David Thiselton
South African racing history was made at Turffontein Standside on Saturday when the WSB SA Triple Crown and Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara were landed on the same day and the pair that did it, the Mike de Kock-trained Malmoos and the Paul Matchett-trained War Of Athena, both won their respective 2450m events so comfortably they look capable of going on to even greater things.
Earlier, the Joe Soma-trained Equus Champion three-year-old from last year Got The Greenlight won the Grade 1 weight-for-age HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m and the runner up, the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Copper Mountain, was further proof of just how strong this year’s three-year-old male crop are.
The day might also have put Muzi Yeni and Luke Ferraris on top of the pile for sort after big race riders in South Africa as their respective partnerships with War Of Athena and Malmoos have highlighted their cool, calm and collected professionalism. Between them they have won five Grade 1s this season. Ferraris has now won the Sun Met and become part of WSB SA Triple Crown folklore in the same year he completed his apprenticeship.
Malmoos showed his usual good gatespeed and was caught two wide as they approached the first turn. He began tugging a bit but Ferraris did not panic and rounding the turn he was fortuitously able to slot in thanks to Second Base moving inward to take a gap that had opened on the rail. Malmoos was now in the perfect position one wide and three back and relaxed beautifully behind no more than a steady pace set by Validus.
Second Base burst through the centre in the straight, as he had done in the SA Classic. However, Malmoos, with a R2 million WSB SA Triple Crown bonus at stake, did not allow Second Base any glimmer of hope this time. After he had moved up with authority, Ferraris got to work on him at the 400m mark and the margin between himself and the rest was 5,25 lengths by the time he had hit the finishing line.
The progressive Listed Derby Trial winner Pamushana’s Pride, whose is rated only 91, pipped Second Base for second. Shah Akbar enjoyed hold up tactics as opposed to his usual front-running style and finished fourth ahead of Bingwa.
Malmoos, a Captain Al colt bred by Varsfontein, is the fourth WSB SA Triple Crown winner following the De Kock-trained Horse Chestnut in 1999, the Geoff Woodruff-trained Louis The King in 2014 and the Mike Azzie-trained Abashiri in 2016.
Malmoos is the only one of the quartet to have run in both of the joint-first legs of this series, finishing unplaced in the Grade 1 Cape Guineas before later winning the Grade 2 WSB Gauteng Guineas.
Malmoos also recorded the slowest time of the quartet, 4.27 seconds slower than the immortal Horse Chestnut’s time, although it was no fault of his own.
Hollywoodbets are of the view that Malmoos’ defeat in the Cape Guineas was all wrong or that he has improved since and promoted him to joint-Vodacom Durban July favourite together with Got The Greenlight at 5/1. This is at at least half the odds of any of the six horses who beat him in the Cape Guineas and they have him 7.5 points clear of the Jonsson Workwear Cape Derby winner Linebacker.
Malmoos’ connections paid tribute to owner Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum whose recent passing was a big blow to an industry he has supported prolifically for decades throughout the world.
War Of Athena was caught wide for a while in the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks behind a furious pace set by the Paul Peter pair Lotus and Sacred Lotus. However, Astral Plane on her inside was able to slot in on to the rail towards the end of the back straight and this enabled War Of Athena to slot in to a one wide position with cover.
In the straight the small Summerhill Stud-bred Act Of War filly cantered through the pack and had no problem finding extra when challenged by Sparkling Water. Yeni did not use the stick once and after looking over his shoulders for dangers he began shaking his fist with triumph more than 50 metres from home. She had toyed with them and still won by two lengths to become the fourth SA Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara winner.
Hollywoodbets make her a 10/1 shot for the VDJ.
Owners Roy Wentzel and his wife Dr Rose Waterman-Wentzel stated before Saturday’s race she is not for sale despite selecting and purchasing her for a paltry R30,000 at BSA Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Sale. She earned a R1 million bonus for landing the Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara.      
Got The Greenlight sat near the back of the HF Oppenheimer field but sliced through them under the hands to hit the front a full 500m mark. He was able to find extra under the whip when Copper Mountain moved up to challenge in the closing stages and the Nadeson Park Stud-bred Gimmethegreenlight colt prevailed by half-a-length. Tierra Del Fuego was the same distance of three lengths behind the winner as he was last year, but this time in third and not fourth, and Cirillo made it respective second, third and fourth place finishes in this race. Ikigai was fifth.
Got The Greenlight’s devastating turn of foot makes him ieally suited to tight tracks and he is a worthy VDJ joint-favourite. However, Hollywoodbets are going against history as only Cape horses have won the July in the seven runnings to date on the narrowed track.          
Soma and S’Manga Khumalo later combined to easily win the Grade 3 Caradoc Gold Cup over 2850m with African Adventure. The further the better for this Master Of My Fate gelding.
The Grade 3 Man O’ War Sprint over 1000m was won equally easily by the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained What A Winter filly Celestial Love under Chase Maujean.

