Author Archives: Brendan Pather

Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

Team decision to scratch Eagle

Posted on by

Sean Tarry described it as a “team decision” to scratch Legal Eagle from this Saturday’s Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge and it was due to nothing more than the horse’s poor draw.

However, he added the crack gelding might still run in the Vodacom Durban July.

He said Legal Eagle would likely have had to run on from behind in the Gold Challenge at a course where the draw over a mile was usually all important. A potential blemish on his record was therefore averted by the scratching.

Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

He said he was definitely fit and well enough at present to be able to take his place in the July: “He is not a big horse and does not require a lot of work.” However, he said the decision to run him in the big one might ultimately depend on the weights.

Owner Markus Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman will likely have the final say.

Tarry is coming off a tough week in which it was well documented he was concerned about a potential bacterial infection going around his Randjesfontein yard.

However, he believed this had nothing to do with brilliant sprinter Carry On Alice’s disappointing fifth place finish as odds-on favourite in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint at Scottsville on Saturday.

He was firstly disappointed she had been loaded early despite her history of being restless in the gates. She had started badly and he then felt jockey S’Manga Khumalo had possibly found cover too early, and behind the wrong horses, meaning she was travelling too well in the early stages. The jockey had then been “undecided for about three or four seconds and you can’t do that in a sprint.”

By the time she was extracted from her snookered position the race was over. However, Tarry said she had not been blowing after the race and had pulled up well.

The majority of his runners on the day had run well and he said the two-year-old fillies, Visuality and Myfunnyvalentine (3rd and 4th in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship respectively), would likely line up in the Gr 2 Golden Slipper on July day.

He said he had pointed out last week Captain’s Causeway had only been his third choice runner in the Tsogo Sun Sprint and “you can’t win Gr 1s with your third choice.” He felt he had been vindicated in the belief Buckland should have been his first accepted runner as this horse had finished just 1,8 lengths behind Talktothestars in the Gr 2 Senor Santa Stakes and would have been considerably better off in the weights in the Tsogo Sun Sprint.

Tarry said it was impossible to tell with certainty which horses had been affected by the bacterial infection and which hadn’t. However, every declared runner is being tested before their respective races and if they pass the test they run, otherwise they are scratched.

French Navy, Trip To Heaven and Prospect Strike take their places in the Rising Sun Gold Challenge on Saturday.

French Navy (JC Photos)

French Navy (JC Photos)

Tarry said, “It is a preparation run for French Navy, we freshened him up after the Champions Challenge and the mile at Greyville is a touch sharp for him, but he will be running on strongly.

“Trip To Heaven (who will have his first run as a gelding) has put up a good gallop and has his final gallop tomorrow (Tuesday). It all depends on the break as he is a funny horse at the start, but if he breaks well he will lead.

“I thought Prospect Strike’s runs in the Canon Guineas and Daily News 2000 were both good ones from poor draws, now he gets a reasonable draw and is fit and well, so we will take our chances.”

Of his two Gr 2 Cup Trial runners (1800m) he was more pleased with Gold Onyx’s run in the Betting World 1900. Both horses had been too far back in a race where the front horses weren’t stopping.

He said Gold Onyx would improve further while Halve The Deficit would be placed more handily from a plum draw and the race would give a good indication of his well-being.

Bichette, who runs in the Gr 2 Tibouchina Stakes over 1400m, disappointed the yard in a Pinnacle over 1450m last time, but that was her second run after a rest and she will now be “cherry ripe and not without a chance.”

Tarry said it was unfortunate she was drawn eight out of 12 as she liked to run handy. However, he added this was probably her best trip and a positive showing would give the yard confidence to run her in the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes on July day.

Tarry felt Side Show would be competitive in the Listed Gatecrasher Stakes over 1400m after having come from strong maiden form and jumping from pole position with a weight allowance.

David Thiselton

Rider Cup on July 10

Posted on by

The 2016 Rider Cup, an Inter-Provincial contest between leading jockeys from the Highveld; the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, is set to take place at Scottsville Racecourse on Sunday, 10 July 2016.

