There was a distinct international flavour to the action at Bath yesterday evening with leading South African jockey Gavin Lerena riding for Charlie Hills, with whom he will be based for the summer.

Lerena’s only previous visit to Britain came last year when the three-time champion apprentice in South Africa notched a 285-1 double at the Shergar Cup at Ascot – an experience which left the rider wanting more.

Lerena is to be sponsored by Chelsea Thoroughbreds, with the owners set to give the rider opportunities on their 27 horses spread between nine trainers in Britain.

Lerena said: “Racing over here is just so historical and everyone is so passionate about it. The racing gains worldwide coverage, so hopefully I can find one or two nice horses for the big days.”

Lerena was a key member of the Rest of the World team that landed the Shergar Cup in August, with notable victories coming aboard the Amanda Perrett-trained 25-1 shot Arch Villain and Richard Hannon’s Danehill Kodiac .

Despite being pipped to the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle Trophy by French rider Thierry Jarnet, Lerena describes the day as “one of the best of his career”.

He said: “Never mind riding a double, just to be at Ascot was truly amazing. The surface was beautiful and the track was testing. The winners just put the cherry on the top.”

If all goes to plan this campaign, Lerena may become a more familiar figure in Britain in the future.

He said: “If it all goes well I’d love to spend every summer in Britain. I don’t think I’d winter particularly well over here but summer racing is magnificent and something everyone wants to be a part of. It’s the place you want to be.”

– Racingpost.com

Newly licensed Summerveld trainer Nathan Kotzen attributes his passion for horseracing to his father, also named Nathan, and will attempt to get his career rolling on Friday night at Greyville where his classy filly Persian Rug runs in the Listed KRA East Coast Cup over 2000m.

The Ideal World filly infamously stopped in front of the grandstand shadow when looking to have the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes in the bag as a two-year-old.  She became disappointing thereafter on the Highveld but her career took off again soon after she was sent back to Greyville. Her form points to 2000m being her best trip, but she does have a wide draw to overcome and has also had an interrupted preparation.

Kotzen said, “She injured a near hind stifle after her last start and had a hematoma so was out of work for a bit. Therefore, I would have liked to have had one more race going into this one. The recent rain also ruled out the one more gallop I would have liked. But she has had two gallops and has done well in her work. She is fit and should run well.”

Persian Rug is a massive filly and should be suited to soft ground. She won a 2000m fillies and mares handicap on the polytrack in January, but her most eye-catching performance this season was when running the decent gelding Celtic Captain to half-a-length over 2000m on the Greyville turf in February.

Kotzen is the younger brother of Vodacom Durban July-winning trainer Glen. The brothers were taught the ropes by their father, who was both a jockey and a trainer.

Nathan has vast experience as a trainer of thoroughbreds and his new career ended a 16-year stint as assistant trainer to the legendary Mike de Kock. He obviously learnt a lot from De Kock but also attributed his overall knowledge to other trainers such as David Payne, Robbie Sivewright, Mike Azzie, Pat Shaw, Paddy Lunn, the late Michael Roberts and to his brother Glen.

Nathan helped De Kock win the KZN trainers title nine times between 2002 and 2012 and the Vodacom Durban July four times courtesy of Ipi Tombe, Greys Inn, Bold Silvano and Igugu. He was closely associated with other top horses such as Victory Moon, Flight Alert, Kildonan, Irish Flame, Vercingetorix and many others.

Nathan once dreamed of being a jockey, but was just too big to ever become one, although he did win plenty of races in the amateur ranks.

Nathan is already looking to move yards as his string has expanded to 22 and he has another four on the farm. Among the owners supporting him are Mary and Jessica Slack, long time breeding and owning stalwarts of South African racing and loyal supporters of the De Kock yard.

The long-time KZN colours of the Armstrong family will also be seen on one of his runners. These black, white and red colours are owned today by former Gold Circle director Bruce Armstrong.

Nathan picked up a Master Of My Fate filly at the National Yearling Sales, and also picked up three at recent CTS sales and one at a dispersal sale. There were a couple of well-bred sorts among those.

Kotzen said experiencing the other side of the coin, where he was now master of the yard, had not really “hit him” yet but he did confirm there was added pressure.

He spoke of the help brother Glen had given him at the sales. The skills in this area is the most important asset needed to convert from a successful assistant to a successful trainer.

His father is helping him at the yard and eldest daughter Natasha will be doing the books.

The affable Nathan has always been an asset to South African racing and it would be no surprise to see him reach the heights brother Glen has. Persian Rug, whom he has always had a share in, will be the second runner of his licensed career. 

David Thiselton

The race meeting scheduled for Scottsville tomorrow has been postponed to Saturday 20^th May 2017.