Andrew Harrison

WAR OF ATHENA AND MALMOOS made light work of the Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks and WSB SA Derby respectively at Turffontein today. It was a rare international double with both horses completing their respective Triple Crowns on the same afternoon.

War Of Athena, a R30 000 yearling purchase for Mr R S Wentzel & Dr R E Waterman-Wentzel, collected a R1 million bonus for winning all three legs of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara and Malmoos earned his connections a R3 million bonus for all three legs of the Triple Crown. Malmoos raced in the silks of the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Both horses simply destroyed their opposition.

Muzi Yeni was sitting with a double handful at the top of the long Turffontein straight, but once he released the handbrake on Paul Matchett’s filly, she simply strode clear with Yeni looking both sides for opposition and celebrating victory 100 m out.

Malmoos delivered a similar performance as Mike de Kock’s charge shook off the opposition some 400m out and strode to the line with five lengths to spare that could have been extended to a lot more had rider Luke Ferraris asked for more.

Ferraris has enjoyed a phenomenal start to his professional career, winning the Gr1 Cape Town Met and now the Triple Crown at the tender age of 19.

Yeni had a lucrative payday as he steered Got The Greenlight to victory in the Gr1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes.  Second in last year’s Vodacom Durban July, Joey Soma is sure to be looking to set the record straight come Hollywoodbets Greyville on the first Saturday in July.

Got The Greenlight had to fight hard for his win as the year-younger Copper Mountain, third to Malmoos in the Gr2 WSB Gauteng Guineas, pressed him all the way to the line, underlining the strong form of this year’s three-year-old crop.

Andrew Harrison

WITH Champion Season on the horizon, trainers will be warming up their better runners and the three features at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday could give some inkling as to what is in store over the next four months.

The Byerley Turk (Gr3) has a bit of a disappointing local flavour with Lezeanne Forbes’s Storm Chaser the only KZN-trained runner.

Copper Mountain is due to line up in the Gr1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein on Saturday so it’s obvious that if he takes his chances there, he will not be at Scottsville the next day. If he does pitch up, he should give a line on what we can expect in the near future.

He comes off a tough assignment in the SA Classic but does appear to be better over this trip and gave the WSB Gauteng Guineas winner a hard race. He is up against some promising Western Cape visitors that include Speed Machine and Seeking The Stars while Stuart Pettigrew’s gelding Vars Vicky completed a hat-trick in a tough field last time out.

Vars Vicky has come well of late and got a big jump up the handicap for his last win. He is well weighted here and goes well this trip. Speed Machine was a comfortable winner last run and sprints well. His only attempt at this distance was disappointing which could be telling! He should see it out. Stone Cold has a difficult task at these weights but is in mustard form and is from a smart stable. Seeking The Stars tried to make all in the Cape Guineas but folded late under pressure. He is the best rated runner in the field and over a distance where he is unbeaten in two starts.

Princess Calla is rated way better than any of the opposition in the Umzimkhulu Stakes (Gr3) and even though she drops in trip after a tilt at the Cape Met she could prove a touch too classy even if short of a gallop. Keep The Lights On returns from a lengthy break but had promising form before that and if ready should be competitive. Caya Coco makes her local debut and has the prized scalp of Captain’s Ransom on her belt. If she can reproduce that run, she should also be competitive.

