CHRIS SAUNDERS, former chairman of Gold Circle and the first chairman of the Tongaat Hulett Group, died on Saturday night after a lengthy illness.

Saunders was one of the first directors of Gold Circle and was elected chairman after the company’s first chairman, Roy Eckstein retired.  Saunders retired as chairman in 2005 after steering Gold Circle back to profitability and weathering pressure to amalgamate with Phumelela.

Saunders was a staunch supporter of KwaZulu-Natal racing and his Invermooi Stud was one of the leading thoroughbred nurseries in the country.

Saunders’ white silks with red stars and cap were a familiar sight and he stood the stallion Rollins, the broodmare sire of champion racehorse and sire Jet Master. Saunders raced many of his home-breds, easily recognised by alliteration such as Raise A Raucus (Rollins) or Slewper Slipper, named after her sire, Slewpendous.

At the KZN Breeders awards in 2013 he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award where in his absence his good friend Bill Lambert gave a stirring speech on his behalf.

David Thiselton

CARL HEWITSON, operating out of Summerveld, will have his first runners as a licensed trainer on Sunday at Hollywoodbets Greyville. 

He passed his trainer’s license examination eight months ago but his plans to go on his own had to be put on hold due to Covid-19.

Hewitson had been the assistant trainer to Yvette Bremner for 12 years.

His career in the industry began in his home country of England. 

He was a football mad as a youngster but his father, who was a master thatcher, loved racing and was at one stage driving for a transport company which had associations with the racing industry so he one day suggested Carl go and spend some time working for trainer Henry Candy during his school holidays.

Candy’s stables at Kingston Warren in Oxfordshire were close to the famous racing town of Lambourn, which is in turn close to Hungerford where Hewitson was at school. 

Carl said, “The bug bit that holiday as a thirteen-year-old.”

Hewitson was soon a stable lad and apprentice rider to Candy and had his first rides at Lingfield racecourse.

However, his first winner came in Belgium at the age of 17.

He was offered a position over there riding for Tommy McGarrity and he later rode for the Marquis de Merga.

The latter’s stable jockey was Tommy Young but she had a big operation and Carl thus rode in many feature events.

Later, he went on a working holiday to South Africa and initially rode in Port Elizabeth for Ian Passanah, whom he had met in Belgium. 

He rode in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg too and later had six seasons in Mauritius and six seasons in Malaysia. His biggest success came when riding a Group 1 winner in Malaysia.   

However, he always returned to Port Elizabeth and thus took up the position with Bremner when his riding days were over.

Port Elizabeth was also the birth place of his son Lyle who was destined to become the South African Champion Jockey while still an apprentice in the 2017/2018 season and he retained the championship the following season.

Carl said, “I did not expect Lyle to ever become a jockey but he took to riding horses, first in polocrosse, and then used to ride work when he came to visit me in PE.”

Bremner gave up training recently due to unfortunate and well documented circumstances but this unforeseen event inadvertently provided a boost to Carl’s new venture. He was offered the opportunity to choose from 60 of Bremner’s string. He chose 35 and all of the relevant owners agreed to go with him in his new venture out of Summerveld.

Carl will have a lot of experience to draw on and confirmed Bremner’s methods would have a lot of influence.

He added, “We had a good working relationship and would bounce things off each other.”

Hewitson said looking for a certain type of horse was a luxury few could afford in the game and elaborated, “You have to make do with what you are given and I am fortunate to have some owners who are very good at picking horses at the sales. I have a very nice bunch of owners and am very appreciative they have stuck with me.”

Fittingly Lyle will ride his father’s first ever runner, Love The View, owned by the International Racing Club. This first-timer three-year-old gelding must have a shout from a plum draw of two in the 1200m maiden considering his sire Global View was a miler who gets them to run early and his dam, an Irish-bred by the legendary Sadlers Wells, has produced six winners and her five multiple winners include the like of Pacific Spirit, a five-time winning sprinter who is Listed placed.

Lyle also rides two of his other runners on the day, the imposing Mangrove who runs over 1900m and Brazil Nut who is on a hattrick and is stepped up to 1400m. 

Carl’s sprinter Quinlan will be ridden by Rocky Agrella in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1200m and although his recent form is not too inspiring he is the best weighted runner according to official merit ratings. 

