Vodacom Durban July-winning trainer Joey Ramsden spoke of the emotional roller coaster he had ridden as trainer of the luckless “machine” Red Ray and of just how much the five-year-old entire’s Gr 1 Mercury Sprint victory on Saturday meant to both himself and jockey Anton Marcus.

Ramsden has bundles of outstanding memories in his training career, but one which will never fade is of a gallop Red Ray put up over six furlongs at Kenilworth under Andrew Fortune in which he annihilated the older Gr 1-winning filly Blueridge Mountain by some ten to fifteen lengths giving away weight.

In his next start, his first as a three-year-old, Red Ray beat the subsequently named Equus Horse Of The Year Legislate by 2,5 lengths in the Gr 3 Cape Classic over 1400m under Marcus. It was an impressive display, but Legislate was not well known at that stage and had started at odds of 20/1.

Therefore the talking point became Ramsden’s seemingly over bold statement of Red Ray’s ability when interviewed for a live Tellytrack audience in the winner’s enclosure. He said in the interview he regarded Red Ray as “similar but probably better than Variety Club”. The latter had by that stage won four Gr 1s, had proved himself one of the best milers the country had ever seen, and had twice been named Equus Horse Of The Year.

However, Ramsden stood by his statement on Saturday after the Mercury Sprint win.

He said,  “I always felt Red Ray was the equivalent of Variety Club, if not better. This horse was a living, running machine of absolute epic note. I have never been one to cry when horses move on, but when this horse went away to Dubai I absolutely cried. He was a very unlucky horse at three from terrible, terrible draws and should have won a Gr 1. When we brought him to Scottsville and he got beaten from a 15 draw when they all went up the other side, I literally cried that night. We ran him in races like the Queen’s Plate from bad draws.

“He is an amazing horse and he’s just as good going to the front, although he probably doesn’t quite get home over a mile, as he is being held up. I was lucky enough that year to have some brilliant horses like Variety Club and a very good filly called Blueridge Mountain, and Red Ray made mincemeat of them all. And he was never a morning glory horse, everything he did he reproduced. Whether it happened on the track due to various factors, it was just one of those unlucky things. If ever I was frustrated over a horse, and through none of his own fault, it was with him.

“He is and was a living, walking machine and one of the most handsome horses I have trained. You only have to look at his head to see this horse will make it no matter what he does. I am glad the public got to see the best of him today. They could tell from Anton’s interview how much he thinks of him and thought of him too. I would like to think we were not totally bananas in what we felt about his true ability.”

 

Marcus said in the winning interview on Saturday, “This horse on raw ability is probably the best horse in the country.”

The great jockey had been at “sixes and sevens” to explain Red Ray’s below par run in the Gr 2 Post Merchants. Ramsden said simply nothing had gone right for Red Ray that day and felt he had also been a touch unlucky in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, which was his comeback from a year-and-a-half layoff.

Ramsden and Markus Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman went back to the drawing board and decided to fit blinkers for the first time in the Mercury Sprint.

Anton Marcus retrospectively described this decision as “a stroke of genius.” The great jockey said working out how the race would pan out had been like trying to decipher hieroglyphics. However, Red Ray travelled down to the start well in the blinkers and after breaking well managed to find the rail quite comfortably in suitably fast conditions. He was then given a perfect lead by Captain Alfredo at a fast enough pace to allow him to use his considerable stride.

When asked the question in the straight, Red Ray responded magnificently and passed the line full of running and two lengths clear of a quality field. It was the second year in succession the Markus and Ingrid Jooste silks had been carried to victory in the Mercury Sprint. This time they did the one-two as the Mike Bass-trained six-year-old Night Trip enjoyed the step down in trip and stayed on strongly from a handy position for second. Three Gr 1-winning sprinters, Real Princess, Gulf Storm and Talktothestars, filled the next three places.

The Western Winter entire’s winning time of 69,31 seconds, albeit with the aid of a tailwind, was considerably quicker than Captain Of All’s time of 70,84 last year, despite the latter having won by five lengths and being accorded a merit rating of 126.

The race put the cherry on the top of a fine season for Red Ray’s breeders Lammerskraal Stud, who also bred SA Triple Crown winner Abashiri.

Ramsden heaped praise on his Summerveld assistant trainer Alson Ndzilana, whom he described as a “supreme horseman.”

He added later, “Today Anton (Marcus) showed exactly how good the horse really is, he made me feel very, very proud of Red Ray and exceptionally proud of Anton himself.”

Ramsden was going to savour every moment of the vindication on Saturday and it was not a selfish vindication because his only concern after making that bold statement back in October 2013 had been the fear he had made a fool of the horse.

He concluded, “Maybe this horse means a bit more to me than The July.”

David Thiselton

Pictures: Nkosi Hlophe and Candiese Marnewick

South Africa’s only Frankel filly, Miss Frankel, will be going into training in Durban with Dennis Drier at the end of the month.

Boom horse Frankel, who became a world-wide legend in winning all 14 of his racecourse starts, has had his first runners as a stallion this year and all six of his progeny to have raced so far have won.