Gold Circle has extended invitations to riders based on their positions on the National Jockeys’ Log as at the end of May and, if all accept, the teams will shape up as follows:-

THE HIGHVELD HAWKS

S’mango Khumalo (Captain)

Andrew Fortune

Karl Zechner

JP van der Merwe

First Reserve: Gavin Lerena

THE CAPE EAGLES

Grant van Niekerk (Captain)

Aldo Domeyer

Bernard Fayd’herbe

Teaque Gould

First Reserve: Corne Orffer

THE KZN FALCONS:

Anthony Delpech (Captain)

Anton Marcus

Muzi Yeni

Keagan de Melo

First Reserve: Ian Sturgeon

The competition will be decided over four legs and apart from the bragging rights, medals and the floating trophy, an amount of R100 000 will be up for grabs, with the winning team receiving R48 000; the runners-up R30 000 and the also-rans R20 000.

Rising Sun raceday final fields

Posted on by

FINAL FIELD for the R1million Gr1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge to be run over 1600m at Greyville on Saturday, June 11:

Sc# Horse               Mass   MR       Draw   B  A  T  Jockey           Trainer

1   FRENCH NAVY         60.0  115 (115)   10      A     W Marwing        Sean Tarry

2   TRIP TO HEAVEN      60.0  113 (113)    5      A  T  S Khumalo        Sean Tarry

3   ICE MACHINE         60.0  111 (111)    9      A     A Marcus         Charles Laird

4   PATERFAMILIAS       60.0  110 (110)    2   B  A     G van Niekerk    Mike Bass

5   CAPTAIN ALDO        60.0  109 (109)    8      A     B Fayd’Herbe     St John Gray

6   MAC DE LAGO         60.0  107 (107)    7      A  T  P Strydom        Weiho Marwing

7   TRIPTIQUE           60.0  106 (106)    1      A     S Veale          Dennis Drier

8   BEZANOVA            60.0  102 (102)    4   B  A     S Randolph       Alec Laird

9   NEW PREDATOR        58.5  110 (107)    3      A     R Simons         Johan Janse van Vuuren

10  PROSPECT STRIKE     58.5  102 ( 99)    6      A  T  A Delpech        Sean Tarry

 

FINAL FIELD for the R400000 Gr2 Tibouchina Stakes to be run over 1400m at Greyville on Saturday, June 11:

Sc# Horse               Mass   MR       Draw   B  A  T  Jockey            Trainer

1   INARA               60.0  111 (111)    9      A     G van Niekerk     Mike Bass

2   ALEXIS              59.0  100 (100)    6      A     C Orffer          Brett Crawford

3   BICHETTE            59.0  100 (100)    8      A     S Khumalo         Sean Tarry

4   SILVER MOUNTAIN     58.5  107 (104)    2      A     B Fayd’Herbe      Mike Bass

5   ENTISAAR            58.5  103 (100)    1      A     A Delpech         Mike de Kock

6   OLMA                58.0  107 (107)   12      A  T  P Strydom         Frank Robinson

7   CUVEE BRUT          58.0  103 (103)   10      A     A Marcus          Brett Crawford

8   EVENTUAL ANGEL      58.0   95 ( 95)    7      A     S Veale           Dennis Drier

9   SENSIBLE LOVER      58.0   95 ( 95)    4      A     W Marwing         Weiho Marwing

10  LITTLEBLACKNUMBER   58.0   93 ( 93)    3      A  T  B Lerena          Duncan Howells

11  SILVER CLASS        58.0   87 ( 87)    5      A  T  R Simons          Johan Janse van Vuuren

12  COSMIC LIGHT        57.5  106 (103)   11      A     M Yeni            Duncan Howells

 

FINAL FIELD for the R250000 Gr3 Cup Trial to be run over 1800m at Greyville on Saturday, June 11:

