South Africa’s racing and breeding industry is mourning the death at the weekend of one of its most passionate and influential members, owner-breeder Hyman “Hymie” Maisel, who passed away on Saturday night only hours after attending the Selangor Cup (Hymie was not at the Selangor on Saturday. He was very ill before he died but was aware that the race was taking place. I suggested to you that in his mind he would have made an emotional connection because some of his friends from Malaysia would miss him at the races and that would have made him sad) race meeting at Kenilworth.

The race was part of the partnering arrangement between South African and Malaysian racing which Hyman had played a major role in establishing some years ago.

Numerous tributes to the man, who was heavily involved in the breeding industry in the country and in the administration of racing in the Western Cape, have poured in including those of very close friend John Freeman of Freeman Bloodstock (Freeman stallions) and Gold Circle CEO Michel Nairac who described him as “one of the most passionate lovers of the thoroughbred and the sport”. They extended their condolences to his widow Joan and his family.

Hyman was the owner of the Hyjo Stud in the Cape and bred many top horses including the winner in (Past master didn’t win this year – he won in 2011) January this year of the J&B Met, Past Master. He was responsible some years back for selling the first South African-bred horse, Money Market, to race in Malaysia and it went on to win the country’s richest race at the time, the R3-million Cunku Gold Cup.

He played a leading role in trying to establish a protocol (he was not involved in established a protocol – I told you that was Paddy Wilson – Hymie was involved in setting up a market with Singapore and Malaysia for SA horses) (He put a lot of effort into marketing SA horses) between the two countries that would allow South African horses to be sold to Malaysia which would have given a major boost to this country’s breeding industry but through the lack of government support the protocol was never concluded (The protocol was concluded I told you that Paddy Wilson brought the protocol document from Malaysia by hand, the Government failed to support the protocol and do very little even now). He had also worked tirelessly while in the TBA to open the South African market to the racing world.

He was the chairman of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association for many years and also chairman of the Western Province Racing Club, playing a major role in the amalgamation of Western Cape Racing with Gold Circle in 2000.  He served as a board member of Gold Circle and was the first chairman of the Western Cape Chapter of Gold Circle.

 

The second and final leg of the Air Mauritius International Jockeys Challenge got off to a dream start at Turffontein yesterday when legendary jockey Frankie Dettori rode his first winner on South African soil and the crowds were treated to his trademark “flying dismount”.

The appreciative crowd enjoyed a double dose as Dettori was in the winner’s enclosure again two races later.The brilliant jockey was aboard the promising Joe Soma-trained three-year-old Trippi filly Turn Back Time in yesterday’s first Challenge event. He extracted a strong finish to convert favouritism in the MR 62 Handicap over 1800m to win by 0,25 lengths.

Dettori was thrilled to have won a race in South Africa, in his third riding visit, and to have put his team back in contention.

The charismatic Italian spoke of the wonderful hospitality the visitors had received.“We are having a ball”, he said. He concluded the winner’s enclosure interview with typical humour by shouting, “Shot!”, a well-known South Africanism.

Soma said having the famous jockey riding a winner for him would be a memory which would last a lifetime.

In yesterday’s third Challenge race, a MR 87 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m, Dettori led from start to finish on the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Seattle Lady. However, by that stage the bird had already flown as far as the team competition was concerned. The South Africans had brought a commanding 226 to 174 lead from Friday’s first leg at Fairview.

In yesterday’s first Challenge race South Africans S’Manga Khumalo, Anthony Delpech and Gavin Lerena, had filled the next three places behind Detorri and the Internationals only scored 53 points to 47, meaning they had closed the gap to 46.

In the next race, a MR 66 Handicap over 1600m, S’Manga Khumalo produced a strong finish to win on the Geoff Woodruff-trained Duzi Moon and South Africans Delpech and Yeni finished second and fourth respectively.

The South Africans had now increased the lead to a virtually unassailable 69.

Dettori’s next win helped the internationals close the gap to 57, but from that position they would still have required a miracle to overhaul the South Africans. However, there was still a lot to play for in the individual competitions.

Over the two legs Dettori was on 79 points to Gavin Lerena’s 77, and Friday’s victor Ladorum Muzi Yeni was on 73. In yesterday’s individual standings Dettori was on 64 to Khumalo’s 52. Unfortunately, lightning in the vicinity prevented the last race from being run. The South Africans had therefore won the Challenge for the seventh time in the ninth clash since it had begun.

