English racing has lost one of its legendary figures with the death of Derby-winning trainer Geoff Wragg. He was 87.

Newmarket-based Wragg won the 1983 Derby with Teenoso in his first season after taking over the licence at Abington Place from his father Harry, whom he had assisted for the previous 28 years.

Two years before his retirement in 2008 Wragg was just a short head away from capturing a second Derby with 66-1 chance Dragon Dancer.

In between there were several Group 1 successes, including in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Teenoso and Pentire – who both ran in the famous Mollers Racing colours – as well as big-race victories around the world in a career that spanned 26 years.

Sir Michael Stoute paid tribute to his former colleague on Sunday, saying: “Geoff Wragg was a good man and a very good trainer. His record at Royal Ascot and the Chester May meeting was phenomenal.

“The way he continually produced his champions like Teenoso, Pentire and Marling was exemplary.

Also at the weekend, the American racing community mourned the death of Helen ‘Penny’ Chenery, owner of the legendary Secretariat.

According to US reports, she passed away on Saturday at her home in Colorado from complications after a stroke. She was 95.

Renowned as the ‘first lady’ of US racing, Chenery earned lasting fame for her role in the story of the Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown in 1973 with a series of breathtaking performances.

Trained by Lucien Laurin and ridden by Ron Turcotte, the giant chestnut known as ‘Big Red’ set a track record in the Kentucky Derby and a stakes record in the Preakness before an unforgettable 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes in world-record time that has gone down as one of the greatest performances of all-time.

According to the Daily Racing Form, Chenery’s “influence on the sport spanned decades and [her] standing inspired generations of women in racing”.

As well as becoming a well-known figure during Secretariat’s Triple Crown campaign, in which she became popular for sharing her equine superstar with the public, Chenery left her mark on the sport in a variety of roles.

Awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2006, she was the first female president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, she helped found the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and was one of the first women elected to the American Jockey Club.

More than anything else, however, Chenery was an ambassador for the sport over several decades from the 1970s onwards.

– thoroughbrednews.com.au

The Highveld Spring and Summer feature season will soon be in top gear and all roads will lead to the Sansui Summer Cup which will be celebrating its 130^th anniversary this year.

The late racing doyen Jean Jaffee’s book They Raced To Win relates that the first race meeting in Johannesburg was held in the same year as the city’s founding 1886. The following year the Johannesburg Turf Club (JTC) was formed and a crowd of 3000 attended their first meeting in June 1887 with the main race being the £250 Johannesburg Turf Club Handicap, which is known today as the Summer Cup. The meeting took place over three days on a two mile course and the finishing post was where Commissioner and Eloff Street today intersect. The winner of the Inaugural Johannesburg Turf Club Handicap was AT Allison’s five-year-old Second.

In the early days, the Johannesburg Handicap was run every time there was a JTC meeting. Therefore, its second running was in December 1887 on a one-and-a-half mile horseshoe shaped course near the “Natal Camp.”

By 1994 there were four JTC meetings a year and the big race became known as the Johannesburg Autumn, Winter, Spring or Summer Handicap.

The big race was not run in 1900, due to the Boer War, but in 1901 it was run no fewer than ten times and in 1902 seven times.

It then reverted to its four-times a year tradition in 1903.

In 1950 it was run only once a year as the Johannesburg Summer Handicap.

Since then it has also been known as the Holiday Inns, the Sun International, the Administrator’s Champion Stakes, the Administrator’s Cup, the Premier’s Cup, the Champions Stakes and it was finally called the Summer Cup in 2001.

The race was originally run over a mile and it has been run over 2000m since the December 1949 running of the Johannesburg Summer Handicap.

The December 1889 renewal of the big race was held at the third and final home of the Johannesburg Turf Club, a farm called Turffontein, originally leased for £300 a year from a farmer called Rass. It has been run at Turffontein every year since,

The inaugural Turffontein meeting saw the introduction of the “Tote machine”, brought out from England by William Grey Rattray.

Due to the many runnings per year in the early days, the records of the Summer Cup are skewed. However, a horse called Malgo owned by Messrs Chauncy and Stayt won it five times between 1897 and 1902. The same pair of owners had won big race with Plum in December 1892 and this horse went on to win The Met among 28 career wins.

Another “great” horse to win the big race in its early years was the British-bred Stockwell, not to be confused with the great 1849-born British horse of the same name.

Stockwell owned by AC Harris travelled all over the country and won The Met in 1891 and the Queen’s Plate in 1892. Earlier in 1892 he had won the Johannesburg Winter Handicap and another big race, the Goldfields Handicap, two days later. He won the Johannesburg Spring Handicap in 1894. He was trained by Harry Croon, an English-born jockey who also rode him.

The 1897 Johannesburg Autumn Handicap was significant as two horses, the Abe Bailey-owned Quickmarch and the Solly Joel-owned Lord Ullin dead-heated for first, half-a-length clear of Campanajo, who won the inaugural running of today’s premier South African race, the Vodacom Durban July, three months later.

