Following a Gold Circle initiative to collect comments on first-timers and the refusal of some trainers to oblige, a debate about “transparency” has been prevalent in the South African racing community.

However, there has been a lack of debate about a related but more important issue i.e. the absence of measures taken on South African training tracks to prevent insiders from having total control of information.

Renowned international syndicate owner and journalist Barry Irwin summed it up best three years ago in a reply to an email I wrote him asking whether saddle cloths were compulsory on USA training tracks. At the time I had been running a Gold Circle approved website where I attempted for every KZN meeting to publish as many comments on runners as possible.

This exercise highlighted the missing link racing scribes in South Africa have in their potential armoury.

The three weapons which should be in this armoury are 1) form study, 2) comments from the connections of a horse and 3) watching the horse working.

However, being able to identify relevant horses and watch them work is very hit and miss in South Africa. Hence my letter to Mr Irwin.

His reply was eye opening. He said visiting a South African training track was like going back to the 1950’s. He used an amusing analogy, writing, “Going to South Africa is like watching one of those movies where somebody gets shipwrecked and one or two of the survivors washes ashore on a remote island where prehistoric beasts roam the land.”

His point was the information available in South African racing is controlled by those on the inside. There are zero measures on South African training tracks to exert control for the benefit of outsiders, like the media, who can then relay the information to the punters.

Irwin went on to explain the role of “clockers” in the USA, to whom it is compulsory to report to when going through “the gap” on to the track. All times for workouts are published in Daily Racing Form and on line at Equibase.com. (I should imagine a scribe could watch a lot of relevant gallops too by simply standing next to the clocker).

Irwin concluded by saying in his opinion the electronic barcode system used in Hong Kong and Japan should be a worldwide standard, although admitting in some instances it would be too expensive to install.

Irwin hits the nail on the head.

When going to the track in South Africa, the only time a scribe is generally able to see a relevant horse working is if he or she happens to be standing with the trainer at the time, as the latter will then be able to identify the horse. I count myself lucky to see a handful of relevant gallops on any morning i.e. you know who the horse is, it will be running in the meeting you are covering, and it is doing fast work.

It is generally impossible to stand with more than one trainer at a time and there is an improbability of a relevant gallop coinciding with your visit to a trainer’s ring.

Furthermore, it is a logistical nightmare trying to schedule gallops to watch. For example, at Summerveld there are many trainers and also a number of tracks, all of which are far apart. It is a sad state of affairs, because the most confident information a scribe can provide is when they have been able to see an eye catching gallop.

I list a few examples below.

I was metres away from Jackson when he strode past on a sand track at Philippi a few days before the Investec Cape Derby. To say his enormous stride took my breath away would be an understatement. Trainer Brett Crawford’s subsequent comments included his opinion the horse would stay and at that stage of his career Jackson had a good temperament too. The comments added the cherry on top of what had just been seen, coupled with the horse’s form, which spoke for itself. Therefore, a report of true confidence could be written and Jackson duly beat the great Variety Club.

On an earlier occasion I stood by trainer Frank Robinson and watched the two-year-old filly Chocolicious giving the older sprinter Intellectual a hiding on Summerveld’s bottom grass track. Intellectual had never been a great work horse, but had just come off a second place finish in the Gr 1 Computaform Sprint.  A few days later Chocolicious won the Gr 1 Allan Robertson at odds of 55/1 and I received a phonecall from a grateful punter, who had not considered Chocolicious for his Jackpot until reading the newspaper report.

In the week of this year’s Vodacom Durban July meeting, I watched Isca putting up a magnificent gallop on the Summerveld beach sand. Trainer Gavin van Zyl confirmed him to be in “tip top condition” and was bullish about his form chances too. The glowing newspaper report was backed up by tipping him to win, which he did by three lengths at odds of 9/2.

There are many other examples I could provide.

However, there are also the ones which don’t come to fruition. The saying “if in doubt leave it out” is very true in racing. Eye catching work on its own can be as misleading as a trainer’s bold comment on its own.

As far as trainer’s comments go, the ones I have found most useful are when a horse with good form is returning from a layoff as the public will then have an idea of how close to its form it will run. First-timer comments can be useful too, especially when accompanied by a detailed analysis of the pedigree.

Those bringing the trainers’ comments should be congratulated for their efforts.

However, to conclude, there are no measures in place on SA training tracks for the benefit of work watchers. This should really be the primary issue for debate, ahead of the rather tired transparency one.

David Thiselton

The winners of last season’s Vodacom Durban July, SANSUI Summer Cup and Gold Cup all feature among the entries for the R1-million Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile. The Grade 2 race will be run over 1600m on the Turffontein Standside track on Saturday 5 November.

The Conglomerate, Master Sabina and Enaad are probably looking ahead at the Summer Cup at the end of November but this is an important race and none of the connections would mind walking away with the winner’s cheque.

