Andrew Harrison

Callan Murray is a tall ‘reed’ of a figure. Turned sideways you would hardly notice that there was anyone inside of the breaches and racing silks.  But what ever he eats, or doesn’t eat, has little to do with his performance in one of the most demanding jobs in sport.

Privy to his start at the South African Jockey Academy when cutting his teeth at the then Ashburton Training Centre where most apprentices, make that all, got their first taste of the system, Murray looked destine for an early exit given his stature.

He started off well enough in South Africa after coming out of his time before a stint in Australia where he has obviously honed his tactical skills and managed his weight.

He was in top form at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday, posting three winners, two for the Mike and Mathew de Kock partnership for whom he is attached and one for Duncan Howells.

The first of his De Kock winners came on Buddy Boy who looked to be a set-up for the yard. Stable companion Sunny Bills Ferrari set a solid gallop up front with Buddy Boy biding and Murray biding their time in the pack. But when all had cried enough, Murray brought home Buddy Boy with a storming run down the outside fence that caught all by surprise, cruising home by the best part of six lengths.

Runner-up was Dean Kannemeyer’s colt Green Glow, making his debut, who came from well back to snatch the minor money.

Given that Buddy Boy finished four lengths back to Hah Lah Lah, when both were making their debuts, Kannemeyer’s charge is definitely one for the notebook.

Murray had to work a little harder in the next but time his challenge to perfection on the De Kock- runner Officer In Command who kept rolling off a moderate early gallop.

Murray’s first winner was a romp for Perfume Power, the Duncan Howell-trained filly posting the exacta in the second. Perfume Power was off and gone from the jump and not for the catching with stable companion Austrian Beauty, having only her second run for Howells, trailing a distant second.

A rating drop and an exceptional ride by Kabelo Matsunyane saw Papa C score a second win for Howells. Turning for home with only two runners behind him in an eleven-horse field, Papa C’s chances of winning looked remote. However, Matsunyane kept the sick off of his mount who responded with a sustained finish to win going away with Ragnar The King finishing best ahead of the scrum.

 It was a bitter-sweet weekend for Duncan Howells with the news of the death of Andre Hauptfleisch, joint owner and breeder of the Howells-trained star Via Africa, and yesterday’s two winners.

Howells and regular rider Kevin Shea were instrumental in the success of the daughter of Var who was crowned SA Champion Sprinter in 2013, and whose 10 wins included the Gr1 Cape Flying Championship and Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint twice.

Via Africa’s first foal was Pleasant Endeavour by champion stallion Redoutes Choice who won six races in Hong Kong and HK$7.1m (R15,2m). The second was the extremely fast sprinter In The Congo by another champion sire Snitzel who won the Gr1 ATC Golden Rose Stakes and A$1,7m (R19,5 million) and is now a stallion, covering 160 mares in his first season at a fee of A$27,500 (R300,000) each.

The third was a filly named Protea who was by Golden Slipper winner Vancouver but did not race.

And then came Saturday’s undefeated winner Autumn Glow, who topped the Sydney Easter Yearling Sale at A$1,8 million (R20,2 million) selling to Arrowfield and Hermitage Thoroughbreds out of the Silverdale Farm draft, and is unbeaten in her first six starts and five Stakes races.

Via Africa has now become one of the most important broodmares in Australia!

Howells and Gary Rich were ‘stable companions’  before the closure of the Ashburton Training centre and it was possibly fitting that the pair had winners on the day. It was a close run-thing for the Rich-trained Dawn Surprise who held on just long enough under Mxolisi Mbuto with his 2.5kg claim to hold off a late-charging Jame Lihaba on Double Olympic, a nose separating them at the line.

Terry Fripp has been the ‘shadow’ behind the Candice Bass operation during last Champions Season but he was too the fore for the stable yesterday as Turbo Twenty made short work of the opposition in the last of the day. Apprentice Dezahan Louw has been earmarked as an apprentice to follow although he did little more than a steer his mount through traffic as Turbo Twenty lived up to his moniker and sped away from his opposition inside the last furlong.

David Thiselton

One Stripe had his first race overseas in the Gr 1 Woodbine Mile in Canada and ran a great race for fifth place, considering he likely needed it and suffered a terrible trip.

In other overseas news Kaidan Brewer rode a winner in Malaysia, but unfortunately took a fall in the Gr 1 Selenagor Gold Cup, although fortunately he was well enough afterwards to continue riding at the meeting.

At Sha Tin in Hong Kong Lyle Hewitson got off the mark for the season.

The Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and L’Ormarins King’s Plate-winning One Stripe was having his first run for six months and was a bit edgy in the preliminaries.

He jumped inward as the gates opened and interfered with the favourite and eventual winner, the English 2000 Guineas winner of last year, the Dubawi colt Notable Speech.

The Drakenstein Stud-bred One World colt likely needed it as he was then a little bit keen when going into a handy position early under Hall Of Fame jockey John Velazquez.

However, the early pacemaker My Boy Prince appears to put the brakes on and One Stripe,  caught in a three wide position. was unable to get clear of the horse inside of him, because the widest horse carried another horse inward on to One Stripe. Velazquez had no option but to take a hold on the cramped One Stripe, who ends up wide and right near the back of the ten horse field.

Velazquez manages to get cover down the back straight, but only behind the biggest outsider.

Velazquez switches inward off the heels of the slow horse to get a rails run on the final turn, but had to drop back to second last to do it.

One Stripe then runs on remarkably well under the circumstances to be beaten four lengths.

Notable Speech was also cramped early but gets a rails run and with a ton in hand turning for home William Buick manages to steer the Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin runner from midfield into clear space on the outside. The four-year-old colt then turns it on in style and mows them down to win by 1,75 lengths.

The run would have brought One Stripe on well in his preparation for the Gr 1 Breeders Cup Mile, where he will likely get another crack at Notable Speech.

The Breeders Cup Mile is on November 1 and Appleby, Buick, Godolphin and Dubwai will be attempting the Woodbine Mile/Breeders Cup Mile double for the third time having done it with Modern Games in 2022 and Master Of The Seas in 2023.

in the Gr 1 Selangor Gold Cup over 1600m at Selangor Turf Club in Malaysia the favourite Platinum Emperor was lying in the box seat on the rail in fourth place nearing the final turn when the horse outside of him comes inward and bumps him on to the rail. This caused Platinum Emperor o spook and throw the jockey off.

The loose horse then falls back out of control and badly hampered to other horses, including Brewer’s mount, the S. Dunderdale-trained Valois. Both jockeys of th hampered horses fell off.

The jockeys were apparently not seriously injured.

Brewer was reported to have just “a small headache” and was able to ride his final two mounts.

Kaidan had earlier won on the Dunderdale-trained Thunderous, despite jumping from draw 14 over 1200m. The horse had about eight lengths to make up in the straight and despite traffic problems late on Brewer finds the right gaps and just gets up in what was a fine ride and an unlikely win.

At Sha Tin In Hong Kong Lyle Hewitson had his first win since a bad fall on 25 June.

It was his third meeting this season and in his 12^th ride of the season he brought home the David Hayes-trained 16/1 shot Metro Power. He bounced the gelding out in to a clear lead in the 1000m contest down the straight and never looked like being caught, winning by a comfortable 2,75 lengths.

Warren Lenferna

Astronomical Boy was given a magical ride from the deepest draw by the red-hot, in-form rider Craig Zackey to win the second race at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday. Astronomical Boy is by champion sire Gimmethegreenlight and was bred at Maine Chance. He has clearly got gears and could end up being absolutely anything. He is trained out of the Candice Bass yard at Milnerton for heavily invested owner Khaya Stables. He hit the line running after being rushed up to race handy and won with something in hand. It was a smart ride from the owner’s retained rider. He must be followed.

Talking of being followed, the winner of the Class 5 fifth race over 1,800m, Future Free, fits into that category. He is brilliantly related, by Futura out of a Captain Al mare, Sempre Libre, which makes him a half-brother to the top-class Eight On Eighteen. It was the same rider as Astronomical Boy who steered this progressive talent to victory. Another superb ride from the deepest draw. Zackey had the Snaith-trained, good-looking Future Free right at the back of the field, switched off. As they swept for home, Zackey set sail and ran away from the opposition near the wire. He certainly caught the eye and was impressive, winning first time out of the maidens. He looks set to have a competitive season ahead.

Prince of Tibet looked the likely winner close to home in the eighth race, but Chad Little had other ideas with Worldlyfrom the Kotzen stable. One has to have been impressed with the way this gelded son of One World quickened and raced away to victory. Chad Little is riding supremely well. It was a success full of merit, as winning with a hefty weight of 62.5kgs is no easy task. He had absolutely zero luck up the straight last time but got a smooth passage home this time, which found him in the winner’s enclosure. Gimme What I Want was a gutsy winner of the last race when fending off the challenges from American Ultra. Both these horses look progressive, useful, and are set to have bright futures.