Dettori capped yet another wonderful year in his illustrious career by going home as both yesterday’s and the overall victor ladorum.

By David Thiselton

Picture courtesy of Racing. It’s A Rush 

Discussing that evening’s Greyville card with the group of apprentices stranded between strings at Ashburton on Friday morning, Eric Ngwane admitted rather sheepishly that Marshall That had run away with him when down the field behind Roy’s Magic.

“I took a bump and he just ran away with me. I couldn’t hold him,” he admitted candidly before adding, “He’s a nice horse, I think he will run a good race.”

Ngwane was on the mark but serving out a suspension, Alistair Gordon approached Warren Kennedy as replacement and he got the colt home in a driving finish to the PMB Community Chest 3-Year-Old Handicap ahead of favourite Palladium.

The field was reduced to six runners with Gordon opting to scratch My Pal Al who has a date in the Gr2 Dingaans next Saturday.

“First this race was washed out, then the next meeting was abandoned so I was not sure if he would get into the Dingaans field and opted to run here. But he did get in so I got permission to scratch,” Gordon explained.

The Mike and Norma Rattray-owned Marshall That was all over the course with Kennedy and obviously green. “We were disappointed in his last race but he took a bump early. I think he got a fright and he ran away with Eric. It was not his fault and he couldn’t ride tonight because he was suspended,” said Gordon.

Gordon concluded, “He is a nice horse and won’t stop here.”

Anton Marcus had a super book of rides and after winning the first three races things looked ominous for his weighing room colleagues after favourite Master Runner. However, as is so often the case in racing, the winners suddenly dried up and his evening was done.

Master Runner was pushed all the way to the line by young apprentice Ashton Arries aboard the Sean Tarry-trained Media Circus, but the boot was on the other foot come the Royal Security Handicap a race later.

Marcus was again on the favourite Air Chief Marshal but the gelding came up empty as Arries drove the Tarry-trained Lucky Luciano through a gap and kept him hard to his task to hold off Reactive and Magical Bet.

Late colleague Ron Phillips, once of Radio Port Natal fame, made a public on-course gaff when announcing that, “it appears the noseband has slipped;” the horse in the canter past sporting a sheepskin browband. A change of equipment can often work miracles and the woolly browband has done much to calm the temperamental and often difficult Zilla who came good in the Royal Alarms Security Handicap. “She’s got talent but is her own worst enemy,” explained Lowan Denysschen.

By Andrew Harrison

“Disappointed?  Yes. But bothered?  No.” This is Joey Ramsden’s reaction to Saturday’s seismic Selangor shock when odds-on Table Bay’s third to 28-1 chance Gold Standard measured at least eight on racing’s Richter scale.

“Pace is important but you have got to be in the right place,” Ramsden reasoned, pointing out that the first two were stone last turning for home. “The others just went too fast.”

His rivals will point out that it was he who provided the pacemaker but punters and pundits alike were left stunned. However rider Anton Marcus seemed to be singing from much the same hymn sheet as Ramsden, saying: “I think he was too prominent in running – I can’t think of anything else. Table Bay is a smart horse but going through the 900m mark he was under pressure and I knew I was in trouble.”

Maybe – just maybe – the Cape Classic flattered Table Bay. The time that day was more than two seconds outside the course record but Saturday’s race was fast, less than a second outside the 2014 Green Point when Legislate smashed the mile record.

The Cape Guineas on December 17 will provide the answer but for those, like the writer, burning to find out now that is both stating the obvious and far too late. Certainly the majestic manner in which Table Bay strode home under 60kg remains a well-nigh unshakeable memory.

Glen Kotzen, though, can hardly wait for his chance to do it again. The Hattinghs’ Trippi colt had won his last two and Richard Fourie, completing a treble of his own, said: “He was travelling like a winner all the way and, when I saw Table Bay not pulling it through, I knew he could do it. He fought all the way to the line.”

Kotzen added: “This was no surprise to me because Gold Standard is getting better and better. He is more of a Derby sort and I thought the short run-in might find him out so I changed his work to doing short, sharp bits.”

Runner-up Edict Of Nantes looked like winning a furlong out and Brett Crawford is, somewhat understandably, also dreaming of Guineas glory – “I’m praying for a draw and then we will have a real chance.”