If Corne Spies’s filly Singforafa reproduces her SA Fillies Sprint effort, when pushing Celtic Sea and Run Fox Run to their limits, then this should be a formality. It’s never that easy though as Hawker Typhoon looks to be more than just useful but this race will tell. All three of her wins have come on this course. Mirage was a close-up second when favourite last start at Kenilworth. The blinkers go on. Vernichey has been a little disappointing since her Alan Robertson win but she took on a top field last run and can do better if finding her better form.

RACE  1: 6 CHIEF EXECUTIVE   13 VEGAS GOLD   11 FAUSTINO   12 ROWNTREE

Preview: Mostly first timers so watch the betting. CHIEF EXECUTIVE (6) started a short price on debut and the experience should give him an edge. VEGAS GOLD (13) was a distant fourth on debut but also found some market support and should come on from that. FAUSTINO (11) and ROWNTREE (12) may be worth following but the betting will be a more reliable guide. (Andrew Harrison: 6-13-11-12).

RACE 2: 9 LIVE MY LIFE   7 SHESAKINDA MAGIC   4 DANSE MILORD   2 NEW ORLEANS

Preview: LIVE MY LIFE (9) was deemed good enough to be taken to the Cape for his debut. After a promising debut she battled in the Cape Nursery. She can do much better here. SHESAKINDA MAGIC (7) was a modest second at her second start but that experience can count in her favour. DANSE MILORD (4) is seldom too far back but is fully exposed. NEW ORLEANS (2) and CARNEIAN BAY (1) can prove best of the first timers. (Andrew Harrison: 9-7-4-2).

RACE 3: 9 MR GONZALES   7 CONGO COMPAQ   6 THERAVADA   11 VITUS BEIRING

Preview: Difficult handicap. MR GONZALES (9) made major improvement when shedding his maiden last run after returning from a long break. He could follow up in spite of getting a hefty MR. CONGO COMPAQ (7) won well over course and distance last run although at long odds. He seems to have come to hand with a change of scenery. THERAVADA (6) has shown his best recent form on the poly but is better than his last effort. VITUS BEIRING (11) takes a drop in class and is way better than his last effort. (Andrew Harrison: 9-7-6-11).

RACE 4: 5 CONTRAIL   3 LEGISLATE’S DANCE 4 BAYVIEW EXPRESS   14 DOUBLE GEMINI

Preview: CONTRAIL (5) has some promising Highveld form and Alec Laird does not raid that often. Poor draw last run. Anton Marcus has deserted the rides on BAYVIEW EXPRESS (4) who disappointed last run when favourite and SECRET IS OURS (7) to ride LEGISLATE’S DANCE (3) who followed up his maiden win with a smart effort on the poly. DOUBLE GEMINI (14) has shown his best over further and does have a wide draw here but can surprise. (Andrew Harrison: 5-3-4-14).

RACE 5: 12 SINGFORAFA   10 HAWKER TYPGOON   11 MIRAGE   9 VERNICHEY

   10 Preview: SINGFORAFA (12) goes well this course and distance and she gets blinkers for the first time. At best she will go close. HAWKER TYPHOON (10) looks to be more than just useful but this race will tell. All three wins have come on this course. MIRAGE (11) was a close-up second when favourite last start at Kenilworth. The blinkers go on. VERNICHEY (9) has been a little disappointing since her Alan Robertson win but she took on a top field last run and can do better here. (Andrew Harrison: 12-10-11-9).

RACE 6: 2 CAYA COCO   5 KEEP THE LIGHTS ON   6 PRINCESS CALLA   4 SPICE MARKET

   Preview: Tricky race. PRINCESS CALLA (6) is the best weighted but she has been trying further and this is her first run back after a smart showing in the Cape Met. If she’s ready she may prove hard to beat. KEEP THE LIGHTS ON (5) returns from a lengthy break. She had promising form before that and if ready will be competitive. CAYA COCO (2) makes her local debut and has the scalp of Captain’s Ransom on her belt. SPICE MARKET (4) should battle at these weights but is fit and must have a chance. (Andrew Harrison: 2-5-6-4).