Sc# Horse               Mass   MR       Draw   B  A  T  Jockey          Trainer

1   PUNTA ARENAS        60.0  107 (107)    6   C  A     K de Melo       Dennis Drier

2   GOLD ONYX           59.0  105 (105)    5      A  T  B Fayd’Herbe    Sean Tarry

3   IT IS WRITTEN       57.5  102 (102)    7      A     A Delpech       Dean Kannemeyer

4   MASTER’S EYE        57.0  101 (101)    3      A     P Strydom       Justin Snaith

5   THE CONGLOMERATE    57.0  101 (101)    8   C  A     A Marcus        Joey Ramsden

6   HALVE THE DEFICIT   56.5  100 (100)    2      A     S Khumalo       Sean Tarry

7   EXIT HERE           56.0  103 ( 99)   10   B  A     W Marwing       Charles Laird

8   WAY OF LIGHT        56.0   99 ( 99)    9      A     B Jacobson      Garth Puller

9   BIG CAT             55.5   98 ( 98)    4   B  A     C Orffer        Brett Crawford

10  DEPUTY JUD          55.5   98 ( 98)   11      A     K Zechner       Mike Azzie

11  DYNAMIC             55.5   98 ( 98)    1      A     G van Niekerk   Justin Snaith

12  SARATOGA DANCER     54.0   95 ( 95)   12      A     M Yeni          Duncan Howells

13  GREEK LEGEND        52.0   91 ( 91)   13   B  A     J P v’d Merwe   Mike Azzie

 

 

coenie de beer talktothestars

Fairytale win for De Beer

Posted on by

Vaal trainer Coenie de Beer said he had looked on the bright side after his beloved R1 million Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint hero Talktothestars had had a rare episode of not eating up the night before Saturday’s big race at Scottsville.

“A lion doesn’t catch a buck on a full stomach,” he had thought to himself.

Coenie De Beer - Talktothestars

Coenie De Beer and his Grade 1 winner Talktothestars (Nkosi Hlophe)

And so it proved as the sales outcast gave weight and a thrashing to many regally-bred, expensively purchased horses. He was brilliantly ridden by the peerless Piere Strydom, who was winning the big race for the fifth time. Having him more handy than usual might have been the key, as he often runs on too late. This time he found extra from a handy position and going through the 100m Strydom felt he would still have had enough in the tank to fend off a late challenger.

It was the first Gr 1 win for both De Beer and also for Talktothestars unfashionable sire Overlord.

However, it was yet another Gr 1 accolade for the horse’s breeders Scott Brothers, who also stand Overlord. Scott Brothers had previously won this race with their home-bred Bold West in 1987.

De Beer, who has been training at the Vaal since 1998, is the son of former trainer Dawie de a Beer. He has a mere seven horses in his yard.

He owns Talktothestars outright and has fulfilled the old adage “have horse, will travel” in no uncertain terms.

The four-year-old gelding’s “calm” temperament has made this possible. It was Talktothestars’s third journey to Scottsville and he stayed there overnight before the race. He made the long journey to Cape Town in the summer, where he earned three cheques in five starts at Kenilworth. He has also raced at Flamingo Park in Kimberly on top of his regular runs at his home province courses of The Vaal and Turffontein. In mid-July he will experience another new course, Greyville, as De Beer said he would definitely bring him down for the Gr 1 weight for age Mercury Sprint, where he will attempt to exact revenge on his Computaform Sprint conqueror Carry On Alice. That race will likely decide the Equus Champion Sprinter award.

Talktothestars’ half-sister Star Voyager had caught De Beer’s eye at the Sales a few years back . De Beer said, “She was a good filly with a lot of promise and after that I bought all the progeny until I got this one.” Their dam Tellittothestars by Spaceship won one race over 1600m. Her daughter Star Voyager (Mogok) won five races for De Beer, another daughter Planet Queen (Mogok) won two races for him and Talktothestars’ three-year-old full-sister Lady Starlett has already won two races for the yard.

