Sean “Woer-woer Masjien” Singleton” and Neil Patrick Smith have been “living a dream” with their stalwart stayer Hermoso Mundo and are grabbing “a once in a lifetime opportunity” with both hands and sending the gelding to race in Dubai.

The other part-owners of the six-year-old Ideal World gelding are NC Smith, GD Cahn, G Morris and W Volschenk.  

Hermoso Mundo (Candiese Marnewick)

Current trainer Weiho Marwing will hand over the reins to Mike de Kock but the former will be on hand for consultation and will remain very much involved.

Hermoso Mundo’s chief target will be the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup run over 3200m on turf at the World Cup meeting on March 30, 2019, at Meydan racecourse.

The prize money for this race has been raised to US$ 1.5 million for its 2019 renewal.

Hermoso Mundo made history in the 2016/2017 season when landing the unofficial stayer’s triple crown, winning the Gold Bowl, the Gold Vase and the Gold Cup, and he was duly crowned Equus Champion Stayer.

Singleton’s colourful victory war cry, which ends with the words “jou woer-woer-woer masjien!” became a much-looked forward to aside during last year’s SA Champions Season. Furthermore, the story of Smith, his opponent and an umpire huddled together on a tennis court in Germany watching the Gold Vase on a laptop, after the former had requested a break in play in a tennis tournament match, was one of the most heart-warming tales of the season.

Hermoso Mundo was a gallant runner up nine days ago in the defence of his Gold Cup crown.

“It was heartbreaking to come second after he had come from so far back,” reflected Singleton and Smith, “but It’s My Turn was a deserving winner. Based on that run we have decided to send him overseas. He is an out and out stayer and there is nothing really for him here. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we have to do it. We believe he will do very well there and Mike thinks he will do ok. We are very happy to be going with Mike as he is an absolute champion trainer. It’s very exciting. He is by Ideal World so can still run for a few years and can race in other countries. If he does well we can expand and wouldn’t mind going to Australia for the Melbourne Cup. There are lot of other races for him in Australia too. There are some beautiful turf tracks with long straights overseas. Whatever happens we are going to have some fun. It’s a dream.”

Hermoso Mundo was on his way to Cape Town last Thursday. The Kenilworth quarantine station is the first leg of an arduous five month journey to Dubai, which goes via Mauritius and Europe.

By David Thiselton

Aldo Domeyer, forced to give up his rides at Durbanville on Saturday, aims to be back this week after picking up an infection following his hectic 18-winner 11-day Cape championship chase.

Captain America

He said on Saturday: “I think all that travelling caught up with me. I am on antibiotics and I am trying to get some rest.”

Rest is what Champions Cup winners Captain America and Sail South will have from now on. Both have been retired.

Brett Crawford said: “Sail South has gone to his owners (Nigel and Jenny Pott plus Gill Dempsey) in Plettenberg Bay while Captain America will go to the Steenberg Golf Estate.”

There has been surprise in some quarters that Captain America, so clearly at the top of his game, has not been kept in training for a further season.

Crawford said: “He won so well that he could have done but personally I think it is fantastic that he has gone out at the top. He has won three Group 1s and he has had the weight of the stable on his shoulders for four of the last six years.”

Stable companion Lady Of The House, winner of last year’s Woolavington, is apparently destined for a new career as a broodmare. She was due to be sold by Mayfair Speculators at the recent Central Route Trading Sale but was withdrawn beforehand. According to sales boss Grant Knowles, she was purchased by Ridgemont.

By Michael Clower

Richard Fourie intends going for the championship if he is within striking distance of the leaders in the last few months of the season.

He rode a four-timer at Durbanville on Saturday to add to his double at the country course last Wednesday and said: “My target is 200 winners and the championship depends on the support I get. I am riding freelance – I am not retained by the Chrigor Stud (still his sponsor) this season – but, if I need to give it a little bit extra at the end, I will.”

With Grant van Niekerk on his way to Hong Kong, Fourie is much in demand from Snaith Racing which has supplied all his six winners so far and Chris Snaith remarked: “Richard is always worth a length or two.”

Richard Fourie (Liesl King)

The most significant, and certainly the shortest-priced, of Saturday’s four was Frank Lloyd Wright who weakened from a prohibitive 1-5 to 1-3 for the TAB Telebet Maiden. The Captain Al colt made most of the running in the distinctive Qatar Racing colours with his rider doing little more in the final furlong than twice looking back for what proved to be non-existent dangers.

“He has a good future,” said Fourie. “He is a couple of lengths behind the best but he had the experience and he won like it. He gave me a good feel.”

But punters and racegoers alike are apparently going to have to wait a bit. “We have raced him a little more than we would have liked so we will now ease up on him and put him away for the Cape summer season,” said Jonathan Snaith.

“He is a class horse and hopefully the best is still to come. He is possibly a Guineas horse and he qualifies for the R5 million CTS Mile. But his performance here tells you how impressive the Langerman winner One World was. He gave us a galloping lesson and I think he is definitely the Guineas favourite at the moment.”

The Vaughan Marshall colt gave Frank Lloyd Wright 4kg in the Langerman and beat him by more than five lengths. On the other hand Black Indy, beaten seven and a half lengths into fourth, did little for the form when managing only three lengths-plus third to More Magic in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden 40 minutes later.