The much fancied Al Fahad, though, ran even worse than the favourite. There was more money for him than Table Bay in the two hours before the race – he shortened from 7-2 to 5-2 while the favourite drifted from 5-10 to 7-10– but he was in trouble coming out of the final turn and a beaten horse soon afterwards.

Safe Harbour is to stay in Cape Town for Saturday week’s WSB Fillies Guineas after finishing faster than anything to shoot through a rapidly-closing gap in the Lanzerac Ready To Run. The Elusive Fort filly, bred by Jim Antrobus, earned R1.25 million for CTS chairman Chris van Niekerk and the big-spending Wehann Smith who for this one forked out a mere R180 000.

Sean Tarry said: “She is drawn two and, if she pulls up well, we will take our chance. After that we will regroup.”

But it wasn’t all plain sailing in the irons with Weichong Marwing reporting: “There was some scrimmaging in the back straight. Anton on Always In Charge had to check in front of something and I had to pull off his heels, putting my filly off her stride.”

Marcus had what looked a dangerously difficult ride on the 15-10 favourite. He was badly hampered early on by Purple Tractor (“I went right down”) and was hindered by the same horse a furlong out. With a clear run he would have been in the shake-up at the very least.

But it was a case of close-home heartbreak for Anthony Delpech on the front-running Sergeant Hardy whose wind-restricted stamina exceeded all expectations. “I thought I was going to hold on,” he reported ruefully. “But at the end my horse dived to the left and, had I let him go over, I would have lost it (in the boardroom) anyway.”

The gelding’s trainer Justin Snaith, who also sent out fourth-placed Bishop’s Bounty, said that Zodiac Ruler will run in the Cape Guineas despite managing only ninth – “The course is riding very fast and he couldn’t get into it on the short run-in.”

Quick Brown Fox earned a crack at the Fillies Guineas after comfortably following up her debut win under Greg Cheyne in the 1 200m fillies handicap with Crawford pointing out: “It is a big plus that she is drawn one.”

Matthew de Kock has already earmarked the Summer Stayers (Dec 17) and the Chairmans Cup (Jan 7) for the Callan Murray-ridden Smart Mart who got up close home in the Kenilworth Cup.

Michael Clower

 

 

 

Rain conspired to cut short the final meeting of the Air Mauritius International Jockeys’ Challenge but those in attendance at Turffontein Racecourse were treated to the famous Frankie Dettori flying dismount, not once but twice.

And those in attendance didn’t have to wait long either as the captain of the international team delivered with his first ride of the day, aboard the Joe Soma trained Turn Back Time, as his side tried to peg back the deficit.

“The race was easy for me. It’s great for the public and for me that the fight is back on and were catching up,” Dettori said after his win in the opener.

“Shot!” he added, using one of South African racing’s more popular expressions.

Heading into the meeting each of the respective captains were rooted to the bottom of the rider’s standings but that changed very quickly in Johannesburg as S’manga Khumalo delivered aboard Duzi Moon in the sixth race.

The double was completed for Dettori after the seventh as he got Seattle Lady home for an easy victory and in turn sealed up the Victor Ludorum prize, not only for the day, but for the overall competition.

For that particular winning interview, Dettori recalled how a bird had provided some lucky inspiration earlier on that morning.

“I was standing under the tree and a bird pooped on my suit. The boys said it was lucky and it turned out that way,” the legendary Italian said.

But any hopes that Dettori had of his team catching the South African team were dashed in spite of his personal heroics given that the local riders consistently found the placings and ended up taking the honours once again. It is the seventh time the South African side have come out tops in this annual event. The internationals have managed to claim two victories.

His personal haul on the day of 72,5, each jockey was awarded 8.5 points for the abandoned race, was enough to push his persona tally up to 87,5 for the two-legged series and ensured he edged out Gavin Lerena by a slim two point margin.

Muzi Yeni had earned the Victor Ludorum prize in Fairview but he couldn’t sustain the effort at Turffontein with his best finish being a fourth in the sixth race although he did add consistently add to the team cause.

“It’s been brilliant. From the minute we set foot in this country everybody’s been so great and hospitable. We really enjoyed ourselves, we had a great team, good craic,” Dettori said after receiving his respective awards.

The awards ceremony was also used as an opportunity to raise money for Freddie Tylicki, paralysed in a recent fall, with Dettori’s silks from the day autographed by both teams and auctioned off.

Racing. It’s A Rush!

Picture: JC Photos