Talktothestars, with a reserve of R30,000, was a vendor buy back at the National Two-year-old Sale due to a lack of interest. De Beer later bought him cheaply off the farm as part of a package offered by Scott Brothers owner Robin Scott.

He is a big, strong horse and amazingly, as was the case on Saturday, usually runs without shoes. De Beer said, “I don’t mind running him in shoes if he has a problem. I did run him here once with shoes because he had a crack in his hoof (and he won).”

Talktothestars is the highest rated sprinter in the country and has earned R1,529,575.

It is South Africa’s equivalent of the Australian Takeover Target fairytale.

Race fans around the country at last know who Coenie de Beer is as the camera shy man gave a rare TV interview in the winner’s enclosure.

His few humble words said it all, “I tell you he is a great horse. He is a healthy, sound horse and he did it all himself.”

David Thiselton
Picture: Coenie de Beer and Talktothestars (Nkosi Hlophe)

daring dave

POST Merchants final field

Posted on by

FINAL FIELD for the Gr2 POST Merchants to be run over 1200m at Greyville on Friday night, June 17:

SC DR HORSE            WGT  M/R    JOCKEY          TRAINER

1  10 TRIP TO HEAVEN     60.0 113 T A  ……………   Sean Tarry

2   3 CAPTAIN ALFREDO    58.0 109   A  A Delpech         Dean Kannemeyer

3   9 RED RAY            58.0 108 T A  A Marcus          Joey Ramsden

4  15 AURUM POT          56.0 104   A *C Murray          Alec Laird

5  13 MOOFEED (AUS)      56.0 104   A  ……………   Mike de Kock

6   8 BUCKLAND           56.0 103 T A  S Khumalo         Sean Tarry

7  14 BELONG TO ME       56.0 102 TBA  W Marwing         Johan Janse van Vuuren

8   2 LONDON CALL        56.0 101   A  K de Melo         Mark Dixon

9   7 VIKING HERO        56.0 101 T A *L Hewitson        Grant Maroun

10  5 FLY BY NIGHT       55.5 105 T A  M Byleveld        Mike Bass

11 11 KANGAROO JACK      54.0 100   A  C Zackey          Gary Alexander

12 12 AMAZING STRIKE     54.0  98  BA  F Herholdt        Alec Laird

13  4 ASSTAR             54.0  98   A  ……………   Garth Puller

14  1 FERRIE             52.0  95 T A  ……………   Dennis Drier

 

Reserve Runners

15  6 OLD EM             51.5  98 T A  Reserve 1         Sean Tarry

Captain Al rules

Posted on by

Top Cape-based trainer Vaughan Marshall admitted, after adding two more Gr 1’s to his glittering CV at Scottsville on Saturday, the Captain Als were always the first horses he viewed at the sales and he always viewed every one of them.

Marshall trained the great Klawervlei-based champion stallion and both of his yard’s big race winners on Saturday, The Secret Is Out and Always In Charge, are by Captain Al.

MJ Byleveld rode a race out of the top drawer in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship, remaining calm when short of room at the 500m mark, easing The Secret Is Out back slightly and then bursting through to win cosily.

Owner and breeder Garth Miller’s intuition when buying The Secret Is Out’s dam Secret Of Victoria a few years ago due to the speed in the pedigree has led to his BBP syndicate, consisting of himself and Basil Nelson, being in possession of one of the best families in the South African stud book.

Secret Of Victoria herself finished second in the Allan Robertson for Marshall. The Secret Is Out has now become her second daughter to win the prestigious two-year-old event.

Miller owned a half-share in The Secret Is Out’s full-sister All Is Secret, who won the Allan Robertson for Marshall in 2012.

The Secret Is Out did not go to the sales and on Saturday became Marshall’s fourth winner of the big race. Nelson was there to accept the trophy and Miller was sure to have been tuned in from his holiday venue.

The small filly has a “wonderful temperament”, “a big action and a big heart”. Furthermore, Marshall said, “We have not got to the bottom of her yet.”