David Thiselton

THE year 2020 was going to potentially be a groundbreaker in South African thoroughbred history as an audit by the European Union on South Africa’s measures to prevent the export of African Horse Sickness had been scheduled for April.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 meant an automatic postponement of this audit.
However, Adrian Todd, MD of SA Equine Health & Protocols (SAHEP), said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had a push for the audit on their agenda and he is hopeful it will still take place this year.
A successful audit will potentially open the way for a change to the stringent export protocols which effectively prevent direct travel to the European Union and to other racing countries around the world.
Todd has for a long time been supremely confident that SA will pass the audit.
The stringent quarantine protocols which must be undertaken by SA competition horses flying to overseas destinations is the bane of the SA thoroughbred industry as it discourages overseas trade on SA bloodstock which has proved to be outstanding value for money.
A positive change to the export protocols would provide a massive boost to SA’s ailing thoroughbred breeding industry as new overseas money will be injected.
Mike de Kock explained the current process which had to be undertaken to race a horse overseas in an article in 2014 written by Howard Wright:
“The horses go into quarantine towards the end of July and we do 21 days in Cape Town in what is known as a ‘free area’,” de Kock said. We then fly five hours to Mauritius and do another 90 days there, 50 of which are residency and the last 40 of which are under strict conditions where the horses are locked up in a barn two hours before sunset and come out two hours after sunrise. Then you can ship directly to the EU, where you have to do a 30-day residency if you want to come to Dubai, but it’s 60 days if you want to go to most other places.”
SAHEP
Meanwhile, one relatively recent measure put in place by SAHEP has improved the ability of trainers to travel horses around South Africa in the event of an AHS outbreak.
State veterinarians place an automatic forty day travel ban on horses who reside within a 30km radius of a confirmed AHS case. However, Highveld racehorses who are under this ban have the option to spend 14 days in a vector protected barn erected at Randjesfontein and as long as they comply with the regulations to the satisfaction of the state veterinarian they are then free to travel to Cape Town, for example, in a vector protected trailer and there would be no need for them to spend any further time under vector protection upon their arrival. The horses placed in this barn are allowed out between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to excercise.

ANDREW HARRISON

HORSES with only one serviceable eye are banned from racing in Australia but there is no such restriction in South Africa. I am not sure of the reasons for the Australian ruling but horses, with what to most would be a handicap, have done pretty well in this country.

Australian-bed Traces, banished from his land of origin, is one of them. His restricted vision may have been the cause of his loss of form when promising much early in his career but he finally brought his A-game when touched off in the Umgeni Handicap jumping from the worst of the draw on the final day of Champion Season.

Muscutt

Peter Muscutt, who runs Brett Crawford’s satellite yard at Summerveld, appears to have got the gelding’s confidence back and if he can repeat his feature race effort, he will have a strong chance in a competitive sprint that heads the card on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville this afternoon.

Traces has a big weight in a race where one can make out a winning case for many of the runners and although atop the bookmaker’s boards in the early ante-post market, 3-1 does not instil any confidence.

Coldhardcash is among the longer shots in the race but could prove good value.

His breathing problems are well documented but Duncan Howells has remedied that with a Cornel Collar that keeps the gelding’s air passages open.

Coldhardcash is a horse that showed top class ability before his ailment manifested its self and in spite of that the gelding has racked up five wins from his 16 starts.

That said, he does not go much further than 1000m as he showed over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville last time out where he was in contention all the way until the last furlong found him out. He will much prefer today’s trip on his favoured surface and first-time blinkers should bring out the best in him.

At around 14-1 in the ante-post market he could prove to be a fair wager.

It’s not quite that simple though with Shane Humby declaring first time blinkers on Waywood who has had two warm-up runs leading into this race. This stable is beginning to warm up after getting all of their African Horse Sickness jabs behind them, their runners could pay to follow.

Of the balance, Candy Galore is a smart mare who seldom runs a bad race while the likes of Goliath Heron and Winter Blues are sure to be competitive.

Wayne Badenhorst does not have too much in the thatch department but he will have been pulling out what’s left with his filly Rachel. She has let the side down on numerous occasions and one has to be wary of her doing any further damage to the wallet. But she may still be worth one more stab today as she has the best of the draw in the seventh and the drop to 1200m may be what gets her home.

Macara

Her biggest threat could come from Wendy Whitehead’s recent maiden winner Macara. Donovan Dillon was under pressure to get her home in that race and earned a seven-day holiday in his effort to find the rail from a tough draw. Macara responded with a smart turn of foot in the chase for home and looks progressive.