A track inspection was carried out this morning by the Track Manager and a Trainer from Ashburton and it was agreed that there was no prospect of the race meeting going ahead as planned.

“Fortunately Turffontein is a standalone meeting on Saturday and hence, with the blessing of Phumelela, we have made the decision to postpone to this date,” said Gold Circle Racing Executive Raf Sheik.

More than 200mm has fallen over Greyville since Friday and a decision regarding the Betting World 1900 race meeting will be made closer to the time. The weather forecast suggests the sun will be out from tomorrow but clearly the turf track will need ideal weather conditions for it to dry sufficiently.

“For this reason we have kept Sunday as a Plan B option should the track require more time,” added Sheik.

“With our major race days on the horizon, we are very mindful that we need to avoid causing excessive damage to the racing surfaces while at the same keeping the disruption to the planned racing programmes to an absolute minimum.”

Gold Circle

The jockeys championship has been thrown wide open by Gavin Lerena’s decision to ride in England for much of the remainder of the season.

The 2014/15 champion was eight clear on 129 winners at the start of yesterday’s racing but, with him out of the running, Anthony Delpech (121), Greg Cheyne (118) and Anton Marcus (116) are vying for favouritism.

Cheyne, the only one of the trio not to have been champion before, was many people’s idea of the likely winner before Lerena hit top gear but at the weekend he once again insisted that he is determined not to be sucked into a gruelling fly-everywhere battle, saying: “I am just going to carry on the way I am.”

It’s not just a three-horse war either. Five others went into yesterday with more than 100 winners – Craig Zackey (109), Richard Fourie (104), Muzi Yeni, Andrew Fortune (both on 103) and S’Manga Khumalo (102).

Lerena is to ride for Lambourn trainer Charlie Hills and his trip is being sponsored by the Chelsea Thoroughbreds Syndicate managed by Joey Ramsden’s brother James. Its 27 horses are spread around nine trainers thus increasing Lerena’s possible opportunities.

Mike de Kock is to train Goddess Var, the Var grand-daughter of champion Promisefrommyheart who set a new National Yearling Sale record when sold to Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell South Africa for R5 million on Friday.

Form Bloodstock’s Jehan Malherbe, who did the bidding, also bought the top-priced lot at the Emperors Palace Select Yearling Sale a fortnight earlier. Grab The Light, a full brother to Jackson, will go to Dean Kannemeyer. The purchaser of the R3.8 million colt asked Malherbe not to reveal his or her name although it will be readily accessible once the ownership is registered.

Michael Clower

History was made when a Var filly was knocked down for R5 million on Friday, the final day of the 2017 National Yearling Sale.

The filly, named Goddess Var, is the most expensive yearling ever sold at BSA auction, surpassing the R4.75 million paid for Savannah Cat in 2015 and she was knocked down to Shadwell South Africa. Consigned by Varsfontein Stud she will be trained by Joey Ramsden.
The sale proved favourable for buyers, with many picking up notable bargains, but a lack of middle market was once again in evidence and reflected in the sales’ overall statistics.

While the aggregate of the 2017 National Sale rose from R106 885 000 to R11 770 000 (a rise of nearly 5%), both the average price and median dropped. The average fell from R320 015 to R304 550 (or 5%), while the median dropped from R200 000 to R180 000.

The number of horses failing to sell increased notably from 58 a year ago to 68 in 2017.

Jehan Malherbe of Form Bloodstock was by far and away the leading buyer his 29 yearlings purchased grossing a total of R20.245 million. Next on the list was Shadwell South Africa, whose five lots grossed R9.2 million and included Goddess Var.

Varsfontein Stud headed the vendors list, with 23 of their 27 lots offered grossing R15.495 million, averaging R673 696. Mauritzfontein, Wilgerbosdrift, Lammerskraal and Drakenstein Stud rounded off the top five vendors.

CEO Michael Holmes said, “In the face of difficult trading conditions, the sale held up well. We are pleased with the aggregate increase, and, while the median is down, the overall result was commendable given the current economic climate the clearance rate is higher than 2016 and we plan on improving it further over the coming years. The market remains very quality conscious and lacks depth, a fact which is reflected in the results.

– Bloodstock SA

A colt named after the greatest of all world leaders ruled on the Rowley Mile, just as so many had predicted he would, with the beautiful beast that is Churchill converting two-year-old dominance to Classic glory thanks to a wonderfully authoritative triumph in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas on Saturday

When Coolmore supremo John Magnier’s wife Sue handed the son of Galileo and Meow the same surname as Britain’s iconic wartime prime minister, she set him a mighty task.
He lived up to that task quite brilliantly to give Aidan O’Brien an unmatched eighth win in the showpiece the sport’s pre-eminent trainer has come to dominate.