Mining magnates Bailey and Joel dominated Johannesburg racing in the 1890s. Bailey had won six Johannesburg Handicaps by 1897. He left for England in 1898, but returned as a volunteer for British forces in the Boer War. He went on to win “at least twice as many” Johannesburg Handicaps as any other owner and became a major breeder through his stud farm in Colesberg as well as a steward of the SA Jockey Club for 30 years. Sir Abe also owned horses in England and one of them, the globally influential sire Dark Ronald, who rested on Bailey’s farm at Colesberg for two years as a youngster, later became the five times champion sire of Germany. Dark Ronald not surprisingly features a number of times in the current SA Champion sire Silvano’s pedigree. The German-bred Silvano produced two successive Summer Cup winners, Aslan and Flirtation, in 2009 and 2010.

The most famous winner of the Summer Cup is undoubtedly the George Azzie-trained and Dennis and Peggy Mosenthal-owned Elevation, who won it three times in succession from 1972-1974. He went on to become only the second ever SA-bred horse to become SA Champion stallion.

However, the most famous win of the Summer Cup is likely the Jean Heming-trained Pedometer’s victory in 1987 as he won by an incredible 14 lengths under Jeff Lloyd.

Heming later won it two years in a row in 1990 and 1991 with the filly Roland’s Song and the following year it was won by the great filly Empress Club, who was trained by Tony Millard.

The Summer Cup gave Mike de Kock his first Grade 1 win in 1989 with Evening Mist and the great trainer has gone on to win it a further eight times.

However, Geoff Woodruff has dominated the race for the last four years and has won it six times in all. Woodruff had the first three past the post in 2013, the first two past the post in both 2014 and 2015 and the first and third last year. Master Sabina will be attempting to emulate Elevation and Java this year by winning it three years in a row, but he has moved yards to Joe Soma.

Other greats to win the Summer Cup have been Pamphlet (twice July winner), Polystome (eleven-times SA champion sire), Flash On (Summer Cup-July double as a three-year-old), Java (won it three times in a row), Numeral (Summer Cup-July double), Hengist, Caradoc, Home Guard, Furious, Spanish Pool, Enchanted Garden, National Emblem, El Picha, Wolf Whistle, Yorker and Louis The King.

By David Thiselton

With summer approaching and the prospect of torrential rain or heavy thunder storms disrupting racemeetings has always been the bane of the track managers. The laying of a synthetic poly track at Greyville went some way to easing these fears as, barring a monsoon, the poly track should always be raceable. However, there were teething problems, one of which was at the pull-up past the winning post where the poly track met the turf surface. Any heavy downpours resulted in localised flooding and unsafe underfoot conditions for horses easing up out of their races and on occasion resulting in the jockey’s refusing to continue riding

Hopefully this is now a problem of the past as the poly track has been extended by a further 100m past where the original poly track ended and additional drainage included – the work having recently being completed.

The work was carried out while the turf track was under-going it’s spring treatment and Greyville hosts the first of its regular Friday night poly track meetings of the season this coming Friday, September 22.

By Andrew Harrison

Turffontein Standside has an eight race meeting tomorrow and owing to the many first-timers appearing there is a situation where the suggested Pick 6 costs less than the suggested Jackpot.

The first and last legs of the Pick 6 both look to have potential bankers.

The first of these, Carmalita, is a less confident banker because another horse in this 1000m Maiden Plate for three-year-old fillies, Kutamba, has some useful form and now wears cheek pieces for the first time. Carmalita, is an Australian-bred by Commands, whose progeny tend to improve with age, so she should build on her good debut when a narrow second to the promising Mohallela. Last week the higher draws tended to be favourable down the straight, although The Thinker proved it was possible to win from a low draw. Carmalita has a fair draw of eight in the 13 horse field, but Kutamba has a more attractive draw of ten. Carmalita moved up on debut from a favourable draw over 1200m on the Vaal Inside draw to strike the front close to home and looked the winner. However, Mohallela then came back at her to get up and this suggests Carmalita could appreciate the 1000m trip here at this stage of her career. Kutamba tends to show good pace, but then doesn’t go through with it so is an interesting runner with the headgear on and it could be worth halving the percentage of the Pick 6 taken to include her. Ilha Da Var is held by Kutamba on their last two meetings, but could still improve, so is an outside threat from a nice high draw with Gavin Lerena now taking the ride.

In the last leg of the Pick 6 Great Shaka is a solid sort who showed fine pace over 1000m on the Inside track last time before being run out of it late. She has an attractive draw of 15 and doesn’t have a lot to beat among the raced horses.

The seventh race is the highest rated race on the card and Cathedral County is a banker consideration as he looks to be going places. However, beyond him it is open and All Night Flight, Magic, Moshav, Manx Park and Fidelio are all capable of picking up the pieces.

