David Thiselton

The Trippi mare Shatoosh was bought for a bargain R5,000 at the 2023 Cape Racing Winter Mixed Sale and, as so often happens when a mare is given up on, her progeny suddenly start coming to the fore.

Among Shatoosh’s progeny who have done well since that sale is the Frank Robinson-trained Duke Of Marmalade gelding Duke Of Africa, who has a remarkable story behind him having recovered from a snake bite.

Frank said, “It is apparently not rare. I am told, for a snake to come into a box at night to drink water from the buckets in the corner. They will drink and then depart. But sometimes what happens is a horse will stand on them and they will then strike. We don’t know what type of snake bit him, but the bite was into the joint. What normally happens with a snake bite is all the flesh falls off the bone, so the whole leg just falls down and they have to be euthanised. 

However, what we did was not something conventional. We dripped him with a certain product together with antibiotics all night, and we then sweated the leg continuously with Epsom salts and bandages to try and extract the poison. And he made it!”

 He was off for nearly a year though. Funnily enough, before he was bitten by the snake, he had a few little aches and pains behind and we were resting him quite a lot, so he actually had a good rest for recovery this time and he moves so  much better now as a result, so it has helped all round. I still bandage over the wound area every day. It is just one of those ailments that improves and improves … I left him in the paddock a lot so he could walk a lot and keep mobile otherwise it could flare up. It took a long time to heal.”

It would not have been possible to treat Duke Of Africa with such high care without him having had a caring owner, so accolades must go to Paul Janse van Rensburg, who never questioned anything done for the horse during the treatment and recovery period.

Frank said, “Paul is such a nice guy and just wants what is best for the horse. He is now reaping the rewards, because the horse can race on until he is eight or nine years old.”

Duke Of Africa made it a second win in seven starts since the bite and he also has two thirds and a fourth and a fifth from those starts.

Frank said, “The heavier that poly track is the more he just rolls through it. His first win after the snake bite was on a heavy poly track over 2000m and he won by 7,90 lengths and it was over the same course and distance last Friday night and he won by 2,90 lengths.”

Frank is now going to look at a race for him at Turffontein over 3000m, because he believes that is what he is looking for. Frank also noticed that on the heavy track on Friday night another Duke Of Marmalade also won. 

Another sibling of Shatoosh who has blossomed since the mare was sold is the Mike and Adam Azzie-trained Andi’s Girl, who was a touch unlucky not to gain Listed status last time out. That is not to mention her Erupt colt selling for R200,000 at the Cape Racing ‘s ready to run Sale last year. 

Shatoosh won four races from 1200m to 1600m. Her sire Trippi was a producer of speed but also of class, so his progeny, like Jet Dark, are able to win over the classic distances.

Duke Of Africa is the product of a potent combination i.e. the late Duke Of Marmalade, who won five successive Gr 1s in Europe, and the late stallion Trippi, who has sired 68 stakes winners to date, including 14 Gr 1 winners.

Frank was surprised to secure him for R45,000 at the BSA Cape Yearling Sale of 2021.

Frank was a fan of Duke Of Marmalade due to his famous Gr 1-winning streak and he was also lucky enough to meet him when visiting Aidan O’Brien’s yard many years ago. He noticed his good looks and excellent temperament, “an absolute gentleman.”

He continued, “Duke Of Africa actually looks very much like him and what was interesting is I weighed my runners the other day and a lot of the big ones were 480kg and 490kg and he was 530kg.”

He added, “He was bred by Drakenstein and I thought the name, Duke Of Africa, they could have used on anyone of their horses but I believed they would have given it to a special one. He was a very nice yearling, but some people had gone off Duke Of Marmalade.”

Duke Of Africa has only once run beyond 2000m and he looks like one to follow over staying trips.