As has so often been the case in recent years, Sheikh Mohammed played second fiddle to Coolmore, whose latest champion beat Godolphin’s Barney Roy into second, with French raider Al Wukair a strong-finishing third. Churchill’s Ballydoyle stablemate Lancaster Bomber took fourth.

“He’s not Frankel, but he’s a good horse,” said part-owner Michael Tabor, whose blue and orange colours were donned by Ryan Moore in a Guineas in which the simplicity of the success was striking.

 

Always Dreaming wins Kentucky Derby

With Godolphin’s Thunder Snow taking virtually no part in proceedings, trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez – in many ways the old firm of US racing – joined forces yet again to claim the 143rd Kentucky Derby in emphatic fashion courtesy of Always Dreaming on Saturday.

The fifth straight favourite to win America’s most celebrated race, the Florida Derby victor was always handy as he splashed through the slop in a dominant performance in front of a crowd of 158,070 beneath the iconic Twin Spires at Churchill Downs.

On the other hand, Godolphin’s Kentucky Derby dreams were crushed when UAE Derby winner Thunder Snow, said to be the Dubai team’s best-ever chance of success by trainer Saeed Bin Suroor, seemed to lose his footing from the gate and started bucking. His mount unrideable, Christophe Soumillon had no choice but to pull him up in front of the stands first time around. No injury came to light in an initial veterinary examination.

Long since regarded as the most powerful combination in American racing, Pletcher and Velazquez have teamed up for a multitude of big-race triumphs over the years. They had each won the Derby once before, with Super Saver (2010) and Animal Kingdom (2011) respectively; never, though, had they managed to win in tandem.

“It does mean a lot,” said Velazquez, 45. “We’ve had so much success in the past but we’ve never won the Derby and he’s just an incredible horse. This is the best horse Todd and I have ever come to the Kentucky Derby with. Nothing against all the others, but this was the best horse.”

– Racingpost.com

Callan Murray is a rising star amongst the jockey ranks and Mike de Kock has been quick to recognise his talents – major recognition from a world-respected trainer – so it was more about Murray’s feat of landing three Gr1 victories in an afternoon than the shock defeat of Legal Eagle in the Gr1 Premier’s Champions Challenge.

Geoff Woodruff is also a Murry supporter and they plotted the downfall of Legal Eagle. It was the relatively unheralded Deo Juvente who came up trumps in a desperate finish with two short heads separating the winner, Legal Eagle and the filly Nother Russia.

“We obviously schemed of a way to beat Legal Eagle; not nice I know. But we felt that he did not truly see out 2000m, his best ratings coming over a mile,” said Woodruff.

Marcus certainly rode a confident race on the 1-5 favourite and when he moved into contention approaching the 400m mark the writing appeared to be on the wall. At this stage in the past Legal Eagle would have taken command but this time he had a battle on his hands. Deo Juvente stuck to him like glue and in spite of Marcus shifting in on his rival, Murray was not intimidated and nore was Deo Juvente who battled all the way to the line. Nother Russia was tremendous in defeat and boasts a superbly consistent record.

In an afternoon of high drama, Carry On Alice was all the rage for the Gr1 Computaform Sprint but the De Kock genius was to the fore again as a drop to a sprint and a set of quarter-cup blinkers brought out the best in Rafeef, a full brother to the earlier SA Nursery winner Mustaaqeem.

Carry On Alice inched ahead of the chasing pack approaching the 300 m mark but was clearly hard-pressed to hold her lead under a driving ride from S’Manga Khumalo. But all his efforts came to naught as Rafeef came charging home as did Talktothestars who finished strongly to deny Carry On Alice second. “He quickened like a machine,” was Murray’s ecstatic comment after the win.

With this victory under his girth the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint at Scottsville would be an obvious target for Rafeef.

Al Sahem, runner-up in both the first two legs of the Triple Crown, made good in the Gr1 SA Derby, running out a fluent winner from Pagoda and hot favourite Heavenly Blue. Stamina was hardly put to the test as King Of Blues and Captain At Sea towed the field along at a pedestrian gallop with Al Sahem and Heavenly Blue content to settle in amongst the back markers.

Heavenly Blue tracked Al Sahem into the straight and the pair gradually built up momentum as the opposition struggling to quicken. Heavenly Blue was going well enough as he tracked Al Sahem but went the chips were down he cashed in early and never got to his rival and it was left to outsider Pagoda to do the chasing, though the truth be told, Al Sahem was never in danger of defeat.

Everything went my way and he got to the front so easily,” said Delpech. “I knew it would take a good one to beat me.”