In the second leg of the Pick 6 there are three raced horses worth including, but for the Jackpot there are two first-timers who warrant inclusion too. Of course the first-timer rule only applies to the Pick 6. King Of The Delta did not have the best of passages last time out over this 1160m trip but after working his way to the outside rail he stayed on nicely for second to the promising first-timer Yamoto. This time he jumps from a lower draw so it is going to be tough, but on form he is the one to beat. Flying Winger caught the eye running in in the same race and should improve, but he has the potentially tough number one draw. Torio Lake showed some pace on debut on the Greyville poly and Gavin Lerena is now up from a fair draw of six. Torio Lake is well bred being by Oratorio out of the twice Grade 3-winning sprinter Purple Lake, who is by the sprinter Lake Coniston.

However, Purple Lake has only produced a moderate 1000m winner to date, although that was her first runner. The two-first-timers who make appeal are Come The Day and Cyrus. Come The Day has the standside draw of ten in the ten horse field. He is by Await The Dawn and is a half-brother to the Grade 3-winning and Grade 1 Mercury Sprint third-placed sprinter Showmetheway. Cyrus is by Right Approach out of an unplaced Model Man mare who is a half-sister to the Grade 1-placed Infinite Spirit. None of Sean Tarry’s first call jockeys are aboard here, but it is never wise to ignore a Tarry yard first-timer.

The fifth race is an important event as there will be a few horses out to qualify for the Grand Heritage. Starret City looks like a fair sort and can put his disappointing last run, where the saddle slipped, behind him from a plum draw of two over the suitable 1600m trip. Pilou is progressive and Nephrite has become consistent, so both will also be players over an ideal trip. Mambo Symphony showed he is up to his high merit rating last time, but has been raised a further two points and has to overcome a wide draw. Querari Viking has dropped to a competitive merit rating and can’t be ignored, while bigger budgets can include the like of National Key and Shogun.

In the sixth race Chapati’s form has worked out well, while Penny From Heaven looks to have potential but does have to overcome a merit rating of 83 in her first handicap start in just her third career outing. Fish River Canyon looks like an under achiever who has a chance with a light weight and Braxton and Polar Secret can also be considered.

By David Thiselton

Dennis Drier, pipped at the post for last season’s KZN trainer’s championship, has made a flying start to the new season and celebrated his birthday with a five-timer at Scottsville yesterday along with a large bowl of ice cream and chocolate sauce courtesy of long-time friend Bill Lambert.

However, it was not so much the number of winners that were satisfying, but also that one of his best horses found his better form after a lengthy spell out of the winner’s enclosure and also having two winners for China-based businessman Hui Guo who has invested heavily in South African Bloodstock.

Three of Drier’s winners came for Mayfair Speculators, all three ridden by Mayfair’s retained jockey Anton Marcus.

All the money came for Sacred Fame in the first who made short work of the opposition even though Marcus cut right across the field to finish on the outside rail.

After the race, training colleague Dennis Bosch’s eyes lit up like a cat who had found the cream as Sacred Flame franked the form of Cape Town-headed Billy Silver who had beaten him by five lengths when making his debut.

Billy Silver is eligible for the lucrative CTS sales races in January and will be headed for Cape Town shortly where he will be stabled at Geoff Woodruff’s Milnerton satellite yard.

Former Gr1 Tsogo Sun and Golden Horseshoe winner Seventh Plain has been dogged by ill-health but three seasons later added a fifth win to his CV as he got the better of Summer Sky in a tight finish to the fourth, Marcus and Mayfair Speculators to the fore again and Drier sitting in his ‘lucky chair’. “I thought we got beat,” he said a relieved Drier after the slow-mo replayed showed Seventh Plain a nose ahead of Summer Sky and Redcarpet Captain.

Peter Gibson has made his trips to mainland China with the South African trade delegations count and Chinses businessman and trader Hui Guo has invested heavily in South African racing and bloodstock.

He was rewarded with a double as the well-supported Salimah led her field a merry dance in the third and the photo showing Constantine getting the better of She’s A Fortress and Freddie Flint in the sixth.

Guo trades in South Africa under Hartley SA (Pty) Ltd with Peter Gibson as nominee. “The first horse he bought was Tipo Tinto but he now has 65 horses in South Africa, including 25 broodmares and shares in stallions. He is the main partner in (Scott Bros-based) Eightfold Path,” said Gibson.

Constantine denied Corrine Bestel and Derryl Daniels double as earlier Rose Of Peru put one over males, hanging on gamely to out-point favourite Amritsar who arrived on the scene a fraction too late.

A cornel collar, designed to keep the airways open, appears to have done the tricky for Lloyd’s Legacy who kept finding to win a smart race in the fifth although there was some debate in the winner’s circle. “I don’t think he needs it,” said Marcus. “I think he does,” retorted Drier.

After five winners on the day – we stay with the trainer!

 

By Andrew Harrison