Later, The Klawervlei Stud-bred and Markus and Ingrid Jooste-owned Always In Charge gave Marshall his second career win of the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion.

Jockey Anton Marcus said it had not taken him long to agree with stable jockey Byleveld’s assessment of this being a “special horse” after he had begun working him ten days before the race at Summerveld.

Marshall purchased him for R650,000 at the CTS Emperor’s Palace Select Yearling Sale and Jooste had later taken ownership.

Marshall, recalling the sale, said, “He wasn’t a big horse, he was very athletic and had a lot of quality about him.”

He won in fine style on Saturday, beating the field by three lengths in a time 0,37 seconds quicker than the fillies race.

A lot more will be heard of him and Marshall believes he will be even better when he goes around the turn.

David Thiselton
Picture: Always In Charge (Nkosi Hlophe)

 

inara lk

Tibouchina for Inara

Posted on by

Mike Bass has decided to run his four-time Grade 1 winner Inara under top weight in the Tibouchina Stakes at Greyville on Saturday rather than go for the Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

Daughter Candice Robinson said: “Inara galloped last week and she worked well. She has raced at Greyville before (in last year’s KRA Fillies Guineas, Woolavington and Garden Province) but she wasn’t at her best then so we will have to see how she handles it.”

Grant van Niekerk again takes the mount while Bernard Fayd’Herbe will team up with Cape Fillies Guineas winner Silver Mountain for the second time in this seven furlong test. Bass runs Paterfamilias (Van Niekerk) in the Gold Challenge but Helderberg Blue will miss the Cup Trial.

The stable, buoyed by Fly By Night’s return to form at Scottsville, also had the satisfaction of seeing Whose That Girl make up for her March disappointment by responding to Robert Khathi’s urgings to get up on the line in Saturday’s Kenilworth Maiden Juvenile.

“She was feeling her shins quite a bit last time and she didn’t really travel as a result but she still needs to mature a bit more,” Mrs Robinson reported.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe turned his back on the big bucks at Scottsville to stay loyal to his Ridgemont retainer and he was rewarded with success on joint top weight Make It Raine in the Place Your Bets Handicap even if the pens proved a fraught affair.

He related: “I knew I was in a bit of trouble – she was obviously still thinking about the bad experience she had last time – and she tried to flip over with me.”

Ridgemont manager Craig Carey added: “She is a little hot and, while I like them to have a bit of fire if they are going to go to stud, we will have to keep an eye on her temperament. She also has a breathing problem – you can hear it when she works on the track. It’s no problem racing on the straight course but I don’t know how it would affect her if she goes 1 400m.”

Fayd’Herbe was also riding for Brett Crawford when he was at the centre of the action in the mile maiden. His mount Navasha started a prohibitive 9-20 and looked like overhauling the pace-setting Dontknowhy only to falter in the closing stages and go down by a short head.

Her rider promptly lodged an objection and the close-circuit suggested he might get it but, as so often, you had to see the boardroom head-on to really tell what happened. Brandon May switched his whip from his right hand to his left and his mount promptly began to hang away from it. She moved two or three metres to her right and in the process her quarters twice slammed against those of the favourite like a wet sail in a gale.

The stipes had little hesitation in reversing the placings and in suspending May for a week (June 5-11). He and Darryl Hodgson had some compensation when Ocean’s Swell won two races later but the apprentice was promptly back in the boardroom, this time to be fined a grand for celebrating before the line.

Table Bay could be under consideration for the Langerman on June 25 after proving much too good in the 1 400m Juvenile Plate with Donovan Dillon predicting: “I think he will go a long way. He is getting better and better.”

Captain Bagg, who usually makes the running, benefitted from a switch to waiting tactics under Grant Behr in the Itsarush.co.za Handicap – although the change was not by design. “Normally we can’t stop him going to the front but this time there was a pace and he settled,” explained Eric Sands.