Others that warrant consideration are Flaming Desire who is plagued by many niggles and is way better than her last effort. She put five lengths over her rivals at her penultimate start but did take the maximum penalty for that win. Lowan Denysschen’s filly Passivity took time to come to hand but has come well over course and distance. With a 4kg claimer up she also has winning prospects.

David Thiselton

JUSTIN SNAITH has issued a challenge to Mike de Kock, saying, “It would be Pleasant to have him racing under the Mount.”

De Kock’s colt Mount Pleasant is currently the highest rated three-year-old in the country but Snaith would like to challenge the overall pundit opinion that he is the best by taking him on in the only Grade 1 mile for three-year-olds on the South African program, the Cape Guineas on December 21.

De Kock stated after Mount Pleasant’s win last weekend in the Grade 2 Jo’burg Spring Challenge, “I have made no secret that this is one of the best bunch of three-year-olds I have had in many a year.”

Mount Pleasant was coming off a 14 week break so should come on from the run and De Kock confirmed that in his post-race interview, saying, “I did as much as I could on the sand and he had one very easy bit of work on the grass.”

Snaith echoed De Kock’s words by saying that this could be the best three-year-old crop he himself had ever had.

He did not want to favour any particular colt but said the punting public should look out for any of them who had caught the eye previously, advising, “They have had a lack of gallops available so are all going to improve a lot.”

Snaith’s three-year-old fillies have already proved themselves strong.

His Captain Al filly Captain’s Ransom downed the best performed three-year-old female in the Cape, Clouds Unfold, last weekend in the Grade 3 Diana Stakes over 1400m. She won by 0,3 lengths, although she was facing the latter on terms 3kg better than weight for age. On the other hand her rider, apprentice Joshwin Solomons, was unable to claim his normal 2,5kg so it was a win full of merit.

Snaith said Captain’s Ransom still had a lot of maturing to do. He added she had pulled up phenomenally well.

He praised Solomons for keeping the stick away and lamented that, according to his observation, many riders had been replacing any lack of strength they had with an over-use of the whip.

Snaith is also excited about the Camelot filly Dazzling Sun and the Captain Al filly Really Royal. The latter, who is a full-sister to the Cape Guineas winner and now sire William Longsword, won on debut in June and is running in the seventh race over 1250m at Durbanville on Tuesday.

Snaith spoke fondly of his older speedster Kasimir, who rallied gamely to win the Grade 3 Matchem Stakes over 1400m last weekend. This horse appears to be one of the few who can maintain his stride length in the latter stages of a race. Snaith also spoke about his wonderful nature which made him a “dream horse” to train.

Snaith had considered running Vodacom Durban July winner Belgarion in the Summer Cup, but decided with the depressed stake money it was not worth it as it would have had an effect on his Cape Summer campaign.

Do It Again and Wild Coast were two other older horses he mentioned whom he believed would make an impact during the summer.

He lamented the Grade 2 WSB Guineas, which Wild Coast won at Hollywoodbets Greyville not being a Grade 1 which he believed it should be in order to attract all of the best down from Johannesburg.

Wild Coast is by Trippi out of the champion five times Grade 1-winning Dynasty mare Beach Beauty, so Snaith is desperate to win a Grade 1 with him as he would then be an automatic to join the stallion ranks.    

Meanwhile, it is nervous times for those who do wish to travel down from Johannesburg for the Cape Summer Season as any African Horse Sickness (AHS) outbreak within a 30km radius of the training centres brings with it a 40 day travel ban from the State Veterinarian. On the bright side there is a protocol in place for competition horses under these circumstances which allows them to travel if they spend ten days under vector protected conditions, subject to the approval of the State Veterinarian. However, on the downside these horses would then have to go straight to the Kenilworth quarantine station where they would have to spend more time under vector protection. These two vector protected stints are hardly conducive to good preparation for feature races.

There has already been an AHS case this summer in Germiston reported on October 7 meaning the 40 day ban is currently in place for horses at Turffontein and Randjesfontein.          

David Thiselton

THE Sean Tarry-trained Cornish Pomodoro stamped himself as a Summer Cup contender after a good win over 1600m at the Vaal Classic track yesterday in his first  run as a gelding and his rider Lyle Hewitson’s four-timer on the day took him seven winners clear at the top of the national jockeys log. 

Pack Leader also ran well in defeat in his first start for new trainer Alec Laird having had his winning chances ruined by a wayward Date Palm. 