Al Sahem gave the starter’s assistants a tough time and according to Tarry it was a matter of timing. “He was always behind the black ball fitness wise in the first two legs (of the Triple Crown). But we stuck to the plan and when he got off the float this morning I knew he was a bomb.”

It was an Australian one-two in the Gr1 SA Nursery as Mustaaqeem put the field to the sword with stable companion Naafer a well-beaten second but also clear of the chasing pack.

Whorly Whorly set a smart gallop but Mustaaqeem was always in the hunt with Naafer back early. Approaching the halfway Naafer had moved into a challenging position but when all went for home approaching the 400 m marker, it was race over. “When he dug down at the 400 I knew it was race over,” confirmed Murray. “Coming into this race I was confident and I tell you what I still had a bit more in hand.” Barrack Street, who had moved up alonsides Mustaaqeen, was quickly disposed of as Murray punched is mount out hands and heels. Naafer tried to make a fist of it but once Murray drew his stick,

Mustaaqeem kicked again and won going away. Mike de Kock commented that it did not always work out when putting the best to the best but it certainly worked out yesterday. Champion Redoute’s Choice and National Colour was a great filly and was only touched off in the Nunthorpe. Hopefully he will go to stud in this country. We need this sort of blood but I won’t be surprised if I’m instructed to take him overseas.”

“I will put him away now. I don’t want to run the legs off him but the other one (Naafer) will probably go to Scottsville.”

Joey Soma has pulled of more than one surprise on a big day and it was the turn of Wind Chill to freeze out the opposition in the Gr2 Wilgerbosdrift Oaks. Orchid Island and Smiling Blue Eyes, winners of the first two legs of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara, were in warm order for the Oaks but neither got in a blow as Wind Chill moved smoothly through her field under Anton Marcus to win with the minimum of fuss and turning the tables on Oriental Oak who had beaten her two runs back.

Both fancied runners were towards the tail end of the field for much of the early exchanges but came up empty when asked the question.

A big raceday seldom passes without champion trainer Sean Tarry taking home a trophy and it was the Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery that got his day off to a cracking start as Green Plains stormed to victory to beat home Winter’s Forge with the hither to unbeaten Daring Diva in third. Approaching the 400 m mark, Fortune went for broke on pacemaker Daring Diva but Green Plains was always travelling ominously well while Winter’s Forge was making up ground quickly on the inside.

Daring Diva tried gamely to hold onto her lead but Green Plains soon had her measure. Winter’s Forge came through quickly on the inside of this pair and although making up ground on the winner she was unable to get to terms with Green Plains.

Andrew Harrison

Pictures: JC Photos
1- Deo Juvente (centre) holding off Legal Eagle (closest) and Nother Russia
2- Al Sahem
3- Mustaaqeem

Anton Marcus will ride Trip To Heaven for the first time in the Computaform Sprint at Turffontein on Saturday.

It’s a fascinating prospect – the best starter in the business teamed up with perhaps the speediest horse in the country but one with a flaw in his make-up that often results in him giving away a fatal amount of ground at the start.

Marcus’s famed starting method involves pushing his weight almost impossibly far forward as the gates open, so encouraging the horse’s momentum, but the four-time champion faces an additional problem with Trip To Heaven because the Sean Tarry-trained gelding is not just slow out of the pens but also slow to get going.

When he started favourite In the Cape Flying Championship in January, with Grant van Niekerk in the irons, he was eight lengths last after 100m yet he finished far faster than anything and only failed to peg back stable companion Carry On Alice by a rapidly-dwindling neck.

Marcus, though, has been struck by how well the horse ran in his two races at Kenilworth and said: “He has got to bring his Cape Town form to Jo’burg.”

Trip To Heaven is 28-10 second favourite with Betting World which has Carry On Alice heading the market at 22-10 in her bid to become the first dual winner of the Computaform since Golden Loom at the end of the last century.

What A Winter in 2013 is the only Cape Town winner since Laisserfaire 15 years ago and Snaith Racing is not optimistic about the chances of Jo’s Bond (8-1) despite her close-up fourth in the Cape Flying and her more recent Listed win at Scottsville.

Jonathan Snaith said: “We are raiding from Summerveld and people don’t seem to realise that is only about 1 700 feet whereas Jo’burg is over 5 000 feet. This makes it very difficult and, while the shorter the distance of the race the better chance you have, we are not at all confident.”

Legal Eagle (Marcus ) is as short as 4-10 to repeat last year’s win in the Premier’s Champions Challenge and Heavenly Blue (Callan Murray) is 6-10 to give Mike de Kock his first SA Derby since Irish Flame seven years ago.

Michael Clower