It was disturbing to see three horses having to be scratched from the last because there weren’t enough jockeys available but that didn’t worry Paul Reeves who took over Grant Knowles’s Declarator from Shane Humby a month ago, slapped on a pair of blinkers and let Richard Fourie do the rest.

Michael Clower

captainalfreemanstallions

Stallion auction – save the date

Posted on by

The Cape Breeders Club will be hosting their annual auction of stallion services at Highlands Farm on Friday, June 10. And the auction will take place just after the inaugural CTS Mares & Fillies For Stud Select Sale takes place.

The 2016 Stallion Services auction will offer breeders a rare and final opportunity to acquire a service to some of the top sires in the country.

Among the sires with services on offer at this year’s auction are Captain Al (pictured), Dynasty, Silvano, and Var –four elite stallions all of whom are already fully booked for the upcoming breeding season. Other top class sires have top class books of mares for the season ahead and are filling fast –making this a not to be missed opportunity for any serious breeder.

Other top class and promising sires with services set to be offered include Byword, Captain Of All, Count Dubois, Duke Of Marmalade, Elusive Fort, Flower Alley, Gimmethegreenlight, Go Deputy, Greys Inn, Ideal World, Jay Peg, Judpot, Kingsbarns, Mambo in Seattle, Marchfield, Master Of My Fate, Oratorio, Pathfork, Philanthropist, Pomodoro, Potala Palace, Querari, Seventh Rock, Soft Falling Rain, Twice Over, Vercingetorix, Warm White Night, What A Winter, Where’s That Tiger, and Wylie Hall.

The Cape is also home to a number of really exciting new sires, and these horses (with services on offer) include Oratorio’s G1 son Fencing Master, Horse Of The Year winners Futura and Legislate (both sons of outstanding Cape sire Dynasty), Galileo’s well performed son Global View, Triple Crown winner Louis The King, and Lammerskraal’s exciting recent acquisition, Visionaire.

A number of young and up and coming stallions will have the services auction as silent bids.

Unfortunately, the stallion parade, which was scheduled to take place on the same night has had to be cancelled due to the recent outbreak of African Horse Sickness.

Interested parties are requested to contact Wendy at: secretary@capebreeders.co.za

 

Close call for Basil Marcus

Posted on by

Racing legend Basil Marcus is in Cape Town’s Milnerton Mediclinic recovering from what is believed to be a seizure.

Basil Marcus 2Son Adam said: “It happened during track work last Thursday. When I went into the office I found him in a chair pretty much out, and I took him to the Mediclinic as that was the nearest hospital.

“They thought he had had a heart attack or a stroke and they did a CTC scan on his heart and lungs but both were OK.

“The next day they did an MRI scan on his brain and they now believe he had an epileptic seizure. It was a frightening experience and I personally didn’t think he was going to make it.

“It’s amazing to think that he had all those injuries, and broke all those bones, during his riding career yet this could happen when he was relaxing.”

Marcus, 59, was seven times champion in Hong Kong in an outstanding riding career that saw him win two Mets and three Queen’s Plates. He was also twice Cape champion apprentice and had considerable success in Britain. He was second on Game Plan in the 1990 Oaks and rode her to victory in the Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland.

He switched to training in 2004 and sent out almost 300 winners in five and a half seasons including the Cape Guineas and Derby with Jay Peg.

Michael Clower

De Beer’s star shines

Posted on by

Coenie de Beer has traipsed the country with his one good horse in search of a Grade 1 and it paid off handsomely at Scottsville yesterday. Talktothestars (11-2), racing ‘barefoot’, defying top weight and his pedigree landed the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint over 1200m. The win was also the first Gr1 for De Beer.

Pierre Strydom, recently back from an extended injury break, rode the perfect race, tracking the pace before accelerating up the inside fence to win under hands and heels.

African Ruler tried hard up the centre but proved no match for the winner while Exelero was the first of the fancied runners home in third.