Cornish Pomodoro, who carried 57kg as a one-time winner in the Graduation Plate event, did not have cover throughout the race in a one out and one back position. He loped along in the straight at one pace which was enough to haul in the leader Hellofaride and take the lead at the 300m mark. However, at that stage he looked to be under threat from Imperial Master and Pack Leader who had closed in to be about a length back. However, then came the impressive part. Hewitson gave him a right-handed slap and he immediately changed legs and lengthened his stride superbly. He surged away from the challengers to win by four lengths from Imperial Master, who beat Pack Leader by a short-head.

The rangy four-year-old gave the impression he would enjoy the 2000m of the Summer Cup and he should also come on a ton from this race. On pedigree he should easily get the Summer Cup trip as he is by Vodacom Durban July winner Pomodoro out of a Casey Tibbs mare called Splinter who won over 1800m and finished second in the Grade 3 Final Fling Stakes over 1800m.  

Pack Leader’s run was just as impressive.

In a bizarre incident at the beginning of the race Date Palm refused to take the turn and carried Pack Leader right out to the outside rail. 

Pack Leader had to be eased virtually to a standstill so he could be switched inward to be free of the badly behaved horse. 

This cost him at least ten lengths and on top of that he had to give the winner 3kg so to finish just 4,05 lengths back was a fine effort.

The other aspect that gives the winner merit is that the fourth-placed horse Hellofaride was beaten nine lengths and the fifth-placed horse, the 97 rated Indy Go, was beaten 10,75 lengths.

Cornish Pomodoro is 50/1 for the Summer Cup with Track And Ball and Pack Leader is 36-1. Hellofaride drifted out to 100/1.

Date Palm has been suspended indefinitely by the stipendiary stewards.

A race earlier Tarry, Hewitson and Pomodoro had combined to win a Graduation Plate for fillies and mares over 1600m with the grey four-year-old Invisible. She was also caught one wide and back but that did not stop her pulling away from them in the straight. However, in the end she only hung on by 0,30 lengths from a fast-finishing Louis Gem, who put in a fine performance considering she is a three-year-old who was receiving just 1,5kg from Invisible and it was also just her second career start. 

The only Summer Cup entry involved in this race, Keep Smiling, was a 4,75 length fourth and Track And Ball have her at 50/1.   

Hewitson also rode a double for St. John Gray on the day and at close of play had ridden 38 winners for the season, seven clear of the joint-second placed Greg Cheyne and S’Manga Khumalo.  

Earlier, the Mike Azzie-trained seven-year-old Var gelding Rivarine proved his Grade 1 Computaform Sprint victory was no fluke when pulling clear to win a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1000m by 1,50 lengths despite shouldering 62kg. His previous two runs, over 1160m and 1450m, saw him overreaching in the first of them and over-racing in both behind a pace which was too slow for his liking. Yesterday, with his Computaform Sprint rider Devin Habib aboard he relished the step back to 1000m, meaning he could stride out towards the back behind a fast enough pace and he then simply sauntered past them in the closing stages to win in the commanding style one would expect of a Grade 1 winner. He still has a lot of racing in him.    

Andrew Harrison

ANTON MARCUS has had a forest fire of smoke blown up his rear over the years. Proven against the best on the international stage, there is little doubt that he is a master of his trade.

To many of the uninitiated that follow the sport, the simple task of a jockey is to stay on board and ride for the line as hard as possible, win lose or draw.

But as in any sport, the best will always triumph simply because they are more tactically aware.

Few will argue that the pace of a race will make the world of difference to the result. But often, subtle tactics employed by the top riders within a race are the difference between winning and losing.

Riders who can win races on mediocre mounts, races that their horse should never have had a chance in given the form, are the riders that trainers look for and support. Riders who are tactically astute and aware of the capabilities of the opposition.

There are also trainers who expect more from their charges than what they are capable of producing – the classic line from a jockey when asked by a trainer why he did not follow instructions; “unfortunately I had to bring the horse with me.”

But back to the second race at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday. Marcus was aboard favourite Chapter And Verse for trainer Michael Roberts, himself a former titan of the pigskin. The money arrived late for Garth Puller’s charge Banzai Pipeline but Marcus will have worked that out a long time before the race.

All went well for both runners, both perfectly placed, Marcus up second tracked by Lyle Hewitson on Banzi Pipeline.

Shortly before entering the straight, Marcus eased wide off the heels of pacemaker Luxemburg, headed for his favourite ‘golden highway’ up the outside fence.

But with Bazai Pipline slipping through up the inside fence, Marcus allowed his mount to shift in on some tiring horses in the hope that they would force Hewitson to delay his challenge for a few strides.

