Direct exports from South Africa to the European Union could well be back on track as early as December next year or January 2019, according to Adrian Todd, a spokesman from our horseracing industry’s Import-Export Task Team.

Todd was speaking at a recent workshop attended by the most important decision-makers in the South African horseracing industry and was upbeat about the recent progress made by the team chaired by prominent owner and businessman Chris van Niekerk.

“We have been working diligently to fix the issues raised in a 2013 audit by the EU, getting expert advice domestically and internationally, and have verified we are on the right path,” said Todd. “There remains work to be done before the official EU audit in the middle of next year, but we know we’ve made real strides in our record keeping, communication and movement control. We are on path to meet or exceed our commitments to upgrade where necessary.”

Exports of South African horses have historically taken months because of a equine disease endemic to Africa called African Horse Sickness (AHS). Just like malaria is transferred through a mosquito bite, AHS is transferred by a bite from the Culicoides Midge.

All horses north of Cape Town have to be inoculated against AHS but cases have occurred in the AHS-control zones in the Western Cape. It has now been proven that the cases in the controlled areas were vaccine related and new controls regarding the timing of vaccinations are believed to have solved this risk.

There was an enormous breakthrough last year, though, when Prof Alan Guthrie and his colleagues at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science’s Equine Research Centre announced they had developed a diagnostic test, known as a RT-PCR Test (polymerase chain reaction used in molecular biology to amplify a single copy or a few copies of a segment of DNA). The test can determine with absolute certainty a horse’s AHS status within four hours. It previously took a minimum of two weeks to obtain a diagnosis.

The test was officially validated by the OIE last year and since then Van Niekerk, Todd and his team have been working diligently to get the protocols governing exports from South Africa changed.

“The progress we have made shows how far we can go if we work together towards a clear and concise target,” said Todd. “It became evident when the task team was first formed that there were no clear roles and responsibilities assigned. We did not present a united front to the rest of the world. So we put a national plan together with clear actions and responsibilities and we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Horses will still have to stand in a vector-protected (insect-free) quarantine facility, and work is in progress to ultimately reduce the number of days.

In the past SA horses going overseas have had to spend a certain amount of time in quarantine in South Africa, Mauritius and a European country, a journey that took nearly five months.

“Obviously getting exports right will not be a silver bullet for the SA horseracing industry, but our science is solid and has been accepted. We are confident about our position and we’ve got a path to follow. We know exactly where we need to go.

“We working towards a resumption of trade after the official audit next year and expect to be allowed to send horses directly abroad by December 2018-January 2019.”

– tabnews.co.za

Dean Kannemeyer, 25 Grade 1 winners already in the bag including the Durban July three times, goes into battle with 90 horses this season.

He said: “I have 30 two-year-olds coming in and, while 25 of the string will stay in Durban, I am bringing back 20 horses to Cape Town next month. October 2 is the earliest they can come back into the free zone as this will be 40 days after their last shot.

“I haven’t had any boom horses in the last year but I particularly like Last Winter. He won his only start at Greyville at two and I thought he would be a classic horse last season but he kicked a wall and suffered a hairline fracture of his pedal bone.

“He came back to win his first two at Scottsville in May and July (both mile handicaps) and I think he has a very bright future. I haven’t exposed him yet – I have tried to do the right thing with him – but he is well bred (by Western Winter out of the 2009 Cape Fillies Guineas winner Field Flower) and he has a lot of potential.”

Andre Nel has the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes on January 6 as the ultimate objective for Igugu’s half-sister Ngaga who won her first three starts before finishing second in both the Stormsvlei Mile and the Ladies Mile.

Nel said: “She is having a break at the moment but we are going to put a bit more pressure on her this season. She is prone to niggly little problems and so we were easy on her during the winter.”

Saturday week’s Settlers Trophy has attracted 15 entries and Justin Snaith has already accepted with three for the mile and a half Durbanville feature – Arezzo (Bernard Fayd’Herbe) who won the race in 2015, One Direction (Richard Fourie) and Cigar Boy. Snaith is bidding for his fifth Settlers victory.

By Michael Clower

The Brett Crawford-trained Sun Met winner Whisky Baron has “tightened up nicely” and his regular jockey Greg Cheyne will ride him next week on Monday in his first “proper gallop” since the big horse arrived in England on June 21.

The five-year-old Australian-bred Manhattan Rain gelding will do a hard gallop over 1000m on the Rowley Mile next week. His chief target is the Hong Kong International meeting in December, where he will either run in the HK$20 million Hong Kong Mile or the HK$25 million Hong Kong Cup over 2000m.

Crawford and Cheyne will decide after next week’s gallop whether Whisky Baron will be ready to take his place in the Group 2 Shadwell Joel Stakes over a mile on the Rowley Mile on September 29.

Crawford has been flying back and forth to assess Whisky Baron.

He said, “He is looking very well and has done everything right. We have taken him to a few different tracks, but have tried to keep it simple. Newmarket is a beautiful place and the facilities are fantastic.”

