average galloper as he had the opposition off the bit before turning for home and pulled away to win as he liked.

A furlong out, White Lightning looking in danger of missing out for PA punters but he rallied under Marcus and was doing his best work late, running into second.

Stable companion Pot Luck is a likely pacemaker and pole position over the Greyville 1600m on the turf is prime territory so there shouldn’t be any excuses this time around.

If there is to be another upset it could come in the form of the Howells/Yeni combination again. Although drawn wide at 13, Jet Stream has had two barrier trials, one on the Greyville turf, and there was a lot to like about his debut effort. Howells has admitted that his stable was behind where it should be because of his well-document virus, and it now appears to be turning the corner. Jet Stream will much prefer Sunday’s trip and Marcus, who often rides work for the yard, has had a ‘feel’ on Jet Stream so will know exactly what he is up against.

Final Judgement was one of the leading lights of her two-year-old generation winning the Gr2 Golden Slipper, but she has been winless since. She is many a punter’s idea of an exotic bet banker in the fourth, a Pinnacle Stakes over 1600m, but it may not be quite that straight forward.

The form of her generation has not been exemplary and Final Judgement is only rated a pound better than most of her opposition at Sunday’s weights.

She is the obvious choice at first glance but the reality could be a little different. Sorceress and the now blinkered Osprey strike as likely dangers.

Taking the Computaform assessments into consideration, punters are in for another difficult afternoon and if their reading of the sixth is any evidence then one needs to include the field, or at least as many as finances allow as all 12 runners have an x behind their names.

However, Q The Music has been a victim of his own consistency and the handicappers have been reluctant to drop his rating, and indeed stepped him up a couple of pounds for his second placing behind Kazaar last time out. But he has a good draw and could well vindicate the handicapper’s assessment.

The regally bred Perfect Air bids for a hat-trick of victories in the seventh and the lightly raced daughter of Dynasty did well to win her last start coming off a break. She is potentially the best horse in the field but may have a hard time pegging back Dinner Date. Garth Puller is in deadly form at present and although Dinner Date’s form is hardly worth writing home about at first glance, it may bare further scrutiny. She races in blinkers for the first time from a good draw and Mark Khan replaces and apprentice rider.

By Andrew Harrison

Robin Bruss’s Northfields Stud deservedly received the Outstanding Breeders Award at the Equus Awards having bred the like of Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again, Mercury Sprint winner Will Pays and overseas Grade 1 runner up Horse Of Fortune.

His achievements with a tiny band of broodmares defies the statistics, which have one in every 1000 foals winning a Grade 1, and should have received more fanfare.

Bruss, who bred his first thoroughbred in 1975, reached a height of keeping eight broodmares but affordability has allowed him to operate with an average of just five. Yet he has now bred eight Grade 1 winners, including winners of all of the big three, The Vodacom Durban July, The Sun Met and the Premier’s Champions Challenge.

In the past season Bruss had 12 runners and seven winners, including: Do It Again, who won the July, the Grade 2 Daisy Guineas, was second in the Grade 1 Investec Cape Derby and was Equus Champion Three-year-old colt (season earnings R3,257,500); Will Pays, who won the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint, the Grade 2 Hawaii Stakes, the Grade 3 Spring Spree Stakes and was third in the Grade 2 Drill Hall Stakes and was Equus Champion Sprinter (season earnings R1,240,700); Hong Kong-based Horse Of Fortune (originally named Strongman), who was runner up in the Grade 1 S$1 million Kranji Mile (season earnings of HK$1,007,500 plus S$273,500 translates to R4,771,298); Mighty Emperor, who recorded his 7^th win in Singapore (season earnings of S$85,864 translates to R828,335).

Bruss said, “I believe the purpose of horseracing is to make your mark in history. With one click you can look at the pedigree of any racehorse to 20 generations, but us humans would battle to know our family trees beyond three generations. Horseracing is probably the world’s most documented sport. Money comes and goes but the winners of the signal races are always remembered. The record book for Grade 1s should be the aim of every breeder.”

Bruss, like most small breeders, is unable to afford the service fees of the proven stallions so owes his success to decades of observation and studying. He is not a great fan of line-breeding and prefers to have pedigrees with “class close up.”

He explained another of his tricks, “It is better to own the daughter of a Group 1 winner than a Group 1 winner herself.” He has used that theory to own Group 1 class mares without having to pay for the Group 1 status.

Of the eight Grade 1 winners he has bred, only one of them was by a proven stallion and that was due to a foal-share agreement he had made with Drakenstein Stud. That horse was Deo Juvente, the son of Trippi, who won the 2017 Grade 1 R4,5 million Champions Challenge and was second in the Summer Cup.

His first Grade 1 winner was Basic Instinct (Comic Blush-Joyfields (Northfields), who won the Grade 1 Golden Spur sprint in 1998. His mare Teclafields gave him three Grade 1 winners, Circle Of Life (Complete Warrior), who won the Garden Province Stakes in 2000, African Lion (Shalford), who won the Champions Cup in 2003 and Zebra Crossing (Jallad), who won the 2006 Met. Circle Of Life is the dam of Deo Juvente. August Rush, a colt by Var out of the Zimbabwean-bred Huntingdale mare Bushgirl, won the 2011 Mercury Sprint.

Will Pays is by Imperial Stride out of the Jallad mare Rattlebag and Do It Again is by Twice Over out of Casey Tibbs mare Sweet Virginia.

Bruss’ beginning point when matching pedigrees is to produce a horse that will stay the July distance. However, he pointed out horses who won the July and Met invariably had the speed to win over sprint trips so finding a combination of speed and stamina was important.

He pointed out one of the anomalies of breeding, “Aiming for the winning post is different to aiming for the sales rings. A horse who is going to win the July is not going to be peaking at the National Yearling Sales and although people want July and Met winners strangely those are not the ones that sell well at the sales.”

The National Yearling Sale (NYS) is always Bruss’s target sale.

Do It Again was also sold through a foal-share deal with Drakenstein Stud and was by far the most expensive yearling Bruss has ever sold, fetching R1,1 million. Of his other Grade 1 winners, Basic Instinct fetched R40,000, Circe of Life and African Lion were not sold, Zebra Crossing went for R600,000 but the buyer reneged so Bruss had to form a syndicate of friends, August Rush was not considered of sufficient standard to make it on to the NYS, Will Pays went for R60,000 and Deo Juvente for R250,000.

Bruss has produced three Grade 1-winning sprinters but this was not by intention and he pointed out that all of them had won their Grade 1s as older horses. Will Pays is in fact by a mile-and-a-half horse out of an Oaks winner.

Bruss bought Sweet Virginia for a bargain R200,000. She beat the boys in the Grade 3 Winter Classic and Grade 3 Winter Derby but was small and Bruss recalled breeders had felt she would produce “weedy” horses. Instead she has produced a number of fine horses for different stallions, the others being Strongman (Stronghold), Mighty Emperor (Kahal) and Graded-placed Vilikazi (Visionaire) who is now doing well in Hong Kong where he is named Sleep Education.

Bruss has sold Sweet Virginia to Lammerskraal Stud, “as I was offered more than what I paid for her.”

He credits the matching of Sweet Virginia and Twice Over to Drakenstein’s racing manager Kevin Sommerville, who worked for Juddmonte on the stallion nominations side and had an intimate knowledge of their horses.

Bruss also acknowledged the team effort in every horse bred. He makes the matches but the farms feed and nurture the horses.

“The Aga Khan called breeding playing chess with nature,” he concluded.

By David Thiselton