David Thiselton

THE darling of the SA turf, Summer Pudding, inched closer to the 51 year-old record of Home Guard when cruising to victory at Turffontein Standside yesterday. 

When Home Guard won the Grade 1 SA Guineas at Greyville on June 7 1969 he made it eleven unbeaten runs and Summer Pudding has now won eight out of eight.

The Paul Peter-trained four-year-old Silvano filly was making her first appearance since being named Equus Horse Of The Year of last season and those who had questioned that award will have to eat their words, at least for the time being. 

She was carrying 62kg and giving away lumps of weight to some useful sorts in a Pinnacle Stakes race over 1600m, which is on the sharp side for her.

However, she never looked in danger of defeat.

Warren Kennedy placed her second behind a fair pace set by her stable companion Elusive Force. 

There were none of her customary flat spots in the straight and the strongly built bay was soon displaying her big stride as she sauntered to an effortless two length victory from Rouge Allure, to whom she gave 8kg. Mount Laurel, to whom she gave 2kg, was a short-head further away in third.

Her chief market rival Lady Of Steel had earlier been scratched but it was nevertheless a pleasing comeback.

Home Guard lost his unbeaten record in the Durban July and Summer Pudding will tested to the hilt on the last Saturday of this month when running in the Grade 1 WSB Summer Cup, Johannesburg’s biggest race.

On the bright side the weights have already been published for that Turffontein Standside 2000m event and she is due to carry 57kg having been set 56,5kg. This is presuming the current top weight Queen Supreme stands her ground. The original topweight Got The Greenlight has been scratched so Queen Supreme will go up from 59,5kg to 60 kg and the other weights will all be dragged up half-a-kilogram.  

On the downside Summer Pudding is drawn 40 out of the 44 remaining entries.

Summer Pudding is currently 5/2 favourite with the sponsors.

David Thiselton

JOE SOMA has a number of options for last year’s Equus Champion Three-year-old colt, Got The Greenlight, and the first choice would be to run him in the QE II Cup in Hong Kong in April.

However, that all depends on the export protocols changing, so his more likely program will be an August campaign in Johannesburg followed by the SA Champions Season in KZN, culminating in his ultimate target, the Vodacom Durban July.

A Cape Town campaign is also a possibility but that would depend on horses being allowed to travel freely and also on the stakes levels.

Any African Horse Sickness case within a 30km radius of the training centres means an automatic 40 day ban on travel down to Cape Town, which is part of the AHS Controlled Area.

However, there is an option under those circumstances for a horse to spend 14 days in the vector protected barn at Randjesfontein.

If they do take that option they are only allowed out between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Soma did choose that option last year and pointed out, “It is very hard on a horse having to live under those conditions and then get on a vector protected float and travel 1400km to Cape Town, he does not know where he is. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the CTS 1600 was the only unplaced run of Got The Greenlight’s career and he was beaten by E division horses!”

Soma said he would unlikely exercise that option again.

However, he hinted a Cape Town campaign would be a possibility if there were no more AHS cases within a 30km radius of Turffontein (there is currently a 40 day ban in place due to an AHS case in early October).  

He said, “Raiding Cape Town in normal circumstances is fine. The horses get on the float on the Tuesday after a normal training regime and arrive there fresh.”

However, he lamented, “It is amazing how an AHS case will always crop up just before the horses are due to leave for Cape Town. We are then expected to race down there on playing fields that are not level, then come back to Jo’burg and race here and then go down to Durban where we meet the Cape Town horses who have been kept fresh. We also have big races in Jo’burg but the Cape trainers do not come for them.”

Soma admitted he would probably do the same if he trained out of Cape Town. 

However, he pointed to the great Syd Laird and Politician to prove that it was possible to travel to Turffontein and still win in other centres. Politician traveled up to Johannesburg in the November of both 1977 and 1978 before winning the Met, Queen’s Plate and July in the first of those seasons and he did the Met-Queen’s Plate double the following season too.        

Soma’s life-long dream has been to win the Vodacom Durban July and he said if the likely Johannesburg Autumn and SA Champions Season route was followed Got The Greenlight will probably make his reappearance in January.

He said, “He is very well and there is no rush.”  

Andrew Harrison

KOM NAIDOO boasts the largest string in Ashburton and he sends out winners on a regular basis. Vihzoe’s Magic, by his own admission had been disappointing before yesterday’s success at Hollywoodbets Greyville.