Cheyne has had two stints over there riding Whisky Baron. When arriving for the second stint he could immediately feel the improvement. In the second stint Whisky Baron had workouts for five days in succession and Cheyne said he had “handled the pressure well.”

Cheyne will fly out for a third time in order to ride Whisky Baron in Monday’s gallop.

Cheyne will have his first ride in England if Whisky Baron takes his place in the Joel Stakes.

He said, “Just riding work there is an experience on its own. It’s unbelievable, it’s mind blowing. Just watching the races on TV and seeing the galloping style is going to make the race very interesting. Over here and in Australia we tend to jump, sit and sprint. In the U.K. they gallop from the off and you have to maintain the gallop until the line.”

To date Cheyne has ridden Whisky Baron on the Golden Mile (peat moss), Long Hill (turf) and the Long Hill polytrack. The latter has a stiff uphill finish.

Crawford has tried to familiarise Whisky Baron with his training grounds as far as possible so has made a lot of use of the latter polytrack  as well as a nine furlong polytrack called the Al Bahathri.

A former South Africa-based assistant of Crawford’s, Jevin Awotar, who is a Mauritian, looks after Whisky Baron at Mary Slack’s Abingdon Place stables.

Whisky Baron’s regular workrider is Lisa Moncrieff, who does a lot of workriding for Mike de Kock out of Abingdon Place.

Crawford is concerned about the approach of winter in the U.K, which usually brings with it more rain. He and Cheyne are very much hoping the ground stays “on top” for the Joel Stakes.

Cheyne elaborated, “He won’t appreciate bottomless ground, especially in his first start as it will be his first race for eight months.”

South African-connected horses have enjoyed success at Newmarket in recent times. Mike de Kock has won the Joel Stakes twice. In 2008 he won it with Eagle Mountain under Kevin Shea and he set a course record in the process. Bankable was second in that race and went on to be trained by Herman Brown in Dubai before standing at Summerhill Stud. In 2013 De Kock won the Joel Stakes with the South African-bred Soft Falling Rain, ridden by Paul Hanagan. In that same year De Kock finished second in a Listed race on the Rowley Mile with the SA-bred Igugu.

Three South African-bred horses, National Colour, J J The Jet Plane and Shea Shea have finished second, third and fourth respectively in Group 1 sprint races on the Newmarket July course within the last ten years.

The South African-bred De Kock-trained Imbongi won the Group 3 Criterion Stakes over seven furlongs under Shea on the July course in 2009.

Linngari, who had earlier been trained by Herman Brown Jnr and later stood at Summerhill Stud, finished third in a Group 1 on the Rowley Mile in 2008.

The Joel Stakes are named after Solly Joel, who made his fortune as a mining magnate in South Africa and was a prolific thoroughbred owner and breeder. He won the Epsom Derby twice as an owner. However, the likely best ever decision he made was to buy a horse-in-training called Polymelus for £4,200 at the Newmarket October Sale in 1906. Polymelus was a good horse, but a cut below the best. However, he went on to lead the General English/Irish sires list five times and produced at least 50 stakes winners, including Phalaris. The vast majority of thoroughbreds today trace back to Phalaris on their male lines, through the like of legends such as Northern Dancer and Mr Prospector.

Polymelus also had a major impact on South African breeding and his Solly Joel-owned and bred son Polystome was the eleven-times SA Champion sire, a record.

By David Thiselton

 

Punters have an interesting eight race meeting at Turffontein tomorrow and the Tote exotics will likely be popular wagers.

In the first leg of the PA, a Progress Plate over 1160m, Play The Night is weighted to win and showed a good turn of foot two runs ago when winning with a bit in hand over 1200m on the Inside track. He followed up with a fair effort in a Listed event over 1400m at Greyville, when leading and tiring, so should enjoy the trip here and looks to be a PA banker. Machismo and Snow Boarding are the back ups for the risk averse.

In the first leg of the Pick 6, a Maiden over 1160m, Boatswain will likely start favourite, despite returning from a layoff since June. He lost at odds of 1/5 last time over 1000m, having run two good races against top horses in his first two starts. He was beaten by a fair sort last time and was four lengths clear of the rest of the field, so is still the one to beat. However, the third placed horse that day Sweet Trial was staying on strongly and has run two decent races since then, so warrants inclusion.

In the first leg of the Jackpot, a Maiden over 1600m, the controversial Tapanzee could be the one to side with. A top workrider was suspended for 90 days after finishing unplaced on this horse at odds of 7/10 last time. His regular jockey Lyle Hewitson is back aboard and although he appears to not be a straight forward ride, he looks to have plenty of ability and has a fair draw over what should be an ideal course and distance. Alssakhra represents the very much in form Paul Peter yard. He returns from a layoff since May 28, where he displayed his nice stride in the front over this course and distance in quite a strong maiden and only just failing. Gavin Lerena is aboard from a fair draw and he has to be included. King’s County caught the eye staying on late over 1160m last time and should enjoy the step up in trip. He does have quite a tricky draw. Before Noon ran poorly on debut, but has since been gelded and it is difficult to ever ignore the Tarry-Khumalo combination, so this horse is worth considering for the exotics from a plum draw. Dancing Rebel is having his 39^th start in the maidens but is hard to ignore on his recent form, which included a third place finish last time over course and distance close behind two promising sorts. Unfortunately, he has another wide draw to overcome. If the rider displays more patience he could get closer, although he will be hard to win with.