What is more the Candice Bass-Robinson winner had had five previous attempts, admittedly from a series of wide draws. The colt was ridden by Stuart Randolph who flew in to substitute for the sidelined Aldo Domeyer and recalled that on his only previous visit in the last five years racing had been washed out.

Liam Tarentaal, 20, signalled his arrival in Cape Town by springing a 50-1 shock on the Eric Sands newcomer Bellingham Bay in the first. The 2.5kg claimer has moved from Durban, had four rides here last Wednesday and this was the 21^st success of his career.

Greg Ennion proved, not for the first time, that winners can still be bought cheaply when the Donovan Dillon-ridden Parisian Gold got up inside the last 100m of the 2 400m maiden.

“I bought him with the only bid of ten grand at the Ready To Run,” Ennion related. “He was a huge backward horse and his sire Biarritz was not fashionable but I liked him. He has taken for ever to come to hand but I think he will now go on from this and I have turned down an offer of R130 000 for him.”

By Michael Clower

The folly of backing first timers, especially three-year-olds against older horses this early in the season, was driven home at Scottsville yesterday as hot favourite Mela Stregata came up a nose short in the opening maiden.

A year older and racing in blinkers for the first time, Tuulikki was the first of a quick hat-trick for Garth Puller as Mandla Ntuli kept his mount going just long enough to hold off the favourite.

“She has been disappointing,” said Puller of Tuulikki. Blinkers, declared after the publication of the official form guides, appeared to have done the trick.

Anton Marcus, who got home in the next two races for Puller, was nonplussed. “I got beaten on my best ride,” he said after winning comfortably aboard the first timer, but four-year-old Mashari in the third.

“She was green and hanging in,” said beaten trainer Duncan Howells of Mela Stregata. “She will also need further.”

Marcus was made to work just as hard on the odds-on favourite Dyno Man. The grey looked a beaten horse 50m out as Merlin From Berlin tried for a bit of magic, but Marcus pulled out all the stops and Dyno Man rallied gamely for the win. He’s a horse that looks as if he will go a trip as this was only his second outing and he only got into gear late.

Mashari, coming of two barrier trials, was also send out odds-on for the third but was hard-pressed at the death to hold off the attentions of Wildly In Love, the runner-up a little unlucky as she took a knock out of the pens and then the scenic route home.

It’s been nearly a year between drinks for World Mission but Keagan De Melo got the better of his wayward tendencies in the Sikalele Projects Handicap although he was all over the place in the drive for the wire. “He’s not the easiest,” said De Melo of Dean Kannemeyer’s gelding. “He’s looking for a trip but doesn’t settle.”

“He has ability but hasn’t brought it all to the racecourse yet.”

De Melo eased punters pain when getting favourite Ronnie Rocket home for Pat Lunn in the Just Property Handicap after 25-1 shot Komeshans Flight under apprentice Eric Ngwane for Yogas Govender lead to a boil-over in the exotics.

Warren Kennedy, successful for Kom Naidoo in Kimberley on Saturday, has got his season off to a cracking start, successful on Bangkok in the fifth who Gavin van Zyl feels “still has a lot to learn”, and then riding a driving finish on Just Vogue to get the better of Gratuity in the Wayne’s Scrap Metal Handicap for a stable double.

Mark Khan is becoming a regular visitor in KZN of late and rounded off the day by getting Shadow Hunter home with a late effort for Lezeanne Forbes.

By Andrew Harrison

Frank Lloyd Wright is an almost unbackable price for the TAB Telebet Maiden at Durbanville tomorrow but he will be many punters’ idea of a banker for multiple bets.

The Captain Al colt has finished second in four of his five races and this will be the third time that he has started odds-on but his Langerman performance – beaten only by One World – marks him apart from this opposition even if he was receiving all the allowances.

Richard Fourie’s mount, incidentally, is named after the American architect who developed the cantilever roof used on many of the most impressive racecourse stands around the world.

Richard Fourie

World Sports Betting opened him at 2-9 with the only others in single figures being the wide-drawn unraced Windcheater and Consul Of War who has been off for over ten months.

Snaith Racing, three winners here on Wednesday, are expecting another good day and they field the favourite in four of the eight races. All of them are ridden by Fourie and all may win.

Black Indy (17-10) has 19-20 shot More Magic to beat in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden. The latter has a decent draw for once whereas the selection will start widest of all. He does, however, hold More Magic by just over a length on their running a month ago and we have seen many times how a quick start here can make light of a bad draw whereas “giving the horse a chance” is usually the kiss of death.

Magnificent Seven is odds-on for the Betting World Handicap – unfortunately down to only four runners – and he may just be able to account for the Brett Crawford-trained Gimme One Night who has been running well over further.

But watch out for Red Peril. The top weight is the 10-1 outsider of the party but this is just the sort of race in which the wily Bill Prestage instructs his jockey to try and slip the field – and so often those tactics work on this course.

The Boston Rose has become a punter-reliable and those she has rewarded in the past are unlikely to desert her in the Supabets Handicap even though she has been off for three months and has gone up three points after only just holding on in her last race.

Adam Marcus has had a high strike rate in recent months and Red Rascal can further boost the averages in the Interbet Handicap at the principal expense of top weight Silver Master.

By Michael Clower