Speaking after her final piece of work mid-week Naidoo comment; “She has been disappointing. She should have won her maiden a long time ago. She put up a cracking piece of work yesterday and I’m hoping that the blinkers make a difference.”

They certainly seemed to do the trick as the daughter of Willow Magic ran down the favourite Umzinduzi in the run to the wire for the first.

In behind pace-setter Captain’s Rosy for much of the race, Umzinduzi moved up smartly to take the lead crossing the subway with Tristan Godden hunting a gap on Vihzoe’s Magic. Once in daylight she started to reel in Umzinduzi with Captain’s Rosy staying on gamely. Umzinduzi drifted in sharply under pressure forcing Vihzoe’s Magic onto Rule The Runway who was forced to check out of a closing gap. But Vihzoe’s Magic was not to be denied and fought on to win well.

Tyrion Prince came in for a ton of market support before the off of the secondand the gamble looked to have been landed before outsider Palace Music slipped up the inside rail to run him out of it.

With a strong tailwind helping the runners’ home, the race was run at a cracking pace as Ashton Arries took no prisoners on Mark Dixon’s runner, stretching the field in what looked to be a winning gambit.

But it all came apart over the final furlong as the early exertions took their toll on Tyrion Prince who shifted to the outside rail. Warren Kennedy, deputising for a suspended Donovan Dillon, slipped Palace Wind up the inside rail to collar Tyrion Prince.

Palace Wind had finished a distant last at his previous start but as Wendy Whitehead explained, he had been loaded first in that race and played up in the stalls, losing any chance he had after blowing the start.

Reschooled and last up yesterday he produced the goods.

The former Kimberley trainers who moved to KZN at the beginning of the season are slowly making their mark. Kimberley had garnered a reputation as the last chance saloon for moderate gallopers but that in turn forced their trainers into becoming seriously good horseman in order to squeeze the best out of their charges.

Ashburton-based Tinnie Prinsloo snapped a string of placed runs with Jay’s Dancer obliging in the third, an apprentice handicap. In the money at his last five starts, yesterday’s win was not overdue although at one stage it began to look like another second.

Twice As Cold under Mfanelo Zuma shifted ground late onto Jay’s Dancer who for a few strides looked as if he was not going to make the gap.

However, Jay’s Dancer had plenty in hand, slipping though under Jeffrey Syster, a split second before the door slammed in his face and going on to win comfortably.

For the dedicated followers of the Star Wars series the double, Chewbaca and Carbon Fibre, was an obvious wager.

Chewbaca, Han Solo’s right-hand man, and Han Solo was frozen in Carbonite to be taken to JabbaThe Hutt. Originally Luke Skywalker was to be frozen in carbonite to be taken to the Emperor. A Geek tragedy in space.

There was no tragedy for punters as Chewbaca made heavy weather of shaking off Tiger Tank but prevailing in the end while Syster scored the second win of his afternoon as he drove Carbon Fibre home ahead of the grey Mighty Smart.

Drama came in the sixth as Matterhorn and Anse Lazio came together in the finish. Matterhorn, for no obvious reason, suddenly veered off a straight course, cannoning into his rival. With only a head in it at the line, the objection hooter was a foregone conclusion as was the protest being upheld.

Andrew Harrison

PUNTERS face another competitive card on the turf at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday where the scratching of the mare Flichity By Farr may have reduced the Trackandball.co.za handicap, seventh on the card, to a match race.

Matterhorn has made major improvement at recent outings, winning his last two, but climbing the ladder makes things all that more difficult. His task was made that much easier with the scratching of stable companion Flichity By Farr, close-up in two recent long-distance features including the Gold Cup, but off her food this last week and is an addition to the scratching’s list 

Matterhorn has come good since being send over ground and although he goes this trip for the first time, he should see it out comfortably.

Biggest threat will be from Anse Lazio who comes with some fair Cape staying form and although he takes on stronger here, he only has 52.5kg to shoulder which will make him extremely competitive. The Andre Nel satellite stable, overseen by Byron Foster, has hit a purple patch of late with a brace of winners last Wednesday, and he is confident of a big effort.

Of the balance, Clouds Of Witness has been a little disappointing of late but did lose his jockey at the start of his last race and can do much better here.

The experiment of introducing ‘conditional’ Graduation Plates with weights allotted in bands according to merit ratings in an effort to boost field sizes, has obviously failed first time out with only nine runners lining up in the seventh.

The merit rating system has been gerrymandered to a point where it is often worthless as a handicapping guideline.