In the fifth race, a Maiden over 1600m, the Silvano filly Nor’Wester is a possible banker. She started 32-10 favourite on debut, but lost the jockey at the start after being bumped and shying sideways. She looked quite impressive without the rider aboard and on pedigree should relish the trip and faces an uninspiring field with Strydom up. Diva Faustina led and was run out of it by a fair sort over 1400m last time. She is interesting stepped up in trip from a good draw. Weichong Marwing remains aboard and is likely to ride her a touch more conservatively. King’s Creek has been in good form and lost narrowly last time over this trip despite losing a shoe. However, she is having her 26^th start, so is well exposed. Boudica is by Silvano so should be improving and can be considered jumping from pole with Gavin Lerena up. Spice Queen has run a good race over this trip before and is from the in form Paul Peter yard, so is a roughie to consider despite poor recent form.

The sixth is a good class MR 84 handicap over 1400m and is the highlight of the day’s racing. Zouaves ran above his merit rating last time when moving up well and finishing 0,75 lengths behind the classy filly Bella Sonata. The latter followed up by finishing third in the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes. Off a mere 81 merit rating Zouaves has a fine chance here back in a handicap over an ideal course and distance. The unbeaten Social Order has an obvious chance too. He was raised the maximum eight points last time when winning a Novice handicap over this trip by 6,6 lengths. Therefore, his merit rating is likely capped. The race is between this aforementioned pair on paper, but both are returning from layoffs, which makes it a tricky one for the exotics. Silver Scooter, Bold Viking and Bold Coast make most appeal of the rest, but Tandava and Artemisia are another pair who could upset.

The seventh is a sprint handicap where the whole field of nine could be included, although the selections for the first three is Fidelio, Ronnie Rocket and Zerodarkthirty.

The last looks to be a tricky sprint handicap over 1160m at first sight, but Lauren Of Rochelle stands out when delving deeper into the form and watching the replay of her last start over course and distance last Thursday, where she was an unlucky 1,05 length third.

By David Thiselton

Not that many horses in Cape Town win on debut and then follow up in their first handicap start – and so Do It Again may prove to be well out of the ordinary.

True, his victory in the last at Kenilworth on Saturday owed a great deal to Bernard Fayd’Herbe successfully gauging the pace as way too fast for ground softened by over 70mm of rain.

But the Twice Over gelding’s finishing burst was as impressive as the way he won – he made up the best part of five lengths in the final 100m and was easing up before the line. “95% of horses would not be able to do what he did here,” pointed out Justin Snaith

Two races earlier Snaith chalked up the 2 300^th winner of his great career when R20 000 bargain Sassy Lady took the 1 000m handicap after Grant van Niekerk secured outside help to extricate himself and his mount from a position akin to the jaws of a car-crusher, and almost as dangerous.  He was fast closing on the pace-setting State Ballet and had horses hemming him in on either side. “I was getting too close to the leader’s heels and I had to shout for room,” he related. “The gap then opened.”

The season’s leading trainer fully expected the way Fred Crabbia’s Sabbatical and Fayd’Herbe wore down hot favourite Johnny Black in the closing stages of the 1 200m maiden, explaining: “We were quite bullish. I had him in Durban throughout the season and I nominated him about six times but on each occasion the ground was too firm to risk him.”

Anton Marcus increased his amazing Kenilworth strike rate by making it look easy on two of his four rides but course doctor Ahmed Naili informed the stipes that he had advised the four-time champion  against using the sweat box to do 56.5kg on Eastern Front and Querari’s Secret. The former only managed third and Vaughan Marshall decided to save the latter for another day as he could find no suitable jockey.

Marcus’s two winners were both for Joey Ramsden and seemingly the previously headstrong True Words is one for the notebook. “He‘s got ability, speed and action,” said an impressed Ricardo Sobotker while Marcus added: “There is no reason why he shouldn’t win again. He will get seven furlongs but further than that will depend on his demeanour.”

However blinkers failed to work the oracle with Ice Queen in the Betting World Maiden won by Kotzen newcomer Wings Of Honor (Fourie) who was backed from 7-1 to 37-10 favourite. And two races later front-running tactics didn’t pay off for Leadman who weakened out of the frame after Silver De Lange took over for Andre Nel and Greg Cheyne.

Sunil Aniruth would have retired Scorpion Queen two races back had not Aldo Domeyer been available and the doctor’s favourite jockey duly ended Paul Reeves’ run of seconds in the TAB Telebet Maiden.

A little surprisingly, there was no inquiry into improved form after the Glen Puller-trained Western Storm came right away under Morne Winnaar in the Interbet.co.za Handicap. He had finished ninth and 11^th on his two most recent starts.

By Michael Clower