While Master Sabina has landed No 12 draw and Enaad No 10, Durban July champion The Conglomerate as draw no 28 of the 38 entries.

However, there are some excellent “milers” in the field, including Rabada, St Tropez, Mac De Lago, Champagne Haze, Mogok Master, Saratoga Dancer, New Predator and last year’s winner Bouclette Top.

Rabada has joined Brett Crawford’s yard but has been in Joburg for quite a while. Unfortunately he was withdrawn from his warm-up run and if he is declared to run he might have to go in without a prep race. Crawford will not be happy that his charge has landed No 31 draw.

John Janse van Vuuren will be reasonably happy New Predator has drawn No 13. That should see him come in to around No 8 for the race, should he accept.

Gary Alexander did not enter Kangaroo Jack for this event but he has nominated Champagne Haze who had a decent warm-up run when placed fourth behind his stablemate in the Grade 2 Joburg Spring Challenge. He has landed No 18 draw.

Last year the half-brother to Pierre Jourdan won the R2.5-million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup over 1400m on Charity Mile day.

The final field will be unveiled at a function at Emperors Palace on Tuesday 25 October. The 16 celebrities and charities will also find out which horse will represent them in the big race.

The charity who draws the winning horse will receive R150,000, the charity represented by the runner-up will receive R100,000 with the other 14 charities getting proportionate amounts of the total donation, depending on the allocated horse’s placement. No charity will go home with less than R20,000.

Supplementary entries close at 11am on Friday after which the weights will be posted.

Declarations close at 11am on Tuesday 25 October after which the final field will be announced.

Entries and draws for the R1-million Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile (Grade 2) over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday 5 November:

35-ARCTICA (M G Azzie); 24-BEZANOVA (A G Laird); 11-BULLETING HOME (S G Tarry); 33-CAPTAIN ALDO (S J Gray); 18-CHAMPAGNE HAZE (G M Alexander); 3-DEO JUVENTE (G V Woodruff); 9-DEPUTY JUD (M G Azzie); 10-ENAAD (M F De Kock); 20-FINCHATTON (S G Tarry); 38-FORT MEYERS (S G Tarry); 26-INTERGALACTIC (S G Tarry); 30-IRISH PRIDE (J A Janse van Vuuren); 21-JANOOBI (M F De Kock); 17-KINGS ARCHER (S T Pettigrew); 15- LUNAR APPROACH (S G Tarry); 7-MAC DE LAGO (W H Marwing); 19-MACDUFF (J Ramsden); 16-MASTER ‘N COMMANDER (G V Woodruff); 12-MASTER SABINA (G V Woodruff); 22-MOGOK MASTER (J A Soma); 2-MOOFEED (M F De Kock); 13-NEW PREDATOR (J A Janse van Vuuren); 29-NIGHT TRIP (C L Bass-Robinson); 4-NO WORRIES (G H Van Zyl); 37-PIVOTAL PURSUIT (G M Alexander); 25-PRINCE OF ORANGE (C Dawson); 31-RABADA (B Crawford); 32-ROMANY PRINCE (O A Ferraris); 5-ROYAL NAVY SHIP (K Naidoo); 36-SAMURAI BLADE (S G Tarry); 6-SARATOGA DANCER (D C Howells); 8-SHADOW OFHIS SMILE (G V Woodruff); 14-ST TROPEZ (J Ramsden); 1-STORMY ECLIPSE (C Laird); 23-TEN GUN SALUTE (D C Howells); 28-THE CONGLOMERATE (J Ramsden); 34-WILL PAYS (M G Azzie); 27-WUKKIN’ UP (S G Tarry)

TABnews

[16] SILVER RAIN has had 14 career outings with 1 win and 0 places to her name. However, there’s more to her than meets the eye and she could be the value in Race 5, a competitive MR60 Handicap for fillies and mares, at Fairview today.

She does not seem to enjoy blinkers and in her last start showed massive improvement over the 1900 trip with the blinkers off.

The daughter of Greys Inn was also forced to check for a few strides in her last start and couldn’t find a way through.

Today, she jumps from draw 6 and, if she gets an easy trip, she should be slicing through the field up the straight.

Considering her overall record, we should get some good eachway (win and place) value about Silver Rain. [1] Wonder Worker and [4] One Love should also be involved in the finish.

Devonne Govender

There’s a proud record for the South African team to defend when the Air Mauritius International Jockeys’ Challenge takes place on the 18th and 20th of November.

This year’s event will once again be a double-header with the first leg taking place at Fairview before wrapping up at Turffontein on the Sunday.

But the South African team, captained this year by reigning champion jockey S’manga Khumalo, may have their work cut out for them given the crop of international riders assembled for the 2016 edition. Khumalo led the team to victory in the International Jockeys’ Challenge in 2013.