RACE 7: 3 COPPER MOUNTAIN   7 VARS VICKY   6 SPEED MACHINE   2 STONE COLD

Preview: COPPER MOUNTAIN (3) comes off a tough assignment in the SA Classic but does appear to be better over this trip. VARS VICKY (7) has come well of late and got a big jump up the handicap for his last win. He is well weighted here and goes well this trip. SPEED MACHINE (6) was a comfortable winner last run and sprints well. His only attempt at this distance was disappointing which could be telling! He should see it out. STONE COLD (2) has a difficult task at these weights but is in mustard form and is from a smart stable. (Andrew Harrison: 3-7-6-2).

RACE 8: 5 ALFONSA SPAGONI   3 MADAME PATRICE   4 JUSTAGUYTHING   1 WINTER WAVES

Preview: ALFONSA SPAGONI (5) is over his best course and distance and should finish in the money. MADAME PATRICE (3) takes on males but has been up against stronger company of late. JUSTAGUYTHING (4) got it all together last run and although taking a rise in class he does look capable of going close again. WINTER WAVES (1) has not been far back since shedding his maiden and has gone close on this course. (Andrew Harrison: 5-3-4-1).

RACE 9: 4 MOUNT GREYLOCK   12 DANDOLO   6 SO VAR   10 AVENIR

Preview: MOUNT GREYLOCK (4) looks to have some scope and won well at Kenilworth last time out. DONDOLO (12) took an eight-point drop in the handicap after his last run. He should have a big chance in this field. SO VAR (6) has made steady improvement of late and looks about ready now.  AVENIR (10) made steady improvement leading to his last win when starting favourite. Marcus stays with the ride. (Andrew Harrison: 4-12-6-10)

David Thiselton

THE South African racing public will be gripped by WSB SA Triple Crown and Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara fever by mid-afternoon today and most will be hoping to see both Malmoos and War Of Athena writing a new chapter history.

Malmoos’ connections will be confident he stays the 2450m trip of the Grade 1 WSB SA Derby as he is a full-brother to twice Grade 3 winner over 2400m Captain Splendid who had a similar handy running style as Malmoos and also had the ability to kick when  challenged. Malmoos is simply a classier and speedier version of Captain Splendid. Malmoss has fine gatespeed but will not want to be in the front as his comfortable pace up there will likely be too fast, so Luke Ferraris is going to have to rein him back. He did take quite a keen hold when he had to do this in the Grade 1 WSB SA Classic. He found cover quickly in the latter race but will he be as fortunate this time? 

Flying Carpet, who has plenty of substance and scope for improvement, took a while to settle when being dropped out to last in the SA Classic but he crossed the line a 2,75 length fourth and was finishing fastest of all. He has enough stamina in his pedigree and if he settles quicker he could be a threat. 

SA Classic runner up Second Base is rangy sort and although by Gimmethegreenlight his third dam is the Grade 1 Natal Oaks (2450m) winner Kiss of Peace. He relaxes well in the running and has a good turn of foot.  

Pamushana’s Pride steps up in class but is progressive and strikes as one who will enjoy the trip.

Bold Jazz has some stamina in his pedigree and stayed on well for fifth in the SA Classic.

The others look held on form although some might consider the Weiho Marwing coupling knowing how good he is at training stayers.

War of Athena just needs to stay to outclass the field in the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks field and she should do. Her sire Act Of War is by stamina influence Dynasty and was a Cape Derby (2000m) runner up. Furthermore, War Of Athena is a half-sister to a horse who has won over 2450m. The small filly will have the benefit of pacemaker again and a wide draw has not bothered her before as she relaxes well and has a tremendous turn of foot. 

SA Fillies Classic runner up Netta is well drawn and her sire Where’s That Tiger has produced SA Derby third-placed Samurai Blade and her damsire Indigo Magic is out of Lady Carla, who won the Epsom Oaks by nine lengths. 

Magical Flight did not have cover when handy in the SA Fillies Classic but stayed on well for third so she can place again if getting better cover. 

Sparkling Water was only a quarter-of-a-length behind the latter in the SA Classic and being by staina influence Silvano should be improving, although she has a tough draw. 

Ideal Jet looks the best of the rest having proved she stays and with further improvement to come being by Ideal World out of a Jet Master mare.

The Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m looks to be at the mercy of Got The Greenlight who showed how good he was in the Ilha Bela Hawaii Stakes last time when going close despite needing it badly. He relaxes well and has an exceptional turn of foot so a wide draw should not be of much bother.