Give punters – and owners and trainers – a break. If a two-time winner carries the same weight, irrespective of its 110 MR, against another two-time winner with a 74 MR, so be it.

The owners get a win and punters get an exotic bet banker.

Mostly trainers are afraid to run their half-decent horses in these races in fear of incurring penalties for their next handicap appearance.

 If the stakes were worth it, the risk would not be so bad, but on the flip side, these are also great races to give the weaker horses a good public gallop without fear of incurring a penalty.

In the days before Merit Ratings, punters had to rely on their intuition as to whether one horse was better than another at level weights with no ratings to guide them.

In a time where the powers that be are making it more and more difficult to win with a decent horse, it is no wonder that new owners are becoming like hen’s-teeth.

Be that as it may, Special Blend and African Sunrise look the pick of the seventh. They are at the top of the ‘handicap’ band and meet at level weights.

There was two lengths behind them when last they met with Duncan Howell’s runner two lengths to the good. The two step up in trip and drawn alongside of each other should make for an interesting tactical race between Lyle Hewitson on Special Blend and Anton Marcus taking over from an indisposed Donovan Dillon on Wendy Whitehead’s runner.

Exotic bet bankers could be difficult to find but two that appeal are Jay’s Dancer in the opening leg of the PA and Chewbaca in the next.

Tinnie Prinsloo has not had much luck of late with his runners in the money but not able to convert but Jay’s Dancer could set that straight. Jay’s Dancer has been knocking at the door for some time now and goes very well over course and distance. He must have a change of fortune soon.

Dangers! Trumps Express, having his first run for a new stable, has shown some promise on the Highveld and can do better here while Bernie’s Dream found strong market support on debut and did not finish far back. He should come on from that run.

Lightly raced gelding Chewbaca has been a touch disappointing had had a wide draw last time out.  He can make amends in the opening leg of the Pick 6 and appeals as the best bet on the card.

Upset chances go to Gonetravelin and Tiger Tank, who has his first run for a new stable and is capable of a surprise.

Andrew Harrison

WITH the Kimberley sand now consigned to the dustbin of history and Fairview on the other side of the country, the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly track is likely to attract a lot more up-country visitors looking for the synthetic surface.

Clinton Binda and Weiho Marwing are regulars and they seldom leave without the odd plum. Binda got off the mark in the first with the filly Afriel. Quizzed post-race he said the daughter of Master Of My Fate, himself an up-tight individual, was ‘scared of everything’. He said that she was alright at home where she gets ridden bare-back but it was a different story at the race course.

He also revealed that as a young horse she had escaped from her box early one morning and was found in a ditch where Binda had to use a front-end loader to get her out. He said it was a long time ago but the memory has surely stuck.

Nirvana Girl looked to be one of the better bets on the card and was duly sent off in the red, but after making most of the running she was nailed on the line by Doug Campbell’s lightly raced filly Montfort.

Marcus made plenty of use of the favourite getting to the front early and extended his lead to a good few lengths at the top of the straight.

However, with Nirvana Girl crying for the line over the last 100m, the pack was closing fast led by Montfort and replacement rider Keagan de Melo timed his run to a nicety, getting up on the line. According to Campbell, the daughter of Elusive Fort, one of the country’s most under rated stallions, is a big immature filly who should go much further than the mile of yesterday.

Montana Sky has been knocking at the door for Ashburton-based Tienie Prinsloo and had to settle for second once again as Captain Zee showed remarkable improvement to run him out of it with Whateverittakes, the ham in the sandwich, game in third.

It was a quick double for the Sabine Plattner/Andre Nel yard as they followed up Captain Zee with Run To Denmark in the next. It was a case of anyone’s race approaching the final 100m but Run To Denmark stuck to his guns to keep reserve runner Samsonite at bay. Kyle Strydom picked up the ride on Dennis Bosch’s charge and the apprentice continues to impress.

Jabu Jacobs, under the tutelage of Garth Puller and Peter Muscutt, seldom lets them down and he rode a copybook race in the fifth on Purple Persuasion who put her recent disappointment behind her, when drawn 12 from 12. She fired all the way to the line to hold a late-charging light weight Marsanne.

Binda earlier indicated that Phinda Mzala was the main reason for this raid but after cracking on the pace the plan fell apart. It was probably pace that was his undoing as Whizz Of Odds and Di Mazzio came from off the gallop to dispute the finish where it was the seasoned champion Warren Kennedy putting one over his apprentice rival as Strydom got his reins in a tangle.