The ploy didn’t work, given that the horses on Marcus’s inside were not intimidated, allowing Banzai Pipeline a clear passage. But it was a clever piece of riding by Marcus who, seeing that his ploy had failed, drifted out onto his ‘highway’ and kept the favourite running to the line, proving just that fraction better than his market rival.

Andrew Harrison

THERE is little doubt that the introduction of the Merit Rating system of handicapping has had a profound effect on racing in this country. In its purest form it has its merits but I would argue that the local horse population is not big enough for the system to work effectively.

This is proven by the introduction of a myriad of special dispensations for various categories of races, introduced in reaction to try and plug frailties in the system. This, to a point where many trainers and, more importantly the majority of punters, are left guessing.

Jack’s Bird, a winner of one race and two placings from nine starts finds herself giving weight to all in the Greyville Convention Centre Handicap that heads the card on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday.

Michael Roberts’s filly has paid dearly for finishing close-up in weak feature company. She was on her way down the ratings from a high mark of 100 before the KZN Fillies Guineas where she finished 3,6 lengths behind Missisippi Burning. But her sixth place shunted her back up five pounds from her 90-rating going into the Guineas without earning a cent.

In other jurisdictions that use the MR system, horses capable of performing in Graded company seldom run in handicaps.

So, this race will be a test. After the Guineas, Jack’s Bird was given a break where she finished nearly five lengths back in a 1200m sprint. That should have brought her along nicely into this 1600m event and from a good draw, Roberts and her supporters will be hoping that the handicappers have it right.

One of the major complaints of the current MR system is that a horse like four-time winner Song Of The Forest, has earned R200k more than Jack’s Bird but has a MR of 81. With Jabu Jacobs claiming his 2.5kg allowance on Brett Crawford’s filly, Jacks Bird will be conceding 8.5kg to her rival that has been in cracking form of late.

In a leap of faith, Jack’s Bird is taken to get the better of Song Of The Forest, but with no confidence.

David Thiselton

THE MIKE DE KOCK-TRAINED Barak proved himself a promising stayer when fighting back to win a Pinnacle Stakes event over 2 600m at Turffontein Inside on Saturday under lightweight jockey Jarryd Penny. It was his third win on the trot meaning he is unbeaten since blinkers were donned.

This Master Of My Fate gelding has a deep pedigree which includes Vodacom Durban July winner Power King, Summer Cup winner Malteme, Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 winner Wendywood, Grade 1 winner Exhilaration and others but he is a rangy, galloping type with a big action. 

Barak went into the race 8kg under sufferance with former SA Derby winner Hero’s Honour according to official merit ratings.

However, he did only have to carry a featherweight 50kg.

Furthermore, he had impressed as a progressive stayer in his previous start and duly started 15-4 favourite. 

The race did not pan out well for him, which adds merit to the win.

Penny decided to drive him up into a handy position from the off and this might have been due to the theory that light weighted horses should be up there over marathon trips to ensure the top-weights are made to carry their welter burdens. 

On this occasion being handy early proved to be costly. 

The big horse took held of the bit but Penny did manage to have him covered in second place. He maintained his rail position but by the time they had reached the final turn he had been shuffled back into midfield. He then had to go around The Bosbok, who had gone wrong.

Ultimately, he turned for home right near the back of the eight horse field, meaning the early exertions might well have been unnecessary.

He was now going to have to prove himself some horse to find the necessary extra to make up the leeway.

He did so but then came under threat from the other bottom weight in the contest, Gold Griffin, although the latter was carrying 1kg overweight under national champion jockey Warren Kennedy.

Barak responded magnificently to Penny’s urgings and saw off the challenge to win by a quarter of a length.

It is not unusual for South Africans stayers to build up a sequence before being found out when they run in features, but Barak looks to have plenty of scope for further improvement and De Kock must be thinking of races like the WSB Gold Cup already.

Barak is out of the Captain Al mare Bermuda Sloop, whose five wins were from 1500m to 2000m. He was purchased for R360,000 at the National Yearling Sales by Jehan Malherbe’s Form Bloodstock and is owned by De Kock together with Malherbe’s wife Noeline and G Ragunan.

Besides Power King and Malteme, who also won the Grade 2 Gold Circle Derby over 2400m, other stamina horses in his pedigree include Power King’s half-brother Northern Land (Badger Land), who won the Grade 3 Cape Summer Stayers over 2500m, Listed Oaks Trial winner Bize and Sammy Jo, who won the Listed East Cape Oaks.