South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Doncaster (UK) and Curragh (Ireland)  – 14 September 2025

David Thiselton

 

One aspect of horseracing that the public often appear to have a misunderstanding of is the lodging of objections, with particular reference to who lodges the objection.

 

A regular lament heard in racing circles, in the case where a jockey, trainer or owner lodges an obvious looking objection, is, “Why did the stipendiary stewards not lodge the objection? They must have been sleeping.”

 

The common misconecption is that trainers, jockeys and owners only object if the stipendiary stewards do not object.

 

This is false.

 

The relevant rules on the lodgement of objections state:

 

67.7.1 An OBJECTION shall be made in WRITING and signed by the PERSON lodging it, within the time limits laid down in RULE 68.2. Except when lodged by a LICENSED OFFICIAL, such confirmation shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee, which may be refunded at the discretion of the OBJECTION BOARD.

 

67.7.2 An OBJECTION may only be lodged by the following PERSONS: 67.7.2.1 LICENSED OFFICIALS; 67.7.2.2 the OWNER and/or TRAINER, or their AUTHORISED AGENT, of a HORSE which participated in the RACE concerned; 67.7.2.3 the RIDER of a HORSE in the RACE concerned.

 

68.2 Notification of intention to object on any of the grounds referred to in this RULE shall be given verbally to the Clerk of the Scales and/or the Chief Stipendiary Steward of the SB prior to the ALL CLEAR being announced in terms of RULE 66.3.3. The notification of an OBJECTION must be confirmed in WRITING and the prescribed fee paid, or the OBJECTION withdrawn within a further 3 minutes from the expiry of the time referred to in 86 this RULE. There will be no penalty if the notification of intention to object is withdrawn within the stipulated time. In the event that any OBJECTION referred to in this RULE is not confirmed, such OBJECTION shall lapse.

 

 

 

The stipendiary stewards, upon seeing obvious interference in a race that might have affected the result, will immediately announce a “race review”. This is relayed to the commentator, who announces it publicly.

 

The stipes will then have a look at the race replays and decide whether there are grounds for an objection or not.

 

Close races are usually accompanied by emotions and this is particularly the case when a horse who should have won is hampered and loses narrowly.

 

The end result is that a trainer, jockey or one of the other connections, will sometimes burst into the boardroom and lodge an objection.

 

The stipendiary stewards might still be reviewing the race when this happens.

 

They cannot stop one of the connections from objecting.

 

As the rule states any one of the following may lodge an objection: a licensed official, the trainer or owner or their authorised agent, or the jockey.

 

The only difference when one of the connections objects, as opposed to one of the licensed officials, is that the former will have to pay a prescribed fee in order to lodge the objection.

 

This fee is forfeited if the stipes consider the objection to have been unwarranted. In addition, they may in rare cases impose a fine not exceeding R3000 on the PERSON lodging the OBJECTION.

 

The question then is why would one of the connections risk the fee when a stipendiary steward could object?

 

The answer could be that in an obvious case they would know there is no chance of the fee being forfeited, but they might believe the time in which the objection has to be lodged could lapse and would not want to risk that. An objection being lodged might also simply serve as an emotional release.

 

Tied in with the first common misconception mentioned is the belief that if the stipendiary stewards do not object, the objection has less chance of being upheld. The likely reason for this is due to the misconception that if the stipes decided not to object then they must have believed there were no grounds for it and they were thus unlikely to change their minds in the ensuing objection inquiry.

 

The other common public belief is that if the stipendiary stewards object there is more chance of the objection being upheld.

 

There is an inkling of truth in this, because the stipes will generally view the interference from all angles and in much more detail than the connections would have been able to. Obviously that takes a bit of time and the stipes will get a good idea of the nature of the interference during the review.

 

Likening this to football, when VAR suggests to the referee that he or she should come and have a look at the VAR replay, the decision is usually reversed because VAR would have been able to look at the incident in a lot more detail.

 

In horseracing the longer the review takes, the more chance there is of one of the connections objecting. This is why in the 50/50 cases it is often one of the connections, rather than a licensed official, who objects.

 

However, it is not necessarily the case that an objection lodged by the stipes will be upheld, because the first part of the process is just to ascertain whether the objection is warranted and there then has to be deliberation on whether the interfered with horse would otherwise have won the race.

 

Furthermore, only one stipendiary steward lodges the objection and he or she is then not allowed to be on the ensuing objection board.

 

If there are not three stipes to do it when one of them steps down then another licensed official is co-opted on to the objection board.

 

The officials on the objection board might well disagree with the official who lodged the objection.