Little surprise, then, that Drier is “over the moon” to be handed Miss Frankel, the second foal of Avontuur Stud’s well-performed mare Val De Ra and due to race in the Taberer’s Avontuur Stud silks.

It will be a while before racing fans see the chestnut filly, who only turns two on 1 August, in action. “She hasn’t even been broken yet,” said Drier. “She’s coming straight off Avontuur Farm and will only debut next year.

“I’ve been to see her a couple of times and she’s lovely, very correct.”

Cunco gave Frankel his first winner in May at Newbury and his most recent was Seven Heavens at Ascot on Friday last week. He already has Group 3 and Listed placings to his credit – Queen Kindly and Cunco respectively.

According to “Racing Post”, Seven Heavens, who cost 620,000 guineas as a yearling, travelled sweetly to the front before asserting himself in the final 200m and jockey Robert Havlin said: “I’ve ridden two Frankels now and they’ve both wanted to get on with things at home, but come raceday they’re as good as gold.”

John Gosden, who trains Seven Heavens, said: “He’s a grand horse and did it well. He hit the front a long way out and was on his own in the middle of the course from the two pole, so he did well to win as he did. I wouldn’t be in a rush with him and would rather bring him along gradually.”

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Khalid Abdullah who raced Frankel and in whose silks Seven Heavens races, said on “Sporting Life”: “We’re very pleased with him. There are various options for him at a higher level like the Richmond Stakes. Equally so, there are options like various novice events. We are just seeing how he progresses and comes out of the race so he can tell us where we want to be.”

Drier also has care of Avontuur’s other high-profile import, the Oasis Dream filly Dream De Ra, who is also from Val de Ra. Dream De Ra was born in Britain to southern hemisphere time.

About to turn three, Drier said: “She’s doing well. She’s a nice filly, although she hasn’t got the quality or beauty of Miss Frankel. But she’s a nice, strongly built, well put together filly.”

TABnews

 

Neil Bruss won the Queen Palm Stakes, now downgraded from Listed to non-black type, for the second year in succession on Saturday at Greyville and this time it was with the Ideal World four-year-old filly Zante, who was bred by Mauritzfontein’s assistant stud manager Nigel Page.

Bruss did the one-two as Zante beat last year’s winner Deputy Ryder by six lengths. The Joey Ramsden-trained Grey Light was third.

After original jockey Weichong Marwing had been booked off, Anton Marcus had seemed a bit reluctant to be substitute, according to Bruss, as he had questioned whether Zante would stay the 2400m trip.

However, after Bruss had replied, “If you take her to the front she will go around twice,” Marcus had then agreed to take the ride.

Marcus put the advice into action after his initial attempt to hold Zante up behind the leaders had seen her racing a touch keen. She then bowled along into a six length lead and showed no signs of stopping in the straight.

Both Zante and Deputy Ryder will be aimed at the Gr 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m on Super Saturday.

David Thiselton

National Champion trainer Sean Tarry scored another milestone when reaching a likely record of 200 winners for the season on Saturday at Greyville and it was fitting it happened in a feature race.

Tarry had a strong hand in the Listed Off To Stud Stakes over 1600m on the polytrack.

However, in the end it was the least fancied of his five runners, Lady Of Kildare, who prevailed under a typically polished ride from Anthony Delpech, beating stablemate Enchanted Silk by 1,75 lengths.

This Klawervlei Stud-bred five-year-old Captain Al mare has now won half of her eight starts on the Greyville poly.

Tarry is thought to be the first trainer to have ever reached the 200-winner mark in a South African season. He saddled three more winners at Turffontein yesterday to take his season tally to 203.

David Thiselton

Red Ray looks set to be retired to stud at Klawervlei following his inspired return to form in the Mercury Sprint at Greyville last Saturday.

Owner Markus Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman said yesterday that he is having discussions with the stud’s directors and that he might not know for sure until the end of the week.

But he added: “Red Ray is a brilliant horse and he has achieved everything we set out for him. With his pedigree, winning a Group 1 was all he needed on his CV to make a top stallion.

“It is a bit late in the season to send him to stud but we can make a plan to make it work for all the breeders who support him.”

The Sean Tarry-trained Legal Eagle, who many thought would go for the Champions Cup after side-stepping the Vodacom Durban July, is to have a rest before having another crack at the top Cape Town races. The four-year-old won the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate in January before beating all except Smart Call in the Met.

Brugman explained: “Legal Eagle raced in two different provinces [he also won the HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut and the Premier’s Champions Challenge] and, while I would have expected him to win a race of the calibre of the Champions Cup, I didn’t think it was prudent to put that pressure on the horse.

“I discussed it with Sean and we have decided to give him a break and bring him back for the feature season in Cape Town.  He would probably then go back to Jo’burg for the Horse Chestnut and Premier’s Champions Challenge.”

Durban July hero The Conglomerate also misses the Champions Cup and the Joey Ramsden-trained four-year-old is to be aimed at the Sansui Summer Cup that Markus and Ingrid Jooste won with Wagner in 2012. They were also part-owners of the 2013 winner Yorker.

Brugman said: “I know it’s sacrilege to give the Champions Cup a miss when the horse is in such good form but we would like to be able to go for the Summer Cup off his present rating.”

Michael Clower