The visitors will be captained by one of horseracing’s most charismatic characters in Frankie Dettori, who is no stranger to our shores having ridden in the first two editions.

The remainder of the squad sees Robert Havlin, Pat Cosgrave, Aurelian Lemaitre and Hayley Turner, all four featured in last year’s event, while Irish jockey Fergus Sweeney will be making his debut.

“From our point of view it is an absolute privilege to have the likes of Frankie and Hayley, who has kept her riding licence specifically for this event, coming back to South Africa. If you look at the calibre of stables that these jockeys ride for you can tell it’s a really strong side that’s been assembled,” said Larry Wainstein, CEO of the Racing Association.

As far as the South African team goes, Andrew Fortune and Anthony Delpech earned automatic inclusion as a result of their position on the National Jockey’s Log at the end of last season while MuziYeni was included after Anton Marcus was unable to confirm his participation.

In-form Gavin Lerena and Grant van Niekerk have been thrown into the mix as wild cards.

“I’ve raced against these guys before and it’s always nice to be part of this again. It’s always exciting and we learn a thing or two from the visitors while also teaching them something. It’s going to be an exciting challenge and I just hope our guys are ready for it. We’d like to come out on top again,” said Khumalo as he prepares to lead the team again.

Since the inception of the competition in 2008 the South Africans have dominated, winning the competition eight times. The Internationals managed to reel off two successive victories in 2011 and 2012.

“Our team is made up of some promising youngsters and we’re giving them a chance to test themselves against some of the world’s best while also including the likes of Andrew Fortune and Anthony Delpech as the stalwarts,” Wainstein said of the make-up of the South African team.

Teams for the Air Mauritius International Jockeys’ Challenge:

South Africa

S’mangaKhumalo (c)

Andrew Fortune

Anthony Delpech

MuziYeni

Gavin Lerena

Grant van Niekerk

Internationals

Frankie Dettori (Italy)

Robert Hablin (Scotland)

Pat Cosgrave (Ireland)

Fergus Sweeney (Ireland)

Aurelian Lemaitre (France)

Hayley Turner (England)

–Racing.Its a rush

Edict Of Nantes will take his chance in the Choice Carriers Cape Classic after completing a hat-trick in fast time in the Graduation Plate at Durbanville on Saturday.

The 5-2 chance led just under a furlong out and, although the margin over stable companion Nebula was only half a length, the Mayfair Speculators winner really put his stamp on the race in the last 50 metres with Corne Orffer reporting “he was just playing with them.”  The 1 min 23.75 sec time was only just over half a second outside Act Of War’s 1 400m course record.

Brett Crawford said: “This was a nice test and he came through it with flying colours. After the Cape Classic he will hopefully go on to the Selangor and then the Guineas while Nebula runs in the Betting World Algoa Cup at Fairview on Sunday week.”

However 11-10 favourite Lord Balmoral finished last after going out as if hit by load-shedding at the 400m mark. “I’m totally baffled,” admitted Vaughan Marshall following Glennie’s all-the-way win under Lucien Africa 40 minutes later.

Varsity Cup, who made all under Greg Cheyne in the first, is one of five that Crawford trains for patrons of Tony Millard in the hope that they will prove good enough to go out to Hong Kong. One who made the grade – in this country at least – was the 2013 Cape Guineas winner Elusive Gold and his full sister Seattle Gold delighted owner- breeder Ashley Parker when making most of the running in the last to complete a double for Orffer and a treble for Crawford.

Braam van Huysteen’s Felicity Flyer booked her Choice Carriers Championship ticket when running on resolutely for Aldo Domeyer to get up 50m out in the Place Your Bets Novice Plate.

Candice Bass-Robinson said: “Unfortunately she is drawn 28 but we will have to take our chance on Saturday week. She is a little thing but she has the heart of a lion and is as tough as nails. She also has a really good turn of foot.”

However Justin Snaith virtually ruled out the Choice Carriers for runner-up Gimme Six, saying: “She is drawn badly (30) and she is only rated 89. I have The Merry Widow (drawn one) rated 94 for that race.”

Domeyer, who hasn’t ruled out testing his athletic ability on the running track, is getting more of the Bass Racing mounts while stable jockey Grant van Niekerk is sitting out a ten-day Grand Heritage interference suspension and he also scored on Ollivander. He initiated a treble on the Snaith-trained odds-on shot Midtown Manhattan, deputising for the sidelined Richard Fourie who resumes at Kenilworth on Saturday.

Glen Puller reckons that Solar Night, part-owned by the lucky CTS Million Dollar winners Francis Carruthers and Ian Robinson, may yet justify at least some of the faith he had in the horse after the 7-2 chance gave weight all round under Craig Bantam in the 1 800m handicap.

“I have always liked him and I thought he would have been a bit further ahead by now,” said Puller. “But he could carry on from here.”

Michael Clower