Coenie de Beer leads in Talktothestars (Nkosi Hlophe)

Coenie de Beer leads in Talktothestars (Nkosi Hlophe)

“What a lovely temperament this horse has, “said Strydom. “He tried to buck me off going to the start. First he didn’t want to canter, but he went into the stalls and stood quietly and he just travelled in the race.

“I felt really good going through the 400 but I always thought that something that was well handicapped might come and grab us with 60 on our back but he just kept on plugging away,” Strydom concluded.

Carry On Alice, looking for her fifth Gr1 victory, and back-to-back wins in the Gr1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint, proved an expensive failure as she could only manage fifth behind Real Princess (5-1) who was chased home by Fly By Night and rank outsider Joan Ranger.

This was the sixth and most important win for Real Princess who is unbeaten at Scottsville. “My filly just loves this track,” said winning rider Anthony Delpech. “She’s never been beaten here. This was a great win because she’s all heart and no legs.”

Delpech tracked the early pace and pulled out from behind the pack approaching the 300m mark. All this time S’manga Khumalo, who had tracked the early speed on Carry On Alice, found himself ‘snookered’ and his hunt for a gap was thwarted at every turn. Delpech gave Real Princess a clear run for the wire and she responded under a driving ride to hold of Fly By Night, second to Via Africa two years back, who had shown pace throughout on the outside.

Vaughan Marshall did the Gr1 two-year-old double as Always In Charge (19-10) lived up to his name and made most of the running to win the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Medallion following on The Secret Is Out’s victory in the G1 Allan Robertson Championship.

Always In Charge (Nkosi Hlophe)

Always In Charge (Nkosi Hlophe)

An outside gate down the Scottsville straight is widely regarded as a coffin draw but Anton Marcus, braving criticism, held station and cut the early pace. He had the field off the bit a long way out and although drifting towards the inside under pressure the result was never in doubt once the chips were down.

Corne Spies’s decision to skip the Allan Robertson in favour of the Medallion with Seattle Singer proved an inspired move as she put all but Always In Charge to bed, finishing a clear second ahead of Riverine and Red Rock.

Always In Charge is owned by Markus and Ingrid Jooste, in the UK for the Investec Derby, and was booted home by their retained rider.

“I must thank MJ Byleveld,” said Marcus. “When this horse arrived in Durban MJ came to me and said this horse is special. I have been working him for about 10 days now and his work was exceptional,” he added.

“This is one instance when I’m looking forward to a horse going around the turn because I think he will be even better,” commented Marshall, issuing a warning for to those with hopes in the Gr2 Golden Horseshoe on Vodacom Durban July day and the Gr1 Premier’s Champion Juvenile Stakes on eLan Gold Cup day.

 

Dean Kannemeyer leads in Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

Dean Kannemeyer leads in Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

If it wasn’t out before, it is now. The Secret Is Out (12-10, pictured) overcame some traffic and put a high class field to the sword in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship.

It was a fourth win in the race for Marshall who also trained full sister All Is Secret to win the race back in 2012. Super sire Captain Al was also trained by Marshall and did the double with Always In Charge winning the Medallion. Stable rider MJ Byleveld produced his filly with a sustained burst to comfortably hold off the attentions of a fast finishing Fursa with the Sean Tarry pair of Visuality and Myfunnyvalentine also running on strongly.

Byleveld was forced to ease out of a gap when Muzi Yeni aboard Blaze Of Mystery shut the door on him at the 500m mark but The Secret Is Out switched out smoothly and set sail for the line.

Blaze Of Mystery had the call inside the final furlong but The Secret Is Out gradually reeled her in as the leader came under pressure. The Secret Is Out took over 100m out as Blaze Of Mystery came up empty and it was left to SA Fillies Nursery winner and Dubai-bound Fursa, last coming through the junction of the courses, to chase home for second.

Marshall was lavish in his praise. “She has a wonderful temperament, nothing worries her and I don’t think we have got to the bottom of her yet.”

“She’s that good and she got herself out of trouble, just the sign of a very good horse. She’s very, very special.”

Andrew Harrison
Pictures: Nkosi Hlophe